Use of Sewage Sludge on Land in the United Kingdom

In the UK 30 million wet tonnes (1.2 × 106 tonnes dry solids (tds)) of sewage sludge are produced annually and its treatment and disposal costs ₤200 million per annum. Utilisation on agricultural land is the most economic disposal option for inland sewage treatment works and this route accounts for about 40% of sludge. Guidelines for sludge utilisation on land in the UK are designed to prevent contamination problems by metals, disease transmission, public nuisance and water pollution. The Council of the European Communities has introduced a Directive to be implemented in 1989 which will provide the statutory baseline for domestic guidelines in the countries of the European Community. UK guidelines and the CEC Directive are discussed in the context of potential contamination problems and the value of sludge to farmers.

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Sewage Sludge Disposal: Current and Future Options

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1989.0312 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 21 (10-11) ◽

pp. 1113-1128 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

A. M. Bruce ◽

R. D. Davis

Keyword(s):

Sewage Sludge ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Protein Extraction ◽

Sewage Treatment ◽

Physical Stability ◽

Sludge Disposal ◽

Disposal Options ◽

Objective Basis ◽

Treatment And Disposal ◽

The Uk

Sewage sludge is an inevitable product of all conventional sewage treatment processes. Disposal of sludge in an economic and environmentally-acceptable manner is becoming generally more difficult. Sludge quantities are rising and disposal options decreasing. Disposal will increasingly require positive and careful management. There are four basic destinations for sludge - agriculture, other types of land, the sea or minor outlets. Treatment methods are available for the production of nine basic types of end-product to suit particular disposal requirements. The new EC Directive will regulate sludge to agriculture and will require that all sludge to farmland is treated unless it is immediately buried under the soil. Sludge to agriculture (grassland or arable) is subject to soil metal limits and to the need to minimise the risk of disease transmission. Sludge to landfill is subject to increasing constraints, particularly on physical stability. Sludge to sea is still practised by the UK but is closely controlled by Government licence and a requirement for monitoring. Minor outlets such as oil production, protein extraction etc are only at the experimental level. A computer program (WISDOM) provides a means of evaluating the short/long-term viability of alternative treatment and disposal options to identify the most economic and environmentally-acceptable strategy on an objective basis.

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Institutional developments, standards and river quality: a UK history and some lessons for industrialising countries

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1996.0072 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 211-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

D. W. M. Johnstone ◽

N. J. Horan

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

Aquatic Environment ◽

Industrial Revolution ◽

Integrated Management ◽

Sewage Treatment ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Process Manufacturing ◽

Treatment And Disposal ◽

The Uk ◽

Developed World

From the middle ages until the early part of the nineteenth century the streets of European cities were foul with excrement and filth to the extent that aristocrats often held a clove-studded orange to their nostrils in order to tolerate the atmosphere. The introduction in about 1800 of water-carriage systems of sewage disposal merely transferred the filth from the streets to the rivers. The problem was intensified in Britain by the coming of the Industrial Revolution and establishment of factories on the banks of the rivers where water was freely available for power, process manufacturing and the disposal of effluents. As a consequence the quality of most rivers deteriorated to the extent that they were unable to support fish life and in many cases were little more than open sewers. This was followed by a period of slow recovery, such that today most of these rivers have been cleaned with many having good fish stocks and some even supporting salmon. This recovery has not been easy nor has it been cheap. It has been based on the application of good engineering supported by the passing and enforcement of necessary legislation and the development of suitable institutional capacity to finance, design, construct, maintain and operate the required sewerage and sewage treatment systems. Such institutional and technical systems not only include the disposal of domestic sewage but also provisions for the treatment and disposal of industrial wastewaters and for the integrated management of river systems. Over the years a number of institutional arrangements and models have been tried, some successful other less so. Although there is no universally applicable approach to improving the aquatic environment, many of the experiences encountered by the so-called developed world can be learned by developing nations currently attempting to rectify their own aquatic pollution problems. Some of these lessons have already been discussed by the authors including some dangers of copying standards from the developed world. The objective of this paper is to trace the steps taken over many years in the UK to develop methods and systems to protect and preserve the aquatic environment and from the lessons learned to highlight what is considered to be an appropriate and sustainable approach for industrialising nations. Such an approach involves setting of realistic and attainable standards, providing appropriate and affordable treatment to meet these standards, establishment of the necessary regulatory framework to ensure enforcement of the standards and provision of the necessary financial capabilities to guarantee successful and continued operation of treatment facilities.

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Sludge Treatment and Disposal Systems for Rural Areas in Germany

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1993.0190 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 27 (9) ◽

pp. 159-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Eberhard Steinle

Keyword(s):

Sewage Sludge ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Sewage Treatment ◽

Treatment Needs ◽

Sludge Treatment ◽

Sewage Treatment Plants ◽

Sewage Purification ◽

Treatment And Disposal ◽

Nitrogen Phosphorus

First an overview of the systems currently in use and being discussed for sludge treatment is presented will) particular emphasis on distinguishing between the object of the system (conditioning objective of the various phases in the system) and a system concept (concept of various phases of the system in sequence to attain the disposal objective). More detailed information is given as to the salient systems as used with smaller sewage treatment plants in rural areas, such as digestion, dewatering, hygienization, composting and thermal drying. A further item of discussion is how sludge treatment influences the sewage treatment process. For the critical emissions (nitrogen, phosphorus) demanded in Germany, and thus for the degree of sewage treatment required, the load of the sewage treatment system resulting from sludge treatment needs to be taken into account. Accordingly, operation of sludge treatment and sewage purification must always be harmonized. The extent of these return loads also limits the spatial centralization of the system phases; this applies in particular to smaller sewage treatment plants in rural areas. In conclusion, an attempt is made to present a perspective for the agricultural utilization of such sludge in Germany. Since the critical values for emissions have been further tightened by new regulations, thus considerably elevating the associated sophistication of monitoring techniques, it is to be expected that the use of sewage sludge in agriculture will also be further reduced in rural areas, especially since public awareness of emission control has considerably reduced the acceptance of sewage sludge as fertilizer.

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Economic Issues in Water Privatisation and Regulation

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1992.0637 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 26 (7-8) ◽

pp. 1921-1928

Author(s):

D. R. Glynn ◽

W. R. Baker ◽

C. A. Jones ◽

J. L. Liesner

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Water Supply ◽

Sewage Treatment ◽

Public Water Supply ◽

Economic Issues ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Us ◽

Water And Sewerage Industry ◽

Treatment And Disposal

During the privatisation of the United Kingdom water and sewerage industry a wide range of important and challenging practical economic issues were encountered, many of which also arise in some form or other throughout the developed and developing worlds. One such issue is the control of the prices charged for public water supply and sewerage, sewage treatment and disposal services. This paper explores some of those issues, analyses how privatisation and regulation have been shaped in order to address them, and, where possible, evaluates performance so far. Where appropriate, examples of how similar issues have been tackled are given for other countries, including the US and France.

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Guidelines for the Utilisation of Sewage Sludge on Land in the United Kingdom

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1984.0014 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. 461-471 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

M G Healey

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Sewage Sludge ◽

Crop Yield ◽

Potential Risk ◽

Good Practice ◽

National Context ◽

Resource Value ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Sludge Disposal ◽

The Uk

The paper outlines general policy on sludge disposal in the United Kingdom and administrative arrangements for water services. It indicates the legislative controls though good practice is achieved through observance of non-statutory guidelines. Statistics largely emanating from a recent survey are given. The resource value of sewage sludge is placed in national context and an appraisal is made of the potential risk to health, the environment and crop yield, though years of experience have shown little risk so long as good practice is followed. The UK guidelines are designed to encourage the utilisation of sewage sludge making recommendations on suitable uses and the precautions to be observed. General advice is given on good agricultural and sewage sludge disposal practice and on the monitoring of operations. The paper concludes with reference to research being undertaken for the purpose of confirming or refining the guidelines.

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The UK response to the challenge of Urban stormwater management

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1995.0040 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 177-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ian Clifforde ◽

Gerard Morris ◽

Bob Crabtree

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Technology Management ◽

Stormwater Management ◽

Environmental Problems ◽

Technological Capabilities ◽

Urban Stormwater Management ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Public Expectation ◽

Treatment And Disposal ◽

The Uk

The United Kingdom has many environmental problems associated with the collection, treatment and disposal of stormwater which have arisen from historical inadequacies in technology, management and funding. The paper describes the changes that have occurred in recent years to strengthen and improve regulatory, financial and technological capabilities which will now allow progress to be made towards meeting the requirements of current legislation and public expectation.

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A Pilot Plant Study of the Anaerobic Digestion of a Mixture of Municipal Sewage and Industrial Sludges

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1992.0763 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 26 (9-11) ◽

pp. 2465-2468 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

K. Sugrue ◽

G. Kiely ◽

E. McKeogh

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Sewage Sludge ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Pilot Project ◽

County Council ◽

Municipal Sewage ◽

Municipal Sewage Sludge ◽

One Year ◽

Treatment And Disposal

With up to 100 tonnes/day of municipal sewage sludge, the municipality of Cork County Council had a problem of disposal. Spreading on agricultural land was the most common method of disposal until the 1986 EC Directive 86/278/EEC imposed severe restrictions on such a method. For industry in the county, the method of disposal was sometimes landfilling, but more often disposal at sea. The Helsinki Agreement terminates sea disposal. An evaluation of treatment and disposal means identified anaerobic digestion as an alternative to land and sea disposal. After anaerobic digestion, the sludge is sufficiently sti ilised to spread on land. A pilot project using a 20m3 reactor was studied for one year, using a fixture of municipal sewage sludge, yeast from a citric acid industry and abattoir waste (including blood, paunch contents and sheep's offal). The results were impressive; input sludge of 10% dry matter was reduced to 2%; the COD reduction approached 90%; in the mesophylic temperature range, the sludge was stabilised after an HRT of 29 days. The sludge after anaerobic digestion satisfies the EC limits for landspreading.

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The effect of lime-dried sewage sludge on the heat-resistance of eco-cement

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2016.196 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 74 (1) ◽

pp. 212-219 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Wen-quan Li ◽

Wei Liu ◽

Hai-hua Cao ◽

Jing-cheng Xu ◽

Jia Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sewage Sludge ◽

Heat Resistance ◽

Sewage Treatment ◽

Raw Material ◽

Partial Replacement ◽

Cement Manufacture ◽

Fire Endurance ◽

Treatment And Disposal ◽

Dried Sludge ◽

Microstructural Studies

The treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is a growing problem for sewage treatment plants. One method of disposal is to use sewage sludge as partial replacement for raw material in cement manufacture. Although this process has been well researched, little attention has been given to the thermal properties of cement that has had sewage sludge incorporated in the manufacturing process. This study investigated the fire endurance of eco-cement to which lime-dried sludge (LDS) had been added. LDS was added in proportions of 0%, 3%, 6%, 9%, and 12% (by weight) to the raw material. The eco-cement was exposed to 200, 400, or 600 °C for 3 h. The residual strength and the microstructural properties of eco-cement were then studied. Results showed that the eco-cement samples suffered less damage than conventional cement at 600 °C. The microstructural studies showed that LDS incorporation could reduce Ca(OH)2 content. It was concluded that LDS has the potential to improve the heat resistance of eco-cement products.

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