scholarly journals Thickening and Storage of Sewage Sludge Contribute to the Degradation of LAS and EOX and the Humification of Organic Matter

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 933
Author(s):  
Ali Khakbaz ◽  
Daniele Goi ◽  
Carlo Bravo ◽  
Marco Contin

Land application of sewage sludge on agricultural soils can be sustainable only if pollutant contents and organic matter quality meet the requirements imposed by minimization of environmental risks. This study investigated the degradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) and extractable organic halogens (EOX) and the formation of humic substances (HS) during the thickening and storage phases of sewage sludge treatment. Changes in spectroscopic properties (UV-Vis, FT-IR, and excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence) of HS were also evaluated to assess the occurrence of biological activities during these curing phases of sewage sludge (SS). Humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA), EOX, and LAS were extracted from sewage sludge sampled from four municipal wastewater treatment plants of different size and treatment sequence, before and after 90 days of aerobic or anaerobic storage. During storage, the loss of organic C in the SS ranged from almost null to 31%. No significant changes of FA were registered, whereas HA increased in almost all samples, up to 30%. The amount of humic substances synthesized during storage correlated with the percentage of C lost. Spectroscopic changes of FA and HA showed an increase in their aromaticity, with a corresponding decrease in the aliphatic contribution. These changes show the improved agronomical quality of SS. LAS decreased during storage up to 30%, surprisingly more under anaerobic than aerobic conditions, whereas EOX decreased significantly in all samples, even up to 81%. In conclusion, although storage may be normally considered not influencing the quality of SS, their organic matter quality improved and contamination decreased during 90 days of storage, whatever the conditions of oxygen availability applied.

2013 ◽  
Vol 671-674 ◽  
pp. 2736-2741
Author(s):  
Yin An Ming ◽  
Tao Tao

To reuse municipal sewage sludge safely, experiment was carried out on grapefruit trees fertilized with composted sludge from Shiweitou Sewage Treatment Plant in Xiamen City of China, and a method was introduced of how to assess the environmental quality of grapefruit trees soil fertilized with sludge by Set Pair Analysis (SPA) model. The results showed that the soil in the surface layer (0-15cm) and the deeper layer (15-30cm) was less clean, and the environment of soil was not polluted. Thus it was feasible to use sludge as fruit fertilizer. The maximum service life of sludge for continuous land application was estimated by taking Cd as the limiting factor, which would provide scientific guide and technical support for safe land application of sludge.


1979 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. DORMAAR

Under a wheat-fallow system of farming practised on Brown, Dark Brown, and Black Chernozemic soils, on a Black Solodized Solonetz, and on Brown and Black Solods, organic C decreased by as much as 60%; the humic acid/fulvic acid ratio decreased little for the semiarid soils but up to 38% for the Black soils; ethanol/benzene-extractable organic matter increased by as much as 330%; chelating resin-extractable C increased by 27–115%; and total acidity of the extracted humic substances increased up to 36%. The ash contents of the humic substances from the Ah horizons were all less than 12%, whereas those of the Ap horizons varied between 20 and 28%. Apparent differences between the infrared spectra of the resin-extractable humic substances of the Ah and Ap horizons existed particularly near 2920 and 1550 cm−1 suggesting less aliphatic C-H and amide bonds. Anthropogenic pressures have wrought, therefore, distinct measurable qualitative changes, i.e., the general trend with cultivation was towards humic materials with a decreased proportion of side chain components, such as C-H and NH2 groups, but increased carboxyl group content.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 485-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Vanir de Souza Carvalho ◽  
Eduardo de Sá Mendonça ◽  
Rui Tarcísio Barbosa ◽  
Efrain Lázaro Reis ◽  
Paulo Negrais Seabra ◽  
...  

AbstractThis study concerned the fragility of maritime Antarctic soils under increasing temperature, using the C dynamics and structural characteristics of humic substances as indicators. Working with four representative soils from King George Island (Lithic Thiomorphic Cryosol (LTC1 and LTC2), Ornithogenic Cryosol (OG) and Gelic Organosol (ORG)) we evaluated the total organic C and nitrogen contents, the oxidizable C and humic substances. Soil samples were incubated to assess the amount of C potentially mineralizable at temperatures typical of an Antarctic summer (5–14°C). Humic acids showed a higher aliphatic character and a smaller number of condensed aromatic groups, which suggests that these molecules from Antarctic soils are generally less resistant to microbial degradation than humic acids molecules from other regions. Based on 13C NMR spectra of MAS and CP/MAS, samples of soil humic acids of mineral soils (LTC1 and LTC2) have a higher content of aliphatic C, and heteroatom C, with lower levels of carbonyl and aromatic C, when compared with organic matter-rich soils (OG and ORG). Increasing incubation temperature led to a higher rate of mineralizable C in all soils. A sequence of soil fragility was suggested - LTC1 and LTC2 > OG > ORG - which showed a correlation with the Q10 coefficient and the ratio of labile and recalcitrant C fractions of soil organic matter (R2 = 0.83).


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2227-2245 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Strauss ◽  
L. Schirrmeister ◽  
K. Mangelsdorf ◽  
L. Eichhorn ◽  
S. Wetterich ◽  
...  

Abstract. The organic-carbon (OC) pool accumulated in Arctic permafrost (perennially frozen ground) equals the carbon stored in the modern atmosphere. To give an idea of how Yedoma region permafrost could respond under future climatic warming, we conducted a study to quantify the organic-matter quality (here defined as the intrinsic potential to be further transformed, decomposed, and mineralized) of late Pleistocene (Yedoma) and Holocene (thermokarst) deposits on the Buor-Khaya Peninsula, northeast Siberia. The objective of this study was to develop a stratigraphic classified organic-matter quality characterization. For this purpose the degree of organic-matter decomposition was estimated by using a multiproxy approach. We applied sedimentological (grain-size analyses, bulk density, ice content) and geochemical parameters (total OC, stable carbon isotopes (δ13C), total organic carbon : nitrogen (C / N) ratios) as well as lipid biomarkers (n-alkanes, n-fatty acids, hopanes, triterpenoids, and biomarker indices, i.e., average chain length, carbon preference index (CPI), and higher-plant fatty-acid index (HPFA)). Our results show that the Yedoma and thermokarst organic-matter qualities for further decomposition exhibit no obvious degradation–depth trend. Relatively, the C / N and δ13C values and the HPFA index show a significantly better preservation of the organic matter stored in thermokarst deposits compared to Yedoma deposits. The CPI data suggest less degradation of the organic matter from both deposits, with a higher value for Yedoma organic matter. As the interquartile ranges of the proxies mostly overlap, we interpret this as indicating comparable quality for further decomposition for both kinds of deposits with likely better thermokarst organic-matter quality. Supported by principal component analyses, the sediment parameters and quality proxies of Yedoma and thermokarst deposits could not be unambiguously separated from each other. This revealed that the organic-matter vulnerability is heterogeneous and depends on different decomposition trajectories and the previous decomposition and preservation history. Elucidating this was one of the major new contributions of our multiproxy study. With the addition of biomarker data, it was possible to show that permafrost organic-matter degradation likely occurs via a combination of (uncompleted) degradation cycles or a cascade of degradation steps rather than as a linear function of age or sediment facies. We conclude that the amount of organic matter in the studied sediments is high for mineral soils and of good quality and therefore susceptible to future decomposition. The lack of depth trends shows that permafrost acts like a giant freezer, preserving the constant quality of ancient organic matter. When undecomposed Yedoma organic matter is mobilized via thermokarst processes, the fate of this carbon depends largely on the environmental conditions; the carbon could be preserved in an undecomposed state till refreezing occurs. If modern input has occurred, thermokarst organic matter could be of a better quality for future microbial decomposition than that found in Yedoma deposits.


2003 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 60-68
Author(s):  
Mirian Crapez ◽  
José Antonio Baptista Neto ◽  
M. G. S. Bispo

This study focuses on the quality of the organic matter that reaches the sediment from Boa Viagem Beach and through the evaluation of the total bacterial count, the electron transport system activity (ETSA), the esterase activity (EST), as well as the protein and the organic matter contents. Seasonal variations of organic matter, protein content and the number of bacteria were particularly notable in the summer. ETSA reached a maximum of 7.48 µl O2 h-1 g-1 in the summer. EST activity presented a different pattern once it reached a maximum of 0.17 µg fluorescein h-1 g-1 in the winter. The temporal variation of ETSA and EST activity indicated that biopolymers predominated in the winter, and oligomers or monomers predominated in the summer. These results suggest that organic carbon turnover is more likely to be controlled by organic matter quality. The heavy metals concentrations, especially for Cu, Zn, Ni and Cr, indicated absence of the inhibition of dehydrogenase activity, and they are not bioavailable in the EC50 values


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
Mohsen Mohammadi Galangash ◽  
◽  
Mostafa Mahdavianpour ◽  
Samira Ghafouri Safa ◽  
◽  
...  

Background: Sewage treatment leads to the production of large amount of sludge, containing organic matter and nutrients and considering requirements for recycling could be used as fertilizer. The sludge may also contain various pollutants that pose serious harm to human health and the environment. This study aimed at characterizing the industrial sewage sludge and evaluating its capability as fertilizer with no or a minor pretreatment. Methods: The sludge’s organic matter and nutrient contents, heavy metals, organic and microbial contaminants were determined and compared to literature data and international guidelines. Results: The organic matter, nutrients, phosphorous, and exchangeable potassium contents of the sludge samples were significantly high as follows: 33.6 ± 2.85 %, 6.29 ± 0.16 %, 1.41± 0.01 % and 1.236 g/kg, respectively. The concentration of heavy metals was 94.3 ± 59.5 mg/kg. The concentration of heavy metals, organic contaminants, such as PCBs, BTEX, and PAHs, and microbial contents (coliforms & E. coli) were lower than those reported by other studies. Toluene concentration was high. Conclusions: All characteristics of the sludge samples, except for the toluene and microbial contaminations, were acceptable for its use as land fertilizer. Both toluene and microbial contaminants can be removed, using thermal conditioning as a pretreatment.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1954
Author(s):  
José Antonio Sáez ◽  
Pilar Flores ◽  
María Ángeles Bustamante ◽  
Juan C. Sanchez-Hernandez ◽  
Raúl Moral ◽  
...  

This work studies the changes in δ15N signature during the composting of sewage sludge (MS) and agri-food sludge (AS) with different bulking agents and the potential relationships between the changes in this parameter with both the source of the organic matter used as a raw material and the stability of the end-materials obtained. For this, eleven mixtures were prepared in commercial composting conditions using sewage sludge from municipal wastewater in a range of 60–85% (on a fresh weight basis) or agri-food sludge in a range of 65–75%, mixed with seven different pruning wastes as bulking agents. The thermal profile was monitored throughout the composting processes, and the main physico-chemical and chemical parameters were determined. The results obtained confirmed a correct development of the composting processes, observing slight differences in process evolution depending on the type of sludge used. The composts obtained showed adequate contents of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) and reached a good degree of maturity. Significant differences in the specific nitrogen isotopic composition were found in the initial materials. Moreover, the results suggest that the type of sludge had a main contribution in the δ15N value of the initial composting mixtures. The use of δ15N is recommended as an indicator of the composting process, especially to evaluate N dynamics, and the quality of the resultant compost.


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 450-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle M. Alderson ◽  
Martin G. Evans ◽  
James J. Rothwell ◽  
Stephen Boult

Sediments are crucial to the understanding of environmental processes and conditions in a variety of systems. The study of sediments often focuses on quantity, but should involve more emphasis on the quality of the organic component, by utilising commonplace techniques employed by other disciplines. We provide a classification scheme that will allow those interested in organic matter quality to decide on appropriate techniques to apply, and discuss a variety of applications of the investigation of organic matter quality in diverse areas of Physical Geography. Firstly, this paper conceptualises organic matter quality by examining how different groups identify with this term, providing a classification scheme that may assist individuals in their exploration of organic matter character. Secondly, it identifies key areas of investigation linked to Physical Geography where research into organic matter quality may provide a necessary or useful component. Finally, it explains and evaluates crucial techniques for characterising organic matter quality.


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