A field study was conducted to assess the agronomical performance of eggplant (Solanum melongena cv. Pusa Purple Long Hybrid-F1) grown in sewage sludge amended soil in rainy and summer seasons during two consecutive years 2012 and 2013. The results showed that sewage sludge significantly (P < 0.05/P < 0.01) increased the Organic Carbon (OC), sodium (Na + ), potassium (K + ), calcium (Ca 2+ ), m...

So far, no research has been focused on the determination of organomercuries in sewage sludge. Here, an ultrasonic extraction method for the rapid determination of methylmercury (MeHg) and ethylmercury (EtHg) in sewage sludge after ultrasound-assisted extraction is proposed. Using TMA (tetramethylammonium hydroxide) as the extractant with 3.0 g copper powder, ultrasonic extraction for 30 min at...

Activated sludge is now one of the most widely used biological processes for the treatment of wastewaters from medium to large populations. It produces high amounts of sewage sludge that can be managed and perceived in two main ways: as a waste it is discharged in landfill, as a fertilizer it is disposed in agriculture with direct application to soil or subjected to anaerobic digestion and comp...

Morera, M. T., Echeverría J. and Garrido, J. 2002. Bioavailability of heavy metals in soils amended with sewage sludge. Can. J. Soil Sci. 82: 433–438. The recycling of sewage sludge to agricultural land results in the slow accumulation of potentially toxic heavy metals in soils. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the bioavailability of Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn applied to soils in urban...

Clostridium perfringens in sediment samples collected at the Deep Water Municipal Sewage Sludge Disposal Site (also called the 106-Mile Site), off the coast of New Jersey, was enumerated. The counts of C. perfringens found in sediment samples collected within and to the southwest of the 106-Mile Site were significantly elevated (P < 0.01) compared with counts of samples from reference stations ...

Microalgae are fast-growing photosynthetic organisms which have the potential to be exploited as an alternative source of liquid fuels to meet growing global energy demand. The cultivation of microalgae, however, still needs to be improved in order to reduce the cost of the biomass produced. Among the major costs encountered for algal cultivation are the costs for nutrients such as CO₂, nitroge...

Optimised Ammonia Sanitisation of Sewage Sludge Franziska Häfner The usage of sewage sludge as an organic fertiliser offers a way to recycle nutrients and organic matter for a sustainable agriculture. Sewage sludge is rich in plant nutrient like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients. Concerning the depletion of phosphorus resources, the reuse of sewage ...

In European Union countries up to 80% of sewage sludge is used in agriculture and forestry, whereas in Poland only 11% is used as fertilizer. The principal environmental concern is the inevitable presence of heavy metals when using sewage sludge as fertilizer. The main objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the phytoextraction process in removing heavy metals from sludges. A ...

A plot study was conducted to assess changes in Cd phytoavailability to a tomato cultivar in an agricultural soil in Southeastern Spain amended in two different ways (A and B), under controlled conditions. The experimental soil corresponded to a fine-loamy carbonatic thermic Calcidic Haploxeroll (Soil Survey Staff, Keys to Soil Taxonomy, eighth ed., USDA, Washington, 1998). (A) Soil was amended...

Although sewage sludge is a rich source of nutrients for arable farming and soil improvement, it can also be a source of pollutants. The effects of the land application of sludge on the PCB and nutrient content of leachate were investigated using cylindrical 650 mm length columns filled with poor quality soil. Treatments included no fertilization (control), fertilization using a 62.5 t/ha dose ...