One of the methods of disposal of sewage sludge, which is based on its fertilizing properties, is its use in nature, e.g. in farming (if all the permissible standards are met). However, the sludge used for soil fertilization might also contain heavy metals which cause soil contamination and are accumulated in plants. The effect of application of organic fertilizers on soil reaction and other pr...

This study examined a novel reuse of alum sludge, an inescapable by-product of drinking water treatment process when aluminium salt is added as a coagulant, as the main medium in a laboratory-scale multi-stage constructed wetland (CW) system for reject water treatment. Such reject water is a main concern in municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) for increasing the organic and nutrient loa...

Cationic polyacrylamides have been employed widely to improve sludge dewatering performance, but the cationic units are randomly distributed in the molecular chain, which restricts the further enhancement of dewaterability. Common template technology to prepare block copolymers requiring a huge number of templates reduces the polymer purity and molecular weight. Here, we adopted the surface-act...

The occurrence and removal efficiencies of the pharmaceuticals lidocaine (LDC), tramadol (TRA) and venlafaxine (VEN), and their major active metabolites monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX), O-desmethyltramadol (ODT) and O-desmethylvenlafaxine (ODV) were studied at four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) equipped with activated sludge treatment technologies. In parallel to activated sludge treatmen...

The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of cyclophosphamide and its principal metabolites (CPs) on microbial behaviour in a membrane bioreactor system. Two laboratory-scale membrane bioreactors (MBR) were run in parallel with a sludge retention time of 70 days (one with the cytostatic drugs, MBR-CPs, the second without, MBR-control). The microbial activity was measured by respirometri...

The antagonistic effects of raw sewage sludge on infection of tomato by Meloidogyne incognita were tested in greenhouse pot experiments. Sludge was mixed with the soil or added on its surface before and after inoculation of tomato plants with nematode eggs. Juvenile penetration was determined 1 and 10 days after inoculation, and 6 weeks later root systems were assessed for nematode reproduction...

Alternate cycling of sludge in aerobic, anoxic, and anaerobic regimes is a promising strategy that can reduce the sludge yield of conventional activated sludge (CAS) by up to 50% with potentially lower capital and operating cost than physical- and/or chemical-based sludge minimisation techniques. The mechanisms responsible for reducing sludge yield include alterations to cellular metabolism and...

The literature on reduction of excess sludge production by ozonation is summarized. Two sequencing batch reactor experiments where sludge is ozonated for this purpose are performed. The purpose of these is to evaluate the prospects of using ozonation to reduce excess sludge production in two different kinds of sludge. Urban sewage sludge is used in the first, and paper mill sludge in the second...

Pseudomonas citronellolis SJTE-3, isolated from the active sludge of a wastewater treatment plant in China, can utilize a series of environmental estrogens and estrogen-like toxicants. Here, we report its whole-genome sequence, containing one circular chromosome and one circular plasmid. Genes involved in estrogen biodegradation in this bacterium were predicted.

The main objective of this study was to investigate the rheology of mixed primary and secondary sludge and its dependency on solid content and temperature. Results of this study showed that the temperature and solid concentration are critical parameters affecting the mixed sludge rheology. It was found that the yield stress increases with an increase in the sludge solid content and decreases wi...