Effects of sewage sludge biochar on plant metal availability after application to a Mediterranean soil

Impact of thermal treatment of mixtures of sewage sludge and plant material on selected chemical properties and Vibrio fischeri response

“…According to Hossain et al [11], despite an increase in the total content of trace elements as a result of pyrolysis of sewage sludge, the content of bioavailable forms did not change significantly. Moreover, results from tests conducted by Mendez et al [2] indicate that the pyrolysis process of sewage sludge at 500°C decreased the plant-available of Cu, Ni, Zn and Pb, the mobile forms of Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb and also the risk of leaching of Cu, Ni, Zn and Cd. More extensive characterisation of the chemical composition and physical properties of the analysed mixtures was presented in the study of Gondek et al [26,41].…”

“…Management of municipal waste is one of the most challenging problems in many urban municipalities due to increasing waste volume with limited disposal areas, energy-consuming and high-cost treatment processes for disposal. The amount of sewage sludge deposited and stored temporarily at treatment plants or used in land reclamation, including for agricultural purposes, has decreased [2,3].…”

“…Apart from the conventional methods used for sewage sludge disposal (such as landfilling, use in agriculture or incineration), using this product to obtain biochar can be the answer to the current problems related to sewage sludge reuse [2,[5][6][7].…”

Opportunities and constraints for biochar technology in Australian agriculture: looking beyond carbon sequestration

“…Inorganic P is concentrated in biochar at temperatures up to 700-8008C (Hossain et al 2011). Commercial-scale pyrolysis plants have been thwarted in the past owing to poor planning but trials have shown agronomically useful nutrient content (Bridle and Pritchard 2004;Wang et al 2012) and that pyrolysis at~5008C stabilised sewage sludge C in soils (Méndez et al 2012). Zhao et al (2013) compared the chemical properties of wastes from a range of feedstocks including municipal waste pyrolysed at 5008C and suggested that those produced from manures and biosolids have slow P-release characteristics.…”

Potencial de producción de biochar en España a partir de residuos de la industria papelera, de lodos de E.D.A.R., de residuos sólidos urbanos y de residuos ganaderos: Estudio de la fijación de carbono

“…Éstos últimos suelen presentar un alto contenido en metales, y está demostrado que a través del proceso de pirólisis, se disminuye la solubilidad y la biodisponibilidad de algunos de estos metales (Méndez et al 2012). …”