Municipal Sewage Sludge as a Source for Obtaining Efficient Biosorbents: Analysis of Pyrolysis Products and Adsorption Tests

Abstract

In the 21st century, the development of industry and population growth have significantly increased the amount of sewage sludge produced. It is a by-product of wastewater treatment, which requires appropriate management due to biological and chemical hazards, as well as several legal regulations. The pyrolysis of sewage sludge to biochar can become an effective way to neutralise and use waste. Tests were carried out to determine the effect of pyrolysis conditions, such as time and temperature, on the properties and composition of the products obtained and the sorption capacity of the generated biochar. Fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR) showed that the main components of the produced gas phase were CO2, CO, CH4 and to a lesser extent volatile organic compounds. In tar, compounds of mainly anthropogenic origin were identified using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The efficiency of obtaining biochars ranged from 44% to 50%. An increase in the pyrolysis temperature resulted in a decreased amount of biochar produced while improving its physicochemical properties. The biochar obtained at high temperatures showed the good adsorption capacity of Cu2+ (26 mg·g−1) and Zn2+ (21 mg·g−1) cations, which indicates that it can compete with similar sorbents. Adsorption of Cu2+ and Zn2+ proceeded according to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model. The biosorbent obtained from sewage sludge can be successfully used for the separation of metal cations from water and technological wastewater or be the basis for producing modified and mixed carbon sorbents.

Production of Activated Carbon from Sifted Coke and Determination of Its Physicochemical Characteristics

“…Pyrolysis of various materials of organic origin makes it possible to obtain carbon sorbents with a high absorption capacity of metal ions. Biochar obtained by pyrolysis of sewage sludge at 700 • C demonstrates good sorption capacity for Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ [8]. Bio-coal obtained by pyrolysis of avocado seeds and grapefruit peel in a 300 • C tubular furnace is also a promising raw material for the production of sorbents for the removal of lead ions from aqueous solutions since their removal efficiency reaches 99% [9].…”

Panoramic Semiquantitave Analysis for Multielement Characterization of Liquid and Solid Waste Samples

“…The characterization of sewage sludge samples is performed using quantitative methods of analysis to determine a limited number of elements, in most cases, only the concentrations of the PTEs that are monitored according to national or European regulations. Their concentrations have been determined using ICP-MS [3], ICP-OES [4,5,12,13], AAS [1,2,14], and WD-XRF [15]. In rarer cases, the content of nutrient elements (P, Ca, Na, K, Mg, and Zn) needed for plant growth are also determined [1,4,5].…”