Occurrence, geochemical fractionation, and environmental risk assessment of major and trace elements in sewage sludge

Nkinahamira, François; Suanon, Fidèle; Chi, Qiaoqiao; Li, Yeyun; Feng, Mei‐Ling; Huang, Xiaoying; Yu, Chang‐Ping; Sun, Qian

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109427

Cited by 49 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the same study, only the enrichments relative to the average crust were determined and the quantitative industrial inputs of the respective elements were not assessed. Nkinahamira et al. (2019) suggested crustal materials as the main source of REEs reported from 7 WWTPs in Xiamen city, China, as opposed to industrial inputs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of individual Rare Earth Elements from industrial sources in sewage sludge

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are used in increasing amounts in technical applications and consumer products. However, to date, the contribution of industrial sources to the loads of individual REEs in wastewater streams have not been quantified. Here, we determine the REE contents in sludge collected from 63 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across Switzerland. To quantify the industrial fraction of individual REEs in the sewage sludge, we develop two complementary approaches, based on REE ratios and REE pattern fitting. Unspecific (background) inputs, with REE patterns similar to the averaged REE pattern of soils collected across Switzerland, dominate the REE budget of most WWTPs. A few WWTPs receive significant REE inputs from specific industrial sources. Based on population equivalents of Switzerland, we estimate a total annual load of 4200 kg Cerium (Ce, 0.5 g Ce year -1 capita -1 ), with an industrial contribution of 2000 kg year -1 . The latter agrees with estimates of probabilistic mass flow models for engineered nanoscale CeO 2 particles discharged to the sewer network. About 7 kg year -1 of Samarium (Sm,total for Switzerland: 184 kg year -1 or 0.02 g Sm year -1 capita -1 ) and 3 kg year -1 of Europium (Eu,total for Switzerland: 44 kg year -1 or 0.005 g Eu year -1 capita -1 ) are assigned to industrial inputs from single WWTPs. Gadolinium (Gd) is used in the form of a stable complex as contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging. Assuming 10% removal of Gd during wastewater treatment, we calculate an annual discharge of 90 kg of Gd from one individual WWTP to surface waters. WWTPs with exceptionally high industrial inputs of specific REEs warrant detailed investigations to identify the respective sources and to assess whether REE concentrations in effluents are elevated to the same degree.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of individual Rare Earth Elements from industrial sources in sewage sludge

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The residual fraction is present mainly in the lattice of the silicate, primary and secondary minerals, which is usually retained in the pyrite ores as an impurity embedded in the silicate (Nkinahamira et al, 2019). It is relatively stable and inactive, displaying lithophile nature, which suggests that metals in this fraction are not available for uptake by microorganism and plants (Prabakaran et al, 2019).…”

Section: Geochemical Fractionation Of the Heavy Metals In The Pyrite mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Liu et al (2020) found that the ratio of labile fractions (sum of the first three fractions) of Cu, Cd and Pb in the subtropical watershed was much higher than that from the temperate watershed. The distribution pattern of eight toxic elements (V, Pb, Cd, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) in river sediments collected in Selangor, Malaysia, was comprehensively investigated and several important findings were provided based on the sequential extraction method (Nemati et al, 2011). However, to our best knowledge, few systematical studies regarding the geochemical fractionation of toxic elements (Cd and Pb) in pyrite ores were conducted, and the release risk arising from labile geochemical fractions has been not yet well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cadmium and lead distribution in pyrite ores

Cao

Ren

Wang

et al. 2021

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The pyrite ores are strategic industrial resources which generally serve as raw material for producing sulfuric acid. However, during the mining and industrial processing activities, associated toxic elements of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) could be released into the surroundings, posing a significant threat to local environment and human health. In this study, the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurement (IRMM) sequential extraction scheme was used to investigate the geochemical fractionation of Cd and Pb in pyrite ores from a mining area located in Yunfu, western Guangdong, China. The results showed that most of Cd and Pb (>90%) were predominantly found in the geochemically mobile fractions, indicating that Cd and Pb were readily bioaccessible thus easily assimilated and accumulated by organisms. FESEM-EDS results showed that the studied pyrite ores were mainly composed of O, S, and Fe, while the XRD characterizations suggested that FeS2 and SiO2 were the major minerals. The high-resolution transmission electron microscope and element mapping characterization further confirmed that FeS2 was the main mineral of pyrite ores which contained relatively enriched toxic heavy metals (e.g., Pb and Cd). The findings highlight that an extremely large amount of geochemically mobile heavy metals can be released into the environmental media during the mining and utilization processes of pyrite ores based on IRMM sequential extraction protocol. Therefore, proper countermeasures against environmental risks of utilizing pyrite ores should be taken to mitigate the impacts on local ecosystem and human health.

show abstract

“…Choudri and Charabi (2019) present a review of the literature related to health risks associated with the reuse of wastewater, including sludge and biosolids. Nkinahamira et al (2019) presented risk in terms of mobility and retention time of a suite of 48 elements in land application conditions with Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr, Co, Sr, Ca, Mn, Mo, Re, and W having the highest mobility and lowest retention times. Seasonal variations including fate and transport were included by Ruan, Wu, Lam, Zhang, and Lam (2019) in profiling risk related to pharmaceuticals in Hong Kong.…”

Section: Annual Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residuals, sludge, and biosolids: Advancements in the field

Brisolara

Gentile

Puszykowski

et al. 2020

Water Environment Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Advancements in the field of residuals, sludge, and biosolids have been made in 2019. This review outlines the major contributions of researchers that have been published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings throughout 2019 and includes brief summaries from over 125 articles. The review is organized in sections including life cycle and risk assessments; characteristics, quality, and measurement including micropollutants, nanoparticles, pathogens, and metals; sludge treatment technologies including dewatering, digestion, composting, and wetlands; disposal and reuse including adsorbents, land application and agricultural uses, nutrient recovery, and innovative uses; odor and air emissions; and energy issues.

show abstract

Occurrence, geochemical fractionation, and environmental risk assessment of major and trace elements in sewage sludge

Cited by 49 publications

References 39 publications

Quantification of individual Rare Earth Elements from industrial sources in sewage sludge

Quantification of individual Rare Earth Elements from industrial sources in sewage sludge

Cadmium and lead distribution in pyrite ores

Residuals, sludge, and biosolids: Advancements in the field

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About