Survey of Organic Wastewater Contaminants in Biosolids Destined for Land Application

Abstract

In this study, the presence, composition, and concentrations of organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs) were determined in solid materials produced during wastewater treatment. This study was undertaken to evaluate the potential of these solids, collectively referred to as biosolids, as a source of OWCs to soil and water in contact with soil. Nine different biosolid products, produced by municipal wastewater treatment plants in seven different states, were analyzed for 87 different OWCs. Fifty-five of the OWCs were detected in at least one biosolid product. The 87 different OWCs represent a diverse cross section of emerging organic contaminants that enter wastewater treatment plants and may be discharged without being completely metabolized or degraded. A minimum of 30 and a maximum of 45 OWCs were detected in any one biosolid. The biosolids used in this study are produced by several production methods, and the plants they originate from have differing population demographics, yet the percent composition of total OWC content, and of the most common OWCs, typically did not vary greatly between the biosolids tested. The summed OWC content ranged from 64 to 1811 mg/kg dry weight. Six biosolids were collected twice, 3-18 months apart, and the total OWC content of each biosolid varied by less than a factor of 2. These results indicate that the biosolids investigated in this study have OWC compositions and concentrations that are more similar than different and that biosolids are highly enriched in OWCs (as mass-normalized concentrations) when compared to effluents or effluent-impacted water. These results demonstrate the need to better describe the composition and fate of OWCs in biosolids since about 50% of biosolids are land applied and thus become a potentially ubiquitous nonpoint source of OWCs into the environment.

Occurrence, distribution and potential affecting factors of antibiotics in sewage sludge of wastewater treatment plants in China

“…The concentrations of macrolides detected in the sludge in this study were lower than those previously reported in Hong Kong (ERY: 63 μg/kg) (Xu et al, 2007), USA (ERY: 41 μg/kg) (Kinney et al, 2006) and Spain (ERY: 62.5 μg/kg; TYL: 1074 μg/kg) (Radjenović et al, 2009), indicating that the levels of macrolides pollution in this study were relatively low.…”

“…It was reported that the concentrations of antibiotics ranged from μg/kg to a few mg/kg in sewage sludge from different countries, such as Estonian (Lillenberg et al, 2009), Italy (Zuccato et al, 2010), Spain (Nieto et al, 2010;Radjenović et al, 2009), Switzerland (Göbel et al, 2005), USA (Kinney et al, 2006), Japan (Okuda et al, 2009) and China (Xu et al, 2007). In China, there are over 30 million tons of sewage sludge (moisture content: 80%) generated in 2011, and 75-85% of them cannot be safely disposed (Zou and Wang, 2012).…”

Application of green zero-valent iron nanoparticles to the remediation of soils contaminated with ibuprofen

“…PPs have been massively used and are considered emergent contaminants because they have been introduced in soils and waters through (i) human excretions in sewage collectors (especially from hospital effluents (Heberer, 2002)), (ii) disposal of unwanted, unused or expired products in the toilet or sink, and (iii) land application of animal manure (O'Connor and Aga, 2007) and treated sewage sludge (Kinney et al, 2006). PPs have been detected (at ng L − 1 and μg L − 1 levels) in a wide variety of water samples, such as effluents (from medical care units, landfills, and municipal sewage), seawater, drinking water, and surface-and groundwater, (Benotti et al, 2009;Fatta-Kassinos et al, 2011); but also in soils and sediments in concentrations ranging from μg kg − 1 to mg kg − 1 (Braganca et al, 2012;Li et al, 2012).…”

Risk simulation of soil contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from sewage sludge used as fertilizers

“…15 Sewage sludge used as fertilizers might contaminate crops, soils, superficial and underground waters with nitrates, heavy metals, pathogens, various classes of organic compounds and persistent organic compounds. 14,16,17 In Brazil, the use of SS in agriculture is regulated through the directive CONAMA357/2005. 18 There is little information in the literature about PAH uptake by plants from SS-treated soils.…”

“…Anthropogenic organic contaminants, including several PAHs, have been found in soils amended with sewage sludges. 17 Experimentally validated mathematical models can demonstrate or predict the soil contamination with persistent organic pollutants from SS continuously used as agricultural fertilizer. Physicochemical characteristics such as water solubility, lipid affinity, vapor pressure, soil organic carbon sorption and half-life of organic compounds allow developing mathematical models that can predict risks of soil contamination by continuous SS applications.…”