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Treatment and Reuse of Sludge

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Waste Water Treatment and Reuse in the Mediterranean Region

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 14))

Abstract

Almost all over the world, the production of sewage sludge rises due to increased population, industrialization and urbanization. Treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is an expensive and environmentally challenging task, problems arising mainly from lack of social acceptability, high treatment costs, human and environmental health risks associated with treatment and lack of sustainable disposal options. Currently the most widely available and recommended option is land application of sewage sludge. It is also a growing problem worldwide since there is a special concern about organic contaminants and the discussion about potential standards.

The aim of this paper is to assess the challenges to planners and policy makers with regard to sludge management. Constantly increasing environmental concerns require to identify the occurrence, type and concentration of pollutant, assess treatment efficiencies of different treatment methods as provided in literature and to evaluate the existing sludge disposal options and propose a sustainable and safe option.

Different groups and levels of inorganic (heavy metals) and organic substances and the problems of pathogens in sludge are pointed out. The mere concentration of a potential health hazards does not give any information on the connected risk. The outcomes of different risk assessments for metals and organic contaminants are listed. As it will never be possible with single substance analyses to have sufficient information an alternative approach for effect monitoring is described.

Recycling and use of wastes are the preferred options for sustainable development, rather than incineration or land filling, but with sewage sludge this is not straight forward because of perceptions over inorganic and organic contaminants, pathogens and its fecal origin, particularly by the food retailers. For the assurance of public and environmental health, a quality system and standards for the treatment and the produce are recommended, which need to be accepted by all stakeholders as farmers, food retailers and public requirements.

The paper demonstrates that treated sewage sludge, which fulfils the quality requirements for heavy metals, organic compounds and pathogens, can be beneficially reused providing a land application of restricted amounts as a long-term sustainable waste management solution for sludge from municipal waste water treatment plants. In the future sludge management needs to be based on sustainability and beneficial reuse, and the treatment technology has to be effective and affordable. The treatment options have to be adapted to local situations to fit the socio-cultural framework, available technology and affordability as well as local climatic conditions. Therefore, it is recommended to include environmental, social, economic and technical analysis in the search for the most sustainable alternative for sludge disposal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Water Pollution Control, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria

    Maria Fuerhacker & Tadele Measho Haile

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  1. Maria Fuerhacker
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  2. Tadele Measho Haile
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Correspondence to Maria Fuerhacker .

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  1. , Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, c/Jordi Girona 18-26, Barcelona, 08034, Spain

    Damià Barceló

  2. , Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18-26, Barcelona, 08034, Spain

    Mira Petrovic

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Fuerhacker, M., Haile, T.M. (2010). Treatment and Reuse of Sludge. In: Barceló, D., Petrovic, M. (eds) Waste Water Treatment and Reuse in the Mediterranean Region. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 14. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2010_60

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