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Metal Removal From Sewage Sludge: Bioengineering and Biotechnological Applications

  • Chapter
Heavy Metal Stress in Plants

Abstract

Heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc etc. are normally found in varying concentrations in sewage. The metals present in domestic wastewaters come from a number of sources: feces, pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, washing and cleaning chemicals, paints and other surface coatings etc. Since the source of these metals is non-point in nature, it is extremely difficult to practice source control. As a result, all these metals finally end up at the sewage treatment site. A significant part of these metals are removed during the primary decantation or primary treatment process as part of the primary sludge. During the secondary treatment (generally biological and most often activated sludge) process, a complex between metals and extracellular polymers (produced by the microorganisms used in the treatment) is produced, which results in a biofloc structure. The metals are either adsorbed on the cell surface are simply entrapped in the bioflocs. These physical and biochemical mechanisms are responsible for the fate of 80–90% of the total metals originally present in the effluent. The metal concentrations observed in the sludge varies with the type of wastewater treatment, the presence of certain industries in the area, the habits of the population covered, the state of the wastewater transport system, etc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110 016, India

    T. R. Sreekrishnan

  2. Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS-Eau), Université du Québec, Complexe Scientifique, 2700 rue Einstein, C.P.7500, Sainte-Foy, Québec, G1V4C7, Canada

    R. D. Tyagi

Authors
  1. T. R. Sreekrishnan
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  2. R. D. Tyagi
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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Sreekrishnan, T.R., Tyagi, R.D. (1999). Metal Removal From Sewage Sludge: Bioengineering and Biotechnological Applications. In: Heavy Metal Stress in Plants. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-07745-0_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-07745-0_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-07747-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-07745-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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