Leaching Characteristics of Heavy Metals and Plant Nutrients in the Sewage Sludge Immobilized by Composite Phosphorus-Bearing Materials

Shihe Li, Baihui Fang, Dongfang Wang, Xianqing Wang, Xiaobing Man and Xuan Zhang
Additional contact information
Shihe Li: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Ji’nan 250353, China
Baihui Fang: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Ji’nan 250353, China
Dongfang Wang: Jinan Zhongqian Environmental Protection and Energy Saving Technology Co., Ltd., Ji’nan 250100, China
Xianqing Wang: Shandong Kanghui Technology Co., Ltd., Ji’nan 250101, China
Xiaobing Man: Shandong Bluetown Anal & Testing Ltd., Ji’nan 250101, China
Xuan Zhang: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Ji’nan 250353, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: In order to evaluate the environmental risk caused by land application of sewage sludge, leaching characteristics of heavy metals and plant nutrients in the sewage sludge immobilized by composite phosphorus-bearing materials were investigated. Their cumulative release characteristics were confirmed. Furthermore, the first-order kinetics equation, modified Elovich equation, double-constant equation, and parabolic equation were used to explore dynamic models of release. Results showed that sewage sludge addition significantly increased electricity conductivity (EC) in leachates, and the concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Zn) and plant nutrients (N, P, K) were also obviously increased. The highest concentrations of Cu, Cr, and Zn in the leachates were all below the limit values of the fourth level in the Chinese national standard for groundwater quality (GB/T14848-2017). The immobilization of composite phosphorus-bearing materials reduced the release of Cu and Cr, while increased that of Zn. The fitting results of modified Elovich model and double-constant model were in good agreement with the leaching process of heavy metals and plant nutrients, indicating their release process in soil under simulated leaching conditions was not a simple first-order reaction, but a complex heterogeneous diffusion process controlled by multifactor.

Keywords: sewage sludge; leaching characteristics; heavy metals; plant nutrients; cumulative release (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/24/5159/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/24/5159/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:24:p:5159-:d:298906

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().