Effects of Three Sludge Products from Co-Treatment of Wastewater on the Soil Properties and Plant Growth of Silty Loam

Degang Ma, Yuxin Wang, Yu Ye, Xiaomei Ge and Xuebin Lu
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Degang Ma: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, China
Yuxin Wang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, China
Yu Ye: Qingyuan Environmental Monitoring Station, Qingyuan 511500, China
Xiaomei Ge: CECEP Talroad Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 102200, China
Xuebin Lu: Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, School of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa 850000, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Currently, little is known about systematic comparisons of sludge products obtained from different sludge treatment processes in terms of land use. Moreover, it is worth evaluating whether the sludge produced from the co-treatment of industrial wastewater and domestic sewage can be applied to land use. In this study, three sludge products derived from the same municipal sludge—sludge biochar (SSB), dried sludge (DSS), and sludge compost (SSC)—were added to silty loam (SL) at a 20% mass ratio to assess their effects on soil structure, properties, and fertility. Chinese cabbage was planted as a model crop and its growth and physiological state were monitored. The experimental results showed that the water retention of the soil was significantly related to its porosity, and the moisture in the three sludge products-modified soil mainly existed in the form of free water. The addition of three sludge products increased the total porosity of SL. SSC enhanced the water retention of SL by increasing the capillary porosity, and SSB improved the gas permeability of SL by increasing the non-capillary porosity. The three sludge products all increased the content of large particles in the soil and improved the stability of the aggregates of SL. Among them, SSB and DSS had significant effects on improving the stability of the aggregates. Although the addition of the three sludge products improved the fertility of SL, compared with that of DSS and SSC, the addition of SSB made the growth indices of Chinese cabbage the best, indicating that SSB can effectively maintain soil nutrients. The heavy metal test results of Ni showed that SSB had a good stabilizing effect on heavy metals. Therefore, compared with drying and composting, pyrolysis of municipal sludge is more suitable for SL improvement.

Keywords: sludge biochar; silty loam; aggregate stability; heavy metal; soil improvement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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