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 or 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 vary 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.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adamu CA, Bell PF, Mulchi C (1989) Residual metal concentrations in soils and leaf accumulations in tobacco a decade following farmland application of municipal sludge. Environ Pollut 56: 113–126
Alloway BJ, Jackson AP (1991) The behavior of heavy metals in sewage sludge-amended soils. Sci Total Environ 100: 151–176
Babich H, Devanas MA, Stotzky G (1985) The mediation of mutagenicity and clastogenicity of heavy metals by physicochemical factors. Environ Res 37: 253
Blais JF, Tyagi RD, Auclair JC (1993) Bioleaching of metals from sewage sludge: effects of temperature. Water Res 27: 111–120
Bruce AM, Davis RD (1989) Sewage sludge disposal: current and future options. Water Sci Technol 21: 1113–1128
Campanella L, Cardarelli E, Ferri T, Petronio BA, Pupella A (1985) Evaluation of toxic metals leaching from urban sludge. In: Pawlowski L, Alaerts G, Lacy WJ (eds) Chemistry for protection of the environment. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 151–161
Cappon CJ (1991) Sewage sludge as a source of environmental selenium. Sci Total Environ 100: 177–285
Carmignami M, Boscolo P, Ripanti G, Finelli VN (1983) Effects of chronic exposure to cadmium and/or lead on some neurohumoral mechanisms regulating cardiovascular function in the rat. Proceedings of the 4th international conference on heavy metals in the environment. CEP Consultants, Edinburgh, pp 557–558
Coker EG, Matthews PJ (1983) Metals in sewage sludge and their potential effects in agriculture. Water Sci Technol 15: 209–225
Davis RD, Carlton-Smith CH (1980) Crops as indicators of the significance of contamination of soil by heavy metals. Technical report 140. Water Research Center, Stevenage, Herts, UK
Davis RD, Carlton-Smith CH (1984) An investigation into the phytotoxicity of zinc, copper and nickel using sewage sludge of controlled metal content. Environ Pollut B 8: 163–185
Doyle PJ, Lester JN, Perry R (1978) Survey of literature and experience on the disposal of sewage sludge on land. Final report to the UK Department of the Environment
Granato TC, Richardson GR, Pietz RI, Lue-Hing C (1991) Prediction of phytotoxicity and uptake of metals by models in proposed USEPA 40 CFR part 503 sludge regulations: comparison with field data for corn and wheat. Water Air Soil Pollut 57 /58: 891–902
Hernandez T, Moreno JI, Costa F (1991) Influence of sewage sludge application on crop yields and heavy metal availability. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 37: 201
Ito A, Umita T, Aizawa J, Takachi T, Morinaga K (2000) Removal of heavy metals from anaerobically digested sewage sludge by a new chemical method using ferric sulfate. Water Res 34: 751–758
Jackson AP, Alloway BJ (1991) The transfer of cadmium from sewage-sludge amended soils into the edible components of food crops. Water Air Soil Pollut 57 /58: 873–881
Jenkins RL, Scheybeler BJ, Smith ML, Baird R, Lo MP, Haug RT (1981) Metals removal and recovery from municipal sludge. J Water Pollut Control Fed 53: 25–32
Jennette KW (1981) The role of metals in carcinogenesis: biochemistry and metabolism. In: Environmental health perspectives, vol 40. Role of metals in carcinogenesis
Jing J, Logan TJ (1992) Effects of sewage sludge cadmium concentration on chemical extractibility and plant uptake. J Environ Qual 21: 73–81
Kelly DP, Harrison AP (1988) Genus Thiobacillus. In: Holt JG, Staley JT, Bryant MP, Pfennig N (eds) Bergey’s manual of determinative bacteriology, vol 3. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD, pp 1842–1858
Klessa DA, Desira-Buttigieg A (1992) The adhesion of leaf surfaces of heavy metals from sewage sludge applied to grassland. Soil Use Manage 8: 115–121
Korentajer L (1991) A review of the agricultural use of sewage sludge: benefits and potential hazards. Water South Afr 17: 189–196
Lester JN, Sterrit RM, Kirk PWW (1983) Significance and behavior of heavy metals in waste water treatment process. II. Sludge treatment and disposal. Sci Total Environ 30: 45–83
Levine MB, Hall AT, Barrett GW, Taylor DH (1989) Heavy metal concentrations during ten years of sludge treatment to an old-field community. J Environ Qual 18: 411–418
Lo KSL, Chen YH (1990) Extracting heavy metals from municipal and industrial sludges. Sci Total Environ 90: 99
Lowrie D, Hobson J, Stuckey DC (2002) Sulfate disinfection, stabilisation and heavy metal removal from sewage sludge-process: description and preliminary results. Water Sci Technol 45 (10): 287–292
Martell AE (1981) Chemistry of carcinogenic metals. Environ Health Perspect 40: 207
Mench M, Juste C, Solda P (1992) Effets de l’utilization de boues urbaines en essai de longue duree:accumulation des metaux par les vegetaux superieurs. Bull Soc Bot Fr 139: 141
Mininpi G, Santori M (1987) Problems and perspectives of sludge utilization in agriculture. Ecosystem Environ 18: 291–311
NAS (1979) Geochemistry of water in relation to cardiovascular disease. US National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC
NAS (1980) Lead in the human environment. US National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC Nriagu JO (1988) A silent epidemic of environmental metal poisoning. Environ Pollut 50: 139–161
Naoum C, Fatta D, Haralambous KJ, Loizidou M (2001) Removal of heavy metals from sewage sludge by acid treatment. Journal of environmental science and health, part A, Toxic/hazardous substances and environmental engineering 36: 873–881
Obbard JP, Sauerbeck DR, Jones KC (1993) Rhizobium leguminosarum by. trifolii in soils amended with heavy metal contaminated sewage sludges. Soil Biol Biochem 25: 227–231
Renoux AY, Tyagi RD, Samson R (2001) Assessment of toxicity reduction after metal removal in bioleached sewage sludge. Water Res 35: 1415–1424
Roca J, Pomares F (1991) Prediction of available heavy metals by six chemical extractants in a sewage sludge-amended soil. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 22: 2119–2136
Sommers LE, Nelson DW (1981) Monitoring the response of soils and crops to sludge applications. In: Bouchart JA, Jone WJ, Sprague GE, (eds) Sludge and its ultimate disposal. Ann Arbor Science, Ann Arbor, MI, 286 pp
Sterritt RM, Lester JN (1980) The value of sewage sludge to agriculture and effects of the agricultural use of sludges contaminated with toxic elements: a review. Sci Total Environ 16: 55–90
Tadesse W, Shuford JW, Taylor RW, Adriano DC, Sajwan KS (1991) Comparative availability to wheat of metals from sewage sludge and inorganic salts. Water Air Soil Pollut 55: 397–408
USEPA (1986) Annual volume of sludge in the US standards for the disposal of sewage sludge; proposed rule. US EPA, Cincinnati, OH
USEPA (1993) Standards for the use and disposal of sewage sludge. 40 CFR Parts 257, 403 and 503. Final rule, US EPA, Cincinnati, OH
Veeken AHM, Hamelers HVM (1999). Removal of heavy metals from sewage sludge by extraction with organic acids. Water Sci Technol 40: 129–136
Webber MD (1986) Epandage des boues d’epuration sur les terres agricoles—une evaluation. Direction Generale de la Recherche, Agriculture Canada, 42 pp
Wong L, Henry JG (1988) Bacterial leaching of heavy metals from anaerobically digested sludge. In: Wise DL (ed) Biotreatment systems, vol 2. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp 125–169
Xiang L, Chan LC, Wong JW (2000) Removal of heavy metals from anaerobically digested sewage sludge by isolated indigenous iron-oxidizing bacteria. Chemosphere 41: 283–287
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sreekrishnan, T.R., Tyagi, R.D. (2004). Metal Removal from Sewage Sludge: Bioengineering and Biotechnological Applications. In: Prasad, M.N.V. (eds) Heavy Metal Stress in Plants. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-07743-6_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-07743-6_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07268-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-07743-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive