Assessment of the occurrence, spatiotemporal variations and geoaccumulation of fifty-two inorganic elements in sewage sludge: A sludge management revisit

Suanon, Fidèle; Sun, Qian; Yang, Xiaoyang; Chi, Qiaoqiao; Mulla, Sikandar I.; Mama, Daouda; Yu, Chang‐Ping

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-05879-9

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…However, no attempts were made to quantify these industrial inputs. Elevated concentrations of REEs were also reported from three different WWTPs in China and were assigned to industrial sources ( Suanon et al., 2017 ). In the same study, only the enrichments relative to the average crust were determined and the quantitative industrial inputs of the respective elements were not assessed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of individual Rare Earth Elements from industrial sources in sewage sludge

et al. 2021

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Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are used in increasing amounts in technical applications and consumer products. However, to date, the contribution of industrial sources to the loads of individual REEs in wastewater streams have not been quantified. Here, we determine the REE contents in sludge collected from 63 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across Switzerland. To quantify the industrial fraction of individual REEs in the sewage sludge, we develop two complementary approaches, based on REE ratios and REE pattern fitting. Unspecific (background) inputs, with REE patterns similar to the averaged REE pattern of soils collected across Switzerland, dominate the REE budget of most WWTPs. A few WWTPs receive significant REE inputs from specific industrial sources. Based on population equivalents of Switzerland, we estimate a total annual load of 4200 kg Cerium (Ce, 0.5 g Ce year -1 capita -1 ), with an industrial contribution of 2000 kg year -1 . The latter agrees with estimates of probabilistic mass flow models for engineered nanoscale CeO 2 particles discharged to the sewer network. About 7 kg year -1 of Samarium (Sm,total for Switzerland: 184 kg year -1 or 0.02 g Sm year -1 capita -1 ) and 3 kg year -1 of Europium (Eu,total for Switzerland: 44 kg year -1 or 0.005 g Eu year -1 capita -1 ) are assigned to industrial inputs from single WWTPs. Gadolinium (Gd) is used in the form of a stable complex as contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging. Assuming 10% removal of Gd during wastewater treatment, we calculate an annual discharge of 90 kg of Gd from one individual WWTP to surface waters. WWTPs with exceptionally high industrial inputs of specific REEs warrant detailed investigations to identify the respective sources and to assess whether REE concentrations in effluents are elevated to the same degree.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of individual Rare Earth Elements from industrial sources in sewage sludge

et al. 2021

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“…One sludge however showed higher normalized values for La and Ce (0.45 and 0.6, respectively), which was attributed to elevated concentrations of these elements in the wastewater. Sludge investigated by Suanon et al. (2017) also revealed crust normalized REE ratios smaller than 0.6 in different digested sludges from the US ( Verplanck et al., 2010 ), and PAAS-normalized REE-patterns appeared flat without any pronounced Ce enrichments.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Cerium concentrations of up to 153 mg kg −1 were reported from the UK and were attributed to inputs from the glass industry ( Vivian, 1986 ). More recently, a monitoring study of three WWTP in China ( Suanon et al., 2017 ) and a survey of the metal contents in sewage sludge from Switzerland ( Vriens et al., 2017 ) revealed that sewage sludge can contain up to ≈800 mg kg −1 Ce in the total suspended solids (TSS). The median Ce content of municipal sewage sludge from Switzerland (≈20 mg kg −1 ; n = 64), however, was below its average crustal abundance (60 mg kg −1 ( Voncken, 2016 )).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of anthropogenic and geogenic Ce in sewage sludge based on Ce oxidation state and rare earth element patterns

et al. 2020

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Emissions of Ce from anthropogenic activities (anthropogenic Ce) into urban wastewater systems and the environment result from its widespread industrial use (abrasives, catalysts, nanotechnology). Because Ce in sewage sludge can also be of geogenic origin, the quantification of anthropogenic Ce in sewage sludge remains elusive. In this study, we evaluated the suitability of Ce oxidation state and rare earth element (REE) patterns for the quantification of anthropogenic Ce fractions in sewage sludge. A diverse set of soil samples served to gain baseline information on geogenic Ce. Geogenic Ce in the soils was characterized by high Ce(III) fractions (≥70%) and their REE patterns were comparable to the REE patterns of the upper continental crust. The sewage sludges contained on average ∼80% Ce(IV) (range 18–108%), pointing to the importance of anthropogenic inputs of Ce(IV). The quantification of the anthropogenic Ce fraction based on Ce oxidation state, however, was associated with considerable uncertainty because geogenic and anthropogenic Ce cannot exclusively be assigned to Ce(III) and Ce(IV), respectively. The REE patterns of most sewage sludges indicated a clear enrichment of Ce compared to heavier REE. Based on the assumption that the industrially used Ce is free of (most) other REE, we estimated the fraction of anthropogenic Ce in the sludges based on individual Ce/REE ratios. For the individual sludges the anthropogenic contributions were very variable (10–100%) but consistent fractions were obtained for individual sludges when calculated based on Ce/Dy (dysprosium), Ce/Er (erbium) and Ce/Eu (europium) ratios. Electron microscopy analysis of sludges dominated by anthropogenic Ce revealed that the Ce was mostly contained in nanoscale particles devoid of elements characteristic of Ce-bearing minerals. Thus, anthropogenic Ce contents derived from REE patterns may be used to validate current mass flow models for engineered CeO 2 nanoparticles.

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“…These metals mainly originate from the aqueous phase of the wastewater, and then concentrate in the sludge during the treatment processes like precipitation, coagulation, adsorption etc. Recently, a studied was conducted in China by [31], and over 50 metallic elements including industrial commonly used PTE, rare earth elements and precious metals; were investigated in sewage sludge from different wastewater treatment plants from different region. Results revealed broad range of concentrations of the elements ranging from >125-53,500 mg kg −1 dry sludge (DS) for commonly used industrial metals, 1.22-14.0 mg kg −1 DS for precious metals, and 1.12-439.0 mg kg −1 DS for rare earth elements.…”

Section: Main Sources Of Metals In the Soilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metal-Contaminated Soil Remediation: Phytoremediation, Chemical Leaching and Electrochemical Remediation

Ifon¹,

Togbé²,

Tometin³

et al. 2019

Metals in Soil - Contamination and Remediation

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Soil contamination has led to serious land tenure problems, reduction in land usability for agricultural production; as a consequence, food insecurity is nowadays a global challenge. Indeed, with rapid population growth across the world, the food demand for consumption has drastically increased and traditional ways of producing food cannot meet with the actual demand. Industrialization has been acknowledged as a way out to sustain humanity with food. Unfortunately, the later has further turn into a threat to the environment. In effect, several potentially toxic elements (PTE) are being released in the environment and soil systems; and arable or agricultural lands are getting restraint, limited and scarce. Nowadays, there is a consensus on remediating contaminated lands with PTE, mainly inorganic contaminants, metals. The state at which a metal is found in the soil greatly influences its bioavailability, interaction with plants and the level at which it will threaten (toxicity) the environment and thus human. It even defines the remediation approaches to be applied for the soil restoration. This chapter will provide an insight on the occurrence of PTE in the soil, bioavailability and remediation approaches namely phytoremediation, chemical leaching and electrochemical remediation; and finally highlight the future research direction on this topic.

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Assessment of the occurrence, spatiotemporal variations and geoaccumulation of fifty-two inorganic elements in sewage sludge: A sludge management revisit

Cited by 22 publications

References 33 publications

Quantification of individual Rare Earth Elements from industrial sources in sewage sludge

Quantification of individual Rare Earth Elements from industrial sources in sewage sludge

Quantification of anthropogenic and geogenic Ce in sewage sludge based on Ce oxidation state and rare earth element patterns

Metal-Contaminated Soil Remediation: Phytoremediation, Chemical Leaching and Electrochemical Remediation

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