Environmental Impacts of Wastewater Dry Sludge-Based Concrete Pavement Brick Leaching Behavior: A Case Study of Limpopo Sludge in South Africa

Abstract

Wastewater dry sludge has to be stabilized when used in the concrete paving bricks to reduce biological activity, prevent the release of toxic metals into the environment, and reduce odor during production. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soluble elements leachable from concrete pavement brick using wastewater dry sludge.The ability to measure the organic composition of wastewater dry sludge is essential, aiming at evaluating the difference in organic composition from various wastewater treatment plants in Limpopo Province. The initial phase of the investigation is to identify the existence of microbiological elements by measuring the colony-forming units using serial dilution plating on nutrition medium forms. The second part involves evaluating the differences in organic composition in various sludges using a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray, as well as testing for soluble metal leaching by immersing concrete paving brick samples in iodine water for 28, 90, and 140 days.