Abstract
The paper attempts at evaluating potential for the use of sewage sludge produced in a rural area for the rehabilitation of ground degraded by the sodium processing industry. The results demonstrated that the studied sewage sludge conforms to the current regulatory standards, enabling its use in land rehabilitation, both for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes. Ground in areas degraded by the KZS “Solvay” industrial plant has poor parameters in terms of pH, and moderate parameters in terms of humic substance content. An experiment using the bearded iris (Iris barbata) demonstrated that sewage sludge from the “Stróże” treatment plant stimulates plant growth. Therefore, it can be used both for ground rehabilitation, and for fertilization. Considering its properties and its broad spectrum of potential uses, sewage sludge should be viewed as a resource rather than a waste product.
Highlights
The management of sewage sludge, the by-product of municipal sewage treatment, is one of the greatest challenges in modern waste management
(European Directive 86/278/EEC, the Polish Waste Act, 2012), sewage sludge can be used in agriculture for soil fertilization for the production of commercial food crops, animal feed, compost, and non-food crops, as well as for land rehabilitation for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes (Antonkiewicz 2010; Kicińska et al 2018; Kicińska 2018)
In accordance with the Polish Regulation of the Minister of the Environment on municipal sewage sludge (2015), the applied doses of sewage sludge should not exceed: 3 Mg dw/ha/year in agricultural land or land rehabilitated for agricultural purposes, or 15 Mg dw/ha/year in land rehabilitated for non-agricultural purposes or in the case of other uses listed in the Waste Act (2012)
Summary
The management of sewage sludge, the by-product of municipal sewage treatment, is one of the greatest challenges in modern waste management. Its potential utilization for agricultural, non-agricultural, and soil rehabilitation purposes is contingent upon the identification of its physical, chemical, and microbiological properties (Cavalheiro et al 2017; Kępka et al 2017; Klojzy-Karczmarczyk and Mazurek 2017) It seems impossible for sewage sludge production to be limited, and it should rather be expected to increase instead. The presence of any pathogenic organisms, adversely affecting soil hygiene, is another important factor With these considerations in mind, the present paper attempts at evaluating potential for the use of sewage sludge produced in a rural area for the rehabilitation of ground degraded by the sodium compound mining and processing industry.
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