Abstract
Vast amounts of leaf litter have to be disposed of by city administrations. This biomass has the potential for energy conversion, but contamination with pollutants can adversely affect this usage. We investigated leaf litter samples from the city of Kassel by analyzing their heavy metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations. Leaf samples were indeed contaminated with heavy metals and PAHs and contamination was influenced by provenience and collection technique. A simple cleaning system of washing and subsequent mechanical dewatering significantly reduced heavy metal concentration. Regression models were developed for contamination with heavy metals which showed that contamination could be successfully estimated using the total ash content of the sample as a predictor, with an R2 of up to 0.77. It can be concluded that leaf litter from cities is a possible feedstock for energetic conversion, provided a cleaning step is applied.
Highlights
Every year, municipalities collect vast amounts of leaf litter, which have to be disposed of.Studies assessing the total amount of leaf litter in European cities are missing; the number of city trees has been a focus of recent studies
While leaf litter from parks is often contaminated with soil, it may be less affected by pollutants [3], whereas leaf litter collected from the road surface may contain both soil contamination and organic, as well as inorganic pollutants
The most pronounced difference was found for Fe concentration, which showed a 65-fold higher concentration in urban leaf litter collected from roads than in forest beech litter
Summary
Municipalities collect vast amounts of leaf litter, which have to be disposed of. Studies assessing the total amount of leaf litter in European cities are missing; the number of city trees has been a focus of recent studies. The total number of shrubs and trees in urban. Sheffield, United Kingdom, increased from the 1900s to 2010 by 50.5% [1], indicating the high value of green areas in cities. Leaf litter originates from private gardens, parks and other green areas dedicated to citizens’ relaxation and sport activities. While leaf litter from parks is often contaminated with soil, it may be less affected by pollutants [3], whereas leaf litter collected from the road surface may contain both soil contamination and organic, as well as inorganic pollutants
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