Lagoon Sludge Research Articles

Current Practices and Emerging Trends in Abattoir Effluent Treatment in India: A Review

Slaughter houses and meat processing Industry produce large amounts of wastewater with high fat, grease, and protein content with BOD level of 1500 to 2000mg/liter. Because of the possible pollution of water sources, the efficient disposal of effluent from meat plants is important. In India most of the slaughter houses do not have the technology to effectively collect blood, separation of manure or effluent treatment methods. Thus extremely complex effluents are discharged into land or water. Abattoir effluent treatment process mainly includes three steps such as preliminary/ primary treatment, secondary treatment and tertiary treatment. Preliminary treatment is based on the physical removal of solids present in the effluent and it works based on three principles like usage of screens, air floatation methods and physico-chemical treatment. Secondary treatment is carried out using biological treatment systems, which involves mixing of culture of microorganisms. These organisms utilize the continuous supply of organic matter present in the effluent to synthesize new cells. Selection of the most suitable secondary system depends on costs, BOD level required, land area available, odour level, etc… Anaerobic process is carried out in totally enclosed systems to prevent the entry of air. It will result in a fast reduction of organic material by a two-¬stage fermentation process with the production of biogas. The main aerobic treatments include activated sludge process, trickling filters, lagoons, evaporation and irrigation. Combination of anaerobic and aerobic methods is the most suitable effluent treatment for meat industries. Final treatment provides the final removal of contaminants and discharged into the environment without much of risk. Several options are available for discharging effluent in soil. After secondary treatment, two types of material will be available - sludge and treated water. Liquid is treated with chorine or other suitable disinfectant like QAC and discharged into natural bodies and sludge is used for landfill purpose, composting, manure, soil conditioning, etc.

A Bayesian network model for assessing natural estrogen fate and transport in a swine waste lagoon.

Commercial swine waste lagoons are regarded as a major reservoir of natural estrogens, which have the potential to produce adverse physiological effects on exposed aquatic organisms and wildlife. However, there remains limited understanding of the complex mechanisms of physical, chemical, and biological processes that govern the fate and transport of natural estrogens within an anaerobic swine lagoon. To improve lagoon management and ultimately help control the offsite transport of these compounds from swine operations, a probabilistic Bayesian network model was developed to assess natural estrogen fate and budget and then compared against data collected from a commercial swine field site. In general, the model was able to describe the estrogen fate and budget in both the slurry and sludge stores within the swine lagoon. Sensitivity analysis within the model demonstrated that the estrogen input loading from the associated barn facility was the most important factor in controlling estrogen concentrations within the lagoon slurry storage, whereas the settling rate was the most significant factor in the lagoon sludge storage. The degradation reactions were shown to be minor in both stores based on prediction of average total estrogen concentrations. Management scenario evaluations demonstrated that the best possible management options to reduce estrogen levels in the lagoon are either to adjust the estrogen input loading from swine barn facilities or to effectively enhance estrogen bonding with suspended solids through the use of organic polymers or inorganic coagulants.

Pharmaceutically active compounds in sludge stabilization treatments: Anaerobic and aerobic digestion, wastewater stabilization ponds and composting

Sewage sludge disposal onto lands has been stabilized previously but still many pollutants are not efficiently removed. Special interest has been focused on pharmaceutical compounds due to their potential ecotoxicological effects. Nowadays, there is scarce information about their occurrence in different sludge stabilization treatments. In this work, the occurrence of twenty-two pharmaceutically active compounds has been studied in sludge from four sludge stabilization treatments: anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion, composting and lagooning. The types of sludge evaluated were primary, secondary, anaerobically-digested and dehydrated, composted, mixed, aerobically-digested and dehydrated and lagoon sludge. Nineteen of the twenty-two pharmaceutically active compounds monitored were detected in sewage sludge. The most contaminated samples were primary sludge, secondary sludge and mixed sludge (the average concentrations of studied compounds in these sludges were 179, 310 and 142μg/kgdm, respectively) while the mean concentrations found in the other types of sewage sludge were 70μg/kgdm (aerobically-digested sludge), 63μg/kgdm (lagoon sludge), 12μg/kgdm (composted sludge) and 8μg/kgdm (anaerobically-digested sludge). The antibiotics ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin were found at the highest concentration levels in most of the analyzed sludge samples (up to 2660 and 4328μg/kgdm, respectively). Anaerobic-digestion treatment reduced more considerably the concentration of most of the studied compounds than aerobic-digestion (especially in the case of bezafibrate and fluoroquinolones) and more than anaerobic stabilization ponds (in the case of acetaminophen, atenolol, bezafibrate, carbamazepine, 17α-ethinylestradiol, naproxen and salicylic acid). Ecotoxicological risk assessment, of sludge application onto soils, has also been evaluated. Risk quotients, expressed as the ratio between the predicted environmental concentration and the predicted non-effect concentration, were lower than 1 for all the pharmaceutically active compounds so no significant risks are expected to occur due to the application of sewage sludge onto soils, except for 17α-ethinylestradiol when chronic toxicity was considered.

Effect of FeCl3-conditioning on consolidation property of sewage sludge and vacuum preloading test with integrated PVDs at the Changan landfill, China

Extremely soft sewage sludge lagoon exists in many landfills of municipal solid wastes in China. A two-staged in-situ treatment method, vacuum preloading on the conditioned sludge combined with subsequent cement solidification treatment, was proposed to improve the sludge ground. In this study, vacuum filtration tests and oedometer tests were firstly performed to investigate the effect of FeCl3-conditioning on the consolidation performance of sewage sludge. Then a pilot test was carried out in the field to examine the effectiveness of vacuum preloading on the FeCl3-conditioned sludge by using an integrated type of PVD. The test results demonstrated that the coefficient of consolidation increased with more percentage of FeCl3 added. For the sludge sample conditioned with 10% of FeCl3 (dry basis), the coefficient of consolidation increased to 4 × 10−5–1.2 × 10−4 cm2/s, which was four-nine times greater than that of the non-conditioned sludge. 68 days' vacuum preloading on the 3.2 m thick sludge pit resulted in a magnitude of 70.9% in the average degree of consolidation and a reduction by 47.5% in the total volume of sludge. The water content of the sludge reduced from the initial 860% to 140%–450%. The undrained shear strength of the consolidated sludge with a water content of 140% was about 10 kPa, and decreased sharply with a further increase in water content. The integrated type of PVDs used in the pilot test showed a good performance with respect to the discharge capacity and the resistance against chemical corrosion. Comparative analyses show that the proposed two-staged in situ treatment method has advantages over the sole cement solidification method with respect to cost saving and environment protection.

Unplanned Municipal Solid Waste Dumps and Their Impact on Water Quality - A Case Study from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, South India

Ground water can be polluted in numerous ways in spite of the protective mantle which nature has provided. Liquid pollutants can originate, from waste water stabilization ponds, sludge lagoons, barhyard runoff. Septic tank leaching fields or seepage pits. Pollutants can also originate from the leachates of decomposing solid wastes as in the case of open dumps, sanitary landfills. Sanitary landfill is a method of disposing of surface on land without creative nuisances or hazards to public health or safety, by utilizing the principle, of engineering to confine the refuse to the smallest practical area to reduce it to smallest practical volume, and to cover it with a layer of earth at the conclusion of each day's operation. Some of the most useful studies in recent years on landfill site selection and evaluation from the standpoint of practical applicability of the information has been conducted. In the present paper the impact on the quality of water in the surrounding wells of the dumpsite has been outlined. The case history is from a poshest locality in Visakhapatnam, a port city in Andhra Pradesh. Here the site selection made by the Metro authorities is unplanned and consequences unexpected the role of climate, hydrologic and geologic factors strongly influence the production and spread of contaminants from landfill sites. Detailed hydro chemical studies and parameters which influence and effects the surrounding environment has been discussed. A case history of Visakhapatnam city is mentioned and explained the extent of time span required to bring the quality of water to normal state has been discussed. The paper deals with the Ethical values of the administration in selecting the sites at the centre of the human settlements and the post health hazards are discussed. Scientific procedures for better site selection are advised. Extensive extension studies are in progress targeting all the major cities in India.

Land‐applied swine lagoon sludge impacts soil concentrations and crop uptake of Zn and Cu

While swine lagoon sludge is primarily used as a source of N for receiver crops, the impact of other nutrients in the sludge on soil properties should be considered. Therefore, objectives of this study were to assess the impact of swine lagoon sludge application in corn production on (i) Mehlich‐3 extractable Zn and Cu in the soil, (ii) Zn and Cu accumulation in the crop, and (iii) Zn and Cu removal from the field in grain. Earn 1 CEU in Nutrient Management by reading this article and completing the quiz at www.certifiedcropadviser.org/certifications/self‐study/610.

Comprehensive assessment of hormones, phytoestrogens, and estrogenic activity in an anaerobic swine waste lagoon.

In this study, the distribution of steroid hormones, phytoestrogens, and estrogenic activity was thoroughly characterized within the anaerobic waste lagoon of a typical commercial swine sow operation. Three independent rounds of sampling were conducted in June 2009, April 2010, and February 2011. Thirty-seven analytes in lagoon slurry and sludge were assessed using LC/MS-MS, and yeast estrogen screen was used to determine estrogenic activity. Of the hormone analytes, steroidal estrogens were more abundant than androgens or progesterone, with estrone being the predominant estrogen species. Conjugated hormones were detected only at low levels. The isoflavone metabolite equol was by far the predominant phytoestrogen species, with daidzein, genistein, formononetin, and coumestrol present at lower levels. Phytoestrogens were often more abundant than steroidal estrogens, but contributed minimally toward total estrogenic activity. Analytes were significantly elevated in the solid phases of the lagoon; although low observed log KOC values suggest enhanced solubility in the aqueous phase, perhaps due to dissolved or colloidal organic carbon. The association with the solid phase, as well as recalcitrance of analytes to anaerobic degradation, results in a markedly elevated load of analytes and estrogenic activity within lagoon sludge. Overall, findings emphasize the importance of adsorption and transformation processes in governing the fate of these compounds in lagoon waste, which is ultimately used for broadcast application as a fertilizer.

Methane Evolution from Lagoons and Ponds

These case studies focus on the CH4 emissions from wastewater treatment in photosynthetic oxidation ponds and facultative sludge lagoons. These area-intensive processes are for cryophilic-to-mesophilic treatment and storage and are uncovered, except for a layer of aerobic liquid. Pond/lagoon treatment technologies represent some of the lowest energy processes available and as such are attractive options from an indirect GHG perspective. While it is intuitive that sludge treatment lagoons have significant anaerobic zones, oxidation ponds have also been shown to develop anaerobic layers, particularly in the deeper portions. Literature also suggests that CH4 evolution is mitigated by methanotrophic bacteria in the water column that can aerobically oxidize CH4, as occurs naturally in lakes and other environments. Because each system has potentially significant anaerobic volumes, quantifying the levels of CH4 emissions would provide insight into the significance of direct CH4 emissions and whether improvements are warranted to address fugitive emissions in these otherwise very sustainable technologies. These tasks provide a better understanding of the wastewater treatment industry's true impacts from a GHG standpoint. With that understanding better solutions may be developed to remediate their impact as warranted by their significance. This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series . ISBN: 9781780404875 (eBook)

A Centrifuge-Based Procedure for Suspended Solids Measurements in Lagoon Sludge

<abstract><title><italic>Abstract.</italic></title> Concentration of suspended solids (SS) is an important parameter in wastewater analysis that is used to understand handling characteristics and to evaluate treatment options and efficiencies. Samples from anaerobic lagoon sludge often have high levels of SS that are difficult to measure by standard filtration techniques. A measurement technique developed in the Environmental Analysis Laboratory of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU) uses centrifugation to separate solids from liquid samples and quantifies dissolved solids (DS) in the supernatant. The value of SS is then calculated as the difference between total solids (TS) and DS. The method is based on the assumption that dissolved material is not affected by centripetal force up to 10,000 × g and therefore partitions equally between the liquid phase and the water remaining in the centrifugal pellet. The method was compared to the standard filtration method and another centrifuge-based method using lagoon sludge with TS concentrations from 61,000 to 100,000 mg L^-1. The NCSU method was the only method that gave the reasonable result of SS less than the corresponding TS level. The variability of the NCSU method was significantly lower than that of the other methods as well.

Land‐Applied Swine Lagoon Sludge Impacts Soil Concentrations and Crop Uptake of Zinc and Copper

Land‐Applied Swine Lagoon Sludge Impacts Soil Concentrations and Crop Uptake of Zinc and Copper

Impact Low-Cost Processing Methods on the Contents of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sewage Sludge

In Poland, more and more often to the processing of sewage sludge are used low-input methods: composting, vermicomposting, reed bed, willow energy and solar driers. Also in the north-eastern part of Poland for many years successfully operate objects using these methods. The paper presents the experience of the use of low-cost methods of sludge treatment in wastewater treatment plant located in Zambrow, Podlaskie Province. The results of studies of sewage sludge on the PAHs content after treatment in reed bed system were presented. In 2012, samples of sediment were taken from the middle part of the oldest red bed (still in service) in the 3-meter profile of the sediment fill. Sampling was performed using a special probe to enable the extraction of sewage sludge from the full depth of the lagoon. Samples were averaged and sediment samples from each 0.5 m section were tested. The obtained results for the PAHs in sediments from the lagoon of sludge from reed sewage treatment plant in Zambrow show that the average content of PAHs studied is approximately 5552.8 g kg d.m. At the same time, there are clear differences in the content of these compounds in each of the processed layers of sludge in the lagoon. An average contents of PAHs tested in individual layers of the sludge were as follows: 5852.2 g PAHs kg d.m. in the upper sludge layer (0–1 m), 6636.8 g PAHs kg d.m. in the middle sludge layer (1–2 m) and 4169.5 g PAHs kg d.m. in the oldest, bottom sludge layer (2–3 m). A significant decrease in the total PAHs content with increasing the time period of the processing of sludge lagoons at the lowest bottom layer was observed after 10–12 years. Sewage sludge processed by California earthworms for vermicompost was characterized by the lowest total content of studied PAHs, which amounted 2550.2 g kg d.m.

Quantifying Fugitive CH&lt;SUB&gt;4&lt;/SUB&gt; Emissions from Facultative Sludge Lagoons

Quantifying Fugitive CH&lt;SUB&gt;4&lt;/SUB&gt; Emissions from Facultative Sludge Lagoons

Impact of ultrasonic pre-treatment on the microfiltration of a biologically treated municipal effluent

Biologically treated municipal effluent contains a wide range of organic components which play important roles in fouling filtration membranes. The effect of ultrasound (US) on feed pre-treatment for fouling mitigation in the microfiltration (MF) of an activated sludge–lagoon effluent was investigated at lab-scale. Two minutes sonication of the feed led to reduced irreversible membrane fouling, with an increase in flux recovery of 30%. However, considerable reduction in membrane permeability was observed. The coupling of US pre-treatment with Al 3+-based coagulation improved the permeate flux more than using coagulation alone. This was attributed to the fragmentation of the particles and altered physico-chemical properties of the effluent organic matter, particularly biopolymers, after sonication leading to enhanced coagulation and hence the formation of a cake layer with less hydraulic filtration resistance.

Reduction of the recalcitrant COD of high yield pulp mills effluents by AOP. Part 1. Combination of ozone and activated sludge

The aim of this work was to study the effect of ozone, either alone or combined with an activated sludge system, on the reduction of the recalcitrant COD in the effluent of a chemimechanical pulping (NaOH -Na2SO3) integrated mill. Several alternative schemes involving ozonation were tested on liquors and effluents of the pulp mill, and on two kinds of effluents were taken at different points of an activated sludge pilot plant. The largest decrease in COD was 33%, whereas that in aromatic compounds (absorbance at 232.5 nm) was of 73%. The most obvious result of the ozone treatment was effluent decolorization. It was not possible to use ozonation as tertiary treatment, as ozone was necessary to treat the BOD generated, and therefore the effluent must necessarily pass through a biological treatment. With a scheme including an intermediate ozonation between two secondary treatments (post-activated sludge and pre-aeration lagoon), the maximum reductions achieved were of 70% in COD, of 93% in aromatics, and of 96% in color. The limits of COD allowed by the environmental regulations (&lt;250 mg/L) could be achieved with the following stages: 1) primary clarifier, 2) activated sludge system, 3) ozonation, 4) aeration lagoon, and 5) stabilization lagoon.

Phosphorus leaching in a sandy soil as affected by organic and inorganic fertilizer sources

Long-term application of phosphorus (P) to soils as fertilizer or manure can increase the potential for P loss to ground and surface waters. Vertical P transport was investigated in a sandy soil material receiving seven different P fertilizer sources: poultry compost, poultry litter, triple superphosphate [Ca(H 2PO 4) 2·H 2O], dairy lagoon liquid, swine lagoon liquid, swine lagoon sludge, and dissolved potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH 2PO 4). The P sources were surface-applied to soil columns (6.35-cm diameter, 10-cm long) at two rates equivalent to 75 and 150 kg total P ha −1, and columns were intermittently leached with deionized (DI) water. Column effluents were collected for up to 23 pore volumes and analyzed for dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In addition, a P retardation factor was determined for the soil from a P adsorption isotherm. Transport of P through soil columns receiving liquid P sources was simulated by a one-dimensional equilibrium convective–dispersive equation (CDE) based on water-extractable P (WEP) concentrations. Cumulative amounts of DRP leached were linearly related to the amounts of WEP in P source materials (r 2 = 0.87***). The recovery of DRP in the column effluents relative to WEP in the applied materials was 126 ± 15% (mean ± standard error) for organic P sources and 66 ± 2% for inorganic P sources. The use of WEP in the CDE model underpredicted P transport in the columns amended with lagoon liquids compared with dissolved KH 2PO 4. Results indicated that leaching losses of P from land-applied manures exceed the amounts of WEP in source materials because of organic P mineralization and competitive sorption of DOC.

Electrosorption of uranium ions on activated carbon fibers

A study on the electrosorption of uranium (U(VI)) ions onto a porous activated carbon fiber was performed to treat lagoon sludge containing 100 mg/L uranium and high concentration of chemical salts composed 3.8% NaNO3, 19.8% NH4NO3, 1.9% Ca(NO3)2. The applied negative potential increased the adsorption kinetics and capacity in comparison to the open-circuit potential adsorption for uranium ions. When applying potential at −0.9 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and pH 4, above 99% of the uranium is selectively removed from the 100 mg/L influent by electrosorption, and the cumulative amount of uranium for 50 h is about 600 mguranium/gACF. The high selectivity of elctrosorption process for uranium was probably caused by the difference of charge density of cations. More than 99% of adsorbed uranium ions was desorbed at a potential of +1.2 V and pH 3. The electrosorption of uranium onto the porous activated carbon fiber electrode is due to an ion exchange type reaction between the uranium ions and surface acid groups on carbon surface. Cyclic electrosorption test consisting of adsorption and desorption step shows that the activated carbon fiber electrode is easily regenerated in situ, indicating it is a reversible process.

Application of Thermogravimetric Analysis for the Proximate Analysis of Livestock Wastes

Abstract There is worldwide interest in deriving increasing amounts of energy from bio-based agricultural materials including not only lignocellulosic residues but also a significant quantity of available livestock manure. This manure can be used as a feedstock for various thermochemical conversion processes such as pyrolysis and gasification. In order to apply these processes, the manure must be properly characterized for volatile matter (VM) and ash contents. The determination of these components is not mentioned specifically in current ASTM standards for livestock manure. In this study, we employed the use of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for the rapid assessment of VM and ash content in swine, dairy, rabbit, and poultry manures using references from the ASTM coal and coke standards. The TGA assessment of VM in the manures were the same as those values found by non-automated means (ASTM D3175-07) ranging from 47 to 78 wt%db. The TGA assessment of the ash was also the same when compared to ash results via non-instrumental means following ASTM D3174-04. Ash values ranged from 4 to 47 wt%db. There was one exception when testing a high ash containing swine lagoon sludge. Under the TGA method, this sludge underwent more complete devolatilization and oxidation. This was primarily attributed to the small sample size leading to uniform internal heating. The modification of the TGA ash method aimed at shortening the run time generated similar results as both the original TGA method and non-automated method. Thus, TGA ash determination in manure should occur above 600°C with preferences for the following method: Zero-grade air at 2–4 furnace volumes/min, heating rate of 11°C⋅min−1, temperature range of 110–950°C, and isothermal hold at 950°C for 10 min. VM determination via TGA should follow ASTM D3175-07.

Occurrence and risk assessment of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates in sewage sludge from different conventional treatment processes

In the present work, the concentrations of the organic pollutants nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol mono- and diethoxylates (NP1EO and NP2EO, respectively) in primary, secondary, mixed, aerobically-digested, anaerobically-digested, dehydrated, compost and lagoon sludge samples from different sludge treatments have been evaluated. Toxicological risk assessment of these compounds in sludge and sludge-amended soil has also been reported. NP, NP1EO and NP2EO were monitored in sludge samples obtained from treatment plants located in Andalusia (south of Spain) based on anaerobic treatments (11 anaerobic-digestion wastewater treatment plants and 3 anaerobic wastewater stabilization ponds) or on aerobic treatments (3 aerobic-digestion wastewater treatment plants, 1 dehydration treatment plant and 2 composting plants). The sum of NP, NP1EO and NP2EO (NPE) concentrations has been evaluated in relation to the limit value of 50 mg/kg set by the European Union Sludge Directive draft published in April 2000 (Working Document on Sludge). In most of the samples, NP was present at higher concentration levels (mean value 88.0 mg/kg dm) than NP1EO (mean value 33.8 mg/kg dm) and NP2EO (mean value 14.0 mg/kg dm). The most contaminated samples were compost, anaerobically-digested sludge, lagoon sludge and aerobically-digested sludge samples, which contained NPE concentrations in the ranges 44–962 mg/kg dm, 8–669 mg/kg dm, 27–319 mg/kg dm and 61–282 mg/kg dm, respectively. Risk quotients, expressed as the ratios between environmental concentrations and the predicted no-effect concentrations, were higher than 1 for NP, NP1EO and NP2EO in the 99%, 92% and 36% of the studied samples, respectively; and higher than 1 in the 86%, 6% and 2%, respectively, after sludge application to soil, leading to a significant ecotoxicological risk mainly due to the presence of NP.

Thermochemical conversion of livestock wastes: Carbonization of swine solids

Slow pyrolysis or carbonization promotes the conversion of animal manures such as swine manure into charcoal. In this paper, the carbonizing kinetics of swine solids taken from different treatment stages were investigated with a thermogravimetric analyzer. Compared to their biologically stabilized counterpart (lagoon sludge) with an activation energy of 160 kJ mol −1, the activation energies for fresh swine solid samples such as homogenized flushed manure and dewatered solids were much lower between 92 and 95 kJ mol −1. Compared to the kinetics of first order decomposition of cellulose, the pyrolytic decomposition of the swine manures were more complex with the reaction orders varying at 3.7 and 5.0. The two different mathematical methods employed in this paper yielded the similar values of activation energy ( E) and pre-exponential factor ( A), confirming the validity of these methods. The results of this study provide useful information for development of farm-scale swine solid carbonization process.

Fate of Heavy Metal Contaminants in a Former Sewage Treatment Lagoon, Hancock County, Ohio

A Former sewage sludge lagoon, thoroughly mixed and abandoned in 1999, was analyzed to determine the subsequent mobility of heavy metals and their relationship to the dominant plant species at the site. ICP analyses of soils taken with respect to depth relative to the root zone and association with either common ragweed or stinging nettles revealed noticeable differences. In the five years since abandonment, the heavy metals have been stratified due to leaching and plant uptake, with the majority of metals showing higher concentrations at more shallow depths. Although stinging nettles can uptake higher concentrations of heavy metals into their plant parts, the soils do not have an associated reduction in heavy metal content. As the plants die in the fall, the heavy metals are returning to the soil as vegetation decays. Ragweed is less capable of incorporating the heavy metals into its biomass and is found associated with overall higher heavy metal concentrations in the soil around its roots. Thus, some other process is causing the retention of heavy metals in these soils. The lower concentrations in the soils beneath the root zones, which were reported to have been initially identical in composition to the shallower soils, are likely due to leaching.