Estimation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons emission from sewage sludge of sewerage treatment plants in Korea

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PARs) are an important group of organic contaminants present in sewage sludge, due to their persistence, toxic, bioaccumulative and long range transfer. These characters make themselves as Persistent Organic Pollutants(POPs) in Long Range Transboundary Air Pollutions convention(LRT AP) of Europe. A method of the gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) determination of PARs present in sewage sludge was developed and applied to analyzed samples from five sewerage treatment plants (SWTPs), having different treatment types. PARs were extracted from freeze-dried samples by toluene 16 hours in a soxhlet extraction system. The sludge extracts were cleaned-up by an activated silica gel column chromatography. The sum of the 16 US Environmental Protection Agency PARs sewage sludge samples varied from 2.44 to 4.82 ${\mu}g$/g. Concentration of emission carcinogen PARs(PARcarc), such as Benzo(a)anthracene, Benzo(b)fluoranthene, Benzo(k)fluoranthene, Benzo(a)pyrene, Dibenzo(a, h)anthracene and Indeno(1, 2, 3-cd)pyrene ranged from 0.62 to 1.03 ${\mu}g$/g. The total amount of PAHs emission from sewage sludge in Korea was calculated as a top-down approach. PARs and $\sum$PAHcarc from sewage treatment plants had several pathway each by-products. In the ocean dumping, PAHs and $\sum$PAHcarc emissions were 1155.95 kg/year and 5040.32 kg/year. In recycle, PAHs and $\sum$PAHcarc emissions were 98.36 kg/year and 428.87 kg/year. In the landfill, PAHs and $\sum$PAHcarc emissions were 190.40 kg/year and 830.21 kg/year. In the incineration, PAHs and $\sum$PAHcarc emission were 33.10 kg/year and 830.21 kg/year. (In case of incineration, the whole provisions of PARs and $\sum$PAHcarc contained to flowed in sludge was supposed to be exhausted to environment through exhaust after incineration.)