Abstract
Large amount of sludge have been generating in the process of water and wastewater treatment in urban area, and it has been making many environmental problems. Currently almost of sludge is landfilled, and since sludge is difficult to handle and dehydrate, the permeated water from the filled-in ground contaminate the surrounding soil and groundwater which may cause serious environmental and sociological problems. The organic component in sludge can be almost removed through the heat treatment process, and the final product is called artificial soil or artificial media according to the temperature control. To produce artificial media using sludge, chabazite and lime were used as an additive, and the mixture of sludge & additives was thermally treated in the firing kiln at about 800~1, 100。C for about fifteen minutes. The physical and chemical characteristics of the produced artificial media were analyzed, and it showed that it can be used as an artificial media for plant production or soil conditioner for farmland. The concentrations of the toxic heavy metals in the artificial media were lower than the soil quality standard for farmland. The characteristics of produced artificial media, using the mixture of sludge and additives through the heat treatment, is similar to the natural chabazite and soil. The analyzed result of the mineral composition of artificial media showed that it has a characteristics similar to natural stable soil, so the produced artificial media may be applied to farmland or water culture without causing adverse effect. Therefore this study showed that the above process can be a feasible alternative for sludge treatment.
