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Adsorption and Leaching Characteristics of the Artificial Soils Produced from Sludge

Adsorption and leaching characteristics of the artificial soils produced from water and wastewater treatment sludges were examined. The batch adsorption test and TCLP leaching test were used, and constituents of interest were heavy metals and nutrients. As, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Cd were analyzed for metals, and nitrogen and phosphorus were analyzed for nutrients. All the artificial soils showed strong adsorption and low leaching for the heavy metals, which implies that the artificial soils may not be hazardous to the environment due to heavy metals and even they can be utilized effectively to remove metals in solution like mine and industrial wastewaters. This is quite promising result because in most case heavy metals are the most concern in the application of sludge product to the farmland. For the nutrients, generally, artificial soils showed high adsorption and low leaching except artificial soil from wastewater sludge produced by low temperature firing. The artificial soils produced from water treatment sludge were active in adsorbing nutrients and showed low leaching that they can be practically used to remove nutrients in advanced treatment process of the wastewater. The artificial soils produced from wastewater treatment sludge were less active in adsorbing nutrients and showed high teaching. However, they could be used usefully if applied properly to the plant growing because of their fertilizing effect. Based on the test results, overall, the artificial soils were thought to be not hazardous to the environment and they could be more useful if applied properly.