Abstract
Sludge is generated in the process of water and wastewater treatment, and it has been causing various environmental problems. From this point of view, recycling of sludge appears to be the best way. The firing technology in pottery industry is applied to the sludge treatment , and the final product is called artificial soil. The effect of mixed artificial soil with upland soil was investigated through the crop growth experiment and the physical & chemical characteristics of the mixed soils were analyses. After the growth experiment , mixed soil plots contained more CEC, OM, TN, TP than upland soil plots. This result shows that the artificial soil produced form sludge can be mixed with upland soil, and crop can be increased. From the growth analysis, growth of soybean and corn in the mixed soil plots was better than that in the original upland soil plots. Heavy metals contents in the mixed soil plots were within the quality standard. This is a promising result since in most cases heavy metals are the most concern in the application of sludge product to farmland.
