Scholarly record

ALTERNATIVE SEWAGE SLUDGE AND BIOWASTE CO-MANAGEMENT

Jakub Mazurkiewicz

Abstract

The article presents standard and alternative methods of managing sewage sludge and the biodegradable fraction of municipal waste. The work focuses on sewage sludge and bio-waste not contaminated with heavy metals. The absence of the abovementioned impurities enables their processing that they can become a valuable product with high fertilizer value. In the work, special emphasis was placed on techniques similar to natural, i.e. composting and vermicomposting. These two methods are most widely described because they provide the opportunity for fast and relatively low cost implementation regardless of the scale of the object. For both home and larger solutions, they offer a number of benefits. Unfortunately, they also have disadvantages, e.g. the transformation of organic waste and sewage sludge often causes emissions of greenhouse gases and odor molecules, and with improper processing of end products potentially containing toxic compounds. The purpose of this article is to present the results of comparative research on composting and vermicomposting of sewage sludge and bio-waste in different systems and to combine them with methane fermentation. Finally, the feasibility and potential environmental benefits of co-composting and co-vermicomposting are discussed. Our results show that vermicomposting has little but nevertheless an advantage over standard composting. Co-composting and vermicomposting strategies should be optimized locally, taking into account the generated changes in the circular economy to improve the sustainability of agricultural systems.

Publication Impact Profile

No metrics available.

PLUMX see details

DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2019v/4.2/s11.044

Publication details

Back to publication list