Research Articles

Abstract

Request for single articles

135 KB  Full paper 5 downloads since July 2003

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2002.04.115.4 --- Sewage sludge is a serious problem facing modern
wastewater treatment plants. One of the methods to safely utilize
the sludge is through composting and the agricultural use of
the final product.
In this study the compost samples from municipal sewage sludge
are compared to the natural, rich in organic matter samples.
Based on physicochemical properties of the material, the maturity
indices are obtained to evaluate the quality of organic matter
and estimate the similarities between the samples.
The study shows that one-dimensional analysis like that based
on maturity indices does not provide satisfactory answers concerning
the nature of such complex materials. The data set of
the analysis naturally possesses a multidimensional character so
that the employment of advanced chemometric techniques like
cluster analysis show a number of features which were hidden
within the data flood.
The major conclusion of this work is that the compost from
sewage sludge is similar to peat in the significance of the properties
of the organic matter. Moreover, the organic matter of
agricultural soil, which is most stable and has been naturally
matured over a long period of time, differs substantially from
the other samples.