Occurrence and leaching of silver in municipal sewage sludge in China

Ying Chen; Yuxiang Mao; Maoyong Song; Yongguang Yin; Guangliang Liu; Yong Cai

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109929

Occurrence and leaching of silver in municipal sewage sludge in China

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2020 Feb:189:109929. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109929. Epub 2019 Nov 10.

Authors

Ying Chen¹, Yuxiang Mao², Maoyong Song³, Yongguang Yin⁴, Guangliang Liu⁵, Yong Cai⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
² School of Resources and Environment, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454000, China.
³ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Laboratory of Environmental Nanotechnology and Health, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Laboratory of Environmental Nanotechnology and Health, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430056, China. Electronic address: ygyin@rcees.ac.cn.
⁵ Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430056, China; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, United States.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, United States.

PMID: 31718800
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109929

Abstract

Sewage treatment plants effectively remove silver (Ag) from sewage. Sewage sludge can therefore be important Ag sinks, polluting the environment with this element. In this work, we report a nation-wide survey on the Ag content of sewage sludge in China (0.23-19.02 mg kg^-1, average 2.72 mg kg^-1). Furthermore, we identify that sludge disposal represents an important Ag pollution source (84.48 tons in 2016) for the environment by estimating the national and provincial inventories of sludge-borne Ag in China. Also the positive correlations between the per capita gross domestic product (GDP)/provincial GDP and the content/mass loadings of Ag highlighted the impact of human activities on Ag pollution. In different samples, strong complexation of thiosulfate contributed to the highest leaching concentration (95.00-438.15 μg kg^-1) and ratio (1.9-8.8%) of Ag, emphasizing the necessity of a long-term risk assessment for landfill and land application of sludge.

Keywords: Leaching; Municipal sewage sludge; Occurrence; Silver; Thiosulfate.

MeSH terms

China
Environmental Pollutants
Environmental Pollution
Humans
Sewage / analysis
Silver*
Waste Disposal Facilities
Waste Disposal, Fluid*
Water Pollutants, Chemical*

Substances

Environmental Pollutants
Sewage
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Silver