Long-Term Land Application of Activated Sludge from a Petrochemical Wastewater Treatment Plant: I - Leachate Quality

Excess activated sludge from SITEL, the wastewater treatment plant of Polo Petroquímico do Sul (South Petrochemical Complex), Triunfo, State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, is disposed of by subsurface injection on pangola grass and rye grass fields at an average annual rate of 24 tons/ha (dry basis). In order to assess absorption of sludge constituents by plants, modifications of soil properties and leachate quality, a microplot growth-leaching experiment is being conducted at the Department of Soils of UFRGS since 1985. Pangola grass (Digitariadecumbens, Stent) and rye grass (Loliummultiflorum, Lam) are grown in summer and winter respectively. Some microplots have been loaded with sludge enriched with Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb and Hg since 1988. Plant nutrients such as K, Cu, Zn and B did not increase in leachate, even at the higher application rates employed. Ammonium and pH were not affected either, whilst nitrates increased at the highest application rates. Ca and Mg increased in leachate during the third and the fourth years of the experiment, probably due to the liming of the microplots. Electrical conductivity of leachate increased with sludge application. Na, chloride and sulphate, the more soluble ions, increased slowly during the first year and more rapidly during the subsequent years. Heavy metals Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb and Hg in leachate were not consistently affected by application of pure sludge or metals-enriched sludge. The concentrations of these constituents in leachate were found to be generally below accepted limits for potable water. Exacerbation of loading of metals, bringing about introduction of total amounts that exceed current limits of addition of metals to soil, did not produce significant alterations in leachate quality. This suggests that these limits are very safe with respect to protection of aquifers. The determination of nitrates in leachate at different sludge application rates made possible the adoption of 40 tons/ha.year as the maximum allowable sludge loading rate (on dry basis) for the real sludge farms at SITEL. This figure is approximately double the operational sludge application rate at SITEL.