Seasonal variability of heavy metal content and its chemical speciation in excess sludge by vermi-stabilization

Vermifiltration system has been reported to enhance sludge degradation and relieve the potential risks of heavy metals, whereas few studies focus on the seasonal variability of heavy metal content and its chemical speciation in excess sludge by vermi-stabilization. The results of this study showed that total contents of Zn, Pb, Cr and the treatment efficiency of vermifilter were higher in summer and lower in winter due to the temperature effect. While Cu was observed to not be dependent on season. Further investigation using a five-step fractionation procedure to evaluate the main chemical speciations of metals in the sludge showed that there were similar variations in the five fractions (F1-F5) between each season, which indicated that the chemical speciation of heavy metals were most affected by vermifiltration technique than seasonal factor. The transformations among the five fractions suggested that the vermifiltration significantly reduced the mobility and bioavailability of Zn and Pb due to their increased stable fractions and decreased unstable fractions. The higher stable fraction of Cu led to the stable morphology in sludge, which favoured the insignificant variations with seasons.