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Current understanding on the fate of contaminants during hydrothermal treatment of sewage sludge
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This review examines how hydrothermal treatment of sewage sludge handles various contaminants including microplastics, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals. While the high-temperature water treatment can break down many pollutants, its effectiveness against microplastics specifically is still being studied. Since sewage sludge is often spread on farmland, understanding how well treatment destroys microplastics is important for preventing them from entering the food supply.
Sewage sludges (SS) are by-products of the wastewater treatment process and are considered critical source of contaminants as they contain a diverse range of microbial, organic, and inorganic pollutants that are concerning to public health and the environment. Hydrothermal processes are particularly suitable for treating SS; however, their viability for the effective degradation and potential destruction of persistent contaminants, such as heavy metals, microbial pathogens, microplastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products, among others in SS is still under rapid investigations. This article reviews the source, transformation, and fate of prominent contaminants in SS during hydrothermal treatment (HT). Most contaminants in SS are to a certain extent degraded or transformed into other products under typical HT at subcritical conditions. Transformation pathways can be complex due to the diverse physicochemical and biochemical properties, including thermal stability and hydrophobicity. Critical findings were summarised with conclusions and perspectives for future works provided.
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Researchers found that thermal hydrolysis pretreatment of sewage sludge reduced microplastic concentrations from 206 particles/g to lower levels, with approximately 54% of microplastics initially in solid phase, and examined the implications for sludge management and microplastic fate.
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