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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Organomineral fertilizer from sewage sludge: nutrient recycling and environmental safety for tropical agriculture
ClearOpportunities and challenges organo-mineral fertiliser can play in enabling food security
This review examines organo-mineral fertilizers, which combine organic waste materials like manure and food scraps with reduced amounts of conventional mineral fertilizers, as a strategy for more sustainable farming. While not about microplastics specifically, the study is relevant because sewage biosolids used in organic fertilizer blends can contain microplastics that then enter agricultural soil. The review discusses policy interventions needed to balance food security with environmental protection.
Assessing metal contamination and speciation in sewage sludge: implications for soil application and environmental risk
This systematic review estimated that global sewage sludge production could triple to 160 million tons if all wastewater were treated to EU standards, and found that metals in sludge applied to farmland are predominantly in less bioavailable forms. The research is relevant to microplastics because sewage sludge is a major pathway for microplastic contamination of agricultural soils, carrying both metal and plastic pollutants to farmland.
Do contaminants compromise the use of recycled nutrients in organic agriculture? A review and synthesis of current knowledge on contaminant concentrations, fate in the environment and risk assessment
This review examines whether recycled nutrients from waste streams, such as sewage sludge and compost, introduce harmful contaminants including microplastics into organic farmland. While levels of heavy metals and many pollutants have decreased in European waste streams, microplastic contamination in agricultural soil remains widespread and poorly understood. The review highlights that spreading waste-derived fertilizers on farmland is a significant pathway for microplastics to enter the food production system.
Sewage sludge as a sustainable fertilizer: Promise, pitfalls, and future directions
This review examines both the promise and pitfalls of using sewage sludge as a fertilizer, finding that while it reduces agrochemical costs and provides nutrients for crops, it also introduces microplastics, pathogens, and heavy metals into agricultural soils with implications for food safety and public health.
Application of the Sewage Sludge in Agriculture: Soil Fertility, Technoeconomic, and Life-Cycle Assessment
This review assesses the environmental, technoeconomic, and life-cycle aspects of applying sewage sludge in agriculture, addressing risk factors including heavy metals, microplastics, and organic pollutants while evaluating its potential as a soil amendment.
Sludge-derived biochar: A review on the influence of synthesis conditions on environmental risk reduction and removal mechanism of wastewater pollutants
This paper is not about microplastics; it reviews methods for preparing biochar from sewage sludge and its use in removing heavy metals and organic pollutants from wastewater.
Characterization of Phosphorus Recovered from Sewage Sludge Ash: A Brazil Case Study
Not relevant to microplastics — this paper focuses on recovering phosphorus from sewage sludge ash for use as agricultural fertilizer; while it mentions microplastics as one reason the raw sludge is not directly reused, the study itself is about phosphorus recovery chemistry.
Long-term agricultural reuse of treated wastewater and sewage sludge: developing a Time to Critical Content Index for metal species
Researchers reviewed long-term effects of treated wastewater and sewage sludge reuse in agriculture, developing a framework to assess microplastic and contaminant accumulation in soils and crops over repeated application cycles.
Fate of microplastics in sewage sludge and in agricultural soils
Researchers reviewed how microplastics accumulate in sewage sludge at wastewater treatment plants and then spread into agricultural soils when that sludge is applied as fertilizer, finding that sludge treatment processes can alter microplastic size and shape but do not eliminate them. The review calls for standardized methods to study how different sludge treatments affect microplastic properties and their downstream risks to soil health.
Biosolids-derived fertilisers: A review of challenges and opportunities
This review examines the use of treated sewage sludge (biosolids) as farm fertilizer and the concern that it introduces microplastics and persistent organic contaminants into agricultural soil. While biosolids provide valuable nutrients for crops, the microplastics they contain can accumulate in soil over time and potentially enter the food chain. The authors discuss thermal processing and nutrient recovery technologies that could help remove contaminants while preserving the fertilizer value of biosolids.
Extent and impact of microplastics on soil nutrients and biota: a trade-off assessment
This review examines the extent of microplastic inputs from sewage sludge applied to agricultural soils, synthesizing evidence on how sludge-derived microplastics affect soil nutrient availability, soil biota, plant performance, and crop productivity, concluding that the benefits of sludge as a soil amendment must be weighed against its role as a vector for microplastic contamination.
Microplastic contamination of organic fertilisers applied to agricultural soils
This study examined microplastic contamination in organic fertilizers applied to agricultural soils, finding plastic particles in multiple fertilizer types. Organic fertilizers derived from sewage sludge or compost can introduce microplastics into farmland, potentially contaminating crops and groundwater.
Microplastics removal from a primary settler tank in a wastewater treatment plant and estimations of contamination onto European agricultural land via sewage sludge recycling
Researchers found that primary settling in wastewater treatment removes significant microplastics from sewage, but these particles concentrate in sludge that is often recycled onto agricultural land, creating a pathway back into the environment.
Wastewater recovered struvite: Quality assessment for heavy metals, PFAS, and microplastic
Researchers assessed struvite — a phosphorus-rich fertilizer recovered from sewage — for contamination with heavy metals, PFAS (forever chemicals), and microplastics, finding that struvite produced in industrial wastewater equipment can exceed safe heavy metal limits. The findings raise concerns about whether recycled fertilizers could introduce pollutants into agricultural soils.
Fate of microplastics in a centralized biogas plant treating mainly sewage sludge
Researchers tracked the fate of microplastics through a centralized biogas plant treating sewage sludge, examining how anaerobic digestion and subsequent dewatering partition microplastics between solid and liquid digestate fractions. The study informs efforts to develop safer digestate-based recycled fertilizers that minimize microplastic introduction to agricultural soils, where 20-55% of microplastics entering wastewater treatment plants are estimated to end up in sludge.
Source, occurrence, migration and potential environmental risk of microplastics in sewage sludge and during sludge amendment to soil
This review examines microplastics in sewage sludge and the risks of applying sludge as agricultural fertilizer, finding that sludge acts as both a sink for sewage microplastics and a source when spread on fields. Co-accumulated heavy metals, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics further complicate the environmental risks of sludge amendment to soils.
Microplastic contamination in sewage sludge: Abundance, characteristics, and impacts on the environment and human health
This review focuses on microplastics found in sewage sludge, which is often spread on agricultural land as fertilizer. The practice introduces microplastics directly into farm soil, where they can be taken up by crops or leach into groundwater. This creates a pathway for microplastics to reach human food and drinking water, raising concerns about the safety of using sewage sludge in agriculture.
Organic fertilizers as a vector of microplastics: A comprehensive review of sources, dispersion, and environmental consequences
This review synthesized evidence on how organic fertilizers — including sewage sludge and composts — act as vectors for microplastic transport into agricultural soils. The authors document how MPs from degraded plastics, textiles, and personal care products enter farming systems and affect soil health, plant growth, and the broader food chain.
Stabilized Sewage Sludge as Fertilizer: Risks Related to the Presence of Microplastics
Researchers analyzed microplastic content in sewage sludge-derived fertilizer collected in June and July, finding an average of ~460 mg of microplastics per 100 g of fertilizer with fragments and fibers predominating — raising concerns about agricultural land contamination from sewage sludge application.
Tackling microplastic contamination in sewage sludge: Optimizing organic matter degradation, quantifying microplastic presence, and evaluating ecological risks for sustainable agriculture
Researchers optimized a Fenton reagent-based method to remove 86.6% of organic matter from sewage sludge, enabling more accurate quantification of microplastics in the samples. Analysis of sludge from 14 treatment plants in Ahmedabad, India revealed microplastic concentrations ranging from 2,430 to 227,200 particles per kilogram, with small fibers and fragments being the most abundant. Ecological risk assessments indicated extreme hazard levels, raising concerns about using contaminated sewage sludge as agricultural fertilizer.
Extent and effects of microplastic pollution in soil with focus on recycling of sewage sludge and composted household waste and experiences from the long-term field experiment CRUCIAL
Researchers reviewed microplastic contamination in agricultural soils amended with sewage sludge and compost, finding that current microplastic levels in farm fields remain below those shown to harm soil organisms in lab studies, though they caution that more long-term research is needed to confirm safety.
The overlooked pathway: A systematic review on sewage sludge treatment as a critical secondary source of terrestrial micro(nano)plastics
This systematic review examines sewage sludge as an overlooked pathway for microplastics to contaminate land, with concentrations reaching over 1,300 particles per kilogram. When this sludge is applied to farmland as fertilizer, aged and chemically modified microplastics enter agricultural soil, where they may be more toxic than fresh particles and can potentially be taken up by crops.
Approaching the environmental problem of microplastics: Importance of WWTP treatments
This review examines the role of wastewater treatment plants as sources and sinks of microplastics, noting that while treatment removes significant quantities, remaining particles concentrate in sewage sludge which is then applied to agricultural land as fertilizer. The authors survey available technologies for improving microplastic removal and call for better policy to address this gap.
Microplastics as an underestimated emerging contaminant in solid organic waste and their biological products: Occurrence, fate and ecological risks
This review identified solid organic waste streams including compost, sewage sludge, and food waste as important but underappreciated repositories of microplastics that can reintroduce particles into agricultural soils and water systems. The authors call for standardized monitoring of microplastics in organic waste before environmental application.