We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Application of the Sewage Sludge in Agriculture: Soil Fertility, Technoeconomic, and Life-Cycle Assessment
ClearSewage 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.
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.
Application of Sewage Sludge as an Agricultural Soil Amendment
This review examines the use of sewage sludge as agricultural soil amendment, noting that while it provides valuable nutrients, it also introduces contaminants. Sewage sludge is one of the primary pathways for microplastics to enter agricultural soils, as sludge accumulates plastic particles from wastewater.
Potential Benefits and Risks for Soil Health Derived From the Use of Organic Amendments in Agriculture
This review examines the benefits and risks of using organic amendments like compost, manure, and sewage sludge in agriculture. Researchers highlight that while these amendments improve soil health and crop productivity, they can also introduce pollutants including heavy metals, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and microplastics into agricultural soils. The study identifies sewage sludge as a particularly significant source of microplastic contamination in farmland and calls for strategies to mitigate these risks.
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.
Risk Assessment and Regulatory Overview of Sewage Sludge
This review examines the risks associated with using sewage sludge biosolids as agricultural soil amendments, including contamination by heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and microplastics. Researchers summarized the concentrations of harmful substances found in biosolids and their potential effects on human health and the environment. The study provides reference standards for improving national regulations around biosolid application in agriculture.
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.
Sewage Sludge in Agricultural Lands. The Legislative Framework in EU-28
This review examines the legislative framework across EU member states for using sewage sludge as agricultural fertilizer. While sludge provides valuable nutrients and organic matter, researchers found it can also contain contaminants including microplastics, heavy metals, and pathogens. The study highlights the need for updated regulations that account for emerging pollutants like microplastics to better protect soil health and food safety.
Soil fertility effects of repeated application of sewage sludge in two 30-year-old field experiments
Two long-term Swedish field experiments found that repeated application of sewage sludge over 30 years maintained or improved soil fertility metrics including nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter content, though concerns about contaminants including microplastics were noted. The study is relevant to microplastic research because sewage sludge is one of the main pathways through which microplastics enter agricultural soils.
Microplastics in Sewage Sludge: A review
This review examines the presence and fate of microplastics in sewage sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants, a topic that has received less attention than microplastics in the water treatment line. The study highlights that agricultural application of sewage sludge is a primary source of microplastic contamination in soils, and provides a comprehensive overview of detection methods, concentrations, and the environmental implications of sludge-borne microplastics.
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.
Sewage Sludge-Mediated Microplastic Transfer to Agroecosystem: A Comprehensive Review on Detection, Fate and Ecological Impacts
This review study shows that tiny plastic particles called microplastics are getting into farm soil through sewage sludge that's used as fertilizer. When wastewater treatment plants process our sewage, they capture these plastic bits in the leftover sludge, which farmers then spread on their fields. This matters because these microplastics could potentially affect our food supply and soil health, but scientists still need more research to understand the full risks.
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.
A Quantitative Environmental Risk Assessment for Microplastics in Sewage Sludge Applied to Land
Researchers conducted a quantitative risk assessment of microplastics in sewage sludge applied to farmland and found that contamination levels frequently exceed safe thresholds for soil organisms. Even under realistic scenarios, the microplastic concentrations in sludge-amended soils were estimated to affect 15 to 18 percent of soil species. The study suggests that regulatory limits on microplastics in agricultural sludge should be urgently considered to protect soil ecosystems.
Organomineral fertilizer from sewage sludge: nutrient recycling and environmental safety for tropical agriculture
Not relevant to microplastics — this study evaluates an organomineral fertiliser derived from sewage sludge for tropical agriculture, focusing on nutrient recycling and heavy metal safety.
Organic boost or health risk? The dual impact of organic amendments in agriculture
This review examined the dual impact of organic amendments on agricultural soils, discussing how compost and sludge applications simultaneously boost fertility and introduce microplastics and chemical contaminants, requiring careful risk-benefit assessment.
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.
Possible effects on plants due to microplastics in soils from wastewater effluent reuse or sewage sludge application
This book chapter reviews potential effects of microplastics on plants when microplastic-containing wastewater or sewage sludge is applied to agricultural land. The research addresses how land application of treated sewage can introduce microplastics into soil where they may affect crop growth and food safety.
How Valuable Are Organic Amendments as Tools for the Phytomanagement of Degraded Soils? The Knowns, Known Unknowns, and Unknowns
This review evaluates organic soil amendments — including sewage sludge, compost, and manure — as tools for restoring degraded soils, noting both benefits for soil health and risks from contaminant introduction. The discussion is relevant to microplastic research because many organic amendments are known vectors for microplastic contamination in agricultural soils.
Microplastics in Sludges and Soils: A Comprehensive Review on Distribution, Characteristics, and Effects
This review summarizes research on microplastics in sewage sludge and soil, noting that when contaminated sludge is used as fertilizer, it turns farmland into a major reservoir for microplastic pollution. The accumulated microplastics can alter soil properties, harm soil organisms, and potentially enter crops and groundwater, creating pathways for human exposure through food and drinking water.
Microplastics in an agricultural soil following repeated application of three types of sewage sludge: A field study
Researchers investigated microplastics in agricultural soil after repeated sewage sludge application, finding that sludge-amended soils contained significantly more small microplastic particles than unamended soils, with particle accumulation varying by sludge type.
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.
AQuantitative Environmental Risk Assessment for Microplasticsin Sewage Sludge Applied to Land
Researchers combined exposure data with species sensitivity distributions to conduct the first quantitative ecological risk assessment of microplastics in sewage sludge-amended soils. Results indicated that current sludge application rates pose a chronic risk to certain soil invertebrates, particularly at sites receiving repeated applications.
Impact of sewage sludge application on soil microplastic accumulation and nutrient levels: Analysis of 22 years of data from central UK farmland
Researchers analyzed 22 years of data from central UK farmland to assess how repeated sewage sludge application accumulates microplastics in agricultural soil while nutrients are absorbed by crops, finding that microplastic buildup disrupts geochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.