Availability and distribution of heavy metals, nitrogen, and phosphorus from sewage sludge in the plant-soil-water continuum

Technical Report · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6411894

Rappaport, B D; Scott, J D; Martens, D C; Reneau, R B; Simpson, T W

Research was conducted during 1984 and 1985 to determine Cd, Cu, N, Ni, P, and Zn availabilities to barley (Hordeum vulgare) and corn (Zea mays) grown on four sludge-amended soils. An aerobically digested sewage sludge, which was dewatered for approximately 2 years on sandbeds, was obtained from a sewage-treatment plant with major industrial inputs. A 14-day anaerobic N incubation study indicated that mineralization of sludge organic N varied from 9.2% at the 42 Mg ha(-1) sludge rate to 4.2% at the 210 Mg ha(-1) rate. This relatively low percentage of N mineralized from the sludge may reflect the inhibitory effects of the high sludge-metal levels on N transformations and the changes in sludge composition during long-term dewatering on sandbeds. Sludge application increased crop yields, except where the amounts of N mineralized from the sludge was inadequate to supply the N requirement of the crop. Crop yields were not decreased by either metal phytotoxity or P deficiency on the four sludge-amended soils.

• Research Organization: Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg (USA). Virginia Water Resources Research Center
• OSTI ID: 6411894
• Report Number(s): PB-87-176269/XAB; VPI-VWRRC-Bull-154
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320604 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Municipalities & Community Systems-- Municipal Waste Management-- (1980-)
510200 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
520200* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
CADMIUM
COPPER
ELEMENTS
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LAND POLLUTION
MAGNESIUM
METALS
NICKEL
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORUS
POLLUTANTS
POLLUTION
SEWAGE
SEWAGE SLUDGE
SLUDGES
SOILS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
UPTAKE
WASTES
WATER
WATER POLLUTION
ZINC