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Assessment of total concentrations of heavy metals in industrial sludges from the North of Vietnam and their potential impact on the ecosystem

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Abstract

Industrial sludges from wastewater treatment plants of industrial parks and a drinking water treatment plant in northern Vietnam were investigated in this study. The total concentrations of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Hg, Pb, Zn) and other elements (Mn, Pd, Sb, V) in the sludges were measured using the ICP-MS method. In addition, the surface characteristics of the samples were analyzed using SEM–EDS and FTIR techniques. According to Vietnam’s current waste management regulation, the investigated industrial sludges belonged to the hazardous waste category (with Pb concentration > 300 µg/g). In contrast, the sludge from the drinking water treatment plant had a low content of heavy metals and toxic elements. The sequential extraction method revealed that the heavy metals in the industrial sludges exhibited higher mobilization forms (exchangeable and reduceable fractions) than those in the drinking water sludges. The mobilization ability of heavy metals is probably related to the surface function groups of the sludges, which were dominated by (-COOH) and (-OH) groups. The potential ecological risk assessment calculations indicated that the industrial sludges had high potential risk (with the RI values ranging from 229.7 to 605.4), mainly due to the content of Cd in the sludge samples. Further studies about the fate and transport of Cd and other toxic metals in the sludges are highly recommended to better understand their risk to the surrounding environment, such as groundwater and agricultural soil.

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Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the staff in the industrial park, industrial sludge treatment company, and the drinking water treatment plant in the North of Vietnam for facilitating us to collect samples for this study.

Funding

This research was funded by Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) under grant number 105.08–2019.15. Nguyen Van Thinh received support from JSPS fellowship No. 20F20090 during part of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Changes, Faculty of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan

    Nguyen Van Thinh

  2. Consulting Center of Technological Sciences for Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Nguyen Van Thinh

  3. School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Nguyen Thuy Chung, Phan Phuong Anh, Nguyen The Huy & Dang Thi Thuy

  4. Faculty of Environmental Sciences, VNU University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Ly Thi Mai Luong

  5. Faculty of Environmental Engineering, National University of Civil Engineering, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Pham Minh Chinh

  6. Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4102, Australia

    Phong K. Thai

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  1. Nguyen Van Thinh
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Contributions

Phong K. Thai, Nguyen Van Thinh, Nguyen Thuy Chung, Luong Mai Ly, and Pham Minh Chinh contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Nguyen Thuy Chung, Phan Phuong Anh, Nguyen The Huy, and Dang Thi Thuy. The data visualization and first draft of the manuscript were written by Nguyen Van Thinh and Nguyen Thuy Chung. All authors contributed to complete the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Nguyen Van Thinh or Nguyen Thuy Chung.

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Highlights

- The investigated sludges from industrial wastewater treatment plants were hazardous solid waste based on Vietnamese governments’ regulation.

- Cd in the sludges has the highest potential ecological risk compared to other elements.

- The industrial sludges have higher mobilization ability for heavy metals than the groundwater sludges.

- (-COOH) and (-OH) are the dominant functional groups of the sludge surfaces.

- Further studies about the fate and transport of Cd and Pb in the sludges should be conducted.

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Van Thinh, N., Chung, N.T., Luong, L.T.M. et al. Assessment of total concentrations of heavy metals in industrial sludges from the North of Vietnam and their potential impact on the ecosystem. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 42055–42066 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17619-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17619-8

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