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Behavior of trace metals during composting of mixed sewage sludge and tropical green waste: a combined EDTA kinetic and BCR sequential extraction study in New Caledonia

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of composting on the release dynamics and partitioning of geogenic nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) and anthropogenic copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in a mixture of sewage sludge and green waste in New Caledonia. In contrast to Cu and Zn, total concentrations of Ni and Cr were very high, tenfold the French regulation, due to their sourcing from Ni and Cr enriched ultramafic soils. The novel method used to assess the behavior of trace metals during composting involved combining EDTA kinetic extraction and BCR sequential extraction. BCR extraction revealed marked mobility of Cu and Zn: more than 30% of the total concentration of these trace metals was found in the mobile fractions (F1 + F2) whereas Ni and Cr were mainly found in the residual fraction (F4). Composting increased the proportion of the stable fractions (F3 + F4) of all four trace metals studied. Interestingly, only EDTA kinetic extraction was able to identify the increase in Cr mobility during composting, Cr mobility being driven by the more labile pool (Q1). However, the total mobilizable pool (Q1 + Q2) of Cr remained very low, < 1% of total Cr content. Among the four trace metals studied, only Ni showed significant mobility, the (Q1 + Q2) pool represented almost half the value given in the regulatory guidelines. This suggests possible environmental and ecological risks associated with spreading our type of compost that require further investigation. Beyond New Caledonia, our results also raise the question of the risks in other Ni-rich soils worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the ‘Caledonienne des Eaux’ (Noumea, New Caledonia) for supplying composts and for sharing details on their composting procedure. Thanks are extended to our colleagues from the LAMA US Imago IRD Noumea and the technical staff of Cirad for their analytical support, as well as Jessica Vilanova (IAC), Alexandre Bouarat (IAC) and René Guiglion (IAC) for their assistance. The authors thank the translator as well for the proofreading and English correction.

Funding

Perrine Klein’s PhD thesis is financed by a doctoral contract financed half by UNC and half by IAC through the ‘Ecole Doctorale du Pacifique’. The study was part of the ValoPRO-NC project, financed by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME’s) 2017 Graine call for projects), and was coordinated by Audrey Léopold. Financial support was also provided by COGES South Province (New Caledonia) and ADEME (New Caledonia).

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Audrey Léopold, Perrine Klein, Peggy Gunkel-Grillon, Hélène Kaplan, Farid Juillot, Anthony Pain, Meryle Bloc, Gael Thery and Frédéric Feder contributed to the conception and design of the study. Preparation of the material, collection and analysis of the data were performed by Anthony Pain, Hélène Kaplan, Audrey Léopold and Perrine Klein. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Perrine Klein and all the authors commented on subsequent versions. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript. Audrey Léopold is the scientific leader of ValoPRO-NC project.

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Correspondence to Perrine Klein or Audrey Léopold.

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Klein, P., Gunkel-Grillon, P., Juillot, F. et al. Behavior of trace metals during composting of mixed sewage sludge and tropical green waste: a combined EDTA kinetic and BCR sequential extraction study in New Caledonia. Environ Monit Assess 195, 589 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11151-7

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