Abstract
Sewage sludge is a serious problem facing modern wastewater treatment plants. One of the methods to safely utilize the sludge is through composting and the agricultural use of the final product.
In this study the compost samples from municipal sewage sludge are compared to the natural, rich in organic matter samples. Based on physicochemical properties of the material, the maturity indices are obtained to evaluate the quality of organic matter and estimate the similarities between the samples.
The study shows that one-dimensional analysis like that based on maturity indices does not provide satisfactory answers concerning the nature of such complex materials. The data set of the analysis naturally possesses a multidimensional character so that the employment of advanced chemometric techniques like cluster analysis show a number of features which were hidden within the ‘data flood’.
The major conclusion of this work is that the compost from sewage sludge is similar to peat in the significance of the properties of the organic matter. Moreover, the organic matter of agricultural soil, which is most stable and has been naturally matured over a long period of time, differs substantially from the other samples.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chefetz B, Hatcher P, Hadar Y, Chen Y (1998) Characterization of dissolved organic matter extracted from composted municipal solid waste. Soil Sci Soc Am J62 326–332
Chen Y, Chefez B, Adani F, Genevini P, Hadar Y (1997): Organic matter transformation during composting of municipal solid waste. In: Drozd J, Gonet SS, Senesi N, Weber J (eds): The role of the humic substances in the ecosystems and in environmental protection. Proceedings of the 8th Meeting of the IHSS, Wrocław
Conteh GJ, Blair R, Lefroy A, Whitbread ?? (1999): Labile organic carbon determined by permanganate oxidation and its relationships to other measurements of soil organic mater. Humic Subs Environ1, 3–15
Drozd J, Jamroz E, Licznar M, Licznar SE, Weber J (1997a): Organic matter transformation and humic indices of compost maturity stage during composting of municipal solid wastes. In: Drozd J, Gonet SS, Senesi N, Weber J (eds): The role of the humic substances in the ecosystems and in environmental protection. Proceedings of the 8th Meeting of the IHSS, Wroclaw
Drozd J, Jamroz E, Licznar M, Licznar SE, Licznar M, Weber J (1997b): Elemental composition of fulvic and humic acids during composting of municipal solid wastes. In: Drozd J, Gonet SS, Senesi N, Weber J (eds): The role of the humic substances in the ecosystems and in environmental protection. Proceedings of the 8th Meeting of the IHSS, Wrocław
Dube A, Zbytniewski R, Kowalkowski T, Cukrowska E, Buszewski B (2001): Adsorption and migration of heavy metals in soils. Pol J Environ Stud10, 1–10
Dziadowiec H (1979): Changes in the energy associated with the humification of forest litter. Studia Societatis Scientarum Torunensis. PWN, Toruń
Eriksson L, Hermens JLM (1995): A multivariate approach to QSAR. In: Einax J (ed): Chemometrics in Environmental Chemistry — Applications, Vol. 2, Part H. Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg
Flis-Bujak M, Baran S, Żukowska G (1997): Characteristics of humus substances of various composted organic materials. In: Drozd J, Gonet SS, Senesi N, Weber J (eds): The role of the humic substances in the ecosystems and in environmental protection. Proceedings of the 8th Meeting of the IHSS, Wrocław
Gieguzyńska E, Koćmit A, Gołebiewska D (1998) Studies on humic acids in eroded soils of Western Pomerania. Humic Substances in Ecosystems. Slovak Agricultural University, Nitra
Hassouneh O, Jamarah A, Qaisi K (1998): Sludge Stabilization by composting: a Jordanian case study. Bioprocess Engineering20, 413–421
Haug RT (1993): The practical handbook of compost engineering. Lewis Publishers, New York
Hortenstine C, Rothwell D (1973): Pelletized municipal refuse compost as a soil amendment and nutrient source of sorghum. J Environ Qual3, 343–345
Iglesias-Imenez E, Perez-Garcia V (1992): Determination of maturity indices for city refuse composts. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environ38, 331–343
Jones MN, Bryan ND (1998): Colloidal properties of humic substances. Adv Colloid Interface Sci78, 1–48
Keeler C, Maciel GE (2000):13 C NMR spectral editing of humic material. J Molecular Structure550-551, 297–305
Kononova M (1968) Soil organic matter. PWRiL, Warszawa
Kosobucki P, Chmarzynski A, Buszewski B (2000): Sewage sludge composting. Pol J Environ Stud9, 243–248
Kloginow W, Wiśniewski W, Gonet SS, Cieścińska ?? (1987): Fractionation of organic carbon based on susceptibility to oxidation. Pol J Soil Sci20, 47–52
Machieu N, Powlson D, Randall E (1999): Statistical analysis of published carbon-13 CPMAS spectra of soil organic matter. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.63, 307–319
Mazerski J (1997): Podstawy Chemomerii. Politechnika Gdańska, Gdańsk
Sapek B, Sapek A (1999) Oznaczanie wlaściwości optycznych wpróbkach s3abo zhumifikowanych. In: Dziadowiec H, Gonet S (eds): Przewodnik metodyczny do badań materii organicznej gleb. Warszawa
Shmidt M, Knicker H, Hatcher P, Kogel-Knabner ?? (1997): Improvement of13C CPMAS NMR spectra of bulk soils. Eur J Soil Sci48, 319–328
Waksmann SA (1932): Humus. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore Zbytniewski R, Buszewski B (2001): Speciation of natural organic carbon in terrestrial systems. Proceedings of the XVI International Symposium on Physico-Chemical Methods of the Mixtures Separation ‘Ars Separatoria 2001’, Bydgoszcz
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zbytniewski, R., Kosobucki, P., Kowalkowski, T. et al. The comparison study of compost and natural organic matter samples. Environ Sci & Pollut Res 9 (Suppl 1), 68–74 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02987429
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02987429