Evaluation of the toxicity attenuation of sewage sludge by association with a plant residue from ethanol industry

• Grant number: 12/20763-6
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): May 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal researcher: Maria Aparecida Marin Morales
• Grantee: Lais Roberta Deroldo Sommaggio
• Home Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sewage sludge (SS) is a semi-solid waste generated by the treatment of sewage. Due to the increasing production of sewage in urban systems, there is now a legal requirement to install more Sewage Treatment Stations, which consequently ends up producing a large amount of SS. Many authors have suggested a more appropriate destination for this waste, mainly as agricultural fertilizer, which can feature an interesting resource from the economical and environmental point of view. However, SS can contain toxic substances and pathogenic microorganisms, which can hinder its use in agriculture. One of the solutions for reducing the toxic potential of SS is the possible attenuation of the contaminants present in this sludge. Degradation of organic compounds is directly related with the characteristics to the soil, e.g. its porosity and the amount of available oxygen in the substrate. Sugarcane bagasse, a plant residue the ethanol industry, when added to the soil, can be used as a decompressing agent and thus enable aerobiosis of edaphic system. In this experiment it will be evaluated different samples and associations with SS: SS 100%; SS and sugarcane bagasse (3:1-v/v); SS and soil (3:1-v/v); SS, soil and sugarcane bagasse (3:1:1-v/v/v). The samples will be maintained in the tanks for periods of 1, 3 and 6 months. After each period it will be made an evaluation of the cytotoxic, genotoxic and mutagenic potentials of the samples and the liquid leachate from them, by assays developed with the test organism A. cepa. It is aimed with this work to obtain results that may help to reduce the current problems with the disposition of SS in the environment and thus, contribute to a more sustainable use of this waste. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DEROLDO SOMMAGGIO, LAIS ROBERTA; CHRISTOFOLETTI MAZZEO, DANIA ELISA; SANT'ANNA, DEBORA DE ANDRADE E SILVA; LEVY, CARLOS EMILIO; MARIN-MORALES, MARIA APARECIDA. Ecotoxicological and microbiological assessment of sewage sludge associated with sugarcane bagasse. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY, v. 147, p. 550-557, JAN 2018. (12/20763-6)