Assessing the Suitability of Sewage-Sludge Produced in Kolkata, India for Their Agricultural Use
Assessing the usability of sewage-sludge in agriculture
Abstract
Ever-increasing production of industrial and city waste is a serious problem in India because of high economic and environmental costs involved for their safe disposal. However, their application to agricultural soils provides an opportunity to recycle some essential plant nutrients viz., organic C, N and P. In this study, suitability of sludges produced in Kolkata, India for their agricultural uses has been assessed by analyzing the plant nutrients availability, heavy metals loads, and their mobility in terms of the rate of release and potential negative effect on soil and plants by using the sequential chemical extraction procedures. Result indicated that the sludge produced at different sewage treatment plants (STPs) of Kolkata were rich in major nutrients mainly organic C, N and P but the K content was much lower. The concentrations of Zn, Pb, Ni, Cu (excepting Bhatpara and Chandannagore) and Cd (excepting Kamarhati and Garden Reach) in sludges of all the sites exceeded the permissible standards as recommended by Central Pollution Control Board, India and should be restricted for use in agriculture. Speciation study also revealed that a considerable portion of Zn, Cd, Pb and Ni were distributed in the exchangeable, MnO2 and sesquioxide bound fractions, indicating high bioavailability and potential toxicity to the environment, while Cu was primarily distributed in the organically bound fraction. The study therefore suggest that the sludges produced in Kolkata, should not be used directly in agricultural purposes unless subjected to bioremediation or chemical remediation for reducing heavy metals load to a permissible level.
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