Revision of the Most Harmful Organic Compounds Present in Sewage and Sludge

Abstract

Water treatment is a vital process to ensure the development and sustainability of today’s society, both from an environmental and public health point of view. Wastewater treatment has a huge variety of studies and operations. In these processes, which are usually carried out in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), large quantities of toxic and highly heterogeneous sludge are generated, the proper management of which is a major challenge. The overexploitation of limited natural resources and the enormous consumption of energy by modern society mean that substantial changes are needed in water and sludge treatment and purification systems. In this sense, it has been estimated that in Europe the generation of sludge in WWTPs will exceed 13 million tons/year in 2021. The detection of new contaminants in sewage sludge, as well as the significant increase in its production and its limited usefulness in agricultural applications, makes it necessary to invest in research and development of technological solutions that respond to the demanding restrictions established by the European legislation. To aid in the knowledge on the presence and concentration of organic chemicals in sewage sludge, peer-reviewed literature and official government reports have been examined in this chapter.