A New Composite Material with Environmental Implications for Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Sewage sludge, also referred to as biosolids, consists of the by-products of wastewater treatment, which are a mixture of the water and organic and inorganic materials eliminated from wastewater sourced from domestic sewage industries during physical, biological, and/or chemical treatments. Biosolids are nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of domestic wastewater in treatment plants. Sewage sludge can be considered a significant biological resource for sustainable agriculture. A new composite has been made consisting of soil, sewage sludge collected from the Galati Wastewater Treatment Plant, and slag from the Galati Steel Plant. This study aimed to investigate the structural, morphological, and chemical parameters of this composite through FTIR, SEM-EDX analysis, and XRF analysis. The samples had values of potential toxic elements that were within normal limits according to Directive 86/278/CEE, and, in terms of the iron-to-calcium ratio (I/C), all samples were of a low grade. This is the first time that slag has been added in a sewage sludge–soil combination, which can be an effective fertilizer replacement. Sewage sludge contains substantial amounts of organic matter, and slag reduces the contents of potentially toxic elements. In addition to these attributes, they may provide an opportunity for the beneficial re-use of sewage sludge and slag as resources in agriculture.