Assessing emerging and priority micropollutants in sewage sludge: environmental insights and analytical approaches. 2024

Diana Rede, and Ivan Teixeira, and Cristina Delerue-Matos, and Virgínia Cruz Fernandes
REQUIMTE/LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4249-015, Porto, Portugal.

The application of sewage sludge (SS) in agriculture, as an alternative to manufactured fertilizers, is current practice worldwide. However, as wastewater is collected from households, industries, and hospitals, the resulting sludge could contaminate land with creeping levels of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and microplastics, among others. Thus, the sustainable management of SS requires the development of selective methods for the identification and quantification of pollutants, preventing ecological and/or health risks. This study presents a thorough evaluation of emerging and priority micropollutants in SS, through the lens of environmental insights, by developing and implementing an integrated analytical approach. A quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) extraction method, coupled with gas chromatography and liquid chromatography, was optimized for the determination of 42 organic compounds. These include organophosphorus pesticides, organochlorine pesticides, pyrethroid pesticides, organophosphate ester flame retardants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The optimization of the dispersive-solid phase for clean-up, combined with the optimization of chromatographic parameters, ensured improved sensitivity. Method validation included assessments for recovery, reproducibility, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ). Recoveries ranged from 59.5 to 117%, while LODs ranged from 0.00700 to 0.271 µg g-1. Application of the method to seven SS samples from Portuguese wastewater treatment plants revealed the presence of sixteen compounds, including persistent organic pollutants. The quantification of α-endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide, was consistently observed in all samples, with concentrations ranging from 0.110 to 0.571 µg g-1. Furthermore, the study encompasses the analysis of agronomic parameters, as well as the mineral and metal content in SS samples. The study demonstrates that the levels of heavy metals comply with legal limits. By conducting a comprehensive investigation into the presence of micropollutants in SS, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the environmental and sustainable implications associated with SS management.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009943 Organophosphorus Compounds Organic compounds that contain phosphorus as an integral part of the molecule. Included under this heading is broad array of synthetic compounds that are used as PESTICIDES and DRUGS. Organophosphorus Compound,Organopyrophosphorus Compound,Organopyrophosphorus Compounds,Compound, Organophosphorus,Compound, Organopyrophosphorus,Compounds, Organophosphorus,Compounds, Organopyrophosphorus
D010575 Pesticides Chemicals used to destroy pests of any sort. The concept includes fungicides (FUNGICIDES, INDUSTRIAL); INSECTICIDES; RODENTICIDES; etc. Pesticide
D010969 Plastics Polymeric materials (usually organic) of large molecular weight which can be shaped by flow. Plastic usually refers to the final product with fillers, plasticizers, pigments, and stabilizers included (versus the resin, the homogeneous polymeric starting material). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Plastic
D011078 Polychlorinated Biphenyls Industrial products consisting of a mixture of chlorinated biphenyl congeners and isomers. These compounds are highly lipophilic and tend to accumulate in fat stores of animals. Many of these compounds are considered toxic and potential environmental pollutants. PCBs,Polychlorinated Biphenyl,Polychlorobiphenyl Compounds,Biphenyl, Polychlorinated,Biphenyls, Polychlorinated,Compounds, Polychlorobiphenyl
D011084 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Aromatic hydrocarbons that contain extended fused-ring structures. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon,Polycyclic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic,Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbon,Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons,Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Polycyclic,Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Polynuclear,Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Polycyclic,Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Polynuclear,Aromatic Polycyclic Hydrocarbons,Hydrocarbon, Polycyclic Aromatic,Hydrocarbon, Polynuclear Aromatic,Hydrocarbons, Aromatic Polycyclic,Hydrocarbons, Polycyclic Aromatic,Hydrocarbons, Polynuclear Aromatic
D006843 Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated Hydrocarbon compounds with one or more of the hydrogens replaced by CHLORINE. Chlorinated Hydrocarbon,Chlorinated Hydrocarbons,Organochlorine Compound,Chlorine Compounds, Organic,Organochlorine Compounds,Compound, Organochlorine,Compounds, Organic Chlorine,Compounds, Organochlorine,Hydrocarbon, Chlorinated,Organic Chlorine Compounds
D012722 Sewage Refuse liquid or waste matter carried off by sewers. Sludge,Sludge Flocs
D015203 Reproducibility of Results The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results. Reliability and Validity,Reliability of Result,Reproducibility Of Result,Reproducibility of Finding,Validity of Result,Validity of Results,Face Validity,Reliability (Epidemiology),Reliability of Results,Reproducibility of Findings,Test-Retest Reliability,Validity (Epidemiology),Finding Reproducibilities,Finding Reproducibility,Of Result, Reproducibility,Of Results, Reproducibility,Reliabilities, Test-Retest,Reliability, Test-Retest,Result Reliabilities,Result Reliability,Result Validities,Result Validity,Result, Reproducibility Of,Results, Reproducibility Of,Test Retest Reliability,Validity and Reliability,Validity, Face
D019216 Metals, Heavy Metals with high specific gravity, typically larger than 5. They have complex spectra, form colored salts and double salts, have a low electrode potential, are mainly amphoteric, yield weak bases and weak acids, and are oxidizing or reducing agents (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed) Heavy Metal,Heavy Metals,Metal, Heavy

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