Australian and New Zealand Biosolids Partnership€¦ · pathogen inactivation during; protocols to reduce pathogens; removal of potentially toxic compounds; thermophilic anaerobic

*Correspondence: RMIT University, School of Science, Melbourne

Bradley Clarke*, RMIT University, Australia

Hannah Rigby, Imperial College London, UK

Deborah Pritchard, Curtin University, Australia

Summary Report to accompany the ANZBP Biosolids Compendium 2016

February 2016

Australian and New Zealand

Biosolids Partnership

Literature Compendium: Round 3 Sustainable Biosolids Management

Summary Report to accompany the ANZBP Biosolids Literature Compendium 2016

February 2016

O EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose of this project was to create a Compendium of leading-edge research and

developments relating to sustainable biosolids management. The compendium was

first undertaken in 2009 and included references from 2004 to 2010. Updates were

undertaken in 2012 and for a third time in 2015. The information was collected through

searches of the published literature and direct contact with those involved in biosolids

research to identify and include unpublished information.

The information was divided into categories according to priority areas of interest

identified by the Australian and New Zealand Biosolids Partnership and included: novel

developments in processing technologies; organic contaminants; incineration; odour;

storage and transportation; emerging technologies for use of biosolids excluding land

application; risks and benefits of land application and research into sustainability. This

report offers a summary of this data. For full details of the data collected please refer to

the Biosolids Compendium 2016 Excel document available on www.biosolids.com.au.

http://www.biosolids.com.au/


O TABLE OF CONTENTS

O EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 2

O TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... 3

O LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. 4

O LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... 4

O INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 5

O METHOD .......................................................................................................................... 5

O OVERVIEW OF IDENTIFIED REFERENCES ................................................................. 13

1.1 REFERENCES ACCORDING TO CATEGORY................................................................................ 13

1.2 RANK OF RESEARCH ............................................................................................................. 14

1.3 RESEARCH BY COUNTRY AND REGION .................................................................................... 14

1.4 TYPE OF REFERENCE ............................................................................................................ 19

O REFERENCES ACCORDING TO CATEGORY .............................................................. 19

1.5 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 19

1.6 TREATMENT ......................................................................................................................... 20

1.7 PROCESSING ........................................................................................................................ 21

1.8 LAND APPLICATION ............................................................................................................... 22

1.9 CONTAMINANTS .................................................................................................................... 22

1.10 MANAGEMENT AND POLICY .................................................................................................... 23

O CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................. 24


February 2016

O LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 - Categories for classification of references 6

Table 2 - Overview of category, sub-category, tab number, tab name and content of

literature compendium excel file. 7

Table 3 - Number of references according to country 15

O LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 - Summary of identified references according to category 13

Figure 2 - Pie-chart of references according to rank according to rank in 2015 (Third

update). 14

Figure 3 - Pie-chart of references according to rank according to rank in 2012 (Second

update) 14

Figure 4 - Breakdown of references according to region 15

Figure 5 - Number of references from countries with a high contribution 18

Figure 6 - Type of references included in updated literature compendium 19

Figure 7 - Number of references according to category 20

Figure 8 - Number of references according to sub-category of treatment 21

Figure 9 - Break-down of ‘processing’ category into sub-categories 21

Figure 10 - Break-down of ‘land application’ category into sub-categories 22

Figure 11 - Break-down of ‘contaminants’ category into sub-categories 23

Figure 12 - Break-down of ‘management and policy’ category into sub-categories 24


O INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to identify research and development relating to the

“sustainable management” of biosolids. This compendium compliments an earlier

report completed in 2010 and 2012 that covered research conducted between the

years 2005-2010 and 2010-2012, respectively. The members of the Australian and

New Zealand Biosolids Partnership (ANZBP) identified the first literature compendium

as a valuable resource and therefore prioritized for it to be updated in 2012 and again

in 2015. Therefore, the compendium has been updated and includes references from

between 2012 and 2015. The data included both published and unpublished literature

relevant to the activities of subscribers to the ANZBP.

The aim of the project was to improve the understanding of the scope of research that

has been completed, identify the important investigators, catalogue the fields of

research being undertaken, and to identify developments in biosolids management as

well as gaps in the knowledge that require further attention.

O METHOD

The objectives of the Literature Compendium project were achieved through a series of

targeted searches of published literature and direct contact with researchers and Water

Utilities. The Compendium was compiled from research relating to the use and

management of post-stabilisation sludges or leading edge developments in sludge

stabilisation and consisted of Australian, New Zealand and international literature from

2012 to the current time (2015).

The references collected as part of the survey were entered into a compendium,

divided into categories based on priority areas identified by the ANZBP. There have

been some slight modifications to the original literature compendium and the following

information and each listing consists of: reference type; year; author; title; institution;

journal; volume; issue; page; publisher; country; region; summary; keywords; rank and

URL/DOI.

The listing was also ranked A.-E according to the following definition in Table 1:


February 2016

Table 1 Categories for classification of references.

A wish-list (e.g. research proposals/proposals

for biosolids management)

B emerging or incomplete (e.g. progress

reports)

C underway i.e. technology already capable of

being adopted by a utility

D published/commercial (non-peer reviewed)

E published (peer reviewed)

The categories have been updated and reduced to five. They are:

1. Treatment

2. Processing

3. Land Application

4. Contaminants

5. Policy and Management

Each category has a number of sub-categories and no new categories were included in

this updated compendium. A full list of categories and sub-categories are listed in Table

2.

The categories have also been colour coded for convenience. There are 26 sub-

categories.

This summary report is not a literature review, but instead a summary of key research

developments identified during the project. The inclusion of local conference

information, while useful, will bias the information with an Australian perspective.


Table 2 Overview of category, sub-category, tab number, tab name and content of literature

compendium excel file.

Category Sub-Category Tab

Number Tab Name Content

Treatment Anaerobic

Digestion 1

Anaerobic

Digestion

advanced stability sensor; co-

digestion; energy recovery;

enhanced techniques of anaerobic

digestion (thermal hydrolysis;

chemical hydrolysis; microwave

hydrolysis; ultrasonic treatment;

phased; thermophilic phased);

mesophilic anaerobic digestion;

micropollutants removal;

phosphorus recovery during;

pathogen inactivation during;

protocols to reduce pathogens;

removal of potentially toxic

compounds; thermophilic anaerobic

digestion

Aerobic

Digestion 2

Aerobic

Digestion

availability of potentially toxic

compounds; aerobic digestion;

composting; co-composting; energy

recovery; thermophilic aerobic

digestion; vermicomposting

Composting 3 Compostin

g

composting; co-composting;

vermicomposting

General and

Emerging

treatment

technologies

4 General

treatment

alum recovery; pond desludging;

decontamination; electrokinetic

geosynthetics; emerging treatment

technologies (chemical treatment

methods); lime treatment (enhanced

methods); phosphorus recovery;

phytoremediation; reed beds;

removal of potentially toxic

compounds (e.g. bioleaching); risk

assessment of production (not


February 2016

including pathogen risks); solar

treatment; thermal drying

Dewatering and

Drying 5 Dewatering

energy saving processes; effects on

sludge properties; factors influencing

drying efficacy and dewaterability

(freeze-thaw; hydrothermal

conditioning; polymer effect); high

performance dewatering (electro-

dewatering, high-G centrifuging); in

situ dewatering; novel dewatering

methods (High Speed Rotary Disk);

nutrient loss during solar drying

Processing Energy

Recovery 6

Energy

Recovery

batch frying; biofuels; energy

recovery; co-gasification;

gasification; hydrothermal treatment;

liquefication; pyrolysis; removal of

potentially toxic elements during

Incineration 7 Incineratio

n

co-combustion; emissions; energy

recovery; nutrient recovery;

pollutants; recovery of heavy metals;

removal/behaviour of contaminants

Odour 8 Odour

controlling odour (alum;

bioaugmentation; biofilters; iron;

lime; photocatalytic oxidation; photo-

ionisation); factors influencing odour

(centrifugal force); forecasting odour

levels; odour causing chemicals;

monitoring odour (chemical analysis;

sensory methods) process

modifications for controlling odour;

relationship with pathogen

reactivation; relationship with

stability; relationship with volatile

solids reduction; sources of odour;

Storage and

Transportation 9

Storage

and

Transporta

effect of storage availability of heavy

metals; effect of storage on nutrient

availability; fly breeding; long term


tion stability; reducing transport costs;

stockpile cover; storage facility;

thermal runaway; vector attraction

10

Emerging

Technologi

es (Use)

activated carbon from ash/biochar;

biofilters; cement production;

ceramsite production; ceramic

production; conversion to lipids for

biodiesel production; enzyme

production from sludge; extraction of

lignocellulose for ethanol production;

fertiliser production; fuel oil from

pyrolysis; humic acid extraction;

hydrogen generation; nutrient

recovery from sewage sludge ashes;

pavement materials; pesticide

production from fermented sewage

sludge ash; production and

properties of catalysts for odour

reduction; production of adsorbents

for chemical adsorption or

desulphurisation; struvite recovery;

treatment of chromite ore; use of

ash as a construction material

Land

Application General Benefits 11

Land

(Benefits)

apricot production; biochar;

biochemical properties; bulk density;

carbon mineralisation; combined

investigations of risks and benefits;

crop response; effects of fly ash and

lime; enzyme activity in soils;

general management issues; growth

media for nurseries; hormone

production in drought stressed

plants; humic acids; lime amended

biosolids as a ameliorant for soil

acidity; lime amended bioclay;

microbial activity; microbial

community structure; pasture


February 2016

production; remote sensing to look

at nutrients in soils following

biosolids application; residual

effects; soil structure; soil organic

matter.

Nutrients 12 Land

(Nutrients)

alum sludge effects on P availability;

comparisons with inorganic

nutrients; combined studies of

mineralisation and nutrient losses;

dung beetle trial; effect of lime on

phosphorus availability; effects of

biosolids blends on nutrient

availability; effects of stabilisation

method; extension

recommendations; long-term

application; moisture effects on

mineralisation; nitrate concentration

and limits; implications for

guidelines; microbial immobilisation

of nutrients; modelling nutrient

availability; nitrogen fertiliser

replacement value; nitrogen

efficiency; nutrient availability;

nitrogen uptake; phosphorus

fractionation; phosphorus fertiliser

value; relationship between organic

compounds and N mineralisation;

residual nutrient uptake; reviews of

nutrient management; soil effects on

mineralisation; temperature effects;

um effects on P runoff and leaching;

combined studies that include

pathogen and metal losses; effect of

biosolids treatment method;

incorporation method; leaching of N

and P; runoff losses of N and P; turf

grass establishment practices


Land

remediation 13

Land

(Remediati

on)

diesel removal; effects on metal

availability in mine tailings;

geotechnical fill; overburden from

open cut mines; phytoremediation of

mine tailings; soil salinity

Public

Health Risks 14

Land

(Public

Health

Risks)

DNA indicators of faecal

contamination of waterways;

flocculants; general risks to soil

function; greenhouse gas emissions

from biosolids-amended soils; risk

assessments

Ecological

Risks 15

Land

(Ecological

Risks)

DNA indicators of faecal

contamination of waterways;

flocculants; general risks to soil

function; greenhouse gas emissions

from biosolids-amended soils; risk

assessments

Pathogens 16

Land

(Pathogen

s)

aerosol emissions; antibiotic

resistance; Bacteriophage; crop

contamination; emerging pathogens;

Escherichia coli; livestock ingestion;

health effects of bioaerosol

inhalation; pathogen decay in soil;

risk assessment; level of sludge

treatment; Salmonella spp.; soil

solarisation

Metals 17 Land

(Metals)

bioavailability of metals; cadmium;

copper; crop uptake of metals;

heavy metals; leaching of metals;

lead; molybdenum toxicity; silver

nanoparticles; toxicity bioassay; soil

quality guidelines based on heavy

metal limits; zinc

Organic

Pollutants 18

Land

(Organic

Pollutants)

Organic pollutants; risk assessment;

pharmaceuticals; emerging organic

contaminants; PBDEs; dioxins;

runoff


February 2016

Contaminants Pathogens 19 Pathogens

aerosol emissions; antibiotic

resistance; Bacteriophage; crop

contamination; emerging pathogens;

Escherichia coli; livestock ingestion;

health effects of bioaerosol

inhalation; pathogen decay in soil;

risk assessment; level of sludge

treatment; Salmonella spp.; soil

solarisation

Metals 20 Metals

bioavailability of metals; cadmium;

copper; crop uptake of metals;

heavy metals; leaching of metals;

lead; molybdenum toxicity; toxicity

bioassay; soil quality guidelines

based on heavy metal limits; zinc

Organic

compounds 21

Organic

compound

s

Organic pollutants; risk assessment;

pharmaceuticals; emerging organic

contaminants; PBDEs; dioxins;

runoff

Nanoparticles 22 Nanoparticl

es

nanoparticles; treatment; risk

assessment

Policy &

Management

Community

Attitudes 23

Community

Attitudes

biosolids partnerships; biosolids in

the media; development and

maintenance of relationships with

community, locals, farmers

Regulations 24 Regulation

s

collaboration between levels of

government in Canada; national

biosolids guidelines in Australia;

pollutants that require regulation;

regulatory review;

Sustainability 25 Sustainabil

ity

economic analysis; feasibility

studies; life cycle analysis; triple-

bottom line

Climate Change 26 Climate

Change

climate change; greenhouse gas

emissions; GHG; nitrous oxide;

organic carbon’ carbon tax


O OVERVIEW OF IDENTIFIED REFERENCES

1.1 References According to Category

A total of 1049 entries were collated in the Biosolids Compendium in the initial phase

2005 – 2010. Another 443 references were identified during phase two that were

released into the public domain between the years 2010 and 2012. In this third update

we have included an additional 639 references published between the years 2012 and

2015.

The majority of the research was related to the land application of biosolids (n=351),

while policy and management had the least references again (n=26). Figure 1 presents

the number of references according to category.

Figure 1 Summary of identified references according to category

80 80

351

271

26

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Treatment Processing LandApplication

Contaminants Policy &Management

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

ren

ces


February 2016

1.2 Rank of Research

The proportion of material ranked A-E is presented in Figure 2. The majority of the

research was in categories D (published/commercial, non-peer reviewed) and E

(published, peer-reviewed). This material was more freely available both in the published

literature and in the material obtained by direct contact with Water Utilities and

researchers. For comparison, the rank of research in round 2 is presented in

Figure 3.

Figure 2 Pie-chart of references according to

rank according to rank in 2015 (Third update).

Figure 3 Pie-chart of references according to

rank according to rank in 2012 (Second

update)

1.3 Research by Country and Region

The main region that references were identified is North America (includes USA, Canada

and Mexico) and accounts for half of the additions (n=337). Europe has produced the

next most references (n=104). Figure 4 provides a breakdown of references by region.

There were 72 articles from Australasia.

0

34

0

86

519

A

B

C

D

E

0

28

5

97

313

A

B

C

D

E


Figure 4 Breakdown of references according to region

References have been identified from 42 countries. The number of resources identified

from each country is presented in Table 3.

Table 3 Number of references according to country

Country #

References Country

#

Reference

s

Argentina 8 Lebanon 1

Australia 59 Malaysia 4

Belgium 1 Mexico 5

Brazil 11 Nepal 1

Canada 83 New 12

5

71

72

104

20

337

30

0

Africa

Asia

Australasia

Europe

Middle East

North America

South America

NA


February 2016


Country #

References Country

#

Reference

s

Zealand

Chile 8 Nigeria 1

China 36 Norway 2

Colombia 3 Pakistan 1

Egypt 4 Poland 7

France 6 Czechosl

ovakia 1

Germany 5 South

Korea 12

Ghana 1 Spain 33

Greece 7 Sweden 7

India 8 Switzerla

nd 5

Iran 2 Taiwan 4

Ireland 4 Thailand 2

Israel 10

The

Netherlan

ds

1

Italy 4 Tunisia 1



Country #

References Country

#

Reference

s

Japan 2 Turkey 5

Saudi

Arabia 1

United

Kingdom 15

South

Korea 12 USA 247

The contribution of many countries was less than 5 references. The main contributors

were the Unites States (n=247), Canada (n=83) and Australia (n=59). A breakdown of

the countries with references greater than 10 is presented in Figure 5.


February 2016

Figure 5 Number of references from countries with a high contribution

The inclusion of the material from the recent Australian biosolids conference does skew

the data in favour of Australia. However, the contribution to references from Australia is

still high.

247

83

59

36 33

15 12 12 11 10

0

50

100

150

200

250

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

ren

ces


1.4 Type of Reference

Five types of reference were identified and include: book chapter, conferences

proceedings, journal articles, patents and reports. The major type of reference was the

peer-reviewed journal article that accounted for approximately 75% of the identified

references (Figure 6).

Figure 6 Type of references included in updated literature compendium

O REFERENCES ACCORDING TO CATEGORY

1.5 Overview

Of the five categories, land application has the most references (n=351) and this

accounts for 54% of the identified references. A breakdown of references according to

category is presented in Figure 7.

2 0

597

33 7

Book Section

ConferenceProceedings

Journal Article

Patent

Report


February 2016

Figure 7 Number of references according to category

1.6 Treatment

There are five sub-categories in the treatment section. The general sub-category has the

most identified references. While there are advances in treatment options very little

emphasis was placed on this subject area when discussing treatment with identified

experts. The number of the references in the treatment according to sub-category is

presented in Figure 8

80 80

351

271

26

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Treatment Processing LandApplication

Contaminants Policy &Management

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

ren

ces


Figure 8 Number of references according to sub-category of treatment

1.7 Processing

The processing category had 57 references included in the literature compendium with

the ‘emerging technologies’ sub-category having the most references included.

Figure 9 Break-down of ‘processing’ category into sub-categories

41

2

13

28

17

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

AnaerobicDigestion

AerobicDigstion

Compositing General Dewatering

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

ren

ces

18

2

10 5

57

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

EnergyRecovery

incineration Odour Storage andTransporation

EmergingTechnologies

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

ren

ces


February 2016

1.8 Land Application

The land application category had the most references identified (n=351). The largest

sub-category was related to organic pollutants. This sub-category contains the largest

number of references identified in this updating of the literature compendium.

Figure 10 Break-down of ‘land application’ category into sub-categories

1.9 Contaminants

Given that contaminants are one the most important issues related to biosolids

treatment, processing and use, it was thought that separate tabs for four contaminant

types would be useful to users of the literature compendium. The greatest number of

references identified was related to organic pollutants (Figure 11). Nanoparticles were

identified as an emerging issue in the second update of the compendium and there were

a large number of references added in this category.

77

62

14

26

72

12

59

85

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

ren

ces


Figure 11 Break-down of ‘contaminants’ category into sub-categories

1.10 Management and Policy

The management and policy category had the fewest references (Figure 11). The

numbers were increased by the inclusion of the conference papers presented at

the recent Australian biosolids conference. The sub-category of climate change

was identified as being of strategic importance to ANZBP stakeholders and

included in this round. There were remarkably few references related to managing

the impacts of climate change and issues arising from carbon taxes.

60

27

141

52

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Pathogens Metals OrganicPollutants

Nanoparticles

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

ren

ces


February 2016

Figure 12 Break-down of ‘management and policy’ category into sub-categories

O CONCLUSIONS

A total of 1049 entries were collated in the biosolids literature compendium in the initial

phase 2005 – 2010. Another 443 references have been identified during phase two that

were released into the public domain between the years 2010 and 2012. A further 639

references have been added to the literature compendium in this third round. The

majority of the research was related to the land application of biosolids (n=351) and

policy and management had the least references (n=26). Figure 1 presents the number

of references according to category.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

CommunityAttitudes

Regulations Sustainaibility Climate Change

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

ren

ces


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Australian and New Zealand Biosolids Partnership€¦ · pathogen inactivation during; protocols to reduce pathogens; removal of potentially toxic compounds; thermophilic anaerobic