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Volume 15
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10.3390/su15010311
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Article

Fate of Sulfate in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants and Its Effect on Sludge Recycling as a Fuel Source

by
Que Nguyen Ho
1,2,
Giridhar Babu Anam
3,
Jaein Kim
1,
Somin Park
4,
Tae-U Lee
5,
Jae-Young Jeon
5,
Yun-Young Choi
4,
Young-Ho Ahn
3,* and
Byung Joon Lee
1,6,*
1
Energy Environment Institute, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Republic of Korea
2
Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
3
Department of Civil Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea
4
Department of Disaster Prevention and Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Republic of Korea
5
Daegu Public Facilities Corporation, Daegu 42479, Republic of Korea
6
Department of Advanced Science and Technology Convergence, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Republic of Korea
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 311; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010311
Submission received: 24 November 2022 / Revised: 19 December 2022 / Accepted: 22 December 2022 / Published: 25 December 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosolids and Sludge of Sustainability)
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Abstract

Wastewater sludge is used as an alternative fuel due to its high organic content and calorific value. However, influent characteristics and operational practices of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can increase the sulfur content of sludge, devaluing it as a fuel. Thus, we investigated the biochemical mechanisms that elevate the sulfur content of sludge in a full-scale industrial WWTP receiving wastewater of the textile dyeing industry and a domestic WWTP by monitoring the sulfate, sulfur, and iron contents and the biochemical transformation of sulfate to sulfur in the wastewater and sludge treatment streams. A batch sulfate reduction rate test and microbial 16S rRNA and dsrB gene sequencing analyses were applied to assess the potential and activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria and their effect on sulfur deposition. This study indicated that the primary clarifier and anaerobic digester prominently reduced sulfate concentration through biochemical sulfate reduction and iron–sulfur complexation under anaerobic conditions, from 1247 mg/L in the influent to 6.2~59.8 mg/L in the industrial WWTP and from 46.7 mg/L to 0~0.8 mg/L in the domestic WWTPs. The anaerobic sludge, adapted in the high sulfate concentration of the industrial WWTP, exhibited a two times higher specific sulfate reduction rate (0.13 mg SO42−/gVSS/h) and sulfur content (3.14% DS) than the domestic WWTP sludge. Gene sequencing analysis of the population structure of common microbes and sulfate-reducing bacteria indicated the diversity of microorganisms involved in biochemical sulfate reduction in the sulfur cycle, supporting the data revealed by chemical analysis and batch tests.
Keywords: sewage sludge; recycling; sulfate reduction; metal complexation; gene sequencing sewage sludge; recycling; sulfate reduction; metal complexation; gene sequencing
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MDPI and ACS Style

Ho, Q.N.; Anam, G.B.; Kim, J.; Park, S.; Lee, T.-U.; Jeon, J.-Y.; Choi, Y.-Y.; Ahn, Y.-H.; Lee, B.J. Fate of Sulfate in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants and Its Effect on Sludge Recycling as a Fuel Source. Sustainability 2023, 15, 311. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010311

AMA Style

Ho QN, Anam GB, Kim J, Park S, Lee T-U, Jeon J-Y, Choi Y-Y, Ahn Y-H, Lee BJ. Fate of Sulfate in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants and Its Effect on Sludge Recycling as a Fuel Source. Sustainability. 2023; 15(1):311. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010311

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ho, Que Nguyen, Giridhar Babu Anam, Jaein Kim, Somin Park, Tae-U Lee, Jae-Young Jeon, Yun-Young Choi, Young-Ho Ahn, and Byung Joon Lee. 2023. "Fate of Sulfate in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants and Its Effect on Sludge Recycling as a Fuel Source" Sustainability 15, no. 1: 311. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010311

APA Style

Ho, Q. N., Anam, G. B., Kim, J., Park, S., Lee, T.-U., Jeon, J.-Y., Choi, Y.-Y., Ahn, Y.-H., & Lee, B. J. (2023). Fate of Sulfate in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants and Its Effect on Sludge Recycling as a Fuel Source. Sustainability, 15(1), 311. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010311

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