Levels of volatile methylsiloxanes in urban wastewater sludges at various steps of treatment

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Joana Silva (Author) Other; Fábio Bernardo (Author) FEUP; Mónica Jesus (Author) Other; Tiago Faria (Author) Other; Arminda Alves (Author) FEUP; Vera Homem (Author) FEUP; Nuno Ratola (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Environmental Chemistry Letters

Pages: 2723-2732

ISSN: 1610-3653

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Associated Projects

LaNSiloT - LAunching New SILOxane Treatments: assessing effluent, sludge and air quality and improving biogas production in WWTPs

AGRONAUT - Estudo do impacto agronómico da utilização de lamas de depuração através de uma perspectiva de exposição

LEPABE - Financiamento Plurianual 2020-2023 da Unidade de I&D LEPABE - Laboratório de Engenharia de Processos, Ambiente, Biotecnologia e Energia

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00T-GGB

DOI: 10.1007/s10311-021-01191-1

Abstract (EN): Volatile methylsiloxanes are wastewater organic pollutants originating from industrial and personal care products. They accumulate in sewage sludge and hamper biogas production through the formation of silicon dioxide on the surfaces of gas engines and turbines, yet there is few knowledge on their fate in sludge treatment systems. Here we studied the occurrence and removal of seven volatile methylsiloxanes along the solid treatment line of an urban wastewater treatment plant. We analyzed 75 sludge samples from seven locations using ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results show that volatile methylsiloxanes occur in all samples with a predominance of cyclic homologues, particularly decamethylcyclopentasiloxane. Total siloxane levels reach 6087 ng/g dry weight in the secondary sludge, average at 3575 ng/g in digested sludge, and 5703 ng/g in the dewatered sludge, the latter being likely due to the addition of a polyelectrolyte. Overall, these levels call for measures to reduce methylsiloxane levels before the biogas production step.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 10