Multi-approach characterization of organic sediment produced by an anaerobic digestion plant fed with pig slurry and stored for a long term in a lagoon

Anna Ricci; Luisa Massaccesi; Daniela Pezzolla; Giuseppe Corti; Alberto Agnelli; Giovanni Gigliotti

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.02.003

Multi-approach characterization of organic sediment produced by an anaerobic digestion plant fed with pig slurry and stored for a long term in a lagoon

J Hazard Mater. 2017 May 15:330:29-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.02.003. Epub 2017 Feb 5.

Authors

Anna Ricci¹, Luisa Massaccesi², Daniela Pezzolla³, Giuseppe Corti⁴, Alberto Agnelli⁵, Giovanni Gigliotti⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06124, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: annaricci83@libero.it.
² Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06124, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: luisa.massaccesi@unipg.it.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06124, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: daniela.pezzolla@unipg.it.
⁴ Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131, Ancona, Italy. Electronic address: g.corti@univpm.it.
⁵ Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06124, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: alberto.agnelli@unipg.it.
⁶ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06124, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: giovanni.gigliotti@unipg.it.

PMID: 28208090
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.02.003

Abstract

This study combined different approaches to characterize organic sediments produced by an anaerobic digestion plant feed with pig slurry, and accumulated for many years in a lagoon. The results of all analyses identified a certain homogeneity of the sediments. As a consequence of the pig diet, the sediment contained an high concentration of Zn (about 4gkg^-1) and Cu (about 1.2gkg^-1), which were mostly associated to the particles with a size ranging from 2 to 53μm. The sediment was made of large amount of organic matter, mostly cellulose and recalcitrant molecules, and 30-40% mineral fraction. XANES and XES spectroscopies indicated the presence of zinc phosphate (38%), zinc sulfide (32%), zinc carbonate (19%), and zinc oxide (11%). The presence in the sediment of forms characterized by a very scarce solubility, as also confirmed by the Zn and Cu chemical speciation, indicated a low bioavailability of these metals. However, although their low mobility, the high concentrations of Zn and Cu allowed to consider the sediment not suitable to use as a fertiliser due to the potential risk of metal interaction with the food chain.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestate; Copper; Sequential extraction; XANES/XES spectroscopy; Zinc.

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Animals
Copper / analysis*
Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission
Swine
Waste Management
Waste Products / analysis*
X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
Zinc / analysis*

Substances

Waste Products
Copper
Zinc