title: Phytoremediation of sewage sludge and use of its leachate for crop production.
abstract: The land application of sewage sludge has the potential risk of transferring heavy metals to soil or groundwater. The agricultural reuse of sludge leachate could be a cost-effective way to decrease metal contamination. Sludge leachate collected during the phytoremediation of sludge by co-cropping with Sedum alfredii and Zea mays was used for irrigating vegetables in a field experiment. Results indicate that the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd in sludge leachates complied with the National Standards for agricultural irrigation water in China. For the vegetable crop Ipomoea aquatica, nutrients obtained only from the sludge leachate were not sufficient to support growth. For the second crop, Brassica parachinensis, no differences in biomass were observed between the treatment with leachate plus a half dose of inorganic fertilizer and the treatment with a full dose of inorganic fertilizers. The concentrations of heavy metals in I. aquatica and B. parachinensis were not significantly affected by the application of sludge leachates. Compared with initial values, there were no significant differences in Zn, Cd, Cu, and Pb concentrations in soil following treatment with sludge leachate. This study indicates that on range lands, sludge phytoremediation can be conducted at the upper level, and the generated sludge leachate can be safely and easily used in crop production at the lower level.
authors.affiliation: a Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Waste Reuse in Agriculture of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes , College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University , Guangzhou 510642 , People's Republic of China.|b Department of Basic Biology , Guangzhou Medical University , Guangzhou 510182 , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tianfen
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: a Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Waste Reuse in Agriculture of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes , College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University , Guangzhou 510642 , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fangwen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: a Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Waste Reuse in Agriculture of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes , College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University , Guangzhou 510642 , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zebin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: a Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Waste Reuse in Agriculture of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes , College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University , Guangzhou 510642 , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shucai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: a Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Waste Reuse in Agriculture of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes , College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University , Guangzhou 510642 , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qi-Tang
authors.initials: QT
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001937:Brassica / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000378:metabolism*; D027741:Ipomoea / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D031963:Sedum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012722:Sewage; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012722:Sewage; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: heavy metals; phytoremediation; safe utilization; sludge leachate