title: Polychlorinated biphenyl concentration changes in sewage sludge and organic municipal waste mixtures during composting and anaerobic digestion.
abstract: We determined the changes in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in a mixture of sewage sludge and the organic fraction of municipal waste during composting and during anaerobic digestion. The processes were carried out on a laboratory scale. The PCBs were analyzed in the waste samples using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We evaluated the rates at which the PCB concentrations decreased during composting and during anaerobic digestion and compared the PCB degradation kinetics during these processes. The most important conclusion of this work is that anaerobic digestion is much more effective than composting at removing PCBs from a mixture of sewage sludge and the organic fraction of municipal waste.
authors.affiliation: Koszalin University of Technology, ul. Sniadeckich 2, 75-453 Koszalin, Poland. Electronic address: izabela.siebielska@tu.koszalin.pl.
authors.forename: Izabela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Siebielska
authors.affiliation: Koszalin University of Technology, ul. Sniadeckich 2, 75-453 Koszalin, Poland.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sidełko
mesh_terms: D000332:Aerobiosis; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019149:Bioreactors; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D007700:Kinetics; D008697:Methane / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008954:Models, Biological; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000378:metabolism*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D009584:Nitrogen; D008697:Methane
keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Composting; First-order kinetic model; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Second-order kinetic model