title: Reclamation of river dredged sediments polluted by PAHs by co-composting with green waste.
abstract: Polluted dredged sediments are classified as waste and cannot be re-used in civil and environmental engineering nor in agriculture, posing serious logistical, economic and environmental problems for their management. We tested co-composting of sediments (S) slightly polluted by PAHs with urban green waste (GW), as a sustainable technique to both degrade the organic pollutants and lend to sediments suitable properties to be reused as technosol. Four treatments were tested: sediments only (S), GW only (GW), 1:1 w:w S:GW (SGW1:1), and 3:1 w:w S:GW (SGW3:1) for a co-composting period of one year. The co-composting materials underwent to an initial short and moderate thermophilic phase. However, at the end of the co-composting process, SGW3:1 and SGW1:1 achieved suitable physical and chemical properties as plant substrate in terms of organic C, N and humic substances contents, electrical conductivity and bulk density. In the first six months of treatment, the PAHs concentration in SGW3:1 and SGW1:1 was reduced by 26% and 57%, respectively, reaching values below under 1mgg(-1), whereas such a reduction in S alone was observed only after nine months. We concluded that co-composting with green waste can be a suitable approach for reclamation of dredged sediments opening opportunities for their use as technosol or as plant growing substrate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. Electronic address: mattei.paola@unifi.it.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mattei
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cincinelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Martellini
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Natalini
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino (Fi), Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pascale
authors.affiliation: Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Renella
mesh_terms: D000076282:Composting; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology; D007558:Italy; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry*; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Co-composting; Dredged sediments; Green wastes; PAHs contamination; Reclamation