Collaborative Research: WERF: Determining the role of organic matter quality on PFAS leaching from sewage sludge and biosolids

合作研究：WERF：确定有机物质量对污水污泥和生物固体中 PFAS 浸出的作用

• 批准号: 1805588
• 负责人: Erica McKenzie
• 金额: $ 24万
• 依托单位: Temple University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-15 至 2022-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1805588&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; WERF; Determining; role

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a class of synthetic compounds that have been widely used in a variety of industrial applications and consumer products for over 50 years. PFASs are a national concern due to the negative effects of these compounds on human health and ecosystems. Recently, PFASs were found in wastewater treatment plant solids (sewage sludge), and laboratory and field studies indicate that PFASs can leach from these solids. Since land application of these solids, also known as biosolids, is a common practice to fertilize and improve soil conditions, it is important to understand how solids management and treatment practices affect the presence of PFASs in biosolids. Additionally, little is known about how exposure to natural environments may affect the potential leaching of PFASs from biosolids once they are applied to soil. This research project will work with wastewater treatment plants to experimentally determine the effects of sewage sludge management practices on the amount and types of PFASs that end up in the biosolids. This project will also study environmental factors, such as temperature, rainfall, and biological decomposition, that may impact the release of PFASs into the environment following land application of biosolids. In addition to better understanding the fate of PFAS in biosolids, the outcomes of the project will likely lead to better sludge management practices that minimize possible PFAS exposure to soil ecosystems. The project will include outreach efforts to improve the understanding of PFASs and land-application of biosolids for middle school, high school, and university students.The main objective of this collaborative research project is to understand how solid characteristics and water quality affect PFAS desorption from sewage-derived solids. The proposed research will be the first effort to systematically identify solid phase characteristics and water quality factors that govern PFASs sorption capacity in sewage solids. The focus on sewage-derived sludge, namely secondary and anaerobic digester sludges and biosolids, provides a same-sourced solid that substantially changes in character over its production and its use. This proposal will combine PFASs sorption isotherm and edge experiments, conducted in concert with sewage-derived solid and leachate characterization and microbial assessments, to identify the critical factors governing PFASs sorption. The central hypotheses in this study are as follows: 1) sewage-derived solids protein contents will be the key solid phase characteristics that affects PFASs sorption capacity, and that sorption capacity will generally decrease with microbiological processing; 2) the presence of increased dissolved polyvalent cation concentration will increase PFASs sorption capacity, particularly for the longer chain length compounds; and 3) the abiotic sequential leaching weathering process will deplete the hydrophilic components of the biosolids, rendering the remaining biosolids with a more hydrophobic character and thus increased PFASs sorption capacity. If successful, this project will provide valuable information that will aid in the safe use of biosolids produced from recycling sewage waste, enabling a sustainable method of resource recovery from the Nation's wastewater treatment processes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

多氟烷基物质和全氟烷基物质 (PFAS) 是一类合成化合物，50 多年来已广泛用于各种工业应用和消费品。 由于 PFAS 化合物对人类健康和生态系统产生负面影响，因此受到全国关注。 最近，在废水处理厂固体（污水污泥）中发现了 PFAS，实验室和现场研究表明 PFAS 可以从这些固体中浸出。 由于这些固体（也称为生物固体）的土地施用是施肥和改善土壤条件的常见做法，因此了解固体管理和处理实践如何影响生物固体中 PFAS 的存在非常重要。 此外，当生物固体施用于土壤后，暴露于自然环境可能会如何影响 PFAS 从生物固体中的潜在浸出，人们对此知之甚少。 该研究项目将与废水处理厂合作，通过实验确定污水污泥管理实践对最终进入生物固体中的 PFAS 数量和类型的影响。该项目还将研究温度、降雨和生物分解等环境因素，这些因素可能会影响生物固体土地应用后 PFAS 向环境中的释放。除了更好地了解 PFAS 在生物固体中的命运外，该项目的成果可能会带来更好的污泥管理实践，最大限度地减少 PFAS 与土壤生态系统的接触。该项目将包括提高初中生、高中生和大学生对 PFAS 和生物固体土地应用的了解的外展工作。该合作研究项目的主要目标是了解固体特性和水质如何影响污水衍生固体中 PFAS 的解吸。 拟议的研究将首次系统地确定控制污水固体中 PFAS 吸附能力的固相特征和水质因素。 重点关注污水衍生污泥，即二级和厌氧消化污泥和生物固体，提供了一种同源固体，其特性在其生产和使用过程中发生了显着变化。该提案将结合 PFAS 吸附等温线和边缘实验，与污水来源的固体和渗滤液表征以及微生物评估相结合，以确定控制 PFAS 吸附的关键因素。 本研究的中心假设如下：1）污水中的固体蛋白质含量将是影响PFASs吸附能力的关键固相特征，并且吸附能力通常会随着微生物处理而降低； 2) 溶解多价阳离子浓度的增加将增加 PFAS 的吸附能力，特别是对于较长链长的化合物； 3) 非生物连续浸出风化过程将耗尽生物固体的亲水成分，使剩余的生物固体具有更强的疏水性，从而增加 PFAS 的吸附能力。如果成功，该项目将提供有价值的信息，有助于安全使用回收污水废物中产生的生物固体，从而实现从国家废水处理过程中回收资源的可持续方法。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。