Sustainable Management of Sewage Sludge Based on Recovery and Reuse Strategy: Ecological and Health Risks

Dear Colleagues,

Sewage sludge is a by-product of wastewater treatment processes, and can pose ecological risks if not managed properly. It is composed of organic and inorganic materials, including pathogens, nutrients, heavy metals, and organic compounds. Therefore, proper sludge management is essential to prevent pollution migration and minimize environmental and human health risks. These risks primarily stem from the potential contamination of soil and water environments with pollutants found in sewage sludge. Ecological risk assessment involves identifying and analyzing the hazards posed by these pollutants. Sustainable sewage sludge management is crucial to preventing these risks and ensuring the protection of the natural environment and environmental health. Currently, sustainable and circular management of sewage sludge is based on a secure recovery and reuse strategy: energy recovery into electricity, mechanical energy, and heat; nitrogen recovery into reusable ammonium nitrate and phosphorus recovery via struvite crystallization; reuse of sludge into bio-solids (fertilizer) and bio-resources (biogas for heat and power generation).

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Sustainable sewage sludge management;
• Assessment of ecological risk;
• Environmental and health impact assessment;
• Sewage sludge management and application;
• Sewage sludge sustainable disposal methods;
• Protection of the natural environment from secondary contamination with pollutants in sewage sludge.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Olga Anne
Dr. Malwina Tytła
Guest Editors

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• sewage sludge recycling
• reuse
• hazardous pollutants
• ecological risk
• health impact
• sustainable sludge management
• sludge disposal
• energy and nutrients recovery