Destinação do lodo de estação de tratamento de água em estação de tratamento de esgotos: avanços teóricos e experimentais

Abstract

The sludge generated in Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) poses a significant environmental challenge but also offers opportunities for sustainable applications in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). Through scientometric and experimental approaches, this study investigated the destination of WTP sludge in sewage treatment. The scientometric analysis included 198 selected studies out of 544 articles from the Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases. The results indicated a growing number of publications since 2015 and revealed research gaps related to toxicity, hormone removal, and the use of WTP sludge in WWTPs. Mixing tests assessed the efficiency of combining WTP sludge with raw sewage under different dosage conditions and sedimentation times. The results showed removal efficiencies of aluminum, total phosphorus, and total solids above 95%, suggesting that WTP sludge can replace commercial coagulants and reduce operational costs. Ecotoxicological assays using Daphnia magna and Vibrio fischeri showed low toxicity under most operational conditions, with EC50 values above 80% in most tests. The findings highlight the potential of WTP sludge as a coagulant aid in wastewater treatment, contributing to circular economy initiatives and sustainable waste management. Future research should focus on large-scale applications, long-term impacts, and the removal of emerging contaminants to consolidate this approach as an environmentally safe alternative.