A Chemical-Physical procedure to reduce levels of potentially toxix elements (PTEs) in municipal sewage sludges

The current waste policy in EU aims at reducing the amounts of sludges to be disposed in landfill, encouraging their energy reuse (e.g. energy source, fertilizers, etc.). In this perspective a reduction of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and water is welcome, in view of a more sustainable reutilization of sludges, e.g. in agriculture. Aim of this work was to set up a chemical-physical procedure, named modified Fenton process (patent n° PC2012A000008 of 22/03/2012), which was able to improve the reduction of some PTEs (Zn, Ni, Cu, Pb, Cd and Cr) and water in municipal sewage sludges from anaerobic digestion, better than a conventional Fenton process, avoiding significant decreases of total organic carbon (TOC).