Dissipation of Fragrance Materials in Sludge-Amended Soils

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 194 - 201
• Main Authors: DiFrancesco, Angela M, Chiu, Pei C, Standley, Laurel J, Allen, Herbert E, Salvito, Daniel T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01.01.2004
• Subjects: Adsorption; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Biological and physicochemical properties of pollutants. Interaction in the soil; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Leachates; Other industrial wastes. Sewage sludge; Other nutrients. Amendments. Solid and liquid wastes. Sludges and slurries; Perfume; Pollution; Pollution, environment geology; Sewage - chemistry; Sludge; Soil adsorption; Soil and sediments pollution; Soil contaminants; Soil contamination; Soil Pollutants - isolation & purification; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Soils; Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods; Wastes; Delaware; United States; North America; America; USA, Delaware; Organic matter; Pollutant behavior; Perfume; Agricultural soil; Sewage sludge; Chemical product; Persistence; Amendment; Medium effect; Upgrading; Environment impact; Waste reuse; Organic compounds
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/es034618v

A possible removal mechanism for fragrance materials (FMs) in wastewater is adsorption to sludge, and sludge application to land may be a route through which FMs are released to the soil environment. However, little is known about the concentrations and fate of FMs in soil receiving sludge application. This study was conducted to better understand the dissipation of FMs in sludge-amended soils. We first determined the spiking and extraction efficiencies for 22 FMs in soil and leachate samples. Nine FMs were detected in digested sludges from two wastewater treatment plants in Delaware using these methods. We conducted a 1-year die-away experiment which involved four different soils amended with sludge, with and without spiking of the 22 FMs. The initial dissipation of FMs in all spiked trays was rapid, and only seven FMs remained at concentrations above the quantification limits after 3 months:  AHTN, HHCB, musk ketone, musk xylene, acetyl cedrene, OTNE, and DPMI. After 1 year, the only FMs remaining in all spiked trays were musk ketone and AHTN. DPMI was the only FM that leached significantly from the spiked trays, and no FMs were detected in leachate from any unspiked tray. While soil organic matter content affected the dissipation rate in general, different mech anisms (volatilization, transformation, leaching) appeared to be important for different FMs.