Method development for the quality assessment of sewage sludge ashes (QM-KSA) - Phase II: Preliminary study on the applicability of portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy for the rapid determination of nutrients and pollutants in sewage sludge ashes
Abstract
Solid residues from the incineration of municipal sewage sludges contain macronutrients that can be recovered by means of chemical-physical treatment techniques and subsequently used, for example, in the fertilizer industry. In Vienna approx. 12,000 t of sewage sludge ashes (SSA) accumulate annually from fluidized bed combustion, which can have a phosphorus content of approx. 8-10%. In addition to macronutrients SSA can also contain pollutants such as toxic trace elements. In order to be allowed to use processed SSA in the fertilizer industry in the future, the quality requirements according to the Fertilizer Ordinance 2004 and the Regulation (EC) No. 2003/2003 on fertilizers must be complied with. In terms of quality assurance, the applicability of portable X-ray fluorescence analysis (PRFA) has already been tested in a preliminary study conducted by ABF-BOKU (“Phase I” completed in October 2018). Compared to conventional analytical methods, PRFA holds the advantage that it can be applied very quickly, cost-effectively and without labor-intensive sample preparation. In the preliminary study, the applicability of PRFA was successfully tested on the basis of reference measurements using ICP-OES. Above all, it was shown that PRFA can be used to quantify legally relevant environmental parameters (e.g. chromium or iron content) with sufficient accuracy. However, the analytical procedure has to be optimized in order to enable a future standardization of this method. In this project, the aim is to increase the sample size and thus to be able to statistically verify the significance of the data. For this purpose, approx. 70 SSA samples from Viennese fluidized bed combustion plants are to be examined more thoroughly. The aim of this application study is to assess the accuracy (or precision and trueness) of the PRFA.
Abfallcharakterisierung sewage sludge ashes Method development for quality assessment X-ray fluorescence analysis environmental impact assessment
Publikationen
Project staff
Florian Part
Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Florian Part
florian.part@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-81344
Project Leader
01.03.2020 - 31.01.2021
Simon Neubauer
Dipl.-Ing. Simon Neubauer B.Sc.
Sub Projectleader
01.09.2020 - 30.11.2020
Project Staff
01.03.2020 - 31.08.2020