Using bioleaching to remove metals from sewage sludge intended for land application

Removal of heavy metal contaminants from sewage sludge is a necessity before it is used as an agricultural fertilizer (biosolid), due to environmental concerns and municipal, provincial and federal regulations. The bioleaching method is recommended as an economical and effective process for the removal of heavy metals from the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant (ABTP) sludge, some of them with concentrations exceeding the recommended level by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs guidelines.; The Gram-negative thiobacilli is a group of organisms with physiological and morphological similarity and grows by oxidizing ferrous ion and reduced sulphur compounds. One species of thiobacillus, T. ferrooxidan, was recommended as an effective bacterium for the heavy metal removal from sewage sludge.; This research involved the incubation of adapted sludge using fresh raw digested sludge and activated sludge of ABTP.; It is concluded that Ontario should continue to apply sludge to agricultural land, as sludge is an economic alternative, promotes recycling of resources, and is a valuable fertilizer. However, the toxic metals in sludge should be removed from sewage sludge using the bioleaching process to recommended level before it is disposed as a fertilizer for land application. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...