Bioresource Technology 363 (2022) 127984

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Bioresource Technology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biortech

Review

A critical review on utilization of sewage sludge as environmental

functional materials
Yuanyao Ye a, Huu Hao Ngo b, *, Wenshan Guo b, Soon Woong Chang c, Dinh Duc Nguyen c,
Qiang Fu b, Wei Wei b, Bingjie Ni b, Dongle Cheng b, Yi Liu d
a
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, PR China
b
Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
c
Department of Environmental Energy Engineering, Kyonggi University, 442-760, Republic of Korea
d
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, 2205 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, PR China

H I G H L I G H T S

• Using sewage sludge (SS) as environment functional material was critically reviewed.
• SS can be used as adsorbents and catalysts to remove pollutants from wastewaters.
• SS application in the soil can improve plant growth.
• Future research should focus on the potentially harmful impacts of SS.

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Sewage sludge (SS) is increasingly used as an environment functional material to reduce or control pollution and
Sewage sludge improve plant growth because of the large amounts of carbon and essential plant nutrients in it. To achieve the
Environmental functional materials best application results, it is essential to comprehensively review recent progress in SS utilization. This review
Utilization
aims to fill the gaps in knowledge by describing the properties of SS, and its usage as adsorbents, catalysts and
Challenges
fertilizers, and certain application mechanisms. Although SS generates several benefits for the environment and
humans, many challenges still exist to limit the application, including the risks posed by potentially toxic sub­
stances (e.g., heavy metals) in SS. Therefore, future research directions are discussed and how to make SS ap­
plications more feasible in terms of technology and economy.

1. Introduction exists in semi-solid or insoluble solid form. It is now receiving a lot of

scientific attention (Nahar & Shahadat Hossen, 2021). The large amount
Currently, the sustainable economic development of society is being of water (97–98%) makes the treatment and disposal of SS complicated
compromised by environmental degradation, energy shortages and (Kacprzak et al., 2017). It was reported that over 3 × 108 t of SS was
wastage of finite resources. The manufacture and use of conventional annually produced in developing countries (Zhang et al., 2015) and this
materials may result in environmental load, pollution and excessive number is inevitably increasing worldwide; for instance, more than 90
consumption of energy. This is despite the fact that such materials make Mt of raw SS with 80% of water will be produced in China in spite of
great contributions to material wealth. In this scenario, devising an number already reaching 60 Mt in 2019 (Guo et al., 2021). The safe
environment functional material (EFM) is driven due to new pressures to disposal of SS is now becoming a serious issue in wastewater treatment
conserve public health, economic sustainability protecting the envi­ plants throughout the world. During the wastewater treatment process,
ronment (Sun et al., 2021). a variety of contaminants (e.g., heavy metals) may be deposited in raw
Sewage sludge (SS) is the by-product of biological wastewater SS, which also consists of pathogens, persistent organic pollutants and
treatment processes at wastewater treatment plants, and this substance potentially toxic elements (Fijalkowski et al., 2017). Besides, raw SS

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Hao Ngo).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127984
Received 29 July 2022; Received in revised form 11 September 2022; Accepted 12 September 2022
Available online 17 September 2022
0960-8524/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Ye et al. Bioresource Technology 363 (2022) 127984

contains valuable nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, and a large area (Liu et al., 2020a; Liu et al., 2020c; Liu et al., 2020d). Consequently,
amount of organic substances (Urra et al., 2019). Collivignarelli et al. SBC has the potential to reduce toxicity to the environment and stabilize
(2019) reported that < 1% total K, 1.2–3% total P, 2.8–4.9% total N and toxic or poisonous materials. In recent years, many studies utilized SBCs
20.5–40.3% (of total dry solid, TS) organic carbon (C) are typically as adsorbents for removing contaminants such as antibiotics, dyes and
involved in the mixed raw sewage sludge (from industrial, municipal insecticides (Li et al., 2020a; Liu et al., 2020c; Saadat et al., 2018; Tang
and commercial industrial sources) on a dry weight basis. et al., 2019a; Tang et al., 2019b; Yang et al., 2018). For instance, Ifthikar
The conventional treatment and disposal processes of SS mainly et al. (2018) achieved high capacity of 594.17 mg/g for Hg (II)
include incineration, landfilling and ocean dumping, which may result adsorption and shorter equilibrium time (<60 min) for Pb (II) adsorp­
in unwanted secondary contaminations and widespread pollution de­ tion while modifying SBC with carboxymethyl chitosan to synthesize
stroys lifeforms (Lü et al., 2021; Racek et al., 2019). Due to the simple bio-adsorbent.
operation and low cost, it is most popular to apply landfill and ocean As well as being an effective adsorbent, SBCs can function as cata­
dumping for SS treatment. In this scenario, however, the method may lysts in advanced oxidation processes to facilitate the generation of
result in the accumulation of toxic substances in SS and thus spread sulfate radicals, superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals with low
various diseases through the groundwater and food chain (Hadi et al., energy requirement and transition metals for degrading refractory pol­
2015). For the incineration technology, it indeed reduces the volume of lutants (Ahn et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2017a; Wang et al., 2017b; Wang
SS and eliminates some harmful matters in SS at high temperature. et al., 2017c; Yin et al., 2019). This may be attributed to the large
However, the high input of energy and cost in the incineration process amount of nutrients (N and P), metals (Ni, Zn, Mg, Ca, Ti, Cu, Fe and Al),
may restrict its commercial application while the production of harmful O, S, Si and carbon, which are always involved in the preparation of
gases, fly ash and dioxin achieved in the process may pose risks to different heterogeneous carbonaceous catalysts (Ruiz-Gómez et al.,
human health and the ecological environment (Schnell et al., 2020; You 2017). To date, the application of modified SBCs as catalysts has been
et al., 2016). Thus, challenges in the SS treatment process trigger investigated in catalytic reactions (e.g., photocatalysis, H2O2/persulfate
promising technologies which are more favorable to human health and activation and Fenton-like/ozonation reaction) for the removal of
environment (Ruiz-Gómez et al., 2017). Valorization technologies of SS organic contaminants (Gu et al., 2017; Gu et al., 2012; Zhou et al.,
have been considered one of the most sustainable options; for example, 2015). Zhang et al. (2018b) exploited iron sludge and bio-sludge by
the direct land application of raw SS is good when considering economic hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) to prepare magnetic biochar cata­
and environmental perspectives (Maroušek & Maroušková, 2021) lysts, where such catalysts can treat dyeing wastewater via Fenton
(Fig. 1), in which SS could act as a fertilizer because it contains rich processes with nearly 98% of MB being degraded within 12 min.
organics and nutrients. Such application could enhance plant biomass In the context of SS valorization, applying SS for environmental
production and soil fertility through the increase in the content of pollution remediation and plant growth is a cost-effective and envi­
organic C and nutrients in the soil when SS serves as a soil amendment ronmentally friendly method of SS disposal. To date, little has been
(Wang et al., 2008). From a circular economy perspective, the reuse of published in terms of a comprehensive review of SS applications. For
SS not only can recover organics and nutrients, but also mitigate the this reason, it is timely to provide a systematic review of the literature
environmental loading characterized by wasteful landfill and incinera­ and progress made in remediating SSs, especially their use as adsor­
tion practices (Hoang et al., 2022). Aleisa et al. (2021) discovered that bents, catalysts, and fertilizers (Fig. 3). In this review, the characteristics
the reuse of SS can reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2 and of SSs are summarized and discussed. As well, the utilization of SS as
N2O according to the International Reference Life Cycle Data System EFM for pollution control and plant growth is critically reviewed. Some
standards and life cycle assessment (LCA). constructive suggestions for the future refinements of SSs are also
Due to SS containing rich carbon and other reactive elements, it is proposed.
also a prospective raw material for the production of sludge biochar
(SBC) via carbonization (Yuan et al., 2013; Zhao et al., 2021) (Fig. 2), 2. Characteristics of sewage sludge
which has low preparation cost, porous structure, rich surface functional
groups such as amino, carboxyl and hydroxyl groups, and large surface At treatment plants of industrial and municipal wastewaters, the

Fig. 1. Turning sewage sludge to environment functional materials for value creation.

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Y. Ye et al. Bioresource Technology 363 (2022) 127984

Fig. 2. The production pathway of SS-based biochar through pyrolysis (modified from Singh et al. (2020)).

Fig. 3. Organization of the review paper.

properties of SS are highly affected by the treatment process and input 2.1. Nutrients and organics
sources (Chang et al., 2020). In this scenario, SS generally contains
pathogens, organics, inorganics and nutrients (Table 1). Both suspended and dissolved SS consist of micronutrients like Zn,
Mn and Fe, and macronutrients such as K, P and N (Perez-Murcia et al.,
2006). Jatav et al. (2018) discovered that the amount of micronutrients
existing in SS could satisfy plant growth demands. Regarding macro­
nutrients, considerable amounts of inorganic and organic P and N are
always detected in SS (Wang et al., 2019). Organic P consists of a variety
Table 1 of organic substances (e.g., lipids and nucleic acids) while phosphate
Properties and composition of raw SS. (PO3−4 ) compounds are the dominant form of inorganic P (Qin et al.,
Parameters Value References 2015). Meanwhile, amine-N, protein-N, pyridinic-N and pyrrolic-N are
generally included in the organically bonded N whilst inorganic N
Total potassium <1% TS Nguyen et al. (2021)
Total 1.2–3% TS Hoang et al. (2022)
comprises nitrate-nitrogen (NO3–N), nitrite-nitrogen (NO2–N) and
phosphorus ammonia–nitrogen (NH3–N).
Total nitrogen 2.8–4.9% TS Gao et al. (2020); Collivignarelli et al. In addition to nutrients, high concentrations of organic compounds
(2019) are observed in SS, especially in its recalcitrant and labile factions,
Organic carbon 20.5–40.3% TS Collivignarelli et al. (2019)
including proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, amino acids and fatty acids
Total volatile 60–85% TS (Gao et al., 2020)
solid (Raheem et al., 2018). A complex mixture of high-molecular-weight
organic substances, hard cell walls and floc structure are involved in
Total organic 19.8–43.4% TS Singh and Agrawal (2008) recalcitrant fraction (Nguyen et al., 2021) while throughout wastewater
solid treatment processes it is evident that labile factions mineralize rapidly,
Total dry solid 2–9% TS Collivignarelli et al. (2019)
which occupies up to 40% of total organic matter (on dry weight basis)
(TS) (Kacprzak et al., 2017). Cao et al. (2018) argued the significant effects of
Zn 300–7500 mg/kg (dry (Correa Martins et al., 2016); Singh microbial extracellular polymetric substances (EPS) on the wastewater
mass) and Agrawal (2008) treatment processes, which is formed from adsorbed organic matter and
Mn 100–2621 mg/kg (dry (Collivignarelli et al., 2019); Singh and
cell lysis. The sludge dewaterability could be diminished due to the
mass) Agrawal (2008)
Cu 55.8–1120 mg/kg Urbaniak et al. (2017); Gu et al. (2013) existence of EPS in SS, which strongly suggests the impact of EPS on SS
(dry mass) treatment (Nguyen et al., 2021).
Cd 1.36–3.3 mg/kg (dry Urbaniak et al. (2017); Gu et al. (2013) Apart from this, large amounts of organic contaminants are con­
mass) tained and concentrated in SS, including emerging organic contami­
Cr 37.2–156 mg/kg (dry Urbaniak et al. (2017); Gu et al. (2013)
mass)
nants (e.g., personal care products (PCPs)), halogenated organic

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Y. Ye et al. Bioresource Technology 363 (2022) 127984

compounds, some persistent organic pollutants (e.g., polychlorinated 3. Utilization of sewage sludge as environment functional
dibenzo-dioxin and furans and polychlorinated biphenyls) and poly­ materials (EFM) for pollution control
cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This may be attributed to the
various sources being discharged into the sewerage system, such as Biomass that is contained in SS could be thermo-chemically con­
storm-water run-off, industrial effluents and other paved areas. Various verted to biochar through pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization
parameters such as wastewater treatment technologies (e.g., anaerobic (Gascó et al., 2018). The pyrolysis processes could be divided into
or aerobic treatment), SS properties (e.g., cation exchange capacity and electromagnetic induction-based pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis (500–1000 ◦ C;
pH) and physicochemical properties (e.g., molecular weight and hy­ heating rate of 10–200 ◦ C/s) and slow pyrolysis (300–800 ◦ C; heating
drophobicity) can influence the behaviors of those organic contaminants rate of 1 ◦ C/s) according to the residence time and temperature (Xue
(Fijalkowski et al., 2017). It should be noted here that such organic et al., 2019). In the pyrolysis technology, the complete elimination of
pollutants have mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic characteristics, water molecules could be realized prior to the pyrolysis because the high
which could pose serious risks to the health of humans, flora and fauna content of moisture in the biomass increases the heating time required
(Hu et al., 2014). Nevertheless, some studies have reported that the for pyrolysis (Tripathi et al., 2016). For this reason, the drying process is
application of those compounds to land may not pose a danger to needed, in which such process could be conducted at low temperature
humans because they could be adsorbed tightly to the soil and their (25–30 ◦ C) for few weeks or high temperature (100–150 ◦ C) for 24 h
bioavailability and mobility could thereby decrease (Clarke & Smith, (Chen et al., 2019b). Moreover, crushing the dewatered SS into small
2011). sizes is needed to achieve high heating rate. For the hydrothermal
According to the scientific community, PCPs as the so-called carbonization technology, it does not require the removal of moisture
emerging organic contaminants have recently garnered much atten­ before the SBC synthesis, where the reaction occurs under low-
tion and their various groups (e.g., antineoplastics, antianginals, hor­ temperature conditions in the presence of water (Gopinath et al.,
mones, antiseptics, antibiotics and antifungals) are detected in SS 2021). In addition, the preparation process conditions highly affect the
(Verlicchi & Zambello, 2015). In fact their content is influenced by SS physicochemical properties of SBC, such as temperature and the co-
processing. In addition, nano- and micro-plastics, and nanoparticles synthesis with other materials. It should be noted here that some ma­
have also been deposited in the SS, which enters the sewerage system terials could be used to modify SBC for improving its properties (Zie­
from a variety of sources (Corradini et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2012). lińska et al., 2015).
However, effective removal of such organic contaminants cannot be SBC has been reported as an effective adsorbent for the removal of an
easily achieved through conventional wastewater treatment technolo­ extensive range of pollutants such as phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen,
gies, in which these contaminants may enter and pollute the environ­ heavy metals, dyes and emerging contaminants (e.g., insecticides and
ment through SS (Hatinoğlu & Sanin, 2021; Li et al., 2020b). antibiotics) (Dai et al., 2020; Lopez-Tenllado et al., 2021; Tang et al.,
2019b) (Table 2). The adsorption properties are mainly controlled by
the environmental conditions and inherent properties of adsorbates and
2.2. Heavy metals adsorbents (Gopinath et al., 2020). The mechanisms for the adsorption
of contaminants through SBCs mainly include π-π interactions, electro­
The heavy metals in SS mainly stem from surface runoff and indus­ static attractions and others such as hydrogen bonding and ligand ex­
trial effluents, which include biologically non-essential elements (e.g., change (Ji et al., 2022).
Hg, Pb, As and Cd) and essential elements (e.g., Se and Co) in terms of For the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, Yang et al. (2018) used
plant uptake (Fijalkowski et al., 2017; Rinklebe et al., 2019). Adriano iron to modify biochar derived from SS through a co-precipitation
(2001) found that small concentrations of non-essential elements are technique, which achieves superior phosphate adsorption capacity
also zootoxic or phytotoxic to humans, animals and plants whilst (111.0 mg/g). Similarly, other metals such as Mg, Ca, Al and Cu could
essential elements are conducive to humans, animals and plant nutrition also be impregnated into SBCs for the phosphate removal, where the Ca-
but in small amounts. Nonetheless, the high concentrations of essential and Mg-loaded SBCs present high adsorption capacities (153.85 mg/g)
elements may also have negative effects on humans, animals and plants. (Saadat et al., 2018). Zhang and Wang (2016) prepared biochars derived
Some heavy metals (e.g., Se and Co) exert detrimental impacts on higher from the mixtures of brewers’ spent grain and sewage sludge, which
plants, but can be beneficial to animals (Kirkham & Liphadzi, 2006). The could obtain 83.9% of NH+ 4 -N being removed.
content of heavy metals in SS has been reduced because governments’ Apart from this, the application of SBC has also been checked for the
strict regulations are implemented to limit the discharge of contami­ removal of heavy metals (e.g., Cu, Cr, Hg, Pb, Cd and As) (Chen et al.,
nants, especially as they derive from industrial effluents and enter 2020b; Deng et al., 2020). By an electromagnetic induction process, Xue
wastewater treatment plants (Fijalkowski et al., 2017). et al. (2019) prepared a SBC for the removal of Cd2+ and Pb2+, in which
the yield rate of SBC ranged from 89.7% to 51.2% at temperature from
300 to 600 ◦ C. Tang et al. (2019a) synthesized amino-functionalized SBC
2.3. Pathogens for the Cu removal with the maximum adsorption capacity of 74.51 mg/
g at room temperature. Some negatively charged SBCs adsorbents could
Fijalkowski et al. (2017) reported that viruses, parasites, fungi, utilize electrostatic interactions to remove positively charged pollutants
bacteria and a mixture of pathogenic organisms are contained in SS. such as heavy metals from wastewater (Kavindi et al., 2022; Lv et al.,
During the global COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 as a newly 2018). The intensity of electrostatic interactions is affected by the dis­
emerging virus was detected in SS (Serra-Compte et al., 2021). It was tance between substances and the amount of charges they have (Yang
reported that SARS-CoV-2 genetic material could utilize SS for its spread et al., 2019). Solution pH is an important factor guiding the electrostatic
since SS has high affinity to solid particles (Balboa et al., 2021). For this interaction in heavy metals adsorption as well as the pHpzc of the
reason, viral genetic fragment materials have been detected in SS at adsorbent. Hence, the electrostatic effect is very closely linked to the
many wastewater treatment plants (D’Aoust et al., 2021; Peccia et al., amount of charge, form of organic contaminants and electrification of
2020). During the land application of SS, it was argued that SARS-CoV-2 SBCs.
that persists in SS may cause secondary transmission and thus pose a risk Moreover, Xiao et al. (2018) developed a SBC through thermal­
to humans (Liu et al., 2020b). Nevertheless, more studies are needed to –alkaline process to remove cationic red X-GRL via adsorption. In their
explore the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to survive in SS and further spread in study, the surface area and pore volume of biochar could be increased by
soil. Apart from this, the presence of antibiotics in wastewaters may lead 43.5% and 33.3% respectively, in which the removal efficiency of dye
to the detection of some drug-fast bacillus in SS (Reinthaler et al., 2013). could be increased by 49.2%. It is difficult for the elimination of

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Y. Ye et al. Bioresource Technology 363 (2022) 127984

Table 2
Adsorption of contaminant by SBC.
Adsorbent Contaminant Adsorption capacity Mechanism References
(mg/g)

ZnCl2 modified SBC TC 93.44 π-π conjugation and hydrogen bonding Yan et al. (2020)
Iron loaded SBC DOC 128.98 Hydrogen bonds, π-π interactions Wei et al. (2019)
NaHCO3 loaded cassava TC 154.45 mg/g electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions, and pore- Zhang et al.
ethanol SBC filling (2021b)
Willow loaded SBC phenanthrene and N/A π-π electron-donor–acceptor (EDA) interactions and hydrophobic Godlewska et al.
pyrene interactions (2019)
Iron loaded SBC TC 40.8 Hydrogen bonding Yang et al. (2016)
iron-modified SBC Phosphate 111 Electrostatic attraction, ligand exchange, and ion exchange Yang et al. (2018)

nZVI-SBC Pb2+ 180.70 Adsorption and reduction processes Chen et al. (2017)

Alkali-acid modified SBC TC 286.91 Strong π-π stacking interaction and pore-filling effect Tang et al. (2018)
Hydroxyapatite modified Cu2+ and Cd2+ 89.98 (Cu2+) and 114.68 ion exchange complexion by –OH and –COOH, and forming Cu-π or Chen et al. (2021)
SBC (Cd2+) Cd-π binding with aromatic C– –C
Calcium sulfate modified Cd2+ 127.9 coprecipitation, ion exchange and complexation Liu et al. (2021)
SBC
ZnCl2 modified SBC TC and ciprofloxacin 145 (TC) and 74.2 (CIP) pore filling, oxygen-containing groups complexation, π-π conjugation Ma et al. (2021)
(CIP) and hydrogen bonding
TC Li et al. (2022)

synthetic dye molecules because of their complex structures. For this bonding, these functional groups firstly adsorb the various organic
reason, the research on the effective removal of dye molecules has pollutants in wastewaters and then the substrate (e.g., perox­
attracted considerable attention. Furthermore, the utilization of SBC has ymonosulfate and Fe0) could be activated to produce highly reactive
also been reported in treating antibiotics; for example, due to iron- species (e.g., 1O2, ⋅OH and SO4⋅-) (Mian & Liu, 2019; Ren et al., 2015).
containing SBCs containing a large number of oxygen-containing func­ Similarly, Li et al. (2022) utilized tannery sludge to synthesize a carbon-
tional groups, Wei et al. (2019) found that amino and hydroxyl of based catalyst, in which the persulfate could be activated to generate
doxycycline (DOC) and tetracycline (TC) could form hydrogen bonds free radicals (⋅OH and SO4⋅-) for the TC removal. They indicated that
with them for removing those antibiotics. The strength of hydrogen such generation of free radicals could be attributed to the high degree of
bonding interactions is also influenced by different environmental fac­ carbon structural defects, oxygen-containing functional groups and
tors such as pH, where the present form of antibiotics and the surface transition metals.
potential of SBC could be changed by the pH. Yan et al. (2020) found
that the adsorption process could be enhanced by the hydrogen bonding 4. Sewage sludge composting as EFM
between oxygen-containing carbon groups and –OH. As mentioned
above, the SBCs could also employ diffusion, reduction, pore filling, It was reported that SS can be an alternative to chemical fertilizers,
hydrogen bonding, ion exchange and ligand exchange for the removal of improving the yield of crops and morpho-physiological performance
pollutants via adsorption. (Table 3). SS application has been done to improve productivity of
The SBC is used in the catalytic degradation of organic pollutants plants and crops, including sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), willow
including Antipyrine, Hydroquinone, m-cresol, 2- Naphthol, Oxalic acid, (Salix viminalis L.), willow (Salix viminalis L.), hemp (Cannabis sativa L.),
1,2,4 acid, Norfloxacin, Dimethoate, Bromophenol blue, Rhodamine B, zoysia grass (Zoysia japonica L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L.), wheat (Triti­
Methyl Orange, Orange G, Acid Orange II, p-nitrophenol, 2/ 4/ 5-chlor­ cum aestivum L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) (Seleiman et al., 2020;
ophenol, phenol and methylene blue, in which the removal efficiencies
are satisfactory (Mian et al., 2019a). Compared to many previously re­
Table 3
ported carbonaceous catalysts, the removal capacity of SBC is compet­
SS applications in soil.
itive given recyclability, reaction time, pollutants concentration and
catalyst dose (Huang et al., 2018; Marques et al., 2011). Huang et al. Types of SS Plant species Soil type References

(2018) devised a SBC-based catalyst for the removal of Bisphenol and SS Sorghum bicolor L. Halaquepts of Zuo et al.
compared it to many previously documented catalysts, in which it inceptisols (2019)
SS Triticum aestivum L. Clay loam soils Rehman et al.
emerged that 0.2 mg/L of SBC-based catalyst could achieve superior
(2018)
removal efficiency at a wide pH range. The catalytic reaction could be SS Salix viminalis L. Sandy clay soils Urbaniak
affected by various factors such as external energy inputs (heat or light), et al. (2017)
aqueous parameters and physicochemical properties of SBCs. For Digested SS Zea mays L. Vertic Stagnosols Seleiman
example, Chen et al. (2019a) argued that the catalytic activity of SBC- Cannabis sativa L. et al. (2013a)
Brassica napus L.
based catalysts could be enhanced in the presence of Zn, Fe, Mg, Al Distillery sludge Sugarcane (CO-265) agricultural fields of Mishra et al.
and Si in SS during the synthesis of SBC-based catalysts. Nira region of (2021)
Moreover, the presence of inorganic transition metals (e.g., Co, Mn Maharashtra
and Fe) can contribute to the formation of persistent free radicals (PFRs) SS Zea mays L. Chernozem Černý et al.
(2012)
and thus improve catalytic efficiency (Lyu et al., 2020; Mian et al.,
SS N/A Sandy loam soil Dhanker et al.
2019b). Furthermore, the SBC-based catalysts with oxygen-based func­ (2021)
tional groups (e.g., such as OH, COO, C– – O, and C–O) could occur via SBC Radish and corn Partial farmland Zhang et al.
the suitable carbonization of SS (Wang et al., 2017c; Wang & Wang, (2021a)
2019). In this scenario, SBC exhibits high conductivity and graphitiza­ Phosphate- Ryegrass Alkaline soil Elkhlifi et al.
lanthanum (2021)
tion, for which it can act as a mediator in a non-radical pathway for coated SS
electron transfer from pollutants (electron donor) to persulfate (electron SBC Corn tropical soil Chagas et al.
acceptor) (Chen et al., 2020a). Through electrostatic interaction and H- (2021)

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Seleiman et al., 2012; Zuo et al., 2019). However, unwise sludge whilst the market prices of activated carbon and SBC are 1500 and 246
application may disturb the soil properties due to the presence of higher US$/ton, respectively (Singh et al., 2020). In this scenario, the relatively
levels of toxic constituents and heavy metals (Singh et al., 2011). low price of SBC could ensure the economic sustainability. For example,
Nevertheless, some research reported that the visual symptoms of heavy Feng et al. (2018) compared the preparation costs and performance of
metal toxicity were not observed after the amount of heavy metals in graphene and carbon nanofibers (CNF)-based anodes and SS-based
plants and crops increased due to SS application (Seleiman et al., 2013b; electrodes, in which they found the synthesis cost of latter is lower
Zuo et al., 2019). As well as an improvement in nutrient recycling and with 1.2–3 times higher power density. Nevertheless, the research on
soil structure, SS applications in agriculture can curtail energy con­ economic feasibility is still rare, so more studies are needed to evaluate
sumption when compared to commercial fertilizers. More specifically, the long-term condition.
the SS application could supplement the input of N and P and thus
reduce the production burden of industrial N and P production which is 6. Future perspectives
cost-intensive.
In addition, composting could convert SS into value-added products Up to now, the great potential of SS has been reported extensively.
such as organic fertilizer (Qian et al., 2014), which is also considered an However, the control synthesis route for desired physicochemical
invaluable strategy for the sludge valorization. According to the evolu­ properties (e.g., surface area, porosity, functional groups, and metal
tion in temperature, the compositing process could be divided into three phase structure), dynamic catalytic reaction and mechanisms, and ap­
stages: mesophilic (moderate temperature), thermophilic (high tem­ plications in the wide field of catalysis are still in the early stages. For
perature), and maturation (cooling down) (Anjum et al., 2016). The large-scale industrial application and desired environmental sustain­
sludge composting could be deemed as a slow release fertilizer in the ability, meaningful efforts should be made in future research to solve the
agricultural applications since the process could recover essential plant existing scientific and technological challenges in SSs. Even though the
nutrients from SS, including K, P and N (Wang et al., 2015). Besides, the high potential of SS for functioning as an EFM for pollution control and
products derived from sludge composting could be applied in agriculture plant growth has been extensively documented, more efforts are
to improve erosion control, increase organic matter in the soil, improve required to solve the existing technological and scientific challenges, in
moisture retention and accelerate plant growth (Nafez et al., 2015). The order to increase the environmental sustainability and commercial
low C/N ratio and high moisture content in the SS may result in unfa­ applicability of SS:
vorable conditions for aerobic microorganisms in the composting even
though aerobic composting can naturally occur. For this reason, it is 1) The effects of operating parameters on the thermal conversion of SS
usually to integrate organic wastes and bulking agents with high C/N should be explored in detail inducing the mechanisms of SBC for­
ration and low water content, in which the aeration in the composting mation. The in situ or online monitoring and detection techniques (e.
material could be enhanced and the nutritional balance for the micro­ g., Py − GC − MS and TG − FTIR − MS) could be applied in the future
organisms could be improved with reduced water content (Zhang et al., to study the effects of the inorganic species of SS on the resultant
2018a). Furthermore, the aerobic decomposition of organic substances products and conversion process (Liu et al., 2015). This will improve
in SS could be accelerated through adding some insect larvae and the adsorption and catalytic performance of SBCs by controlling
earthworm species to the sludge composting (Liew et al., 2022). It is physicochemical features. Various waste biomasses should be
necessary to achieve the complete biodegradation of organics to stabi­ incorporated with SS to enhance chemical stability, charge separa­
lize the compost prior to its agricultural applications because the tion, charge conductivity, reduce metal leaching, and improve
immature compost may detrimentally influence the soil characteristics functional groups and surface properties (Colmenares et al., 2016;
(Bożym & Siemiątkowski, 2018). Huang et al., 2017). As well as common wastes, natural poly­
During the composting of SS process, the N mineralization of the saccharides with excellent capacity and physicochemical character­
organic fraction could be increased, in which effective conversion of istics can be integrated with SBCs to improve their adsorption
organic N to inorganic N could be achieved and the N uptake by plants capacity and further catalytic efficiency (Yang et al., 2015).
could be thereby improved (Hoang et al., 2022). Simultaneously, the 2) Investigations on the catalytic degradation and adsorption of pol­
soluble content of P and S may be also increased during the process. lutants by SBCs in wastewaters have been widely conducted yet the
Thus, the enrichment of nutrients and microbiological stabilization removal mechanism of SBCs in the soil is rarely explored. Therefore,
contribute to obtaining desirable qualities of composted SS. In this further research should be done to analyze the removal of contami­
scenario, further use of composted SS could improve the biological and nants by SBCs in soil. The effects of environmental factors on the
physicochemical characteristics of soils and facilitate the plant uptake applications of SBCs need more documentation. The possible reason
(Boudjabi & Chenchouni, 2021). Under appropriate conditions of the SS for this is that the catalytic and adsorption mechanisms of SBCs on
composting process, the pathogens in the SS could be destroyed due to pollutants could be influenced by diverse microbial communications,
the exothermic nature of composting (Lu et al., 2020). Similarly, the coordination effect of inorganic ions, temperature and solution pH.
organic pollutants such as microplastics, antibiotic resistance genes and 3) The application of SS or SBC as fertilizers in agriculture could pro­
pharmaceuticals and personal-care products could be dissipated in the vide essential nutrients for plant growth, but the properties of SS or
SS composting process (Butkovskyi et al., 2016; Chen et al., 2020c; Liao SBC and soil should be pre-studied as well as the types of plants. In
et al., 2018). particular, the chemical composition of SS is important to determine
its application potential and the risks of groundwater contamination.
5. Economic feasibility of SS as EFMs The economic feasibility of those applications should be reported
given the importance of labor charges and transportation costs. In
To realize the commercial application of SS, it is essential to conduct addition, the bioavailability of heavy metals is continually increasing
the economic feasibility. The sludge treatment, dewatering and disposal based on long-term observations, so intermittent use of sewage
processes determine the cost of sewage sludge, in which it was reported sludge with further analysis of bioavailability is a better choice.
that 2627 kJ/kg of energy is needed in the dewatering process of SS 4) Significant advance was obtained on the removal and dissipation
containing 95% moisture (Kurt et al., 2015). It should be noted here that mechanism of organic pollutants. The composting methods and
the dewatering of SS could be also obtained by waste heat utilization, processes were optimized to promote the removal and dissipation of
gravitational dewatering and sun drying, which could reduce the costs of organic pollutants. Nevertheless, there are some following knowl­
sludge dewatering (Mian et al., 2022). Ahmed et al. (2016) reported that edge gaps on organic pollutants during sludge composting which
the overall disposal costs of SS are in the range of 51 to 5668 US$/ton requires further research.

6
Y. Ye et al. Bioresource Technology 363 (2022) 127984

5) For the composting technology, further research should make more Butkovskyi, A., Ni, G., Hernandez Leal, L., Rijnaarts, H.H.M., Zeeman, G., 2016.
Mitigation of micropollutants for black water application in agriculture via
efforts to study the effects of intermediates of parent compounds I
composting of anaerobic sludge. J. Hazard. Mater. 303, 41–47.
composts. Such investigations would positively contribute to iden­ Cao, B., Zhang, W., Du, Y., Wang, R., Usher, S.P., Scales, P.J., Wang, D., 2018.
tifying the mineralization and degradation pathway of organic con­ Compartmentalization of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) solubilization and
taminants in SS composting process. cake microstructure in relation to wastewater sludge dewatering behavior assisted
by horizontal electric field: Effect of operating conditions. Water Res. 130, 363–375.
Černý, J., Balík, J., Kulhánek, M., Vašák, F., Peklová, L., Sedlář, O., 2012. The effect of
7. Conclusion mineral n fertiliser and sewage sludge on yield and nitrogen efficiency of silage
maize. Plant, Soil and Environment 58 (2), 76–83.
Chagas, J.K.M., Figueiredo, C.C.d., da Silva, J., Paz-Ferreiro, J., 2021. The residual effect
SS mainly contains pathogens, inorganic and organic contaminants, of sewage sludge biochar on soil availability and bioaccumulation of heavy metals:
nutrients and heavy metals, in which its compositions are highly influ­ Evidence from a three-year field experiment. J. Environ. Manage. 279, 111824.
enced by wastewater sources and sludge processing methods. The Chang, Z., Long, G., Zhou, J.L., Ma, C., 2020. Valorization of sewage sludge in the
fabrication of construction and building materials: A review. Resour. Conserv.
application of SS in pollution control and plant growth is indeed Recycl. 154, 104606.
encouraged, but excessive amounts of those pollutants may also be Chen, Y.-D., Duan, X., Zhang, C., Wang, S., Ren, N.-Q., Ho, S.-H., 2020a. Graphitic
introduced, which may result in some potential risks to the environment, biochar catalysts from anaerobic digestion sludge for nonradical degradation of
micropollutants and disinfection. Chem. Eng. J. 384, 123244.
humans and buildings. Consequently, it is essential to identify the Chen, Y.D., Ho, S.H., Wang, D., Wei, Z.S., Chang, J.S., Ren, N.Q., 2017. Lead removal by
characteristics of SS and reduce has much as possible the negative effects a magnetic biochar derived from persulfate-ZVI treated sludge together with one-pot
of contaminants on SS utilization. So laboratory scale SS applications pyrolysis. Bioresour. Technol. 247, 463–470.
Chen, Y., Li, M., Li, Y., Liu, Y., Chen, Y., Li, H., Li, L., Xu, F., Jiang, H., Chen, L., 2021.
should be supported by data obtained during industrial-scale trials.
Hydroxyapatite modified sludge-based biochar for the adsorption of Cu2+ and Cd2
+: Adsorption behavior and mechanisms. Bioresour. Technol. 321, 124413.
CRediT authorship contribution statement Chen, Q., Liu, H., Ko, J., Wu, H., Xu, Q., 2019b. Structure characteristics of bio-char
generated from co-pyrolysis of wooden waste and wet municipal sewage sludge. Fuel
Process. Technol. 183, 48–54.
Yuanyao Ye: Writing – original draft, Methodology, Formal anal­ Chen, Y.-D., Wang, R., Duan, X., Wang, S., Ren, N.-Q., Ho, S.-H., 2020b. Production,
ysis, Data curation. Huu Hao Ngo: Supervision, Project administration, properties, and catalytic applications of sludge derived biochar for environmental
Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing. Wenshan Guo: Super­ remediation. Water Res. 187.
Chen, C., Yan, X., Xu, Y., Yoza, B.A., Wang, X., Kou, Y., Ye, H., Wang, Q., Li, Q.X., 2019a.
vision, Writing – review & editing. Soon Woong Chang: Project Activated petroleum waste sludge biochar for efficient catalytic ozonation of refinery
administration, Writing – review & editing. Dinh Duc Nguyen: Meth­ wastewater. Sci. Total Environ. 651, 2631–2640.
odology, Formal analysis, Resources. Qiang Fu: Methodology. Wei Wei: Chen, Z., Zhao, W., Xing, R., Xie, S., Yang, X., Cui, P., Lü, J., Liao, H., Yu, Z., Wang, S.,
Zhou, S., 2020c. Enhanced in situ biodegradation of microplastics in sewage sludge
Formal analysis, Resources. Bingjie Ni: Formal analysis. Dongle Cheng: using hyperthermophilic composting technology. J. Hazard. Mater. 384, 121271.
Methodology. Yi Liu: Resources. Clarke, B.O., Smith, S.R., 2011. Review of ‘emerging’ organic contaminants in biosolids
and assessment of international research priorities for the agricultural use of
biosolids. Environ. Int. 37 (1), 226–247.
Declaration of Competing Interest Collivignarelli, M.C., Canato, M., Abbà, A., Carnevale Miino, M., 2019. Biosolids: What
are the different types of reuse? J. Cleaner Prod. 238, 117844.
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial Colmenares, J.C., Varma, R.S., Lisowski, P., 2016. Sustainable hybrid photocatalysts:
titania immobilized on carbon materials derived from renewable and biodegradable
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence resources. Green Chem. 18 (21), 5736–5750.
the work reported in this paper. Corradini, F., Meza, P., Eguiluz, R., Casado, F., Huerta-Lwanga, E., Geissen, V., 2019.
Evidence of microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils from sewage sludge
disposal. Sci. Total Environ. 671, 411–420.
Data availability
Correa Martins, M.N., De Souza, V.V., Souza, T.D.S., 2016. Cytotoxic, genotoxic and
mutagenic effects of sewage sludge on Allium cepa. Chemosphere 148 (Apr.),
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Dai, L., Li, L., Zhu, W., Ma, H., Huang, H., Lu, Q., Yang, M., Ran, Y., 2020. Post-
engineering of biochar via thermal air treatment for highly efficient promotion of
Acknowledgement uranium(VI) adsorption. Bioresour. Technol. 298, 122576.
D’Aoust, P.M., Mercier, E., Montpetit, D., Jia, J.-J., Alexandrov, I., Neault, N., Baig, A.T.,
This research was supported by University of Technology Sydney, Mayne, J., Zhang, X., Alain, T., Langlois, M.-A., Servos, M.R., MacKenzie, M.,
Figeys, D., MacKenzie, A.E., Graber, T.E., Delatolla, R., 2021. Quantitative analysis
Australia (UTS, RIA NGO) and in part by the National Research Foun­ of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater solids in communities with low COVID-19
dation (NRF) of Korea (Grant No. 2020R1A2C1101849) and the Min­ incidence and prevalence. Water Res. 188, 116560.
istry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE), Republic of Korea (No. Deng, Y., Huang, Q., Gu, W., Li, S., 2020. Application of sludge-based biochar generated
by pyrolysis: A mini review. Energy Sources Part a-Recovery Utilization and
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