Occurrence, speciation and fate of mercury in the sewage sludge of China
Article
Cheng, L, Wang, L, Geng, Y et al. (2019). Occurrence, speciation and fate of mercury in the sewage sludge of China
. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY, 186 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109787
Cheng, L, Wang, L, Geng, Y et al. (2019). Occurrence, speciation and fate of mercury in the sewage sludge of China
. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY, 186 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109787
Municipal sewage has been identified to be an important source of mercury (Hg) to the environment. However, as the major sink of sewage-borne Hg, sewage sludge (SS) remains unresolved in terms of the occurrence status of Hg species. We presented here, a nation-wide survey on the speciation of Hg in SS of China. Total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) were detected in all SS samples, within ranges of 0.4–12.4 mg/kg and 0.1–27.0 μg/kg, respectively. Sludge-borne Hg mainly occurred in the mercury sulfide and organo-chelated phases, with only tiny portions occurring as soluble Hg. The mass loadings of sludge-borne THg and MeHg in China for year 2016 were estimated to be 12.2 metric tons and 19.9 kg, respectively. Landfill was the most important sink of sludge-borne Hg, followed by incineration, land application, and building materials.
