The Benefit of Treating and Application of Biosolid Material
What is Biosolid Material?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “sludge” is defined as solid, semi-solid or liquid residue from wastewater. While this “sludge” might not sound like a positive presence, “sludge” can be treated and made into biosolids. Treatment of this wastewater happens in a treatment facility where the biosolids are separated. Biosolid material can be retrieved in an industrial facility, such as a food processing facility, and can be used on a larger scale for environmental benefit.
After wastewater is treated and the biosolid material is retrieved, it goes through further treatment to eliminate pathogens or organisms that bring disease to its host. It is important to remove these pathogens from biosolids that could otherwise be transmitted to the environment using biosolids in agricultural fertilization. Biosolids contain essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon, thus, they can enhance soil richness and health. This allows industrial manufacturers with a rich biosolid process to benefit from the spreading of that material onto soil surfaces. This process is known as land reapplication. Land application is the application of biosolids to land to either condition the soil or to fertilize crops or other vegetation grown in the soil.
Benefits of Land Application
Reducing the cost of disposal by exploring the application of biosolids is helpful for industrial processing facilities. By applying the biosolids on a facility’s land, the cost of removal, transportation and disposal are eliminated. An alternative is distributing the biosolids to local farmers or golf courses for a fee or for free. Beyond cutting costs, the application process can assist in reaching sustainability and ESG goals.
This concept is not a new one; in fact, it is a common agricultural practice. Farmers and lands keepers have been implementing this process well before the development of modern wastewater treatment facilities more than 100 years ago. Even before this, ancient cities had variations of draining systems for human waste as a fertilizer. In more recent years, biosolid reapplication has become a useful tool in the wastewater treatment process.
Sounds great, right? Yes! However, there are risks associated with land application, such as groundwater pollution. Due to such risks, the Clean Water Act of 1972 was amended to include biosolid waste material. From this amendment, groundwater pollution is regulated by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in CFR 40, Part 503. According to the EPA, this rule was made “through a combination of public comment, scientific risk assessment and informed risk management.” What is notable for operators is that, in addition to requiring certain standards for the chemical makeup of the solids and how they are applied. Because the language of the rule is written by non-practitioners, the EPA released a guide regarding how to process biosolids to get them to class A or class B status.
Furthermore, the environment itself benefits from this solution. From waste to crops to the grocery store shelf, the treatment of wastewater is a 360-degree lifecycle process that makes it the ultimate recycle.
How OU Can Help
Want to explore if land application is a possible solution for your facility? Need to test your biosolids to see if their material makeup qualifies for land reapplication? We can help. Operators Unlimited has experience with industrial biosolid applications, especially in food processing scenarios. OU’s Wastewater Process Engineer, Ed Fritz, is a certified auditor of biosolids programs by the National Biosolids Partnership. He helps ensure industrial facilities are compliant with EPA regulations by assisting in analyzing biosolid material and biosolids programs. OU’s goal is to refine and improve your process so you can achieve the best possible outcome to facilitate land application of biosolids.
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