The Feasibility of Converting Sewage Sludges into Biosolids as a Fertilizer for Use on Agricultural Land in China

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The result of the increase of sewage production, the treatment of sewage sludge has become an important topic. The predominant sewage sludge treatment methods in China are land application (29.3%), incineration (26.7%), and landfilling (20.1%). Both incineration and landfilling are accompanied by large greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, so land application is becoming a major concern for sewage sludge treatment. This study focused on the feasibility of using sewage sludge to produce biosolids for application as fertilizer on agricultural land in China. This paper provided an integral analysis of the application of biosolids as fertilizer through an extensive literature review. The paper outlined the conditions for the application of biosolids as fertilizer, the factors limiting the use of biosolids as fertilizer, the treatment schemes for sewage sludge, and the methods for detecting contaminants in biosolids. Finally, based on the information collected, this paper provides solutions for the implementation of biosolids as fertilizer in China.