TIL - Sewer sludge (euphemistically called #biosolids by many cities) can be turned into #biochar via #pyrolysis.

If the pyrolysis happens at >600C for >10 minutes, the resulting biochar will be free of #microplastics, #PFAs, pathogens, and pharmaceuticals - all of which could continue to be a problem when you just #compost sewer sludge.

And... the #phosphorous is retained in the biochar, meaning it'll be a fertilizer in addition to the other biochar benefits.

https://pyreg.com/biochar-from-sewage-sludge-the-phosphorus-fertilizer-for-a-safe-and-sustainable-agriculture/

Two 14-metre high concrete #digesters have been installed at a #wastewater treatment centre in Manly in a $94 million upgrade, doubling the capacity of the plant to transform #sewage from one million Sydneysiders into #fertiliser used to grow the state’s crops, including wheat, oats and canola. #biosolids https://www.watoday.com.au/national/nsw/how-sewage-from-a-million-sydneysiders-helps-grow-the-wheat-we-eat-20230807-p5duij.html

Groups criticize CRD’s pace in advancing thermal #biosolid-disposal facility. #biosolids #wastewater #composting https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/local-news/groups-criticize-crds-pace-in-advancing-thermal-biosolid-disposal-facility/

Groups criticize CRD’s pace in advancing thermal #biosolid-disposal facility. #biosolids #wastewater #composting https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/local-news/groups-criticize-crds-pace-in-advancing-thermal-biosolid-disposal-facility/

Scientists study how a diabetes drug affects soils. #wastewater #biosolids #pharmaceuticals #drugs #contaminants https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-diabetes-drug-affects-soils.html

Scientists study how a diabetes drug affects soils. #wastewater #biosolids #pharmaceuticals #drugs #contaminants https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-diabetes-drug-affects-soils.html

I wrote about farms like this one when I did a story about #UnityMaine, the home of the #CommonGroundFair -- a celebration of #OrganicFarming in #Maine. It makes me so sad to see them having to go out of business because #MaineDEP and #EPAFail led to #sludge being marketed as "fertilizer".

‘I don’t know how we’ll survive’: the #farmers facing ruin in #Maine’s ‘forever chemicals’ crisis

Maine faces a crisis from #PFAS-contaminated produce, which is causing farms to close and farmers to face the loss of their livelihoods

by Tom Perkins, 22 Mar 2022 06.05 EDT

"Songbird Farm’s 17 acres (7 hectares) hold sandy loam fields, three greenhouses and cutover woods that comprise an idyllic setting near Maine’s central coast. The small organic operation carved out a niche growing heirloom grains, tomatoes, sweet garlic, cantaloupe and other products that were sold to organic food stores or as part of a community-supported agriculture program, where people pay to receive boxes of locally grown produce.

Farmers Johanna Davis and Adam Nordell bought Songbird in 2014. By 2021 the young family with their three-year-old son were hitting their stride, Nordell said.

"But disaster struck in December. The couple learned the farm’s previous owner had decades earlier used PFAS-tainted sewage sludge, or '#biosolids', as fertilizer on Songbird’s fields. Testing revealed their soil, drinking #water, irrigation water, #crops, chickens and #blood were #contaminated with high levels of the #ToxicChemicals.

"The couple quickly recalled products, alerted customers, suspended their operation and have been left deeply fearful for their financial and physical wellbeing.

"'This has flipped everything about our lives on its head,' Nordell said. 'We haven’t done a blood test on our kid yet and that’s the most terrifying part. It’s fucking devastating.'"

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/22/i-dont-know-how-well-survive-the-farmers-facing-ruin-in-americas-forever-chemicals-crisis

#EPA #InformedConsent #PFOS #WaterIsLife #ToxicWaste #FoodProduction

2022: #Maine bans use of sewage sludge on #farms to reduce risk of #PFAS poisoning

Sludge used as crop #fertilizer has #contaminated #soil, #water, #crops and #cattle, forcing #farmers to quit

by Tom Perkins, Thu 12 May 2022 11.00 EDT

"Maine last month became the first state to ban the practice of spreading PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge as fertilizer.

"But it’s largely on its own in the US, despite a recent report estimating about 20m acres of cropland across the country may be contaminated.

"Most states are only beginning to look at the problem and some are increasing the amount of sludge they spread on farm fields despite the substance being universally contaminated with PFAS and destroying livelihoods in Maine.

"'Maine is at the forefront of this because we’ve seen first-hand the damage that sludge causes to farms,' said Patrick MacRoy, deputy director of the non-profit Defend Our Health Maine. The new law also prohibits sludge from being composted with other organic material.

"PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of chemicals used across dozens of industries to make products resistant to water, stains and heat. Though the compounds are highly effective, they are also linked to #cancer, #KidneyDisease, #BirthDefects, decreased #immunity, #liver problems and a range of other serious diseases.

"Sewage sludge is a semi-solid mix of human excrement and industrial #waste that water treatment plants pull from the nation’s sewer system. It’s expensive to dispose of, and about 60% of it is now lightly treated and sold or given away as 'biosolid' fertilizer because it is high in plant nutrients.

"Maine and #Michigan are the only two states that are routinely checking sludge and farms for PFAS, and both are finding contamination on farms to be widespread.

"Maine’s legislature banned the practice of spreading sludge as fertilizer in April [2022] after environmental officials discovered astronomical levels of PFAS in water, crops, cattle and soil on farms where sludge had been spread, and high PFAS levels have been detected in farmers’ blood.

"#Contamination from PFAS-tainted sludge has already poisoned well water on around a dozen farms, and has forced several Maine farms to shutter. The state is investigating about 700 more fields where PFAS-contaminated sludge was spread in recent years. Farmers have told the Guardian that many of their peers with contaminated land won’t alert the state because they fear financial ruin.

"Maine also approved the creation of a $60m fund that will be used to help farmers cover medical monitoring, for buyouts and for other forms of financial assistance.

"'Folks have been left out to dry without any real help so we’re grateful to see that,' MacRoy said. The sludge legislation comes after Maine last year enacted the nation’s first ban on non-essential uses of PFAS in products. It goes into effect in 2030.

"In Michigan, environmental officials have downplayed the detection of PFAS in sludge and on farms, and although the state prohibits highly contaminated sludge from being spread, it allows higher levels of the chemicals in sludge than Maine. State regulators have also identified PFAS polluters and required them to stop discharging the chemicals into the sewers.

"Questions remain about whether that’s enough to keep PFAS out of Michigan’s food supply. Instead of implementing a wide-scale program to test livestock, crops and dairy, the state identified 13 farms it considered most at risk and has claimed contamination on other farms isn’t a risk.

"Michigan is ahead of most other states. In #Virginia, environmental regulators are considering permitting an additional 6,000 acres worth of sludge to be spread and have so far resisted public health advocates’ calls to test for PFAS and reject new sludge permits.

"In #Alabama, the state’s department of environmental management said in 2019 that 'the best use of biosolids is as a [fertilizer].'

"Even as the crisis unfolds in Maine, officials in Alabama are increasing the amount of out-of-state sludge that’s imported and spread on fields or landfilled, and the state in 2020 updated its biosolids rule to 'encourage' the use of #biosolids as fertilizer. Alabama does not test sludge for PFAS."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/12/maine-bans-sewage-sludge-fertilizer-farms-pfas-poisoning

#EPA #EPAFail #InformedConsent #PFOS #WaterIsLife #ToxicWaste #FoodProduction

The U.S. Department of Energy on May 19 awarded a combined $3 million to two waste-to-energy projects, including one that focuses on the potential to convert #biosolids into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation #fuel (#SAF). https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/2518711/doe-funds-2-community-drive-waste-to-energy-projects

The U.S. Department of Energy on May 19 awarded a combined $3 million to two waste-to-energy projects, including one that focuses on the potential to convert #biosolids into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation #fuel (#SAF). https://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/2518711/doe-funds-2-community-drive-waste-to-energy-projects

The Portland Water District (PWD) in Portland, Maine, is exploring options for an advanced regional facility to treat #PFAS-contaminated #biosolids. Solutions being explored include advanced thermal destruction technologies, such as pyrolysis and gasification, to safely and economically reduce or eliminate PFAS from biosolids. #wastewater https://waterfm.com/maine-water-district-to-tackle-pfas-in-wastewater-biosolids/

The Portland Water District (PWD) in Portland, Maine, is exploring options for an advanced regional facility to treat #PFAS-contaminated #biosolids. Solutions being explored include advanced thermal destruction technologies, such as pyrolysis and gasification, to safely and economically reduce or eliminate PFAS from biosolids. #wastewater https://waterfm.com/maine-water-district-to-tackle-pfas-in-wastewater-biosolids/

As our own Clint Richmond said, due to
"other #ContaminantsOfConcern in sludge, like #microplastics & #pharmaceuticals …
Even if #biosolids were #PFAS-free, I wouldn't put it on my garden"
.@JustZeroOrg @MassDEP @MassDPH @Jo_Comerford @RepKateHogan @JulianCyr @MWRA_update #MAPoli QT @WBUR: https://nitter.grimneko.de/WBUR/status/1641446156248154113#m

CharTech Solutions has partnered with Synagro Technologies, Inc to demonstrate the performance of CharTech Solutions’ proprietary high-temperature pyrolysis (HTP) process to eliminate #PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) from #biosolids, while generating #renewable energy and biochar for #wastewater treatment sites across North America. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chartech-solutions-synagro-announce-partnership-140000014.html

CharTech Solutions has partnered with Synagro Technologies, Inc to demonstrate the performance of CharTech Solutions’ proprietary high-temperature pyrolysis (HTP) process to eliminate #PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) from #biosolids, while generating #renewable energy and biochar for #wastewater treatment sites across North America. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chartech-solutions-synagro-announce-partnership-140000014.html

#Microbial and thermal treatment techniques for degradation of #PFAS in #biosolids: A focus on degradation mechanisms and pathways. #wastewater https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389423004946

#Microbial and thermal treatment techniques for degradation of #PFAS in #biosolids: A focus on degradation mechanisms and pathways. #wastewater https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389423004946

From poop to poplars: How #biosolids from wastewater help fertilize trees, grass. #wastewater #recycle https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/environment/2023/03/16/metropolitan-wastewater-management-commission-uses-leftover-sewer-organics-on-biocycle-farm/69932856007/

From poop to poplars: How #biosolids from wastewater help fertilize trees, grass. #wastewater #recycle https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/environment/2023/03/16/metropolitan-wastewater-management-commission-uses-leftover-sewer-organics-on-biocycle-farm/69932856007/

Kansas City’s new #biowaste treatment facility nearing completion. #biosolids #wastewater https://www.kmbc.com/article/an-exciting-opportunity-kansas-citys-new-bio-waste-treatment-facility-nearing-completion/43300117