Graduation date: 2000

Three experiments were conducted to characterize the concentration of microorganisms in biosolids, the plume of aerosols created during land application of biosolids and the occupational risk of infection due to pathogens aerosolized during land application of biosolids in the United States. In all, more than three-hundred air samples were collected immediately downwind of biosolids applications throughout the United States using liquid impingers, and more than one-hundred air samples were collected downwind of microbially seeded, land applied water, which served as a conservative model system of aerosol generation. The novel model system made it possible to calculate the flux of microorganisms through a virtual plane defined by air samplers in vertical and horizontal arrays, located immediately downwind of a passing spray applicator. The rate of aerosolization during land application of biosolids near Tucson, Arizona, was calculated to be less than 33 plaque forming units (PFU) of coliphage and 10 colony forming units (CFU) of coliform bacteria per meter traveled by the spray applicator. Rates of aerosolization from the model system were shown to be much greater. To assess the risk to occupational health from bioaerosols generated during land application of biosolids, coliform bacteria, coliphages, and heterotrophic plate count (HPC) bacteria were enumerated from air and biosolids at 10 land application sites throughout the nation. The method of land application strongly influenced aerosolization, while relative humidity, temperature and wind speed showed limited correlation to concentrations of fecal indicator microorganisms in air. Occupational risks of infection and illness from aerosolized Salmonella and enteroviruses were calculated for a variety of land application scenarios. Realistic exposure scenarios carried occupational risks of Salmonella infection ranging from of 0.0001% to 0.013% per year. The corresponding occupational risk of infection from enteroviruses, using coxsackievirus A-21 as a model, ranged from 0.78% to 2.1% per year, depending on the type of activity performed by the worker. In addition, samples of biosolids from the Southwestern United States were characterized to provide up-to-date information about pathogens in biosolids for environmental regulators, biosolids producers, researchers, and public health agencies.

Deep row incorporation (DRI) is a biosolids recycling method that is especially appropriate for reclaiming disturbed land because of the extremely high application rates used. Nutrient additions in excess of the vegetation requirements, especially in coarse-textured soils, can potentially impair water quality. Increasing C and N additions with biosolids DRI can also generate emissions of greenhouse gases N₂O and CH₄ and decrease the value of C sequestration. Objectives of this research were: (i) compare the effects of DRI biosolids type and rate and annual conventional fertilizer application on N and P leaching losses; (ii) determine the effects of aging on the N, C and P dynamics in the DRI biosolids seams; (iii) compare the effects of biosolids type and conventional N fertilization on N₂O, CH₄ and CO₂ emissions; and (iv) compare the effects of DRI biosolids and conventional N fertilization on hybrid poplar biomass dynamics, C, N and P sequestration. The following eight treatments were established to achieve objectives (i) and (iv): 0 (control), 167, 337, 504 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ as conventional fertilizer; 213 and 426 Mg ha⁻¹ anaerobically digested (AD) and 328 and 656 Mg ha⁻¹ lime stabilized (LS) biosolids applied in trenches. The amount of N lost from the DRI biosolids was 261–803 kg N ha⁻¹, while the fertilizer treatments were not different from 0 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ control. Orthophosphate and TKP leached in negligible amounts. Deep row biosolids incorporation did not pose P leaching risks but did result in high N leaching below the biosolids seams. Aboveground biomass production in the biosolids treatments was not different from the control treatment and ranged from 2.1±0.3 to 4.0±0.5 kg tree⁻¹. The fertilizer treatments produced significantly less biomass than the control and the biosolids treatments. Hybrid poplars sequestered up to 3.20±0.54 Mg C ha⁻¹, 71±12 kg N ha⁻¹, and 11.0±1.8 kg P ha⁻¹. The planting density capable of the N uptake in order to avoid N leaching was estimated at 3912 to 11363 trees ha⁻¹. Our results suggest increased hybrid poplar planting density and decreased application rates of DRI biosolids may decrease the risk of groundwater contamination with N. Three treatments were compared to address objective (ii): 426 Mg ha⁻¹ AD and 656 Mg ha⁻¹ LS biosolids. Organic C losses were 81 Mg ha⁻¹ and 33 Mg ha⁻¹ for LS and AD biosolids, respectively. Total N lost over the course of two years was 15.2 Mg ha⁻¹ and 10.9 Mg ha⁻¹ for LS and AD biosolids, respectively, which was roughly 50% of the N applied. No significant losses of P were detected. Most of the P was Al- and Fe-bound in the AD biosolids and Ca-bound in the LS biosolids. Our results indicated that recommended rates of DRI biosolids in coarse textured soils should be based on crop N requirements and N mineralization considerations, and P mobility from biosolids of the type used should not pose a water quality risk. Four treatments were compared to address objective (iii): 426 Mg ha⁻¹ AD and 656 Mg ha⁻¹ LS biosolids; 0 (control) and 504 kg N ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ as conventional fertilizer. Contributions from CH₄ and CO₂ emissions to the radiative forcing were very small compared to N₂O. More N₂O was produced in the DRI biosolids treatments than in the conventional fertilizer treatments, and N₂O production was higher in AD than in LS. Expressed as global warming potentials, N₂O emissions from AD (101.5 Mg C ha⁻¹) were 4.6 times higher than from LS and 14.5-16.1 times higher than from the fertilizer treatments. High N₂O emissions from deep row incorporated biosolids reduce the C sequestration benefits of the DRI method. / Ph. D.

Durch die Novellierung der AbfKlärV im Jahr 2017 wurde die bodenbezogene Nutzung von Klärschlamm stark eingeschränkt. Dadurch rückt dessen thermische Verwertung zunehmend in den Vordergrund, wobei durch eine Mitverbrennung Nährstoffe verloren gehen. Diese Arbeit betrachtet alternative Möglichkeiten zur stofflichen Verwertung, wie den Einsatz als Rekultivierungsmaterial auf Deponien in Form von Komposten. In die Arbeit fließt die Betrachtung von Pilzkultursubstraten als weiterer Zuschlagstoff ein, da diese aufgrund von Hygienisierungsvorschriften ebenfalls meist thermisch verwertet werden und auch hier wichtige Nährstoffe verloren gehen. Weiterhin wird untersucht, ob Deponieflächen generell für den Anbau von Bewuchs geeignet sind und insbesondere, ob auf derartig rekultivierten Flächen Rohstoffgewinnung aus Energiepflanzen möglich ist. Dafür wurden verschiedene Materialmischungen hergestellt und in Pflanzversuchen unter Laborbedingungen sowie im Freiland und in geotechnischen Versuchen auf ihre Eignung überprüft. Es wird gezeigt, dass Deponien ein Flächenpotential darstellen und diese auch für Bewuchs geeignet sind. Auch eignen sich die hergestellten Materialmischungen grundsätzlich als Rekultivierungsmaterial. Diese müssen aber in zukünftigen Versuchen in Hinsicht auf die Einhaltung von Grenzwerten und bspw. deren Wasserdurchlässigkeiten weiter angepasst werden, bevor die Mischungen produktiv im großen Maßstab einsetzbar sind.