Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) during anaerobic digestion with recirculation of ozonated digested sludge

PAH are particularly monitored because of their carcinogenic properties and their ubiquity in the environment. Their presence in municipal sewage sludge is a major problem due to the environmental risks associated with the sludge spreading on agricultural soils. The objective of this work was to asses the removal of PAH naturally present in sludge by continuous anaerobic digestion with recirculation of ozonated sludge. Recirculation of ozonated digested sludge allowed to enhance PAH removals, the highest efficiency was obtained with the highest ozone dose (0.11 g O3/gTS). In order to study the effect of recirculation, a reactor was operated without recirculation but was fed with a mixture of raw and ozonated digested sludge. This process led to the best performances in terms of PAH and solid removals. This pointed out some accumulation of nonbiodegradable or recalcitrant compounds during recirculation assay. Smallest and most soluble compounds presented the highest biodegradation efficiencies.