Organic Waste Recycling

Land treatment of sludge 449

Table 9.4 Concentration of organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (TN), phosphorus (P),
ammonia (NH 4 +), nitrate (NO 3 - ), sulphur (S) and potassium (K) in sewage (U.S. EPA
1983)

Components Sludge

typeb

Number of

samples

Range Mediumc Mean

Organic C, %

Total N,%

NH 4 +- N,

mg/kg

NO 3 - - N,

mg/kg

Total P, %

Total S, %

K, %

Anaerobic

Aerobic

Anaerobic

Aerobic

Anaerobic

Aerobic

Anaerobic

Aerobic

Anaerobic

Aerobic

Anaerobic

Aerobic

Anaerobic

Aerobic

31

10

85

38

67

33

35

8

86

38

19

9

86

37

18 – 39

27 – 37

0.5 – 17.6

0.5 – 7.6

120– 67,600

30 – 11,300

2 – 4,900

7 – 830

0.5 – 14.3

1.1 – 5.5

0.8 – 1.0

0.6 – 1.1

0.02 – 2.64

0.08 – 1.10

26.8

29.5

4.2

4.8

1,600

400

79

180

3.0

2.7

1.1

0.8

0.30

0.39

27.6

31.7

5.0

4.9

9,400

950

520

300

3.3

2.9

1.2

0.8

0.52

0.46

aConcentration and percentage composition are on a dried solids basis
b Other includes lagooned, primary, tertiary and unspecified sludges.
c Median concentration are reported to be better measures of ‘typical’ concentration than

the arithmetic mean

• Not reported.