ARTICLE IN PRESS

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 68 (2007) 9197

www.elsevier.com/locate/ecoenv

Textile sludge application to non-productive soil: Physico-chemical

and phytotoxicity aspects
Edson V.C. Rosaa, Luciana Matera, Maria M. Souza-Sierraa, Leonardo R. Rorigb,
Luciane M. Vieirab, Claudemir M. Radetskib,
a
Departamento de Qumica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC 88040-900, Brazil
b
Universidade do Vale do Itaja, Centro de Ciencias Tecnologicas da Terra e do Mar, Itaja SC 88302-202, Brazil
Received 18 December 2005; received in revised form 16 June 2006; accepted 18 June 2006
Available online 1 August 2006

Abstract

As part of an assessment study on the risk of spreading textile sludge onto non-productive soil, the sorption behaviour of some sludge-
metal constituents [Cr(VI), Cu(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II)] in the soil was studied. In addition, the sludge stabilization effect was evaluated by
the biodegradation of organic compounds and phytotoxicity tests. Metalsoil sorption was assessed using soil columns and by sorption
isotherms (i.e., Freundlich and Langmuir). In relation to the phytotoxicity of Eruca sativa L., there was a biomass inhibitory effect for
the fresh sludge and a biomass stimulant effect for the stabilized sludge. Thus our results show that after stabilization, the tested loading
ratio of 33% sludge: 67% soil (v/v) (equivalent to 85 Mg ha1) did not signicantly increase the risk of groundwater contamination since
only small amounts of metals applied to the soil underwent percolation and almost all the organic compounds were degraded.
r 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Solid waste reuse; Textile sludge; Metal lixiviation; Soil sorption isotherms; Phytotoxicity

1. Introduction
In the South of Brazil there are many textile mills and
the amount of sludge produced is increasing rapidly, in
proportion with economic development. Modern industrial
waste management stipulates that wastes of different origin
should be recycled where possible, since disposal options
such as landlls or incineration have serious disadvantages,
including their high cost, a lack of space for landlls and
the disposal of the ash generated (Fisher, 2004; Pellerin,
1994). Thus, an alternative destination for some industrial
sludge is to apply it to the land, in the form of fertilizer
and/or soil conditioner (Khaleel et al., 1981; Phillip et al.,
1997). However, this practice is currently prohibited in
several countries, mainly due to the lack of risk assessments
concerning this alternative, which is case-specic in relation
to the soil and the solid waste.
Corresponding author. Fax: +55 47 3341 7715.
E-mail address: radetski@univali.br (C.M. Radetski).
On the other hand, there are some soils with very poor
agricultural productivity due to their natural physico-
chemical characteristics. In this sense, textile sludge could
therefore be a valuable soil fertilizer/conditioner due to its
nutrient content and its soil improvement properties. Thus,
the agricultural use of biosolids (e.g., in industrial
reforestation) could be an acceptable disposal option,
transforming a troublesome waste into a valuable resource
(Navas et al., 1999; Walter and Cuevas, 1999; Selivanovs-
kaya et al., 2001; Teixeira et al., 2005).
Risk assessment for land application of industrial sludges
involves physico-chemical and ecotoxicological evaluations
(Mantis et al., 2005). The chemical analysis of textile sludge is
very important in order to quantify several contaminants
which, in high levels in the sludge, lead to concerns that
sludge application to land may potentially result in adverse
environmental impacts (Obbard, 2001). Two major groups of
contaminants are present in textile sludge, i.e., metals and
organic compounds. Metals may be responsible for disturb-
ing the ecological equilibrium of aquatic ecosystems near the
treated zones, when sludge is used for agricultural purposes

0147-6513/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2006.06.006
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
92 E.V.C. Rosa et al. / Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 68 (2007) 9197
(Page et al., 1987). After application to soil, the fate of
organic compounds is controlled by several physical, chemical
and biological processes, which makes it difcult to estimate
the rate and extent of the transformation of these compounds
in the soil environment. Some properties of organic
compounds (e.g., biodegradability, volatility and low water
solubility) have limited the interest in evaluating the potential
hazard/fate of these waste components (Schultz et al., 2002),
but recalcitrant compounds in the sludge must be identied in
order to evaluate the long-term ecotoxicological effects.
Thus, the main challenge related to the agricultural use
of sludge is to determine the maximum application rate to
avoid immediate environmental impacts, as well as to
establish the maximum long-term rate that will not result in
excessive leaching of contaminants or accumulation of
trace metals/recalcitrant compounds in soils and plants. To
deal with this issue an understanding of the sorption
phenomena and pollutant mobility, as well as of the
biodegradation in soil proles, is necessary since these are
important factors that control groundwater or trophic
contamination.
In this regard, the purposes of this study were to: (i)
classify a specic textile sludge according to the Brazilian
solid waste regulations; (ii) analyse the biodegradation of
organic compounds present in the sludge; (iii) investigate
the sorptive behaviour (in columns and by Freundlich and
Langmuir isotherms) of the metals [Cr(VI), Pb(II), Zn(II),
and Cu(II)] present in the textile sludge leachates; and (iv)
assess the phytotoxicity of fresh and stabilized sludge.
These data enabled the estimation of safe sludge loadings
on a degraded red-yellow Podzolic soil.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Origin and classification of the soil and textile sludge
The soil used in this study was collected from the AC horizons
(060 cm depth interval) of an unused red-yellow Podzolic soil at a site in a
rural area of the town of Brusque (State of Santa Catarina, Brazil). The
soil sample was characterized in terms of pH (1:10), texture (pipette
method), organic carbon content, cation exchange capacity, Ntotal, organic
mattertotal, and C:N ratio according to published methods (EMBRAPA,
1999). The textile sludge samples were all collected at 45 d between
September 1999 and January 2001 according to a Brazilian standard
method (ABNT, 2004a) from a treatment facility in the city of Brusque
(SC State, Brazil) where wastewater is treated to the tertiary level by
anaerobic digestion. To understand the temporal variability of sludge
metal concentrations, the coefcients of variation were calculated.
Physico-chemical and microbiological parameters for the textile sludge
were analysed according to the APHA, AWWA, WPCF (1995) methods.
Textile sludge classication was carried out according to the Brazilian
ABNT 10004 (2004b) protocol.
2.2. Leachability and solubility tests
The leaching test was carried out according to the ABNT 10005 (2004c)
method, where a solid 20 g sample was placed in a 500 mL bottle, to which
320 mL of distilled water was added along with a sufcient quantity of
acetic acid (0.5 N) to adjust the pH to 5.0. The suspension was stirred for
24 h. After ltration, leachable compounds were analysed according to the
APHA, AWWA, WPCF (1995) methods. The solubility test was carried
out according to the ABNT 10006 (2004d) method, where a dry solid 25 g
sample was placed in a 500 mL bottle with addition of 100 mL of distilled
water. After 1 h of homogenization, the suspension was allowed to stand
for 7 days. After ltration, soluble compounds were extracted for analysis
according to the APHA, AWWA, WPCF (1995) methods.
2.3. Sorption isotherms
Freundlich and Langmuir sorption isotherms were obtained by a batch
technique (at natural soil pH of 4.4) whereby a sub-sample of soil (2 g) was
shaken with 50 mL of metal solution in 250-mL Erlenmeyer asks, for
24 h, with the following range of metal concentrations (mg/L): Pb(II)
(2270); Cu(II) (2250); Cr(VI) (2350) and Zn(II) (0.17.0). The
respective metal stock solutions were prepared by dissolving Pb(NO3)2,
CuSO4  5H2O, K2Cr2O7 and ZnSO4  7H2O in demineralized water. After
20-min centrifugation (5000g), the clear supernatants were analysed for
metals according to the APHA, AWWA, WPCF (1995) protocols.
2.4. Soil column sorption
Polyvinyl chloride columns (20 cm inside diameter and 100 cm length)
with a central bottom drain hole were used in this study. Soil
(20.5 kg dry wt) was packed to a height of 60 cm so that the soil bulk
density in the column was 1.1 g cm3, which was similar to the bulk density
in the eld. Sludge (0.63 kg dry wt) was added to the topsoil layer to a
height of 30 cm. Leachability was carried out at three distinct pH values
4.0, 7.0, and 10.0 (three columns for each pH) by percolating 500 mL of a
acidic (HNO3), neutral (demineralized water) or basic (NaOH) solution
weekly (for 24 weeks). Every 15 days, 150 mL of percolated solution,
collected in a PVC recovery cup, was sampled, acidied and analysed for
metals according to the APHA, AWWA, WPCF (1995) methods. At the
end of the experiment, the sum of the percolated metals was calculated, in
order to determine the percent leachability.
2.5. Stabilization
Fresh textile sludge was allowed to stabilize for 4 months under natural
conditions. All 15 d sludge was mixed/homogenized to improve aeration.
Accumulated rainwater was naturally evaporated. Phenols present in the
textile sludge were extracted and analysed by GC-MS according to the
APHA, AWWA, WPCF (1995) methods.
2.6. Plant growth test
Phytotoxicity tests were conducted with rocket (Eruca sativa L.). The
seeds were supplied by the state company EPAGRI (Empresa de Pesquisa
Agropecuaria e Difusao de Tecnologia in Santa Catarina, Florianopolis,
SC, Brazil). Assays were performed according to the ISO (1995)
guidelines. Non-productive natural soil (see above) was used as a reference
(control) soil. Three pots (disposable plastic, 7 cm in diameter, 5 cm in
height) were used for each test concentration, and each plant test was
performed at two different times. Serial sludge dilutions (50; 25%; 12.5%;
6.2%; and 3.1%) were prepared. Twenty-ve rocket seeds were sown in
each pot containing 200 g of soil for the controls or a mixture of soil-
sludge. Dechlorinated tap water (for controls) was gently pipetted onto the
soil surface at 66% (i.e., 64 ml) of the maximum water-holding capacity
(48 ml water/100 g soil). Water evapotranspiration was determined by
weighing the pots daily, and compensated by the addition of distilled
water. Plants were grown under controlled conditions at a daytime
temperature of 2572 1C and a nighttime temperature of 1672 1C, with
lighting of 60 mE/m2/s (cool-white uorescent lamps) under a 16:8 h
light:dark photoperiod. Fourteen days after planting, the shoot plants
were cut at soil level and the wet weight of the plant material was
immediately determined using an analytical scale. For each pot, the total
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E.V.C. Rosa et al. / Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 68 (2007) 9197 93

weight of germinated plants (expressed in grams of wet weight) was
divided by the number of germinated plants.
2.7. Statistical analysis
The statistical analysis was carried out on a microcomputer using
TOXSTAT 3.0 software. The responses were presented with a mean (X)
and the coefcient of variation (CV). The William test was used to obtain
the lowest-observed-effect concentration (LOEC) after verifying normality
through the ShapiroWilk test and homogeneity of variance through the
Hartley test.
3. Results
Results from the physico-chemical and microbiological
analysis of the fresh textile sludge used in this study are
shown in Table 1.
The high Al and Fe concentrations in the fresh sludge
come from coagulant/occulant agents used in the waste-
water treatment. Nutrients (P, N, K) are present, as well as
organic matter. Water content in the sludge is very high
(93%). The pH value (8.2) shows a basic soil, which could
be used to neutralize the pH of acidic soils. The low
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) observed in this
sample could be explained by the presence of bactericidal
phenolic compounds in the sludge.
Table 1
Physico-chemical and microbiological constitution of fresh textile sludge
(dry weight basis) used in this study
A temporal chemical analysis (E18 months) of 13
solubility tests carried out with the fresh textile sludge
showed that Zn was the metal with the greatest variation
(CV 111%), while Crtotal was the metal with the lowest
variation in the composition of the sludge (CV 27%). The
variation in phenol concentration was high (CV 90.2%).
The physico-chemical characteristics of the soil used in
this study are shown in Table 2. Adverse physico-chemical
soil properties led to the natural soil studied becoming non-
productive. This soil is infertile, low in organic matter,
acidic, and has a poor water-holding capacity and C:N
mass ratio (low microbiological activity), with moderate
ion exchange capacity, and is subject to severe erosion and
surface runoff.
To a better understanding of metal behaviour in the soil,
heavy metal sorption was assessed by means of soil
columns and by sorption isotherms (Freundlich and
Langmuir). PVC columns were lled with a ratio of 67:33
soil:fresh sludge (%v/v). Columns (in triplicate) were
percolated with acidic, neutral or basic solutions and the
leachates were analysed in relation to the metal content.
Percolated metal concentrations (v/w means) for the
columns, at the three pH values, are shown in Table 3.
Concerning the quantitative aspects of the metal mobility
experiments, after a period of 24 weeks the maximum quantity
of soluble metals percolated was: pH 4 (Zn 0.0014%,
Ni 0.0040%, Cu 0.0013%, Cr 0.0006% and Pb
0.0160%), pH 7 (Zn 0.0015%, Cu 0.0012% and

Parameter (unit) Result

Table 2
Al (mg kg1) 15,638.93 Physico-chemical and podological characteristics of the soil used in this
As (mg kg1) n.d. study
Cd (mg kg1) n.d.
Pb (mg kg1) 20.96 Parameters (units) Results
Cu (mg kg1) 40.14
1
Crtotal (mg kg1) 6.01 Zn (mg kg ) 34.89
Fe (mg kg1) 3,942.97 Cu (mg kg1) 11.99
F (mg kg1) 5.84 Cd (mg kg1) n.d. (0.006)
Mn (mg kg1) 30.64 Pb (mg kg1) n.d. (0.02)
Hg (mg kg1) 0.08 Hg (mg kg1) 0.0132
Mo (mg kg1) n.d. CrT (mg kg1) 13.14
Ni (mg kg1) 7.56 Ni (mg kg1) 7.33
Phenol (mg kg1) 25.12 Mo (mg kg1) n.d. (0.04)
Se (mg kg1) n.d. As (mg kg1) n.d. (0.2)
Zn (mg kg1) 937.70 Fe (mg kg1) 26,646
K (mg kg1) 160.93 Mn (mg kg1) 8.61
Ntotal (%) 1.04 Se (mg kg1) n.d. (1.0)
Nammoniacal (%) 0.08 Al exchangeable (cmol L1) 7.34
P (%) 1.05 Al (cmol L1) 2.4
Organic matter (%) 6.12 Organic mattertotal (%) 0.3
C: N mass ratio 6:1 Organic Carbon (%) 0.17
PH (1:10) 8.2 Ntotal (%) 0.16
Moisture content (%) 93.24 C: N ratio 1:1
Mould (CFU L1) 8.0  104 PH 4.4
BOD5 (mg L1)a 50.1 CECa (meq. 100 g1) 7.60
COD (mg L1)b 252.4 Sand (%) 26.0
Silt (%) 14
n.d. not detected. Clay (%) 60
a
Biochemical oxygen demand (5 days). Humidity (%) 14
b
Chemical oxygen demand.
 Data from solubility test fraction carried out with 250 g.L1 of dry n.d. not detected at concentration above the value in the parenthesis.
a
sludge. Cation exchange capacity.
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94 E.V.C. Rosa et al. / Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 68 (2007) 9197

Table 3
Metal concentrations in the soil, fresh sludge and leachates sampled from 3 columns with different pH values, compared to the initial metal concentrations
in soil-sludge mixture

Parameters Soil Sludge Leachate (mg L1)

(mg kg1) (mg kg1) pH 4 pH 7 pH 10

Pb n.d. (0.002) 20.96 0.0065 0.0083 0.0133

Cu 11.99 40.14 0.0105 0.0096 0.0108
Cr 13.14 6.01 0.0054 n.d. (0.002) 0.0385
Ni 7.33 7.56 0.0182 n.d. (0.005) n.d. (0.005)
Zn 34.89 937.89 0.05384 0.05884 0.0845

n.d. not detected at concentrations above the values in the parenthesis.

37.655 min

38.711 min
37.325 min
37.000 min

39.414 min
a) Fresh textile sludge 37.433 min
30

38.958 min
25
kCounts

20

15

10

b) Stabilized textile sludge

36.932 min

70

60
39.418 min
kCounts

50
39.645 min

40

30

20

10

35 36 37 38 39 40 41 minutes

Fig. 1. Chromatograms of fresh (a) and 4-m stabilized (b) textile sludge.

Pb 0.0209%), pH 10 (Zn 0.0021%, Cu 0.0013%, sludge may contain important amounts of these contami-
Cr 0.0013% and Pb 0.0335%). These values are very nants, which must be degraded to avoid ecotoxicological
low in comparison to the initial metal concentrations present in effects. Thus, the textile sludge was stabilized and most of
the columns. In addition to the mobility experiments in the the organic compounds in the sludge were mineralized
columns, sorption isotherm experiments were carried out. In (Fig. 1). For example, phenolic compounds were aero-
these experiments, the isotherms showed the same order of bically degraded after 4 months. Only benzyl benzoate
metalsoil sorption for the soil, as the column experiment, with residues were found in the samples after this stabilization
Am values (Langmuir adsorption capacity) of 0.03 period.
for Zn(II), 0.32 for Cu(II), 0.35 for Pb(II) and 2.16 for Before and after stabilization, the phytotoxicity of the
Cr(VI) while the B values (Freundlich adsorption constant) textile sludge was assessed. Table 4 shows the phytotoxicity
were 0.01 for Zn(II), 0.10 for Cu(II), 0.15 for Pb(II) and 0.21 results obtained with the higher plant rocket (Eruca sativa
for Cr(VI). L.). This primary producer responded in the opposite way
Another important class of textile sludge contaminants is when exposed to the fresh and stabilized textile sludge.
organic compounds (surfactants, phenols, natural bres, While the stabilized textile sludge promoted an increase in
dyes). Although the textile efuent is treated, the textile biomass (LOEC 12.5%), the fresh sludge showed an
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
E.V.C. Rosa et al. / Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 68 (2007) 9197 95

Table 4
Percent germination and fresh biomass of higher plant Eruca sativa L. exposed for 14 d to the fresh and stabilized textile sludge. Data are means with CV
in parenthesis

Sample Evaluated endpoint Amount of sludge in the soil (%) Results

0 3.1 6.2 12.5 25 50 LOECa

Control

Stabilized sludge % Germination 98.0 95.0 97.0 93.0 95.0 93.0 NTb
Fresh biomassc (6.0) (8.0) (6.0) (8.0) (14.0) (10.0) 12.50%
1.87 1.9 2.12 2.33 2.65 2.50
(10.7) (12.2) (8.9) (6.2) (8.5) (14.3)
Fresh sludge % Germination 98.0 93.0 91.0 95.0 93.0 90.0 50%
Fresh biomassc (6.0) (8.0) (8.0) (8.0) (10.0) (18.0) 12.50%
1.87 2.20 1.87 1.57 1.10 0.60
(10.7) (9.1) (5.9) (4.0) (9.0) (17.0)
a
Lowest observed effect concentration.
b
Non-toxic.
c
Fresh weight  101 g.
 Statistically signicant difference (Pp0.05; Williams test).

inhibitory effect (LOEC 12.5%). Furthermore, the fresh
sludge inhibited plant germination (LOEC 50%).
4. Discussion
The results in Table 1 show that the fresh textile sludge is
not a hazardous waste material according to Brazilian
Waste regulation ABNT (2004b), since non-hazardous
chemicals were found in the sludge samples. Since the
textile sludge was classied as non-hazardous, it was
necessary to carry out the solubility test to determine if
this sludge is inert or non-inert. Thus, the results from
solubility test enabled the classication of the textile sludge
as Class II Anon-hazardous and non-inert residue, which
must be disposed off in industrial landlls according to
current Brazilian regulations. This classication is due to
the metals (Crtotal, Pb, Al, Fe, Mn, Zn and Se) and phenols,
the concentrations of which are higher than the regulatory
values for Class II Bnon-hazardous and inert residue. As
an alternative disposal solution, this sludge could be used
as a soil fertilizer/conditioner, since it presents relatively
low levels of metal contaminants when compared with
USEPA (1999) limits for the use of sewage sludge in
agriculture. Thus, with the proper use of organic amend-
ments such as stabilized sludge, non-productive soils may
be restored to a high level of productivity with little or no
environmental pollution. However, the biomass produced
must be destined for industrial usage, where potential
bioaccumulation of contaminants does not pose a problem.
In this regard, organic matter can have benecial effects on
the physical properties of the soil, such as increased water-
holding capacity, soil aggregation, total porosity, pore size
distribution, and decreased soil crusting and bulk density
(Aggelides and Londra, 2000).
The lability (mobility and bioavailability) of metals
varies signicantly according to the soil properties, for
similar total soil metal concentrations (Yin et al., 2002).
According to McBride (1994), soil texture and pH play an
important role in controlling trace metal mobility, with
most metals (in free ionic form) being more mobile in
acidic, coarse-textured soils. Nevertheless, in the mobility
study carried out here, the soil-sludge pH did not strongly
affected metal sorption/mobility since, regardless of the
column pH or initial metal concentration, metal mobility
was very poor and the order of metalsoil sorption in the
columns for the metals analysed was Cr(VI)4Pb(II)4
Cu(II)4Ni(II)4Zn(II). Richards et al. (2000) showed that
metal mobility can be signicant at circumneutral or higher
pH values, due to metal complexation with dissolved
organic matter, which itself becomes more soluble at these
pH levels. This phenomenon may explain our results where
some mobility was observed under neutral and basic pH
conditions. Furthermore, a higher level of organic matter
in the soil probably results in less desorption of adsorbed
metals from the soil (Yin et al., 1997).
Camobreco et al. (1996) point out that the results of
homogenized packed-column studies may be overly opti-
mistic in predicting soil immobilization of metals because
bypass ow via preferential ow paths in eld soils may
allow signicant metal transport to groundwater. Thus, a
set of metal-soil sorption experiments was carried out using
sorption isotherms and the results of soluble metal
concentrations showed the same order of metalsoil
sorption observed in the column experiments. Overall,
the adsorption results in our study show a relatively high
soil adsorption capacity for the metals studied. Concerning
metal speciation and sorption, the sludge had been
subjected to a sequential extraction procedure at different
treatment stages. It had been observed that a large
proportion of the heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni) were
associated with the residual fraction (7080%) and
XNaOH, XEDTA, XHNO3 fractions which are more
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
96 E.V.C. Rosa et al. / Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 68 (2007) 9197
resistant to extraction (1229%), while less than 2% of the
metals were bound to bioavailable fractions X(KNO3+
H2O) (Amir et al., 2005). In agreement with these ndings,
our results show that metal mobility in the soil studied can
be considered very low. In this regard, metal retention by
soils can be explained by three mechanisms: specic
adsorption, ionic exchange and precipitation (Rodriguez-
Rubio et al., 2003). In the three mechanisms, organic
matter and pH are the factors that directly or indirectly
affect the metal solubility (Rodriguez-Rubio et al., 2003;
Yin et al., 2002). Organic radicals, iron and aluminium
oxides, have OH sites with a high potential for specic
metal adsorption. For example, in soils with pH lower than
2.5, Cu competes with protons for adsorption sites, while at
a pH above 4.5, most charged sites are bound to Cu, due to
the decreasing proton competition (Grimm et al., 1991).
Between pH 4.0 and 6.0, Fe and Al oxides are mainly
responsible for the metal xation and solubilization
(Cavallaro and McBride, 1984).
Benzyl benzoate is mineralized more slowly than other
organic contaminants, probably because the majority of
this substance is sorbed strongly to the particles present in
the sludge and therefore the molecules are not bioavailable.
Similar results have been published by Gejlsbjerg et al.
(2001) who studied the mineralization of organic con-
taminants in sewage sludge soil mixtures and found, for
example, that nonylphenol mineralized aerobically between
44.2% and 63.2% of the added amounts after 60 days.
In relation to the difference in phytotoxicity between
fresh and stabilized textile sludge, the presents of nutrients
and toxic organic compounds may explain the results
obtained. A higher C/N mass ratio and fewer toxic organic
compounds in the composition resulted in the stabilized
sludge being benecial to the higher plants. Another study
showed that this stabilized textile sludge was not or less
ecotoxic than fresh textile sludge when a battery of biotests
was used to evaluate short term toxicity effects (Rosa et al.,
in press).
5. Conclusions
The results obtained in this study with a Podzolic red-
yellow soil led to the conclusion that there is little potential
for chemicals to mobilize via water percolating through the
soil prole, resulting in contaminated groundwater. The
two approaches used to study metal mobility (lixiviation in
columns and adsorption isotherms) are redundant. The
results show that, after stabilization, the experimental
loading ratio of 33:67 textile sludge:soil (%v/v) (equivalent
to 85 Mg ha1) did not signicantly increase the risk of
groundwater contamination, since only small amounts of
metals applied to the soil will percolate and almost all the
organic compounds will be biodegraded. Nevertheless,
phytotoxicity tests showed that fresh textile sludge is
phytotoxic to rocket, which lead to the recommendation
that textile sludge must be stabilized before soil applica-
tion. Additional ecotoxicological and microbiological data
should also be considered in order to better understand the
implications of industrial sludge applications in soil
restoration.
Acknowledgments
This study forms a part of a project supported by
CNPqBrazilian Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento
Cientco e Tecnologico (Grant No 479384/01-0). E.V.C
Rosa, L. Mater, and L.M. Vieira acknowledges fellowships
from CNPq and CAPES.
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