Making sludge decanted from aerobic treatmentpool suitable for using as soil conditioner usingpolyelectrolyte

Biological treatment process is the most common method used in waste water treatment today. The rapid growth of the world population, has led to an increase in the number of biological treatment facilities. Similarly, a rapid increase is observed in the amount of sewage sludge formation. Methods that will not harm the environment should be determined in the disposal of the sewage sludge. Among these methods, the disposal of treatment sludge by applying to the land is one of the most environmentally and economically viable methods. However, in the application of sewage sludge to the land, the harmful elements and pathogens contained in the sludge should be taken into consideration. In order to eliminate these damages, necessary measures should be taken and necessary improvement processes should be implemented. In addition, most plants use polyelectrolyte during decantation to make sludge dewatering more effective. Polyelectrolytes have no known harm to living habitats. However, as it removes the water from the sludge, it decreases the solubility of the sludge and reduces the amount of beneficial nitruents in the soil. In this study, different proportions of the treatment sludge decanted using polyelectrolyte from the aerobic treatment pools of the Pakmaya Düzce plant and the production sludge formed during the molasses sterilization process at the Pakmaya Düzce factory were prepared. Compost was obtained from these mixtures and it was aimed to turn the sludge into water soluble form. This compost obtained were used as subsoil fertilizers in increasing amounts in greenhouse tomato cultivation. Tomato seedlings were followed in terms of size and productivity. Leaf samples were taken from tomato seedlings during the flower season and chlorophyll analysis was performed. The fruit yield potential of tomato seedlings was compared with the results obtained. Heavy metal content was observed by analyzing the content of compost samples.