TY - CONF A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Roesch, Philipp A1 - Wittwer, Philipp A1 - Piechotta, Christian A1 - Lisec, Jan A1 - Sommerfeld, Thomas A1 - Kluge, Stephanie A1 - Herzel, Hannes A1 - Simon, Franz-Georg T1 - Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Sewage Sludge and Wastewater-based Fertilizers N2 - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals which were developed to improve humanity’s quality of life. Due to their high chemical stability and resistance to degradation by heat or acids, PFAS were used in a variety of consumer products. The continuous use of PFAS in household products and the discharge of PFAS from industrial plants into the sewer system resulted in the contamination of effluents and sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) (Roesch et al. 2022). Since sewage sludge is often used as fertilizer, its application on agricultural soils has been observed as a significant entry path for PFAS into the environment, specifically in our food chain. In Germany the sewage sludge/biosolid application on agricultural land was banned with the amendment of the German Sewage Sludge Ordinance and by 2029 sewage sludge application will be totally prohibited. However, phosphorus (P) from sewage sludge should still be recycled in WWTPs of cities with a population larger than 50,000 residents. To produce high-quality P-fertilizers for a circular economy, PFAS and other pollutants (e.g. pesticides and pharmaceuticals) must be separated from sewage sludge. Due to the strong diversity of industrial PFAS usage it is not clear if a safe application of novel recycled P-fertilizers from WWTPs can be guaranteed. Therefore, we analyzed various sewage sludges and wastewater-based fertilizers. Sewage sludge (SL) samples from various WWTPs in Germany and Switzerland, six sewage sludge ashes (SSA) from Germany, six thermally treated SL and SSA samples with different additives (temperatures: 700-1050 °C), two pyrolyzed SL samples (temperature: 400 °C) and two struvite samples from Germany and Canada were analyzed. The goal was to quantify PFAS in sewage sludges and wastewater-based P-fertilizers with the sum parameter extractable organic fluorine (EOF) by combustion ion chromatography (CIC). The results were compared with data from classical LC-MS/MS target analysis as well as selected samples by HR-MS suspect screening. The EOF values of the SLs mainly range between 154 and 538 µg/kg except for one SL which showed an elevated EOF value of 7209 µg/kg due to high organofluorine contamination. For the SSA samples the EOF values were lower and values between LOQ (approx. 60 µg/kg) and 121 µg/kg could be detected. For the pyrolyzed SLs no EOF values above the LOQ were detected. Moreover, the two wastewater-based struvite fertilizers contain 96 and 112 µg/kg EOF, respectively. In contrast to the EOF values, the sum of PFAS target values were relatively low for all SLs. Additional applied PFAS HR-MS suspect screening aimed to tentatively identify PFAS that could contribute to the hitherto unknown part of the EOF value. The majority of the detected fluorinated compounds are legacy PFAS such as short- and long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCA), perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSA), polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters (PAPs) and perfluorophosphonic acids (PFPA). Moreover, fluorinated pesticides, pharmaceutical as well as aromatic compounds were also identified, which are all included in the EOF parameter. Our research revealed that the current PFAS limit of 100 µg/kg for the sum of PFOS + PFOA in the German Fertilizer Ordinance is no longer up to date. Since the number of known PFAS already exceeds 10,000, the ordinance limit should be updated accordingly. Recent regulations and restrictions on using long-chain PFAS (≥C8) have resulted in a significant shift in the industry towards (ultra-)short-chain alternatives, and other, partly unknown, emerging PFAS. Ultimately, also fluorinated pesticides and pharmaceuticals, which end up as ultrashort PFAS in the WWTPs, have to be considered as possible pollutants in fertilizers from wastewater, too. T2 - Dioxin Konferenz CY - Maastricht, Netherlands DA - 10.09.2023 KW - Combustion Ion Chromatography KW - Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) KW - Sewage sludge KW - Fertilizer PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58345 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Taube, Mareike Carolin A1 - Adamczyk, Burkart A1 - Adam, Christian A1 - Feldmann, Ines A1 - Ostermann, Markus A1 - Reuter, M. A1 - Stelter, M. T1 - Tantalrecycling aus pyrometallurgischen Rückständen N2 - Gegenstand dieser Arbeit ist die Untersuchung eines bestehenden pyrometallurgischen Prozesses zur Rückgewinnung von Tantal und Niob aus metallurgischen Reststoffen mit vorwiegend niedriger Wertstoffkonzentration. Zur näheren Erforschung der im vorliegenden Stoffsystem ablaufenden Reduktionsprozesse wurden in einem Elektrolichtbogenofen Schmelzversuche im Pilotmaßstab durchgeführt. Als Reduktionsmittel diente Koks, welcher mithilfe einer Argon-gespülten Eisenlanze in die flüssige mineralische Schmelze eingebracht wurde. Während der Reduktionsbehandlung werden Refraktärmetalle wie Tantal und Niob in ihre Carbide überführt und anschließend in der erschmolzenen eisenbasierten Metallphase am Boden des Reaktors angereichert. Neben Tantal und Niob gelangt auch ein Teil des im Einsatzmaterial enthaltenen Titans als unerwünschtes Begleitelement in die Metallphase. Sein Großteil verbleibt jedoch als Oxid in der Schlacke und wird dort hauptsächlich im Mineral Perowskit (CaTiO3) gebunden. Die erstarrten Schlackeproben wurden mit verschiedenen Methoden wie Röntgenfluoreszensanalyse, Röntgenbeugung und Rasterelektronenmikroskopie mit gekoppelter energiedispersiver Röntgenanalyse untersucht, um die Bildung tantalhaltiger Mineralphasen zu verschiedenen Stadien des Reduktionsprozesses zu verfolgen. Die hier gewonnenen Erkenntnisse zeigen, dass weniger die durch das Einblasen von Koks verursachte Reduktionsreaktion, sondern das Absinken der tantalreichen Eisentröpfchen in der flüssigen mineralischen Schmelze, gefolgt von ihrer Anreicherung in die Metallphase, für die Kinetik ausschlaggebend ist. N2 - An existing pyrometallurgical process for tantalum and niobium recovery, mainly from low grade pyrometallurgical residues, was investigated. Melting experiments were carried out in a pilot-scale electric arc furnace to study the material system during the reduction process caused by blowing coke into the liquid mineral melt. During the pyrometallurgical treatment refractory metals such as tantalum and niobium are converted into their carbides and enriched in the molten iron-based metal phase. Titanium is also enriched in the metal phase as an unwanted accompanying element, but most of it remains in oxidic form in the slag and is mainly bound in the mineral perovskite. Cooled down slag samples were analysed using XRF, XRD, SEM and EDX to investigate the formation of mineral phases rich in tantalum during various stages of the reduction process. The results show that the settling of the tantalum-rich iron droplets in the molten slag into the metal phase May play a greater role for the kinetics than the actual reduction reaction caused by blowing in coke. KW - Tantal KW - Recycling KW - Reduktionsprozess KW - Perowskit KW - Elektrolichtbogenofen PY - 2020 SN - 1613-2394 VL - 73 IS - 4 SP - 196 EP - 205 PB - GDMB Verlag GmbH CY - Clausthal-Zellerfeld AN - OPUS4-51064 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -