IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jwaste/v3y2025i4p31-d1760958.html

Characterisation and Fertiliser Potential of Mechanically Dewatered Faecal Sludge from Anaerobic Digestion

Author

Listed:
  • Dennis Ofori-Amanfo

    (Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Center Kumasi, Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University Post Office, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana
    Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited, Accra P.O. Box GP 1630, Ghana)

  • Eugene Appiah-Effah

    (Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Center Kumasi, Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University Post Office, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Barbara Gyapong-Korsah

    (Department of Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University Post Office, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Esi Awuah

    (Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Center Kumasi, Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University Post Office, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Helen M. K. Essandoh

    (Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Center Kumasi, Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University Post Office, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Miriam Appiah-Brempong

    (Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Center Kumasi, Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University Post Office, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana)

  • Issahaku Ahmed

    (Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited, Accra P.O. Box GP 1630, Ghana)

Abstract

While mechanical dewatering is widely used in faecal sludge treatment, the agricultural potential of mechanically dewatered faecal sludge (MDFS) combined with anaerobic digestion (AD) remains underexplored, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where nutrient recovery is critical for food security. This study provides the first comprehensive characterisation of MDFS from Ghana’s largest treatment facility and evaluates anaerobic digestion effectiveness for agricultural application. Over six months, 182 composite MDFS samples from Lavender Hill Faecal Treatment Plant were analysed for physicochemical properties, nutrients, heavy metals, and microbial contaminants before and after AD treatment. MDFS demonstrated exceptional nutrient density, with total nitrogen (2141.05 mg/kg), phosphorus (190.08 mg/kg), and potassium (4434.88 mg/kg) concentrations comparable to commercial organic fertilisers. AD achieved significant pathogen reduction, decreasing total coliforms from 148,808.70 to 493.33 cfu/100 g ( p < 0.001) and Ascaris lumbricoides eggs from 12.08 to 3.33 eggs/L, while maintaining nutrient integrity and keeping heavy metals within safe agricultural limits. Statistical modelling revealed a significant correlation between treatment duration and pathogen reduction efficiency. Despite substantial improvements, treated MDFS still exceeded some regulatory thresholds, indicating a need for complementary post-treatment strategies. This research establishes AD as an effective primary treatment for converting MDFS into a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser, supporting circular economy principles in urban sanitation systems and providing a sustainable pathway for agricultural nutrient recovery in resource-constrained settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Dennis Ofori-Amanfo & Eugene Appiah-Effah & Barbara Gyapong-Korsah & Esi Awuah & Helen M. K. Essandoh & Miriam Appiah-Brempong & Issahaku Ahmed, 2025. "Characterisation and Fertiliser Potential of Mechanically Dewatered Faecal Sludge from Anaerobic Digestion," Waste, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jwaste:v:3:y:2025:i:4:p:31-:d:1760958
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/3/4/31/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/3/4/31/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Khumbo Kalulu & Bernard Thole & Theresa Mkandawire & Grant Kululanga, 2021. "Resource-Efficient Characterisation of Pit Latrine Sludge for Use in Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Drechsel, Pay & Qadir, M. & Galibourg, D., 2022. "The WHO guidelines for safe wastewater use in agriculture: a review of implementation challenges and possible solutions in the global south," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 1-14(6):864.
    3. Weicheng Zheng & Yuchao Shao & Shulin Qin & Zhongquan Wang, 2024. "Future Directions of Sustainable Resource Utilization of Residual Sewage Sludge: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-19, August.
    4. Sylwia Myszograj & Ewelina Płuciennik-Koropczuk, 2023. "Thermal Disintegration of Sewage Sludge as a Method of Improving the Biogas Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, January.
    5. Imran Khan & Shahariar Chowdhury & Kuaanan Techato, 2022. "Waste to Energy in Developing Countries—A Rapid Review: Opportunities, Challenges, and Policies in Selected Countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia towards Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-27, March.
    6. Surendra K Pradhan & Olufunke Cofie & Josiane Nikiema & Helvi Heinonen-Tanski, 2019. "Fecal Sludge Derived Products as Fertilizer for Lettuce Cultivation in Urban Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Khumbo Kalulu & Bernard Thole & Theresa Mkandawire & Grant Kululanga, 2020. "Application of Process Intensification in the Treatment of Pit Latrine Sludge from Informal Settlements in Blantyre City, Malawi," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-14, May.
    8. Musa Manga & Barbara E. Evans & Tula M. Ngasala & Miller A. Camargo-Valero, 2022. "Recycling of Faecal Sludge: Nitrogen, Carbon and Organic Matter Transformation during Co-Composting of Faecal Sludge with Different Bulking Agents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-22, August.
    9. Pradhan, Surendra K. & Cofie, Olufunke & Nikiema, Josiane & Heinonen-Tanski, H., 2019. "Fecal sludge derived products as fertilizer for lettuce cultivation in urban agriculture," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 1-11(24):71.
    10. João R. Silva & Rosa M. Quinta-Ferreira & Luís M. Castro, 2025. "Biological Treatments for VOC-Contaminated Off-Gas: Advances, Challenges, and Energetic Valorization Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-51, May.
    11. Modupe Stella Ayilara & Oluwaseyi Samuel Olanrewaju & Olubukola Oluranti Babalola & Olu Odeyemi, 2020. "Waste Management through Composting: Challenges and Potentials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-23, May.
    12. Musa Manga & Chimdi Muoghalu & Miller A. Camargo-Valero & Barbara E. Evans, 2023. "Effect of Turning Frequency on the Survival of Fecal Indicator Microorganisms during Aerobic Composting of Fecal Sludge with Sawdust," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-17, February.
    13. Nicola Di Costanzo & Alessandra Cesaro & Francesco Di Capua & Giovanni Esposito, 2021. "Exploiting the Nutrient Potential of Anaerobically Digested Sewage Sludge: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-25, December.
    14. Hans Breukelman & Harold Krikke & Ansje Löhr, 2019. "Failing Services on Urban Waste Management in Developing Countries: A Review on Symptoms, Diagnoses, and Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-31, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Musa Manga & Christian Aragón-Briceño & Panagiotis Boutikos & Swaib Semiyaga & Omotunde Olabinjo & Chimdi C. Muoghalu, 2023. "Biochar and Its Potential Application for the Improvement of the Anaerobic Digestion Process: A Critical Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-23, May.
    2. Wojciech Rzeźnik & Ilona Rzeźnik & Paulina Mielcarek-Bocheńska & Mateusz Urbański, 2023. "Air Pollutants Emission during Co-Combustion of Animal Manure and Wood Pellets in 15 kW Boiler," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Andrzej G. Chmielewski & Yongxia Sun & Jianlong Wang & Shizong Wang, 2025. "Emerging Electron Beam Technology Targeting Hazardous Micropollutants as Quaternary Treatment in Wastewater Treatment Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-31, June.
    4. Rose Daphnee Tchonkouang & Helen Onyeaka & Taghi Miri, 2023. "From Waste to Plate: Exploring the Impact of Food Waste Valorisation on Achieving Zero Hunger," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-21, July.
    5. Dar, Rouf Ahmad & Tsui, To-Hung & Zhang, Le & Tong, Yen Wah & Sharon, Sigal & Shoseyov, Oded & Liu, Ronghou, 2024. "Fermentation of organic wastes through oleaginous microorganisms for lipid production - Challenges and opportunities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    6. Sana Shahab & Mohd Anjum, 2022. "Solid Waste Management Scenario in India and Illegal Dump Detection Using Deep Learning: An AI Approach towards the Sustainable Waste Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-28, November.
    7. Álvaro Forero & Juan Carlos Cruz & Carolina Muñoz, 2025. "Adoption of Agricultural Innovations Within the ‘Farm to Fork’ Strategy: A Realistic Review of Barriers, Paradoxes, and Avenues for Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-25, October.
    8. Stephen Tangwe & Patrick Mukumba & Golden Makaka, 2022. "Comparison of the Prediction Accuracy of Total Viable Bacteria Counts in a Batch Balloon Digester Charged with Cow Manure: Multiple Linear Regression and Non-Linear Regression Models," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-23, October.
    9. Patricia Chica-Morales & Victor F. Muñoz & Antonio J. Domenech, 2021. "System Dynamics as Ex Ante Impact Assessment Tool in International Development Cooperation: Study Case of Urban Sustainability Policies in Darkhan, Mongolia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-23, April.
    10. Muhammad Rifqi Ismiraj & Asri Wulansari & Yadi Setiadi & Aditia Pratama & Novi Mayasari, 2023. "Perceptions of Community-Based Waste Bank Operators and Customers on Its Establishment and Operationalization: Cases in Pangandaran, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-14, July.
    11. Girija Ramakrishna & Balachandra Patil, 2025. "Characterisation of Faecal Sludge from Different Nature-Based Treatment Processes for Agricultural Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-19, June.
    12. Faisal A. Osra & Huseyin Kurtulus Ozcan & Jaber S. Alzahrani & Mohammad S. Alsoufi, 2021. "Municipal Solid Waste Characterization and Landfill Gas Generation in Kakia Landfill, Makkah," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-13, January.
    13. Ferdoush, Md. Ruhul & Aziz, Ridwan Al & Karmaker, Chitra Lekha & Debnath, Binoy & Limon, Mohammad Hossain & Bari, A.B.M. Mainul, 2024. "Unraveling the challenges of waste-to-energy transition in emerging economies: Implications for sustainability," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(2).
    14. Guoxian Cao & Chaoyang Guo & Hezhong Li, 2022. "Risk Analysis of Public–Private Partnership Waste-to-Energy Incineration Projects from the Perspective of Rural Revitalization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-19, July.
    15. Piotr Sołowiej & Patrycja Pochwatka & Agnieszka Wawrzyniak & Krzysztof Łapiński & Andrzej Lewicki & Jacek Dach, 2021. "The Effect of Heat Removal during Thermophilic Phase on Energetic Aspects of Biowaste Composting Process," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-14, February.
    16. Fahad Alzahrani & Momtaz Elsebaei & Rady Tawfik, 2023. "Public Acceptance of Treated Wastewater Reuse in the Agricultural Sector in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-14, October.
    17. Yuan Liu & Jiahui Liu & Hongyan Cheng & Yuan Luo & Kokyo Oh & Xiangzhuo Meng & Haibo Zhang & Na Liu & Mingchang Chang, 2022. "Seedling Establishment Test for the Comprehensive Evaluation of Compost Phytotoxicity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    18. Marian Kusi-Appiah & Richard J. Murphy & Lirong Liu, 2025. "An Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Ghana: A Scoping Review of Challenges, Opportunities, and Technology Options," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-26, September.
    19. Nitad Jaisue & Nipon Ketjoy & Malinee Kaewpanha & Prapita Thanarak, 2023. "The Barriers Analysis for Waste-to-Energy Project Development in Thailand: Using an Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-19, February.
    20. Omid Hashemi-Amiri & Ran Ji & Kuo Tian, 2023. "An Integrated Location–Scheduling–Routing Framework for a Smart Municipal Solid Waste System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-24, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jwaste:v:3:y:2025:i:4:p:31-:d:1760958. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.