Use of Waste Sludge from Filter Press Units in Aggregate Facilities in Agriculture

To minimize both storage and transportation costs and to reduce waste generation, this study aims to reuse the sewage sludge from filter press units in aggregate plants and bring it into the economy. Disposal of sewage sludge by using it in agricultural lands is one of the evaluation methods in terms of both environmental and economic aspects. However, care should be taken in the use of sewage sludge in land use due to the harmful elements and pathogens contained in the sludge and necessary measures should be taken to eliminate these damages. The first factor to be considered to using the sludge sample taken from the filter press unit of the aggregate plant in the soil is the limit values of the heavy metals contained in it within the scope of the relevant Regulations. The second step is that the concentrations of organic compounds and dioxins are within the limit values. If the results of the analysis are found to be applicable in the soil, the treatment sludge stored in the aggregate plant can be used in agriculture and can be economized. In this study, the suitability of the wastes from aggregate filter press units for use in agriculture was evaluated. Considering that limited trials have been conducted in the world literature on the use of mine wastes in agriculture and soil improvement, this study was carried out to provide mine operators with awareness of waste reduction and waste utilization. There is no study in the literature on the use of filter press waste sludge from aggregate plants for soil improvement. To fill this gap in the literature, this study is a guide for future studies on the utilization of these filter press wastes in agriculture.