Golovko, Oksana
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Anaerobic digestate based on food waste is increasingly used as fertilizer in food production. This study examined the characteristics of anaerobic digestate based on food waste from three biogas plants in Sweden. The characterization included measurements of heavy metals (n = 7), chemicals of emerging concern (CECs), such as currently used drugs and pesticides (n = 133), and an extended range of food-borne pathogens, including two notable sporeformers and some widespread antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The amounts of Escherichia coli, enterococci, and Salmonella and the concentrations of the target heavy metals were all below the maximum accepted levels at all three locations studied. However, the spore-forming Bacillus cereus was found to be present at high levels in samples from all three biogas plants. Among the 133 CECs investigated, 48 were detected at least once, and the highest concentrations were found for pyroxidine, nicotine, caffeine, theobromine, and nicotine. The biofertilizers from the different biogas plants had similar CEC profiles, which indicate similarities in household waste composition and thorough mixing in the biogas plants. If this profile is found to be spatially and temporally consistent, it can help regulators to establish priority lists of CECs of top concern. Assuming increasing use of biofertilizers for food production in the future, it would be beneficial to have concentration limits for CECs Risk estimation based on risk quotients (RQs) indicated generally low environmental risks associated with application of biofertilizer to soils for food crop production. However, the toxicity of CEC mixtures needs to be considered when estimating the risks from application of biofertilizers on agricultural land or in other production systems.
Keywords
Biofertilizer; Food waste; Risk assessment; Heavy metals; CECs
Published in
Journal of Environmental Management
2022, volume: 313, article number: 114997
SLU Authors
Ahrens, Lutz
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Sörengård, Mattias
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Bergstrand, Karl-Johan
- Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Asp, Håkan
- Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Hultberg, Malin
- Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Wiberg, Karin
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Associated SLU-program
SLU Plant Protection Network
Food Waste
AMR: Bacteria
Global goals (SDG)
SDG2 Zero hunger
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production
UKÄ Subject classification
Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114997
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/116903