Themes and topics for theses
- Agri-Food Business Management
- Environmental Governance and Adaptation to Climate Change
- Fisheries and applied ecology
- Horticulture
- Landscape Architecture (BSc: Environmental Planning and Landscape Design)
- Landscape Protection and Preservation
- Nature Tourism
- Production and Marketing of Agricultural Products
• Removal of heavy metals, organic pollutants and pathogens from sewage sludge and sludge compost by fungi
Supervisors: Ivar Zekker (Ph.D, research fellow), Ergo Rikmann (Ph.D) (University of Tartu)
SUMMARY OF TOPIC
The use of sewage sludge and sludge compost in agriculture, landscaping and reclamation is limited by the presence of heavy metals, harmful organic compounds (such as PAHs) and pathogens in the sludge and compost. A perspective method to get rid of heavy metals, organic pollutants and pathogens is to treat sludge or compost with fungi. These organisms take up heavy metals to their fruiting bodies, their secreted enzymes break down organic pollutants, and they are also able to kill pathogens. The metals are concentrated in the ash from the incineration of the harvested fruiting bodies, from which the metals can also be separated (biometallurgy). The aim of the current master's thesis is to study the removal of heavy metals and organic pollutants from sewage sludge and sludge compost.
RELATED PROJECTS/FINANCING
The topic of this master thesis is related to the project „Removal of heavy metals and emerging pollutants from sewage sludge and recovery of metals by fungi“.
LABORATORY WORK
The approximate volume of laboratory work is about 60%. Laboratory work takes place in the wastewater laboratory of Chair of Colloidal and Environmental Chemistry. During the laboratory work, various samples of sewage sludge and compost are inoculated with fungal mycelium. The development of mycelium and maturation of fungal fruiting bodies are monitored. Heavy metals are determined from ash of fruiting bodies by the XRF method, with the ICP method being used as the reference method. The metal content in sludge or compost before and after fungal treatment is determined. In addition, analyzes of PAH and pathogens are performed. The optimal process conditions for fungal sludge treatment are determined.