Dissipation of fragrance materials in sludge-amended soils

A possible removal mechanism for fragrance materials (FMs) in wastewater is adsorption to sludge, and sludge application to land may be a route through which FMs are released to the soil environment. However, little is known about the concentrations and fate of FMs in soil receiving sludge application. This study was conducted to better understand the dissipation of FMs in sludge-amended soils. We first determined the spiking and extraction efficiencies for 22 FMs in soil and leachate samples. Nine FMs were detected in digested sludges from two wastewater treatment plants in Delaware using these methods. We conducted a 1-year die-away experiment which involved four different soils amended with sludge, with and without spiking of the 22 FMs. The initial dissipation of FMs in all spiked trays was rapid, and only seven FMs remained at concentrations above the quantification limits after 3 months: AHTN, HHCB, musk ketone, musk xylene, acetyl cedrene, OTNE, and DPMI. After 1 year, the only FMs remaining in all spiked trays were musk ketone and AHTN. DPMI was the only FM that leached significantly from the spiked trays, and no FMs were detected in leachate from any unspiked tray. While soil organic matter content affected the dissipation rate in general, different mechanisms (volatilization, transformation, leaching) appeared to be important for different FMs.