[Comparison of PAHs distribution in stabilized sludge by sludge drying bed and reed bed]

The difference in the removal efficiencies of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in planted and unplanted sludge drying bed was investigated. Pilot-scale sludge drying bed and reed bed had the same size of 3.0 m x 1.0 m x 1.3 m (L x W x H), and the bed height consisted of a 65 cm media layer and a 65 cm super height. Both beds had a ventilation pipe which was mounted on the drainage pipes. The experiment lasted for three years, and the first two years was the sludge loading period, and the third year was the natural stabilization period. In the first two years, a total thickness of 8.4 m of sludge was loaded and the average sludge loading rate was 41.3 kg x (m2 x a)(-1). After the three-year stabilization, the contents of the sixteen PAHs decreased with time in both the sludge drying bed and the reed bed. The total PAHs contents in the surface, middle and bottom sludge layers in the sludge drying bed were 4.161, 3.543 and 3.118 mg x kg(-1) (DW), corresponding to 26.91%, 37.77% and 45.23% of removal; and the values in the reed bed were 2.722, 1.648 and 1.218 mg x kg(-1) (DW), corresponding to 52.18%, 71.05% and 78.60% of removal. The average PAHs removal in the reed bed was 29.86% higher than that in the sludge drying bed. In the stabilized sludge, the removal of low-molecular-weight PAHs predominated. The results suggested that reed played a positive role in the removal of PAHs.