Emerging Sanitary Engineering Of Biosolids: Elimination Of Salmonella, Escherichia Coli, And Coliforms By Means Of Atmospheric Pressure Air Cold Plasma

Biosolids contain high amounts of human pathogenic bacteria that are excreted in feces and urine. The enteric pathogenic bacteria Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli (enteropathogenic and enterotoxigenic variants), coliforms, Clostridium sp., Campylobacter sp., Listeria sp., and Yersinia sp., might be present in biosolids. A large proportion of these bacteria are both human pathogenic and zoonotic, which means that they can cause infections in both humans and animals. In addition, these organisms have a strong ability to persistently adapt to changes in the surrounding environment. According to the 86/278 EC Directive on the protection of the environment and of the soil when sewage sludge is used in agriculture, the minimum requirement for alternative treatments to produce sanitized sludge is defined as containing E. coli/g (cfu/g) and 0 Salmonella sp. in 50 g wet weight. This study reviews the current technologies employed for the reuse of treated biosolids in agriculture and unveils an emerging process that could lead to pathogenic microorganism reduction. The process refers to atmospheric pressure air cold plasma of electrical discharges and appears to be an effective treatment with the potential to destroy pathogenic cells of disease-causing and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as E. coli, coliforms, and Salmonella sp. of different serotypes. (c) 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.