Kinetics of PAHs losses and relationships between PAHs properties and properties of soil in sewage sludge-amended soil

The properties of soil determine the activity of its microflora which is responsible for the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Moreover, soil properties influence the strength of the interactions between the PAHs and individual soil components. The introduction of sewage sludge into the soil changes these properties which, in turn, changes environmental conditions. In the present studies, relationships between the PAH content and changes in selected soil properties (pH, CEC, TEB, BS, N,) have been evaluated. The present experiment was carried out in two blocks of experimental plots divided according to the type of plants grown. In the first block, the following field plants were grown in specific sequence, (maize, spring barley, winter rape, potatoes and cereal mixture) while in the other block a perennial, that is, willow, was grown. Plant cultivation was carried out for 54 months, whereas the cultivation of the willow was conducted over 42 months. Each block consisted of 6 plots with a surface area of 15 m(2) into which sewage sludge had been introduced in the following doses: soil without fertilization-control, sludge 30, 75, 150, 300, 600 t/ha. Both the disappearance rate and the scope of the individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as determined by their respective half-lives showed that losses of these compounds depended on the sewage sludge properties (among other things, the pollutant content) as well as the sludge dose and the type of area used. The correlation coefficients determined depended on the sludge dose and the experimental variant. The highest frequency of their occurrence was found in the case of the total sum of nitrogen and cation exchange capacity for the highest sludge doses (in the experimental with willow).