The Potential Reuse of Sewage Sludge for Agriculture Purposes (Case Study: North Gaza Emergency Sewage Treatment Plant (NGEST))

Abstract

This paper identified the potential use of sewage sludge protected from the emergency sewage treatment plant in north Gaza (NGEST) for agricultural purposes and studied its effect on plant growth and soil properties. The sludge was dried in sunlight, and the plant tissues were cleaned and ground to an appropriate size. The results of the analysis showed that sludge can be used as soil fertilizer and can add nutrients for plant growth. The parameters were tested as pH, EC, TDS, FC, O.M, N, P, CI, ammonia N, E. coli, faecal streptococcus, salmonella, faecal coliforms, total coliforms, SAR, magnesium, sodium chloride, and potassium. A practical experiment was conducted using agricultural containers to grow corn. Five treatments (0-10-20-25-30% sludge) were used. Each experiment has three replicates. Sludge-amended soil affects corn growth. The best treatment was when sludge was amended with the soil at a rate of 25% of the dry weight of the soil.