USE OF BIOSOLIDS FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS AS AN ADDITION IN CONCRETE PAVERS FOR POSSIBLE USE ON PEDESTRIAN SERVICE ROADS IN COLOMBIA. CASE STUDY SPAIN

Abstract

It is important to properly manage the sludge generated in a Wastewater Treatment Plant
- WWTP, given the environmental effects that can be generated in the environment, due to the
presence of pollutants derived from the process, which can generate contamination watersheds, and
possible risk to public health. In Colombia, 274 tons of biosolids are generated per day as a result
of wastewater treatment within the WWTPs. 97% of this production is generated by three plants:
El Salitre (Bogotá), Cañaveralejo (Cali) and San Fernando (Medellín) (Dáguer, 2003). For a
decade, a regulatory framework has been developed in some countries that regulates its use in
agricultural and non-agricultural activities. The waste sludge treatment process generates operating
costs, approximately half of the total cost of wastewater treatment, becoming a problem that must
be addressed. Colombian regulations through Decree 1287 of 2014 of the Ministry of Housing,
City and Territory defines biosolids as the product of the stabilization of the sludge generated in
the treatment of municipal wastewater, with physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics
that allow their use is They also present the guidelines for the use of these wastes in Colombia.
This paper presents the bibliographic review about the use of the sludge generated in the WWTPs
as aggregate in the prefabrication of concrete pavers to be used in pedestrian streets in Colombia,
seeking the additional value that these provide to the physicochemical and mechanical behavior,
with biological stability, and thus be able to be used on roads and be a starting point for future
research on this topic based on studies previously carried out in countries such as Spain.