Recultivation of a potassium mining waste dump with municipal sewage sludge compost

摘要

The mining company, Gluckauf Sondershausen Entwicklungs- und Sicherungsgesellschaft mbH (Germany), has its origin in the potassium and salt industry. The mining dumps have a high salt content and contain a high potential for the contamination of soiland water resources. An effective measure to protect the environment is to cover the dumps with suitable minerals to prevent saline water penetrating into the near-surface water. In our study, we set up a recultivation layer by mixing municipal sewage sludge compost (SSC) with a sandy soil to investigate the influence of this material on the quantity and quality of seepage water and to analyze the growth of bioenergy crops. These crops can be used for biogas generation. Sewage sludge composts have a high water storage capacity and contain a huge amount of plant available nutrients.