By-products obtained through the industrial and municipal wastewater treatment process are called sewage sludge; they are rich in various sources of important compounds and nutrients. Various sources through which sludge is generated are mechanical, chemical, and biological treatment techniques of wastewater. Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, this generated sludge poses a major threat to the environment. This generated sludge has a variety of organic and inorganic chemicals and pathogens. Nowadays this waste sludge has to undergo dewatered technique and then disposed of in a landfill as a result of which the pollutant present in the sludge and its problem are shifting from a liquid state to a solid state. The organic insoluble pollutants produced by industry can be the prime resource of energy and thus should be used in various forms. Due to its high-energy value, sludge can be made to be used as fertilizer or soil conditioner for agriculture purposes and adsorbent in the form of biochar to remove trace metals and dyes. Initially, sludge produced from wastewater treatment was considered a waste product because of the expected high amount of contaminants but a recent study suggests sustainable use of sewage sludge like use as a component of clinker meals in cement plants, ceramic adhesive, can be used to remove heavy metals, gases pollutant, and organic matter from water. This study is an approach to catalog multiple sewage applications and their sustainable approaches to using has been discussed. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
