摘要：Abstract. Millions of tons of bottom sediments are dredged annuallyall over the world. Ports and bays need to extract the sediments toguarantee the navigation levels or remediate the aquatic ecosystem. Theremoved material is commonly disposed of in open oceans or landfills. Thesedisposal methods are not in line with circular-economy goals andadditionally are unsuitable due to their legal and environmentalcompatibility. Recovery of valuables represents a way to eliminate dumpingand contributes towards the sustainable extraction of secondary rawmaterials. Nevertheless, the recovery varies on a case-by-case basis anddepends on the sediment components. Therefore, the first step is to analyseand identify the sediment composition and properties. Malmfjärden is ashallow semi-enclosed bay located in Kalmar, Sweden. Dredging of sedimentsis required to recuperate the water level. This study focuses oncharacterizing the sediments, pore water and surface water from the bay touncover possible sediment recovery paths and define the baseline ofcontamination in the water body. The results showed that the bay hadhigh amounts of nitrogen (170–450µgL−1), leading toeutrophication problems. The sediments mainly comprised small sizeparticle material (silt, clay and sand proportions of 62%–79%, 14%–20%, 7%–17%, respectively) and had a medium–high level of nitrogen(7400–11000mgkg−1). Additionally, the sediments had little presenceof organic pollutants and low–medium concentration of metals or metalloids. Thecharacterization of the sediments displays a potential use in less sensitivelands such as in industrial and commercial areas where the sediments can beemployed as construction material or as plant-growing substrate (forornamental gardens or vegetation beside roads).
