Investigation of chemical composition and nutritional values of pulp and paper mill sludge compost

Nafees Muhammad, Shams Ali Baig, Saiqa Zahid

  

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1471177

Received: 12 September 2018

Accepted: 23 October 2018

Published online: 25 October 2018

  

ABSTRACT

Pulp and paper industry generates million tons of wastes annually and become one of the major environmental problems worldwide. In recent years, the nutritional values of pulp and paper mill sludge compost attract researchers’ attentions. Present study was conducted on paper mill based on used paper. In the present study, distribution trend of the chemical composition and nutritional values of sludge generated from the pulp and paper industry was assessed during composting under different environmental conditions. Aim of the study was to utilize paper mill sludge in environment friendly manner.  Standard extraction and analytical methods were employed to test the samples for different parameters including total nitrogen, organic carbon, Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH, phosphate, sulfate, sodium, potassium and four micro-nutrients (Zinc, Copper, Nickel and Chromium). Results demonstrated that many parameters significantly varied during composting and efficiently enhanced the nutritional contents of the compost. The concentration of organic carbon before composting was 8.25 % as compared to the composted sample (> 26 %). An increasing trend of total nitrogen content in the compost was also observed, which revealed the outcome of the ammonification process during composting. In addition, micro-nutrients levels were found in increasing pattern to further improve the nutritional values of the compost. Findings from this study suggested that the nutritional values of sludge significantly improved after amended composting, which could be one of the promising sources of nutrients for enhanced agricultural productivity. Also, the composting process greatly reduced the pathogens in sludge and helps to recycle the important nutrients for enhanced agriculture productivity. It is therefore recommended to use waste of paper mill waste as a rich source of macro and micro nutrients.

 Keywords: composting; nutritional values; chemical composition; micro-nutrients; organic carbon.

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22. Nafees, M., Amin, A. (2014). Evaluation of Heavy Metals Accumulation in Different Parts of Wheat Plant Grown on Soil Amended with Sediment Collected from Kabul River Canal. Journal of Agriculture Research, 52(3), 383–394. 

23. Curnoe, E., Irving, D. C., Dow, C. B. et al. (2006). Effect of spring application of a paper mill soil conditioner on corn yield. Agronomy Journal, 98(3), 423–429. doi: 10.2134/agronj2005.0041.

24. Manohara, B., Belagali, S. L. (2014). Characterization of essential nutrients and heavy metals during municipal solid waste composting. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 3(2), 9664–9672.

25. Tvergyak, J. L. (2012). Organic by-product materials as soil amendments (Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University). Available: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1339463187.

26. Iqbal, M. A., Chaudhary, M. N., Zaib, S. et al. (2011). Accumulation of heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb) in agricultural soils and spring seasonal plants, irrigated by industrial waste water. Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2(1), 89–97.

27. Hafeez, B., Khanif, Y. M., Saleem, M. (2013). Role of Zinc in plant nutrition – a review. American Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 3(2), 374–391. doi: 10.9734/AJEA/2013/2746.

28. Cheng, J. L., Shi, Z., Zhu, Y. W. (2007). Assessment and mapping of environmental quality in agricultural soils of Zhejiang Province, China. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 19(1), 50–54.

29. Ngeno, K. (2012). Analysis of essential trace elements in soils, amaranthus cruentus and amaranthus hypochondriacus grains, leaves and stems from selected parts of Kenya (Doctoral dissertation). http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/123456789/5959/NGENO%20KIPYEGON.pdf?sequence=3.

 

ЛІТЕРАТУРА

1. Rashid M.T., Barry D., Goss M. Paper mill Bio-solids Application to Agricultural Lands: Benefits and Environmental Concerns with Special Reference to Situation in Canada // Soil & Environment. 2006. Vol. 25, Issue 2. P. 85–98.

2. Sridach W. The Environmentally benign Pulping Process of Non-wood Fibers Suranaree // Journal of Science and Technology. 2010. Vol. 17, Issue 2. P. 105–123.

3. Avasar E., Demirer G. N. Cleaner Production Opportunity Assessment Study in SEKA Balikesir Pulp and Paper mill // Journal of Cleaner Production. 2008. Vol. 16, Issue 4. P. 422–431. 

4. Suriyanarayanan S., Mailappa A. S., Jayakumar D. et al. Studies on the Characterization and Possibilities of Reutilization of Solid Wastes from a Waste Paper Based Paper Industry // Global Journal of Environmental Research. 2010. Vol. 4, Issue 1. P. 18–22.

5. Karcher D., Baser W. Paper mill sludge as mulch during turf grass establishment // Horticultural studies, alabama agriculture experiment station. Research series. 2001. Vol. 494. P. 67–69.

6. Akhtar M., Naeem A., Akhter J. et al. Improvement in nutrient uptake and yield of wheat by combined use of urea and compost // Journal Soil & Environment. 2011. Vol. 30. Issue 1. P. 45–49. Online ISSN: 2075-1141.

7. Gopinathan M., Thirumurthy M. Evaluation of phytotoxicity for compost from organic fraction of municipal solid waste and paper & pulp mill sludge // Environmental research, engineering and management. 2012. Vol. 59, Issue 1. P. 47–51. doi: 10.5755/j01.erem.59.1.

8. O’Brien T. A., Herbert S. J., Barker A. V. Growth of corn in varying mixtures of paper mill sludge and soil // Communication of soil sciences and plant analysis. 2002. Vol. 33, Issue 3–4. P. 635–646. doi: 10.1081/CSS-120002769.

9. Shabbir A. S., Mehmood S. Report on Paper and Paper Board Industry of Pakistan // School of Professional Advancement (University of Management Technology). 2010. Available: www.scribd.com/doc/36021911/Paper-and-Board-Industry-Report.

10. Khan S., Rehman S., Zeb Khan A. et al. Soil and vegetables enrichment with heavy metals from geological sources in Gilgit, Northern Pakistan // Eco-toxicology and Environmental Safety. 2010. Vol. 73, Issue 7. P. 1820–1827. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2010.08.016.

11. Afzal M., Yasin M. Effect of soil to water ratio on chemical properties of saline-sodic soil and normal soil, Pakistan // Journal of Agriculture Resources. 2002. Vol. 17, Issue 4. P. 379–386.

12. Tiquia S. M., Tam N. F. Y. Co-composting of spent pig litter and sludge with forced-aeration // Bio-resource Technology. 2000. Vol. 72, Issue 1. P. 1–7. doi: 10.1016/S0960-8524(99)90092-5.

13. Preethu D. C., Prakash B. N., Srinivasamurthy C. A., Vasanthi B. G. Maturity indices as an index to evaluate the quality of compost of coffee waste blended with other organic wastes // In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management. 2007. September 5–7, Chennai, India. P. 270–275.

14. Nelson P. W., Sommers C. E. Total C, Organic C and Organic matter // In: Page A. L. (Ed.). Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Chemical methods. Madison: SSSA. 1996. P. 539–579.

15. Schulte E. E., Hoskins B. Recommended soil testing procedure for Northeastern United States. 2009. 3^rd Edition, Northeastern Regional Publication № 493. Available: http://extension.udel.edu/lawngarden/soil-health-composting/recommended-soil-testing-procedures-for-the-northeastern-united-states/.

16. UoM (University of Minnesota). Research Analytical Laboratory in Soil Analysis and Method. 2004. Available: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1227.

17. Arnold G. E., Lenore S. G., Andrew O. E. Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water. 1999. 20th Edition, American Public Health Association, 1015 Fifteenth Street, Washington DC. ISBN 0-87553-235-7. ISSN 55-1979. Available: https://www.mwa.co.th/download/file_upload/SMWW_10900end.pdf.

18. Rehm G. W., Caldwell A. C. Sulfur supplying capacity of soils and the relationship to soil type // Soil Sciences. 1968. Vol. 105, Issue 5. P. 355–361.

19. Bernala M. P., Alburquerquea J. A., Moral B. Omposting of animal manures and chemical criteria for compost maturity assessment. a review // Bioresource Technology. 2009. Vol. 100, Issue 22. P. 5444–5453.

20. Tucker P. Co-Composting Paper Mill Sludges // University of Paisley, Scotland. 2005. Available: http://www.wellowgate.co.uk/Files/Co-composting.pdf.

21. Capewell M. The why and how to testing the Electrical Conductivity of Soils // Agriculture Solutions. 2014. Available: http://www.agriculturesolutions.com/resources/92-the-why-and-how-to-testing-the-electrical-conductivity-of-soils.

22. Nafees M., Amin A. Evaluation of Heavy Metals Accumulation in Different Parts of Wheat Plant Grown on Soil Amended with Sediment Collected from Kabul River Canal // Journal of Agriculture Research. 2014. Vol. 52, Issue 3. P. 383–394. 

23. Curnoe E., Irving D. C., Dow C. B. et al. Effect of spring application of a paper mill soil conditioner on corn yield // Agronomy Journal. 2006. Vol. 98, Issue 3. P. 423–429. doi: 10.2134/agronj2005.0041.

24. Manohara B., Belagali S. L. Characterization of essential nutrients and heavy metals during municipal solid waste composting // International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology. 2014. Vol. 3, Issue 2. P. 9664–9672.

25. Tvergyak J. L. Organic by-product materials as soil amendments (Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University). 2012. Available: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1339463187.

26. Iqbal M. A., Chaudhary M. N., Zaib S. et al. Accumulation of heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb) in agricultural soils and spring seasonal plants, irrigated by industrial waste water. // Journal of Environmental Technology and Management. 2011. Vol. 2, Issue 1. P. 89–97.

27. Hafeez B., Khanif Y. M., Saleem M. Role of Zinc in plant nutrition – a review // American Journal of Experimental Agriculture. 2013. Vol. 3, Issue 2. P. 374–391. doi: 10.9734/AJEA/2013/2746.

28. Cheng J. L., Shi Z., Zhu Y. W. Assessment and mapping of environmental quality in agricultural soils of Zhejiang Province, China // Journal of Environmental Sciences. 2007. Vol. 19, Issue 1. P. 50–54.

29. Ngeno K. Analysis of essential trace elements in soils, amaranthus cruentus and amaranthus hypochondriacus grains, leaves and stems from selected parts of Kenya (Doctoral dissertation). 2012. Available: http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/123456789/5959/NGENO%20KIPYEGON.pdf?sequence=3.