Vermicomposting of agro-industrial waste by-product of the sugar industry

Abstract

The objective of the study was to investigate the survival of earthworm Eisenia fetida during vermicomposting of Sugar Industry wastes. These wastes are called Decanter sludge (DS) and Press filter waste soil (PKF). To achieve the objective a laboratory-based experiment was performed 12 weeks under controlled conditions. Eleven different mixtures were prepared by mixing DS, PKF and farmyard manure (FYM) in different ratios. During the incubation time, earthworms survived in treatments which included less than 50% DS or 50% PKF. The number of earthworms increased significantly in all treatments from 6 to 90 (P<0.05) during the experiment period. Chemical properties (pH, EC, OM, Total Nitrogen, Lime) and heavy metal contents of sugar industry vermicomposts were in accordance with the standard compost limits. Results of the present study indicated that the worms did not live in the medium containing more than 50% of the PKF and 50% of the DS. Vermicompost can be obtained from production wastes of sugar factory by applying vermicompost process on Decanter Sludge at the maximum ratio of 50% or its mix with PKF along with FYM. Use of DS and PKF as feed materials for vermicomposting can assist to turn the wastes into precious materials.

Keywords

• Sugar waste,decanter sludge,farmyard manure,press filter waste soil,vermicompost,Eisenia fetida

References

1. Anonymous, 2016. Data of Turkish statistical institutions. Available at [Access date: 29.01.2017]: http://www.tuik.gov.tr
2. Ansari, A.A., Rajpersaud, J., 2012 Physicochemical changes during vermicomposting of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and grass clippings. ISRN Soil Science Article ID 984783.
3. Bhat, S.A., Singh, J., Vig, A.P., 2016. Effect on growth of earthworm and chemical parameters during vermicomposting of pressmud sludge mixed with cattle dung mixture. Procedia Environmental Sciences 35: 425-434.
4. Bremner, J.M., Mulvaney, C.S., 1982. Nitrogen total. In: Methods of soil analysis. Part 2 Chemical and microbiological properties. 2nd edition. Page, A.L. Miller, R. H., Keeney, D.R. (Eds.). American Society of Agronomy, No. 9, Madison, WI, USA. pp. 595-624.
5. Dotaniya, M.L., Datta, S.C., 2016. Biswas, D.R., 2016. Use of sugarcane industrial by-products for improving sugarcane productivity and soil health. International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture 5(3): 185–194
6. Edwards, C.A., Fletcher, K.E., 1988. Interactions between earthworms and microorganisms in organic-matter breakdown. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 24(1-3): 235-247.
7. Fatehi, M.H., Shayegan, J., 2010. Vermicomposting of organic solid waste with the E. Fetida in different bedding materials. Journal of Environmental Studies 36(55): 37-42.
8. Garg, P., Gupta, A., Satya, S., 2006. Vermicomposting of different types of waste using Eisenia foetida: A comparative study. Bioresource Technology 97(3): 391-395.

9. Gupta, R., Garg, V.K., 2008. Stabilization of primary sewage sludge during vermicomposting. Journal of Hazardous Materials 153(3): 1023-1030.
10. Hait, S., Tare, V., 2011. Optimizing vermistabilization of waste activated sludge using vermicompost as bulking material. Waste Management 31(3): 502-511.
11. Jackson, M., 1962. Soil Chemical Analysis. PrenticeHall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA. 498p.
12. Kamitani, T., Kaneko, N., 2007. Species-specific heavy metal accumulation patterns of earthworms on a floodplain in Japan. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 66(1): 82–91.
13. Kaushik, P., Garg, V.K., 2003. Vermicomposting of mixed solid textile mill sludge and cow dung with the epigeic earthworm Eisenia foetida. Bioresource Technology 90(3): 311-316.
14. Kaviraj, Sharma, S., 2003. Municipal solid waste management through vermicomposting employing exotic and local species of earthworms. Bioresource Technology 90(2): 169-173.
15. Khwairakpam, M., Bhargava, R., 2009. Bioconversion of filter mud using vermicomposting employing two exotic and one local earthworm species. Bioresource Technology 100(23): 5846-5852.
16. Kızılkaya, R., Hepşen, Ş., 2007. Microbiological Properties in earthworm cast and surrounding soil amended with various organic wastes. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 38(19-20): 2861-2876.
17. Kirven, D.M., 1986. An industry viewpoint: horticultural testing is our language confusing. HortScience 21(2): 215-217.
18. Kitturmath, M.S, Girradi, R.S, Basavaraj, B., 2007. Nutrient Changes During Earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae (Kinberg) Mediated Vermicomposting of Agro-industrial Wastes. Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Science 20(3): 653-654.
19. Kumar, V.V., Shanmugaprakash, M., Aravind, J., Namasivayam, S.K.R., 2012. Pilot-scale study of efficient vermicomposting of agro-industrial wastes. Environmental Technology 33(9): 975-981.
20. Nelson, D.W., Sommers, L.E., 1982. Total carbon and organic carbon and organic matter. In: Methods of soil analysis. Part 2 Chemical and microbiological properties. 2nd edition. Page, A.L. Miller, R. H., Keeney, D.R. (Eds.). American Society of Agronomy, No. 9, Madison, WI, USA. pp. 539–579.
21. Ozkan, M., 2014. Evaluation of sugar beet process in terms of occupational health and safety. Thesis for Occupational Health and Safety Expertise. Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Directorate General of Occupational Health and Safety, Ankara, Turkey. 126 p.
22. Plaza, C., Senesi, N., Brunetti, G., Mondelli, D., 2005. Cocomposting of sludge from olive oil mill wastewater mixed with tree cuttings. Compost Science & Utilization 13(3): 217–226.
23. Prakash, M., Karmegam, N., 2010. Vermistabilization of pressmud using Perionyx ceylanensis Mich.. Bioresource Technology 101(21): 8464–8468.
24. Sangwan, P., Kaushik, C.P., Garg, V.K., 2010. Vermicomposting of sugar industry waste (press mud) mixed with cow dung employing an epigeic earthworm Eisenia fetida. Waste Management & Research 28(1): 71-75.
25. Sepperumal, U., Selvanayagam, S., 2015. Vermiremdiation of sugar industry waste using earthworms Eudrilus eugeniae, Perionyx excavatus and Eisenia fetida. European Journal of Zoological Research 4(1): 28-36.
26. Suthar, S., 2008. Bioremediation of aerobically treated distillery sludge mixed with cow dung by using an epigeic earthworm Eisenia fetida. The Environmentalist 28(2): 76-84.
27. Umar, Z., Sharif, F., 2013. Use of earthworms for composting of sugar industry waste. Biologia (Pakistan) 59: 115-123.