Mineralization and Crop Uptake of Nitrogen from Textile Manufacturing Wastewater Sludge Cake

Abstract

Wastewater sewage sludge cake from textile manufacturing was evaluated by soil incubation experiments and a greenhouse experiment for use as a soil amendment to provide crop N. Although the sludge had 96% of N in organic combination, 20% of total sludge N was released to soil as mineral N over 28 days. N mineralization from the sludge was indistinguishable from that seen for alfalfa shoot in parallel incubations. However, nitrification inhibition was seen for the alfalfa amendment. Soil respiration was low for the sludge treatments compared to the alfalfa treatments, suggesting that carbon substrates in the sludge were less easily broken down. A second incubation experiment indicated that fine fragmentation of the sludge is not necessary to ensure mineralization proceeds. In a greenhouse experiment, sludge N was approximately 25% as available toZea maysL. as NH4NO3. The textile manufacturing sludge offered potential to offset N fertilizer requirement.

Soil and Crop Micronutrient Concentrations as Modified by Wastewater Sludge

“…All treated pots had increased levels of ammonium, either through amendment with inorganic fertilizer or with sludge, and that ammonium underwent conversion to nitrate during the period of plant growth (McGonigle et al, 2012). Nitrification leads to acidification (Brady and Weil, 2008), and acidity promotes reduction of manganese dioxide to divalent manganese cations, which are more soluble than tetravalent manganese cations (Marschner, 1995).…”

“…The Maitland sludge is bulked with FeCl 3 and has part of the water removed by application of physical pressure to form a moist cake. Release of mineral N from the Maitland sludge offers promise for use of this material in agricultural fields (McGonigle et al, 2012).…”

Valorization of Textile Sludge and Cattle Manure Wastes into Fuel Pellets and the Assessment of Their Combustion Characteristics

“…Various studies have highlighted that wastewater sludge from the textile industry includes cellulose, various dyes, chemical compounds, and heavy metals. In addition, it is a rich source of organic matter and macro- and micronutrients, including primary nutrients, namely, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), and has significant potential for transformation into biogas and compost. − …”