Comparison of the Chemical Composition of Natural Fertilizers and Organic Waste †
Department of Technology and Systems of Environmental Engineering, Bialystok University of Technology ul. Wiejska 45A, 15–351 Białystok, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at Innovations-Sustainability-Modernity-Openness Conference (ISMO’19), Bialystok, Poland, 22–23 May 2019.
Proceedings 2019, 16(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2019016045
Published: 18 July 2019
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of Innovations-Sustainability-Modernity-Openness Conference (ISMO’19))
Abstract
:This research concerns the comparison of chemical compositions and the content of basic nutrients, heavy metals, and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), found in manure, sewage sludge, and digestate.
1. Introduction
One of the main factors relating to the negative human impact on the natural environment is the release of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAs), which pose a serious threat to living organisms. Their origin is both natural and anthropogenic. They easily infiltrate the air, water, and soil as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels, ore processing, etc., and they then enter the food chain of plants and animals [1,2]. They exert toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effect on the human body [3]. Their content and paths of migration in the environment, as well as the waste products produced by man, are being examined more and more often [4]. Manure sewage sludge and digestate can be a valuable and relatively cheap source of nutrients for plants; however, it should be remembered that any waste must be subjected to a recovery process, after which it will again become a useful product [5].
The aim of this research is to compare the chemical composition of natural fertilizers and organic waste originating from the agri-food industry and the municipal economy.
2. Materials and Methods
Three types of manure (bovine, horse, and pig) were analyzed, as were the following waste materials: compost made at single-family houses, sewage sludge, sewage sludge after fermentation, settled sewage sludge, and digestate from an agricultural biogas plant. The basic nutrients they contained were determined as follows: materials; nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and calcium; heavy metals; zinc, copper, chromium, nickel, lead, cadmium; and 16 PAH compounds. The collected sediment and dried manure was then mineralized in a mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Afterwards, the heavy metal content was analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometer (Thermo Scientific iCE3400). For the determination of the 16 PAHs, 1 g of the sample was extracted with hexane and dichloromethane. Analysis was then carried out using a GC/MS Agilent 7890B chromatograph.
3. Results
Most dairy sludge contained nitrogen and phosphorus, and a stabilized sediment. Less nitrogen was in the sludge after fermentation, but there was more phosphorus than in other waste. The natural fertilizers contained the smallest of these components, but many more contained potassium. The wastes most rich in magnesium and calcium were sewage sludge and compost. Heavy metals were mostly found in municipal sediments. Some, though much less, was found in the dairy settlement. There was a low content of metals in the other materials, the lowest of which was in manure (Table 1). Due to the low content of metals, all of the analyzed fertilizers and wastes can be used in agriculture. In the studied fertilizers and wastes, the most PAHs (16 compounds in all) were found in sewage sludge and municipal sewage sludge after fermentation. In other organic materials, PAH content was significantly lower (Table 2).
4. Conclusions
- (1)
- All of the tested fertilizers and waste materials are a valuable source of basic nutrients for plants.
- (2)
- The materials tested contained a safe amount of heavy metals and could be used for fertilization.
- (3)
- Municipal and dairy sewage sludge contained more PAHs than natural fertilizers and other waste.
Author Contributions
Experiment concept and design, D.Ł. and J.W.; experiments, D.Ł.; data analysis, D.Ł.; writing; D.Ł. and J.W.
Acknowledgments
The research was carried out as part of the research work no. S/WBIIŚ/3/2014 at the Białystok University of Technology and financed from a subsidy provided by the Minister of Science and Higher Education.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
References
- Bień, J.B. Sewage Sludg-Theory and Practice; Częstochowa University of Technology: Czestochowa, Poland, 2002. [Google Scholar]
- Gondek, K. The content of various heavy metal forms in sewage sludge and compost. Acta Agrophys. 2006, 8, 825–838. [Google Scholar]
- Lu, X.-Y.; Zhang, T.; Fang, H. H-P. Bacteria–mediated PAH degradation in soil and sediment. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2011, 89, 1357–1371. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Ociepa-Kubicka, A.; Pachura, P. The Use of Sewage Sludge and Compost in the Fertilization of Energy Plants on the Example of Miscanthus and mallow. Central-Pomeranian Society for Environmental Protection, Annual Set of Environmental Protection. Available online: https://ros.edu.pl/images/roczniki/2013/pp_2013_148.pdf (accessed on 26 May 2018).
- Rosik-Dulewska, C.; Karwaczyńska, U.; Ciesielczuk, T.; Głowala, K. Possibilities of Non-Industrial Use of Waste Taking into Account the Rules Applicable in Environmental Protection, Central-Pomeranian Society for Environmental Protection, Annual Set of Environmental Protection. 2009. Available online: https://ros.edu.pl/images/roczniki/archive/pp_2009_061.pdf (accessed on 26 May 2018).
Table 1.
Content of heavy metals and macronutrients in the tested samples.
| No. | Zn | Cu | Cr | Ni | Pb | Cd | Ca | Mg | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | mg/kg s.m. | mg/kg s.m. | mg/kg s.m. | mg/kg s.m. | mg/kg s.m. | µg/kg s.m. | g/kg s.m. | mg/kg s.m. | g/kg s.m. |
| 1 | 14.73 | 1.41 | 0.93 | 0.41 | 1.43 | 128.98 | 2.39 | 842.35 | 2.34 |
| 2 | 55.21 | 5.53 | 1.88 | 1.03 | 1.69 | 163.47 | 7.92 | 900.48 | 2.60 |
| 3 | 24.92 | 4.32 | 0.69 | 0.80 | 1.51 | 152.41 | 39.41 | 947.28 | 1.98 |
| 4 | 59.91 | 11.22 | 2.46 | 1.26 | 1.02 | 243.66 | 7.08 | 932.33 | 2.35 |
| 5 | 73.40 | 14.29 | 5.05 | 3.74 | 8.46 | 220.45 | 61.01 | 960.51 | 2.62 |
| 6 | 260.44 | 73.32 | 32.66 | 12.54 | 8.64 | 563.87 | 53.70 | 1648.61 | 3.15 |
| 7 | 78.38 | 5.22 | 5.51 | 5.23 | 2.07 | 487.11 | 36.42 | 1869.49 | 4.49 |
| 8 | 237.37 | 53.16 | 12.13 | 7.36 | 7.184 | 698.5 | 25.93 | 1788.15 | 3.65 |
| 9 | 117.85 | 22.67 | 3.54 | 2.32 | 2.45 | 110.68 | 10.54 | 1832.04 | 5.27 |
| 10 | 131.03 | 24.77 | 3.63 | 2.25 | 3.144 | 169.33 | 11.96 | 2158.52 | 5.49 |
1, horse manure; 2, pork manure; 3, bovine manure; 4, digestate from agricultural biogas plant; 5, home compost; 6, sewage sludge after fermentation from the sewage treatment plant in Białystok; 7, sewage sludge from the Mlekovita sewage treatment plant; 8, sewage sludge from the Sokółka sewage treatment plant; 9,second horse manure; 10, second pork manure.
Table 2.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content in the tested samples.
| No. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compound | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| NAFTALEN | 310.64 | 64.59 | 24.24 | 5.84 | 8.14 | 19.37 | 29.82 | 28.15 | 10.90 | 6.00 |
| ACENAFTYLEN | 1030.80 | 1.96 | 0.72 | 0.29 | 0.25 | - | - | 220.41 | - | - |
| ACENAFTEN | 741.12 | 25.14 | 9.68 | 5.74 | 25.98 | 3.98 | 34.81 | 913.95 | - | - |
| FLUOREN | 187.25 | 21.98 | 3.02 | 0.58 | 0.66 | 8.44 | 34.68 | 36.22 | - | - |
| FENANTREN | 932.77 | 100.75 | 22.01 | 4.93 | 4.30 | 33.48 | 118.24 | 45.83 | 12.58 | - |
| ANTRACEN | 141.65 | 9.75 | 2.02 | 5.64 | 0.35 | 7.77 | 30.71 | 4.72 | - | - |
| FLUORANTEN | 1209.12 | 60.19 | 30.93 | 11.31 | 3.60 | 28.84 | 116.80 | 55.42 | 12.84 | 7.49 |
| PIREN | 1064.81 | 52.76 | 30.95 | 10.74 | 4.10 | 27.06 | 96.59 | 50.26 | 12.70 | 7.04 |
| BENZO[A] ANTRACEN | 375.98 | 28.30 | 20.00 | 6.55 | 1.71 | 24.56 | 54.96 | 37.14 | 10.26 | 8.33 |
| CHRYZEN | 487.04 | 40.15 | 29.52 | 8.19 | 3.40 | 22.77 | 57.20 | 37.47 | 10.85 | 7.43 |
| BENZO[B] FLUORANTEN | 232.63 | - | 15.20 | - | - | 18.09 | 59.50 | 35.56 | 10.88 | 8.96 |
| BENZO[K] FLUORANTEN | 239.02 | 25.70 | 25.01 | 3.26 | 1.84 | 31.64 | 54.52 | 55.21 | 13.05 | 8.76 |
| BENZO[A]PIREN | 140.18 | 497.07 | 438.61 | 90.88 | - | 56.29 | 30.87 | 13.16 | - | |
| INDENO [1,2,3,C,D]PIREN | 80.12 | - | - | 1.50 | - | 23.22 | 131.52 | 30.55 | 61.73 | 12.08 |
| DIBENZO[A,H] ANTRACEN | 6.87 | - | - | - | 16.91 | - | - | - | - | - |
| BENZO[G,H,I] PERYLEN | 97.24 | - | - | - | - | - | 49.46 | 24.76 | 19.85 | - |
| ∑ | 7277.25 | 928.33 | 651.90 | 64.56 | 162.14 | 249.21 | 925.09 | 1606.53 | 188.79 | 66.08 |
1, horse manure; 2, pork manure; 3, bovine manure; 4, digestate from agricultural biogas plant; 5, home compost; 6, sewage sludge after fermentation from the sewage treatment plant in Białystok; 7, sewage sludge from the Mlekovita sewage treatment plant; 8, sewage sludge from the Sokółka sewage treatment plant; 9,second horse manure; 10, second pork manure.
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Łapiński, D.; Wiater, J. Comparison of the Chemical Composition of Natural Fertilizers and Organic Waste. Proceedings 2019, 16, 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2019016045
AMA Style
Łapiński D, Wiater J. Comparison of the Chemical Composition of Natural Fertilizers and Organic Waste. Proceedings. 2019; 16(1):45. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2019016045
Chicago/Turabian StyleŁapiński, Dawid, and Józefa Wiater. 2019. "Comparison of the Chemical Composition of Natural Fertilizers and Organic Waste" Proceedings 16, no. 1: 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2019016045
