Effects of Liquid Fertilizer Produced from Sewage Sludge by the Hydrothermal Process on the Growth of Komatsuna
Xiao Han Sun *
Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8502, Japan.
Hiroaki Sumida
Laboratory of Soil Science, Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Nihon University, Fujisawa 252-8510, Japan.
Kunio Yoshikawa
Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8502, Japan.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The objective of this study is to evaluate the possibility of recycling the liquid product obtained from sewage sludge by the hydrothermal treatment as a kind of organic fertilizer and its effect on the plant growth. A small scale hydrothermal treatment experiment was performed and proved that the liquid product contains high content of nitrogen and low content of micronutrients. Therefore, the liquid product has the potential to be used as a kind of liquid fertilizer. In a seed germination test, the liquid product indicated low phytotoxicity. Moreover, in a Komatsuna cultivation experiment, the liquid product showed accelerate effect to the crop yield which is not lower than the chemical fertilizer. Through the low-temperature hydrothermal treatment, the sewage sludge was converted into liquid organic material that could be used as a delayed-release nitrogen fertilizer for the growth of Komatsuna. These results indicated the possibility of establishing a comprehensive system for recycling sewage sludge into a kind of organic fertilizer.
Keywords: Sewage sludge, hydrothermal treatment, liquid organic fertilizer.