Potato pulp as a composting substrate

Potato pulp is a waste, which is produced in considerable quantities by starch manufacturing industry. Addition of pulp fibre residue to soil results in beneficial effects on soil physical and biochemical properties. In this study, organic potato pulp was mixed with organic grass in three concentrations (75:25 (A), 50:50 (B) and 25:75 (C) % w/w) with the aim of comparing the dynamics of the composting process during a 30-day period. A mini-field experiment was conducted in 0.7 m 3 windrows which were left without covering and additional mixing during composting process, except sampling procedure. During 30-days’ experiment the C:N ratio decreased from 25÷30 to 13÷17 indicating the active co…

Removal of pharmaceuticals from municipal wastewaters at laboratory scale by treatment with activated sludge and biostimulation.

Abstract Municipal wastewater containing 21 pharmaceutical compounds, as well as activated sludge obtained from the aeration tank of the same wastewater treatment plant were used in lab-scale biodegradation experiments. The concentrations of pharmaceutical compounds were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry and ranged from 13.2 ng/L to 51.8 μg/L. Activated sludge was characterized in the terms of phylogenetic and catabolic diversity of microbial community, as well as its morphology. Proteobacteria (24.0%) represented the most abundant phylum, followed by Bacteroidetes (19.8%) and Firmicutes (13.2%). Bioaugmentation of was…

The effects of woodchip- and straw-derived biochars on the persistence of the herbicide 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) in soils

Sorption and degradation are the primary processes controlling the efficacy and runoff contamination risk of agrochemicals. This study assessed the influence of two biochars, made from woodchips and straw at a pyrolysis temperature of 725°C and applied to a loamy sand and a sandy soil in the concentration of 5.3 g 100 g(-1) sandy soil and 4.1 g 100 g(-1) loamy sand soil, or 53 t ha(-1) for both soil types, on degradation of the herbicide 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA). Soils were spiked with 50 mg MCPA kg(-1) soil. In the sandy soil, significantly more MCPA remained after 100 days if amended with straw-derived biochar in comparison to wood-derived biochar. Both biochars types si…

Effect of Inoculum on the Survival of Pathogenic Agents in Different Composts

Modeling the mobility of glyphosate from two contrasting agricultural soils in laboratory column experiments

Glyphosate (GLP) currently is one of the most widely used herbicides worldwide. The persistence of GLP and its major metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in the environment has been described by other authors. This study was aimed at comparing the GLP and AMPA behavior in sandy and loamy sand soils after spiking with enhanced (445 µg g−1) concentrations of GLP in herbicide KLINIK® (Nufarm, Austria) and bioaugmentation followed by 40 days weathering and a consistent three-stage leaching in a laboratory column experiment. Soil samples were obtained from mineral topsoil (0–10 cm) within former agricultural lands where soil parent material was formed by glacigenic deposits. The total a…

Optimization of Nitrification Process by a Bacterial Consortium in the Submerged Biofiltration System with Ceramic Bead Carrier

Laboratory-scale solid phase submerged system was developed to study the process of ammonium biodegradation. Ceramic beads were found to be an appropriate carrier material for the attachment of thePNN bacterial consortium (Pseudomonas sp., Nitrosomonas sp., Nitrobacter sp.) exhibiting nitrification/denitrification activity. This consortium was previously isolated from a biological activated sludge process at a fish factory wastewater treatment plant. Three organic amendments - molasses, humic acid extract, and malt extract - were used for the ceramic bead pretreatment. Molasses significantly enhanced (p<0.05) the process of bacteria attachment onto the ceramic carrier and further ammonium r…