Biodegradation Of Various Oil Palm Fibre Waste Via Vermicomposting
Loading...
Date
2011-02
Authors
Zainal, Nahrul Hayawin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
A study of the biodegradation of various palm oil mill wastes, viz. empty fruit bunch
(EFB), oil palm frond (OPF), oil palm trunk (OPT) and palm oil mill effluent
(POME) using earthworm species Eudrilus Eugeniae (E.eugeniae) and Eisenia fetida
(E.fetida) was conducted under laboratory conditions. Earthworms were weighed
weekly and the numbers of cocoons produced per week were assessed. The oil palm
biomass was vermicomposted for 84 days under controlled conditions (25 ± 1ºC). 5 g
of clitellated adult worms E.eugeniae and E.fetida were added to vermicomposter. In
the study of the effects of the earthworms’ digestability towards the major
lignocellulotic component (cellulose and lignin) of the EFB in the vermireactors
(EFB WORM), results showed significant degradation rate of the cellulose. A similar
trend was also observed for the lignin degradation. Meanwhile, lower percentages of
the lignocellulosic degradations were observed for the control reactor (without
earthworms). The vermicomposts were rich in nitrogen and phosphorus and had low
levels of heavy metals. Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed the morphological
structure of the oil palm fibre wastes before and after vermicomposting. The data
revealed that vermicomposting (using E.eugeniae) is a suitable method for the
decomposition of oil palm wastes into value added material, especially for EFB
rather than OPT and OPF. The next stage was to determine the growth and
reproduction of E.fetida and E.eugeniae to evaluate their suitability for
vermicomposting of EFB when amended with POME. A total of six
vermicomposters filled with different ratios of EFB and POME were maintained for
this study under laboratory conditions.
Description
Keywords
Oil Palm Fibre , Vermicomposting