Effect Of Vermicomposted Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) And Palm Pressed Fibre (PPF) On Earthworm Biomass And Plant Growth
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Date
2016-06
Authors
Rupani, Parveen Fatemeh
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Vermicomposting is one of the possible, eco-friendly bioconversion
techniques for the management of organic wastes generated from palm oil industry.
The present work focuses on vermicomposting of acidic palm oil mill effluent
(POME) mixed with palm pressed fibre (PPF), which are found difficult to
decompose naturally in the environment. Limited work on the vermicomposting of
POME-PPF has been reported. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the
applicability of vermicomposting in acidic POME mixed with PPF. It also monitored
the changes in C:N ratio of different POME-PPF mixtures with respect to time to
evaluate the optimal mixture. The results of the preliminary study revealed the
possibility of vermicomposting of POME mixed with PPF, since the final C:N ratio
was below 20, reflecting a degree of stabilization as well as a significant increase in
earthworm biomass at the end of vermicomposting. Further study was carried out to
determine the changes in the C:N ratio using several POME-PPF ratios with respect
to time. Based on C:N normalization data, 50% mixture of POME-PPF showed the
perfect normalized mixture as compared to other ratios. The results of ANOVA for
earthworm biomass using E. eugeniae showed significant difference (P < 0.05) in
20, 40, 50 , 60 and 90% mixtures of POME-PPF, while L. rubellus demonstrated
significant difference (P < 0.05) in 50 and 60% mixtures of POM-PPF. Based on the
observations of significant difference on pH, C:N and earthworm biomass, a further
experiment was designed by using 50, 60 and 70% mixtures of POME-PPF. A 50%
mixture of POME-PPF after the addition of earthworms showed significant changes
in terms of TOC, N, P and K. These findings confirmed that a 50% mixture of
POME-PPF improved earthworm biomass. Therefore, a 50% mixture of POME-PPF
was chosen as an optimal mixture for the vermicomposting process. The final
experiment was designed by using 50% mixture of POME-PPF as an optimal
combination, fortified by other organic inputs namely cow dung (CD) and grass
clippings. The quality of the vermicompost was also assessed by applying the
vermicompost extract to study germination and growth of selected plants. The
overall experiments concluded that the combination of POME-PPF-CD and grass
clippings in 10:4:3:3 ratio was acceptable by the earthworms and it was also capable
of producing vermicompost in 45 days. In addition the decomposition kinetics of
POME-PPF mixture was also studied which followed first order reaction. Results
show that among all mixtures, 50% POME-PPF mixture demonstrates higher rate of
decomposition (k = 0.0297 day-1). The present study confirmed that acidic POME
generated from palm oil industry in Malaysia can be recycled in combination with
PPF (in a ratio of 1:1) and produce compost. It can also be fortified with the addition
of cow dung and grass clippings (10:4:3:3) as an alternative solution to enhance the
vermicomposting process.
Description
Keywords
The applicability of vermicomposting , in acidic POME mixed with PPF