Biolysed Sludge Composting for Nitrogen Conservation and Humification Improvements and Mechanisms

Hongyi Wang, Shihong Chen, Jun Gu, Yan Liu, Guangping Yang, Wenqiang Su, Yongfang Xie, Jian Zhu and Ran Yu ()
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Hongyi Wang: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Shihong Chen: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Jun Gu: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Yan Liu: Jiangsu Jinling Environment Co., Ltd., Nanjing 210096, China
Guangping Yang: Nanjing Chinair Environment Sci-Tech Co., Ltd., Nanjing 210096, China
Wenqiang Su: Yangzhong Bicheng Environment Sci-Tech Co., Ltd., Zhenjiang 212000, China
Yongfang Xie: Yangzhong Bicheng Environment Sci-Tech Co., Ltd., Zhenjiang 212000, China
Jian Zhu: Yangzhong Bicheng Environment Sci-Tech Co., Ltd., Zhenjiang 212000, China
Ran Yu: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-16

Abstract: Aerobic composting of conventional municipal sludge has always had the problems of nitrogen loss and low humification. In this study, biolysed sludge (BS), polyacrylamids-added sludge (PS) and Fe (III)/CaO-added sludge (FS) were used for composting, respectively, and their effect on the physical-chemical parameters, nitrogen conversion and humification during composting were investigated. The results showed that the dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentration of the BS pile (23.1 ± 0.4 g/kg) was 48.4% and 48.4% higher than the PS (15.5 ± 0.4 g/kg) and FS piles (15.5 ± 0.0 g/kg) in the initial stage of composting and became the lowest after composting, suggesting that the degradation of DOM was promoted in the BS pile. BS can also increase the retention rate of total nitrogen (TN) (27.8% ± 0.8%), higher than that in PS (22.7% ± 1.1%) and FS (24.6% ± 0.5%), which may be due to the lower production of ammonia nitrogen in the BS pile. Compared with PS and FS, BS provided more humic substance (HS) and humic acid (HA) for composting and the HA contents of the compost products were 34.4 ± 1.0, 35.4 ± 0.2 and 34.0 ± 0.3 mg/g in the PS, BS and FS treated piles, respectively. Fourier transform infrared and the excitation-emission matrix revealed that BS and FS promoted the aromaticity and stability of HA. The degree of polymerization (DP) of the products from the BS (1.48) and FS piles (1.56) was higher than that of the PS pile (1.36). However, the germination index (GI) value (133.4% ± 6.0%) of FS was lower than that of PS (152.3% ± 6.2%) and BS (158.3% ± 0.8%), showing that the products of FS composting contain more plant biotoxicity. Thus, compared with PS and FS, BS can increase the nitrogen retention rate and the maturity of the compost.

Keywords: biolysed sludge; compost; nitrogen conservation; humic acid; humification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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