Journal
ARCHIVES OF AGRONOMY AND SOIL SCIENCE
Volume 64, Issue 4, Pages 505-519Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/03650340.2017.1360488
Keywords
Biosolid; wastewater treatment; pyrolysis; Zea mays L
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Sewage sludge (SS) is a by-product of wastewater treatment resulting from human and industrial activities. This waste is problematic because it is difficult to manage due to its volume and environmental impacts; therefore, new technologies for treatment are needed to make its final disposal feasible. Such technologies include the pyrolysis process that produces biochar, which can be used for agricultural purposes. The present study reports a two-year field experiment with SS biochar produced under different pyrolysis temperatures and its application to soil in combination with mineral fertilizer to evaluate its effect on soil chemical properties and on corn nutrition and yield. To conduct this evaluation, 15Mg ha(-1) of SS biochar combined or not with mineral fertilizer (NPK) was applied to the soil in the 2015 and 2016 cropping seasons. SS biochar increased soil chemical attributes, especially phosphorus, magnesium, cation exchange capacity and base saturation. Biochar resulted in a greater absorption of nutrients by plants and higher corn yields. However, SS biochar alone was incapable of increasing K uptake by corn. It was concluded that the application of SS biochar can replace mineral fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus and micronutrients) for corn production.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available