POSIBLE USE OF RESIDUAL SLUDGES FROM PAPER INDUSTRY AS A SUBSTRATE

ISHS Acta Horticulturae 150: International Symposium on Substrates in Horticulture other than Soils In Situ

POSIBLE USE OF RESIDUAL SLUDGES FROM PAPER INDUSTRY AS A SUBSTRATE

Authors:

M. Soliva, J. Molas, V. Garcia, R. Ferrer, M. Baldi

Abstract:
A high quantity of paper sludge from paper-mill effluent are obtained daily. This sludge has 32.5 %TOM, 0.44 %N, 0.13 %P₂O₅, 0.04 %K₂O, pH 8 and 77 % total porosity.

To improve the characteristics of the product and to use it as a substrate, the following essays have been done in three steps:

Composting combined paper sludge and sewage sludge in different proportions. Each kind of mixture was worked with 40 Kg but some problems appeared with porosity and aireation. The temperature did not increase and there was a loss of nitrogen in some mixtures.
Composting combined paper sludge, sewage sludge, and bark as bulking agent. The product obtained was better, but the rise of temperature, during the process, was not very high.
We worked with different bulking agents and different proportions of paper sludge and sewage sludge. Every pile had 1000 Kg of mixture.

We had problems with the mixture because the specific machinery was lacking, but we believe the results had been encouraging and interesting.

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