Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Soil C and N mineralisation and agricultural value of the products of an anaerobic digestion system

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biology and Fertility of Soils Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion is currently considered a valuable technology for recycling of cattle slurry due to the production of biogas, a renewable source of energy. However, an appropriate management of the waste generated from anaerobic co-digestion of cattle slurry (digestate) is needed for the sustainability of the process. This paper shows the effects provoked on soil C and N mineralisation processes and on microbial biomass due to the addition of the digestate, the liquid and solid fractions obtained after separation of the digestate and the composted solid fraction of the digestate, in comparison with the effects of the non-digested cattle slurry. Composting was a very effective way of recycling the digestate, producing highly stable (mineralised-C reached only 3% of the added total organic-C) and hygienised material with an elevated fertilising potential (the net-N mineralisation accounted for 2% of total-N from compost). The agricultural use of cattle slurry, the digestate and the separated fractions should take into account their effects on soil C and N cycles: high decomposition rate (ranging from 25% to 50% of total organic-C) and partial N immobilisation in the soil.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alburquerque JA, de la Fuente C, Ferrer-Costa A, Carrasco L, Cegarra J, Abad M, Bernal MP (2012a) Assessment of the fertiliser potential of digestates from farm and agroindustrial residues. Biomass Bioenerg 40:181–189

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alburquerque JA, de la Fuente C, Bernal MP (2012b) Chemical properties of anaerobic digestates affecting C and N dynamics in amended soils. Agric Ecosyst Environ. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2011.03.007

  • Al Seadi T (2002) Good practice in quality management of AD residues from biogas production. IEA Bioenergy, Task 24—Energy from Biological Conversion of Organic Waste, January 2002 (available at: http://web.sdu.dk/ bio/pdf/manage.pdf).

  • Anderson TH, Domsch KH (1990) Application of eco-physiological quotients (qCO2 and qD) on microbial biomass from soils of different cropping histories. Soil Biol Biochem 22:251–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • APHA (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water & wastewater (21st ed.). American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation, Washington, DC, USA.

  • Atallah T, Andreux F, Chone T, Gras F (1995) Effect of storage and composting on the properties and degradability of cattle manure. Agric Ecosyst Environ 54:203–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barajas-Aceves M (2005) Comparison of different microbial biomass and activity measurement methods in metal-contaminated soils. Bioresour Technol 96:1405–1414

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal MP, Sánchez-Monedero MA, Paredes C, Roig A (1998a) Carbon mineralisation from organic wastes at different composting stages during their incubation with soil. Agric Ecosyst Environ 69:175–189

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal MP, Navarro AF, Sánchez-Monedero MA, Roig A, Cegarra J (1998b) Influence of sewage sludge compost stability and maturity on carbon and nitrogen mineralisation in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 30:305–313

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bremner JM, Keeney DR (1965) Steam distillation methods for determination of ammonium, nitrate and nitrite. Anal Chim Acta 32:485–495

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brookes PC, Landman A, Pruden G, Jenkinson DS (1985) Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen: a rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass nitrogen in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 17:837–842

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burton CH (2007) The potential contribution of separation technologies to the management of livestock manure. Livest Sci 112:208–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bustamante MA, Alburquerque JA, Restrepo A, de la Fuente C, Paredes C, Moral R, Bernal MP (2012) Co-composting of the solid fraction of anaerobic digestates, to obtain added-value materials for use in agriculture. Biomass Bioenerg 43:26–35

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clemente R, de la Fuente C, Moral R, Bernal MP (2007) Changes in microbial biomass parameters of a heavy metal-contaminated calcareous soil during a field remediation experiment. J Environ Qual 36:1137–1144

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clemens J, Huschka A (2001) The effect of biological oxygen demand of cattle slurry and soil moisture on nitrous oxide emissions. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 59:193–198

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chroni C, Kyriacou A, Manios T, Lasaridi K (2009) Investigation of the microbial community structure and activity as indicators of compost stability and composting process evolution. Bioresour Technol 100:3745–3750

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • de la Fuente C, Clemente R, Martinez J, Bernal MP (2010) Optimization of pig slurry application to heavy metal polluted soils monitoring nitrification processes. Chemosphere 81:603–610

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dendooven L, Bonhomme E, Merckx R, Vlassak K (1998) N dynamics and sources of N2O production following pig slurry application to a loamy soil. Biol Fertil Soils 26:224–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs JC, Berner A, Mayer J, Smidt E, Schleiss K (2008) Influence of compost and digestates on plant growth and health: potentials and limits. In: Fuch JS, Kupper T, Tamm L, Schenk K (Eds) Proceedings of the International Congress CODIS2008. 27–29 February 2008, Solothurn, Switzerland (available at: http://orgprints.org/13135/1/fuchs-etal-proceedings-codis-2008.pdf).

  • Holm-Nielsen JB, Al Seadi T, Oleskowicz-Popiel P (2009) The future of anaerobic digestion and biogas utilization. Bioresour Technol 100:5478–5484

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jørgensen K, Jensen LS (2009) Chemical and biochemical variation in animal manure solids separated using different commercial separation technologies. Bioresour Technol 100:3088–3096

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kempers AJ, Zweers A (1986) Ammonium determination in soil extracts by the salicylate method. Comm Soil Sci Plant Anal 17:715–723

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kirchmann H, Lundvall A (1993) Relationship between N immobilization and volatile fatty acids in soil after application of pig and cattle slurry. Biol Fertil Soils 15:161–164

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McLachlan KL, Chong C, Vorony RP, Liu HW, Holbein BE (2004) Assessing the potential phytotoxicity of digestates during processing of municipal solid waste by anaerobic digestion: comparison to aerobic composts 638: 225-230

  • Moral R, Moreno-Caselles J, Perez-Murcia MD, Perez-Espinosa A, Rufete B, Paredes C (2005) Characterisation of the organic matter pool in manures. Bioresour Technol 96:153–158

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Myrold DD, Posavatz NR (2007) Potential importance of bacteria and fungi in nitrate assimilation in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 39:1737–1743

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morris DR, Lathwell DJ (2004) Anaerobically digested dairy manure as fertilizer for maize in acid and alkaline soils. Comm Soil Sci Plant Anal 35:1757–1771

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Möller HB, Sommer SG, Ahring BK (2002) Separation efficiency and particle size distribution in relation to manure type and storage conditions. Bioresour Technol 85:189–196

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson DW, Sommers LE (1982) Total carbon, organic carbon and organic matter. In: Page AL (Ed.) Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties. American Society of Agronomy–Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, pp. 539–579.

  • Nieder R, Benbi DK, Scherer HW (2011) Fixation and defixation of ammonium in soils. Biol Fertil Soils 47:1–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen LH, Hjort-Gregersen K, Thygesen P, Christensen J (2002) Samfundsøkonomiske analyser af biogas fællesanlæg. Rapport 136. Fødevareøkonomisk Institut, København.

  • Paredes C, Roig A, Bernal MP, Sánchez-Monedero MA, Cegarra J (2000) Evolution of organic matter and nitrogen during co-composting of olive mill wastewater with solid organic wastes. Biol Fertil Soils 32:222–227

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poggi-Varaldo HM, Trejo-Espino J, Fernandez-Villagomez G, Esparza-Garcia F, Caffarel-Mendez S, Rinderknecht-Seijas N (1999) Quality of anaerobic compost from paper mill and municipal solid wastes for soil amendment. Water Sci Technol 40:179–186

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Preusch PL, Adler PR, Sikora LJ, Tworkoski TJ (2002) Nitrogen and phosphorous availability in composted and uncomposted poultry litter. J Environ Qual 31:2051–2057

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rehl T, Müller J (2011) Life cycle assessment of biogas digestate processing technologies. Resour Conserv Recycl 56:92–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saviozzi A, Levi-Minzi R, Riffaldi R (1993) Mineralisation parameters from organic materials added to soil as a function of their chemical composition. Bioresour Technol 45:131–135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sinha MK, Sinha DP, Sinha H (1977) Organic matter transformations in soils. V. Kinetics of carbon and nitrogen mineralization in soil amended with different organic materials. Plant Soil 46:579–590

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smet E, Van-Langenhore H, De-Bo IZ (1998) The emission of volatile compounds during the aerobic and the combine anaerobic/aerobic composting of biowaste. Atmos Environ 33:1295–1303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sommer SG, Olesen JE (1991) Effects of dry matter content and temperature on ammonia loss from surface-applied cattle slurry. J Environ Chem 20:679–683

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen P (1998) Effects of storage time and straw content of cattle slurry on the mineralisation of nitrogen and carbon in soil. Biol Fertil Soils 27:85–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tchobanoglous G, Kreith F, Williams ME (2002) Introduction. In: Tchobanoglous G, Kreith F (eds) Handbook of solid waste management, 2nd edn. McGraw Hill, London

    Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (2005) Method 1682: Salmonella in sewage sludge (biosolids) by modified semisolid Rappaport–Vassiliadis (MSRV) medium, U.S. EPA Office of Water, p. 41 EPA/821/R-04/028.

  • USEPA (2007) Method 9210A. Potentiometric determination of nitrate in aqueous samples with anion-selective electrode (available at: http://www. epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/testmethods/sw846/pdfs/9210a.pdf).

  • Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:689–696

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watanabe FS, Olsen SR (1965) Test of an ascorbic acid method for determining phosphorus in water and NaHCO3 extracts from soil. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 29:677–678

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, Joergensen RG, Pommerening B, Chaussod R, Brookes PC (1990) Measurement of soil microbial biomass by fumigation–extraction—an automated procedure. Soil Biol Biochem 22:1167–1169

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, Huang M, Xiao H-A, Su Y-R, Tong C-L, Huang D-Y, Syers J (2007) Dynamics in microbial immobilization and transformations of phosphorus in highly weathered subtropical soil following organic amendments. Plant Soil 290:333–342

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work has been financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (previous Science and Innovation) (Ref. PSS-120000-2008-58 and -65) and the EU through FEDER Funds (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional “una manera de hacer Europa”). Part of Dr. Clemente’s salary is paid by the European Social Funds of the European Union through “Ramón y Cajal” contract.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura, CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Apartado 164, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    C. de la Fuente, J. A. Alburquerque, R. Clemente & M. P. Bernal

Authors
  1. C. de la Fuente
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. A. Alburquerque
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R. Clemente
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. P. Bernal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. P. Bernal.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

de la Fuente, C., Alburquerque, J.A., Clemente, R. et al. Soil C and N mineralisation and agricultural value of the products of an anaerobic digestion system. Biol Fertil Soils 49, 313–322 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-012-0719-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-012-0719-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation