Abstract
Sewage sludge, a waste material commonly known as biosolids, has good potential as a valuable agricultural resource, providing that its nutrient imbalances could be overcome. Sewage sludge is rich in phosphorus but low in nitrogen and potassium. Technology exists to supplement sewage sludge with mineral fertilizers, such as urea and muriate of potash as sources of nitrogen and potassium, respectively, to produce an organo-mineral fertilizer with balanced crop nutrient requirements. Here, an experimental plot trial set up in 2008 was established at Broxton, Cheshire, UK, to compare crop yield response for typical crop varieties. Crops included wheat, oilseed rape, barley, beans and forage maize, treated with conventional fertilizer and organo-mineral fertilizer. The organo-mineral fertilizer is a nutrient-balanced sludge-based product produced by drying digested sewage sludge cake at 80 °C in a tumbling evaporator, which produces sludge granules of 3–6 mm in diameter. Analysis was carried out on soil NPK and crop yield. N use efficiency was measured to assess N uptake. Results show that there is no significant difference in crop yield between treatments over the three trial years, with the exception of one crop. This finding demonstrates that the new organo-fertilizer is as efficient as conventional fertilizers. Moreover, levels of heavy metal in soil did not exceed permissible levels. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that it is the first field scale trial of a modified sewage sludge product that has the potential to transform a hitherto waste product into a practical fertilizer product. We conclude that the organo-mineral fertilizer is a promising alternative product for sustainable agriculture.
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Acknowledgments
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-ENV.2010.3.1.1-2 ENV) under grant agreement no. 265269. http://www.end-o-sludg.eu/. We acknowledge the support of the Technology Strategy Board for funding this research together with United Utilities Water PLC under the Knowledge Transfer Partnership. We would also like to extend our thanks to the farmers for allowing access to their land and for their support to the research programme. The authors would like to thank United Utilities Water PLC for permission to publish this paper. The paper represents the opinion of the authors and does not necessarily represent the view of the European Union or United Utilities Water PLC.
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Deeks, L.K., Chaney, K., Murray, C. et al. A new sludge-derived organo-mineral fertilizer gives similar crop yields as conventional fertilizers. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 33, 539–549 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-013-0135-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-013-0135-z