Abstract
This study aimed to determine the suitability of sugar beet pulp digestion by-products as soil amendments for maize grown for energy purposes. In a plot experiment, nitrogen fertilizer at a standard rate of 200 kg N ha−1 was applied as a control vs. treatment with solid and liquid digestate fractions. Digestate was obtained from a gasifier processing only sugar beet pulp. Following harvest, heating and calorific values were determined together with the yield and chemical composition of the maize cob and stover. It was found that soil amendment with crude (unseparated) digestate or its two fractions (separated into liquid and solid) produced higher yields of maize cobs and stover compared with the application of standard fertilizer. An analysis of the energy value of the maize plant revealed differences between the studied soil treatments. Cobs obtained from plots treated with the digestate showed higher calorific and heating values than those obtained from control plots; however, maize stover from control plots showed higher calorific and heating values compared with plants from other experimental plots. It can be concluded that by-products obtained from sugar beet pulp digestion can be alternatively used as a soil amendment for maize production in a crop rotation with sugar beet. Among studied amendments the solid fraction of the digestate was found to have the best performance.
Highlights
Sugar beet pulp has served as a traditional valuable feed for dairy cows, due to changes in agricultural systems and economic factors in various countries, alternative utilization methods of this by-product have been introduced
Analyses of Digestate Obtained from Sugar Beet Pulp Anaerobic Digestion
The studied by-products of sugar beet pulp anaerobic digestion can be effectively applied to soil used for growing maize for energy purposes
Summary
Sugar beet pulp has served as a traditional valuable feed for dairy cows, due to changes in agricultural systems and economic factors in various countries, alternative utilization methods of this by-product have been introduced. Because of its physicochemical properties, sugar beet pulp appears to be an excellent stock material for anaerobic digestion [1,2,3,4,5,6]. It was concluded that the application of digestate into the soil is a suitable solution. This method reduces ground and surface water pollution by nutrients. The high concentration of nutrients, which are contained in the digestate and are available to plants, can limit the consumption of fertilizers that have a significant impact on farm economics [12]
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