Abstract
This paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary study aimed at assessing the possibility of using duckweed to purify and recover nutrients from the effluent remaining after struvite precipitation and ammonia stripping from a liquid fraction of anaerobic digestate in a biorefinery located at a Dutch dairy cattle production farm. The nutritional value of duckweed obtained in a biorefinery was assessed as well. Duckweed (Lemna minuta) was cultured on a growth medium with various concentrations of effluent from a biorefinery (EFL) and digested slurry (DS) not subjected to the nutrient recovery process. The study’s results showed that duckweed culture on the media with high contents of DS or EFL was impossible because they both inhibited its growth. After 15 days of culture, the highest duckweed yield was obtained from the ponds with DS or EFL contents in the medium reaching 0.39% (37.8 g fresh matter (FM) and 16.8 g FM per 8500 mL of the growth medium, respectively). The recovery of N by duckweed was approximately 75% and 81%, whereas that of P was approximately 45% and 55% of the growth media with EFL0.39% and DS0.39%, respectively. Duckweed obtained from the biorefinery proved to be a valuable high-protein feedstuff with high contents of α-tocopherol and carotenoids. With a protein content in duckweed approximating 35.4–36.1%, it is possible to obtain 2–4 t of protein per 1 ha from EFL0.39% and DS0.39% ponds, respectively.
Highlights
The European Green Deal sets a new perspective for the socioeconomic development of European countries with respect to natural environment and rational resource management [1]
The organic waste analyzed in the present study seems to be a suitable growth medium for duckweed due to the high proportion of ammonium nitrogen in total nitrogen (88% and 78% for digested slurry (DS) and effluent from a biorefinery (EFL), respectively, Table 1)
The yield of duckweed cultured on the growth media with DS0.39% and EFL0.39% was almost 5-fold and 2.5-fold higher, respectively, as compared with the yield obtained from the control box (W)
Summary
The European Green Deal sets a new perspective for the socioeconomic development of European countries with respect to natural environment and rational resource management [1]. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions assumed in this document requires the implementation of several solutions in the field of industrial production, energy, transport, and agriculture. The goals set therein impose the need to develop and implement innovative solutions that improve the functioning of existing production technologies and expand the production capabilities of economic entities. This phenomenon has been previously observed, but activities in this area should be intensified in the near future. Intensive manuring and storage of fertilizers are the causes of greenhouse gase (GHG) emissions, acidification of the environment as a result of ammonia (NH3 ) emissions, eutrophication of surface waters, and pollution of groundwater due to the elution and surface runoff of phosphorus and nitrogen from the fields [2,3]
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