Abstract
The application of municipal sewage sludge as fertilizer in the production of non-food energy crops is an environmentally and economically sustainable approach to sewage sludge management. In addition, the application of municipal sewage sludge to energy crops such as Miscanthus x giganteus is an alternative form of recycling nutrients and organic material from waste. Municipal sewage sludge is a potential source of heavy metals in the soil, some of which can be removed by growing energy crops that are also remediation agents. Therefore, the objective of the research was to investigate the effect of municipal sewage sludge applied at three different rates of 1.66, 3.22 and 6.44 t/ha on the production of Miscanthus. Based on the analyses conducted on the biomass of Miscanthus fertilized with sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in three fertilization treatments, it can be concluded that the biomass of Miscanthus is a good feedstock for the process of direct combustion. Moreover, the application of the largest amount of municipal sewage sludge during cultivation had no negative effect on the properties of Miscanthus biomass. Moreover, the cellulose and hemicellulose content of Miscanthus is ideal for the production of second-generation liquid biofuels. Fertilizer treatments had no effect on the content of cellulose and lignin, while a significant statistical difference was found for hemicellulose.
Highlights
The organic matter and nutrients contained in municipal sewage sludge are mostly disposed of in landfills or incinerators, neither of which completely solves the problem [1].In the European Union, the landfilling of untreated municipal sewage sludge is not allowed according to the legislation 1999/31/EC on the landfilling of waste [2]
Soil organic carbon content and available potassium increased due to the increase in sewage sludge rate. This low variability in soil fertility could be related to the application method of the municipal sewage sludge, the solubility of the nutrients and the uptake by the cultivated Miscanthus plant
Municipal sewage sludge applied to the soil surface did not improve soil fertility as seen in many studies with the incorporation of municipal sewage sludge [19,46,47,48,49]
Summary
The organic matter and nutrients contained in municipal sewage sludge are mostly disposed of in landfills or incinerators, neither of which completely solves the problem [1].In the European Union, the landfilling of untreated municipal sewage sludge is not allowed according to the legislation 1999/31/EC on the landfilling of waste [2]. The treated municipal sewage sludge (stabilized and dehydrated) can be used for landfill cover, but is considered transitional and unsustainable because of the loss of phosphorus and energy that could be used for gas production and cogeneration. For this reason, the use of municipal sewage sludge in agriculture is the most ecologically and economically sound practice because it improves soil properties, provides nutrients to crops and saves valuable water resources, especially in countries with dry climates [5,6].
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