Sustainable Use of Sewage Sludge as a Casing Material for Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) Cultivation: Experimental and Prediction Modeling Studies for Uptake of Metal Elements.

Pankaj Kumar,Archana Bachheti,Ivica Kos,Luis F O Silva,Kyung Sook Choi,Ebrahem M Eid,Ivan Širić,Sulaiman A Alrumman,Vinod Kumar,Fidelis Odedishemi Ajibade,Bashir Adelodun,Ashish Kumar Arya,Saad A M Alamri,Dalibor Bedeković,Sami Abou Fayssal,Madhumita Goala

doi:10.3390/jof8020112

Abstract

The present study focused on the use of sewage sludge (SS) as a casing material amendment and the potential uptake of metal elements by the cultivated white button (Agaricus bisporus: MS-39) mushroom. Laboratory experiments were performed under controlled environmental conditions to grow A. bisporus on the composted wheat straw substrate for 50 days. Different treatments (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 g/kg) of casing material were prepared by mixing garden and dried SS and applied on the mushroom substrate after proper sterilization. The results revealed that SS application was significant (p < 0.05) in accelerating mushroom yield with a biological efficiency of 65.02% for the mixing rate of 200 g/kg. Moreover, the maximum bioaccumulation of selected metal elements (Cu, Cr, Cd, Fe, Mn, and Zn) was observed using the same treatment. Additionally, the multiple regression models constructed for the uptake prediction of metal elements showed an acceptable coefficient of determination (R2 > 0.9900), high model efficiency (ME > 0.98), and low root mean square error (RMSE < 0.410) values, respectively. The findings of this study represent sustainable use of SS for the formulation of mushroom casing material contributing toward synergistic agro-economy generation and waste management.

Highlights

Over the last decades, the generation of sewage sludge (SS) has increased dramatically in India because of the increasing population and unplanned urbanization
The results showed that the wheat straw (WS)-based substrate comprised various nutrient parameters, including OC, N, and metal elements
Were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in the casing material after SS mixing when compared to the control treatment (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

The generation of sewage sludge (SS) has increased dramatically in India because of the increasing population and unplanned urbanization. Sewage sludge disposal should be correctly managed especially in countries with high population density [4,5]. In India, numerous sewage wastewater (SW) treatment plants (around 234 facilities) were built along the banks of major rivers [6]. It still could not cope with the daily treatment capacity of SW, estimated at 62 thousand of million liters per day in urban areas. Recent reports state that the majority of the SS is improperly disposed of, with only a small volume being recycled in a sustainable manner [7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion