Use of cassava wastewater treated anaerobically with alkaline agents as fertilizer for maize (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

The wastewater of the processing of cassava's flour (manipueira) was submitted to the anaerobic treatment in two phases: acidogenic and methanogenic. In the acidogenic phase, the wastewater was stabilized with NaOH (ASH) and with limestone (ASL). After that, both stabilized effluents were treated by a methanogenic reactor. Then, the effluent of the methanogenic reactor was used as fertilizer on maize in the initial growth stage (30 days), cultivated in pots in a greenhouse. The treatments were T1: control without urea addition (only N from soil); T2: NPK (2.2 g of urea with 45% of N); T3: ASH (84 mL.kg soil-1); T4: ASL (102 mL.kg soil-1); T5: double dose ASH (168 mL.kg soil-1) and T6: double dose ASL (204 mL.kg soil-1). Each treatment was composed by 4 plants/pot in five repetitions. It was observed that all the treatments with stabilized wastewater had favorable effect to the soil pH (> than 7.5) and basis saturation (V%) in the soil around to 90%. The performances of nitrogen absorption by the maize plants were 64, 54, 80 and 78% for T3, T4, T5 and T6, respectively.