ASSESSMENT OF RED WIGGLER WORMS ABILITY IN VERMICOMPOSTING OF TREATED SLUDGE, AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PRODUCED VERMICOMPOST
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Date
2025-02-06
Authors
Najim, Sajeda
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Publisher
An-Najah National University
Abstract
Sludge is produced during the wastewater treatment process. It contains organic materials and elevated concentrations of nutrients. So, it is considered a source of pollution. Therefore, further treatment is required to eliminate the source of pollution in sludge before safe reuse. This study aims to assess the impact of using vermicompost, a material resulted from feeding red wiggler of Eisenia fetida species on treated sludge and its effect on the growth of basic fodders. Red wiggler, 2000 worms, were brought from Om Suliman Organic farm in Ramallah. Worms were used to treat the sludge produced from Nablus-West Wastewater Treatment plant (WWTP), and produce vermicompost. Two fodder crops were grown, barley and vetch, each crop was planted in 27 pots, 9 of with vermicompost, 9 with sludge was added and 9 without any additives. The study was conducted by the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) from June 2022 to April 2023. The results showed that vermicomposting reduced the heavy metal content in the sludge by 45.9% on average, with a range of 7.9% in Na and 83.1% in Mg. According to Palestinian regulations, the original concentration of heavy metal in the treated sludge was below the maximum allowed levels. In addition, the results showed that the plant parameters were the highest in soils mixed with treated sludge, followed by soil mixed with vermicompost in both crops, without any significant differences (at 95% confidence level) in these parameters between sludge mixed soils and vermicompost mixed soils. The fresh weights of barley were 124.7 g/plant, and 113.4 g/plant were for sludge and vermicompost consequence compared to 82.8 g/plant for the control. For vetch, the fresh weight in both sludge and vermicompost compared to the control are 62 g/plant for sludge and 57.6 g/plant for vermicompost. A similar increase in the other plant parameters is found without significant differences (at 95% confidence level) between the sludge and vermicompost. Also, the crops added to vermicompost and sludge showed improved water use efficiency (WUE) compared to those grown without any additives. The (WUE) (kg/m3) increased from 13.9 to 20.96 for barley with sludge and 19.05 for barley with vermicompost, from 7.05 to 15.18 for vetch with sludge, and 14.10 for vetch with vermicompost. Results indicate that red wiggler worms could be used in vermicomposting treated sludge, and using the resulting vermicompost as soil amendment enhances the production.
Description
Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) was established to find solutions to fresh water in Oman