Effects of poultry abattoir sludge amendment on feedstock composition, energy content, and combustion emissions of giant reed (Arundo donax L.)

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the suitability of poultry abattoir sludge (PAS) as a nutrient source for energy crop giant reed (Arundo donax L.), as well as its effects on feedstock composition, energy content, and exhaust gaseous emissions. Before the plantation, dried PAS was incorporated into soil for providing 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 kg N ha(-1), and then Arundo donax L. propagated from rhizomes were planted in plots at a density of 1 plant m(2) (15 plants per plot). The experiment was arranged under a completely randomized block design with three replications and assessed during the three-consecutive growing seasons of 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. The soil treatments were amended with conventional fertilizer, while no external fertilizer was supplied for PAS treatments. The biomass yields were increased in each progressive year and maximized insignificantly at higher PAS application rates of 150 and 200 kg N ha(-1). High heating values measured for plants cultivated in both soil and PAS were insignificant and within the range of 17.52-17.99 MJ kg(-1) independent to the PAS application rates. Increasing the rate of nutrients in treatments progressively increased the biomass yield, but variations in tissue nutrient contents were rather smaller, as similarly observed for combustion emissions such as CO, NOx, and SO2. Findings of this study clearly demonstrated that the use of PAS for energy crop cultivation confirmed both ash and air emissions and hold a great potential for both energy crop production and waste minimization alternative. (C) 2018 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.