Used successfully in Brazil sewage as fertilizer sugar cane

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Used successfully in Brazil sewage as fertilizer sugar cane

A project of Brazilian researchers showed that the mud left after the treatment of wastewater can be effectively used as fertilizer on sugar cane plantations.

The project, which gives added value to residential liquid waste and solve an environmental problem, was developed by researchers at the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (Cena), University of Sao Paulo (USP), reported on July 4 this center academic in its site.

The technology is very important for Brazil because the country is the largest producer and exporter of cane sugar, refined sugar and sugar cane ethanol.

Also helps to reduce expenditure in the country with fertilizer imports, mostly from abroad and have become the brunt of Brazilian farmers.

According to Cassio Hamilton Abreu Junior specialist, project coordinator, the residual sludge in the lagoons of sewage treatment can replace 100 percent of the marinade mineral nitrogen needed for plant growth.

The technical and economic feasibility of the technology was tested with a pilot project developed on a farm in Rio das Pedras, municipality in the state of Sao Paulo, the largest sugar cane producer in the country.

In addition to testing the use of sludge as fertilizer, the project also analyzed, and rule out the possible contamination of soil, groundwater and the food itself.

Junior Abreu said that despite the possible use of wastewater in agriculture is explored for more than 30 years in the country, Brazil has made less progress in this area that the United States or countries in Europe and Asia.

"As a Brazilian soils are poor in organic matter, use of waste in agriculture is being intensively investigated in the country because it is a rich source of organic matter and can replace the mineral dressing," according to the specialist.

The technology also has environmental benefits because it prolongs the life of the landfill to which the mud is thrown, reduce treatment costs of waste and reduce environmental impacts of sewage.

But the technology also requires care.

"Despite the mud of the lagoons of sewage treatment has significant organic matter and nutrients for agriculture, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, can also contain pathogens, heavy metals and harmful organic compounds," he adds.

The technology was tested in the eucalyptus plantations and pulp paper Pepel Suzana and sugar cane crops Cosan Group, the world's largest producer of sugar cane and ethanol.

Experiments on sugar cane were the first to score because your cycle is less, since the delay eucalyptus seven years.

"In the cane got a productivity increase of 12 percent in local fertilize with nitrogen in place of mud," said the specialist.

"The results allow us to state that 100 percent of mineral nitrogen dressing should be applied in the cultivation of sugar cane can be replaced by treated sewage sludge," he added.

Junior Abreu said that the material replaced in a 30 percent match required by the crop but did not work as a substitute for potassium.