Abstract
Enormous quantities of coal fly ash (FA) waste produced by thermal power plants during electricity generation lead to deterioration of soil and surface water quality. The present study aims to convert coal FA waste into valuable manure by aerobic composting and vermicomposting (VC) techniques with a comparative aspect. The investigation addresses the physico-chemical, microbiological and enzymatic behaviour of the substrates over a duration of 60 days. The enzymatic activities offer a promising solution for assessment of compost quality. Level of diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable metals, plant hormones and microbial biomass carbon were also evaluated. The DTPA-extractable metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb) were reduced significantly (p <0.05) in final vermicomposts. The activity of enzymes (cellulase, amylase, dehydrogenase and protease) was observed to decline after 30th day of VC process. The decline in enzymatic activities was noteworthy in VC as compared to the composting process. The trend of bacterial population in vermicasts at day 30 was: CD alone > FA + CD (1:3) > FA + CD (1:1) > FA + CD (3:1) > FA alone. Microbial population (bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, coliform, proteolytic and cellulolytic bacteria) in the compost was lower than the vermicomposts. The level of plant hormones (kinetin, gibberellic acid and indole 3-acetic acid) was higher in vermicompost as compared to compost. Microbial biomass carbon was higher in the vermicompost compared to the compost. The results showed the importance of earthworms and associated microorganisms in altering physico-chemical, microbial and enzymatic activities of vermicomposted FA.
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The authors are grateful to the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering and Central research facility, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, for providing research facilities.
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Usmani, Z., Kumar, V., Rani, R. et al. Changes in physico-chemical, microbiological and biochemical parameters during composting and vermicomposting of coal fly ash: a comparative study. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 16, 4647–4664 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-1893-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-1893-6