Integration of waste processing and biomass production systems as part of the KSC Breadboard project

Nutrient mineralization and organic matter reduction performance of RAS-based sludge in sequential UASB-EGSB reactors

“…An aerobic post-treatment of the anaerobic effluent would potentially be a better solution to reduce their potential phytotoxicity (Mackowiak et al, 1996;Shinohara et al, 2011). As shown in our results, such aerobic treatment would adequately remove VFAs, and if nitrification were promoted, it would also reduce TAN, increase the nitrate concentrations and presumably reduce or remove COD, while also eliminating other phytotoxic anaerobic secondary metabolites (Garland et al, 1997). It is however important to do further research in order to examine the desired dilution rate of the effluent in an aquaponics system, and the ability of the plants to directly assimilate the effluents.…”

“…Although VFAs have been reported to be phytotoxic (Pang et al, 2007) and their removal was successful, EGSB reactors may not be the best post-treatment solution for sludge digestion in aquaponics. Another post-treatment might be necessary prior to plant delivery, as previous studies have reported that organic compounds in commercially available bio-hydroponic solutions generally have phytotoxic effects that lead to poor plant growth (Garland et al, 1997;Lee et al, 2006;Shinohara et al, 2011). As such, COD concentrations in effluent should be reduced for proper use in the hydroponics unit.…”

Impact of rhizobial inoculation and reduced N supply on biomass production and biological N2 fixation in common bean grown hydroponically

“…In most cases, the nutrient solutions that are supplied in soilless cultivations are prepared using inorganic fertilizers . A few attempts have been made to introduce organic fertilizers in hydroponics, and the direct use of organic fertilizers in soilless culture may be toxic to plant growth . However, there are only a few peer‐reviewed reports on the use of different rhizobial strains in hydroponic bean cultivations as a means to provide part of N to the plants .…”

The influence of organic manure formulated from goat manure on growth and yield of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum)

“…It was not until the early 1990s when liquid manures for hydroponics were introduced. Challenges emerged such as organic fertilizer being unsuitable to plant growth (Garland et al, 1997;Liedl et al, 2004), because nitrogen in manure is predominantly organic, hence unusable by plants. The forms of nitrogen absorbed by plants are nitrate and ammonium .…”

“…Therefore, the nitrogen in manure requires to be mineralised prior to use by plants hydroponically. Several studies including Garland et al (1997) and Shinohara et al (2011) have demonstrated that using microorganisms to degrade organic nitrogen in organic sources such as manure results in nitrates and ammonium production which in turn are used for plant production.…”