Bioconversion of Textile Industry Sludge into Soil Enriching Material Through Vermistabilization

Ramu Selvam; Varuna Kumaravel; Infancia Lawrence; Deepa Sankaran; Senthil Kumar Sadasivam

doi:10.37591/rrjols.v9i1.1462

Abstract

Disposal of textile sludge onto the environment imposes deleterious effects on the micro and macroflora. Vermistabilization of sludge could be considered as the pioneering solution for the prevailing concern. In this regard, textile sludge has been admixed with cow dung in the ratio of 1:2 to enhance the suitability of the sludge as growth medium for Eudrilus eugeniae. Various physicochemical and worm growth parameters have been evaluated to discern the efficacy of the vermistabilized product as manure for agricultural applications. The pH of vermistabilized product was measured to be near neutral with the value of 7.10±0.16. The electrical conductivity (EC), total organic carbon (TOC) and Carbon-Nitrogen (C:N) ratio were reduced by 32.02%, 41.26% and 75.07%, respectively. Decline in the values of pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), TOC and C:N ratio with an increase in the concentration of macronutrients and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) after vermistabilization revealed the effective stabilization and mineralisation of the nutrients by the cooperative action of E.eugeniae and microbes. Decrease in the heavy metal concentration corroborated the ability of earthworms to transmute toxic elements into non-toxic forms. Maximum reduction was observed for Cadmium (89.18%) among all other heavy metals analysed. The number of cocoons and hatchlings were also found to increase in the provided growth medium. Accordingly, all the experimental data were observed to emphasize the competency of vermistabilization as an alternative for the harmless disposal and conversion of textile sludge into valuable manurial products.Keywords: textile sludge, vermistabilization, E.eugeniae, manurial productsCite this ArticleRamu Selvam, Varuna Kumaravel, Infancia Lawrence, Deepa Sankaran, Senthil Kumar Sadasivam. Bioconversion of Textile Industry Sludge into Soil Enriching Material Through Vermistabilization. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Life Sciences. 2019; 9(1): 51–58p.