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Vol. 77 No. 3 (2022)

Articles

Effect of sewage sludge-based phosphate fertilizers on yield, chemical composition of plants and soil

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/as.2022.3.1
Submitted: May 11, 2022
Published: 2022-10-28

Abstract

Phosphorus is an essential but limited in occurrence element of great importance for all living organisms, including plants. The world’s phosphate deposits used for the production of phosphate fertilizers are rapidly depleting, hence this element was placed on the so-called list of critical raw materials. Agriculture and horticulture are highly dependent on the use of phosphate fertilizers to maintain the production of high quality food and feed. The demand for phosphorus as a fertilizer is projected to increase as the world population grows from the current 7.2 billion to 9.6 billion in 2050. Hence, alternative sources of it should be sought. Potential sources of phosphorus are different kinds of waste, e.g. sewage sludge or ashes produced as a result of their combustion. Direct use of sewage sludge in agriculture and its storage is currently being replaced by thermal utilization or recovery of nutrients. Thanks to the use of circular economy, sewage sludge as a potentially hazardous waste, which is also rich in phosphorus, is transformed into a finished product and returned to the environment in the form of fertilizers. The product of phosphorus recovery from
sewage sludge is, among others, struvite, which can be successfully used in agriculture. A priority of EU economic policy is the production of fertilizers in a sustainable manner, which will be met, for example, by the production of struvite. Struvite contains not only phosphorus, but also nitrogen and magnesium in its composition. The amount of phosphorus and magnesium that can be introduced to the soil with struvite is higher than that of typical mineral fertilizers. In turn, the amount of nitrogen is lower than in typical fertilizers (about 5% N) and very low in the case of potassium. Therefore, it is recommended to use struvite in combination with conventional fertilizers for optimal balance of individual macronutrients. Struvite is considered an effective slow-release nutrient fertilizer that can be successfully applied to agricultural, vegetable and ornamental crops. Low salinity index, limited leaching of nutrients and high quality of the fertilizer resulting from low content of heavy metals make struvite an environmentally friendly fertilizer. Struvite as a soil fertiliser does not increase the content of heavy metals in plants and soil. The application of struvite positively affects the yields of many crop species. Preliminary studies on its use in crop production even indicate higher efficacy compared to typical water-soluble phosphorus fertilizers. Therefore, future research on struvite should focus on optimizing the production and use of sludge-based fertilizers for fertilizing various agricultural, horticultural and fruit crops.

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