Abstract
In this work a pot trial was conducted to determine the nutritive quality and yield of coolatai grass using chromosol soil amended with wastewater sludge and sludge biochar. The aim of the study was to determine the performance of sludge biochar, comparing to unprocessed wastewater sludge, in production of coolatai grass as a potential forage and energy crop species. The results revealed higher ash content (5.6%) and lower calorific value (16.9 MJ/kg) of coolatai grass comparing to other wood and grass species. The application of biochar combination with fertiliser was found to have the highest effect on the yield producing more than double of the plant dry matter comparing to the unamended chromosol soil conditions. The combination of biochar and fertiliser treatment also increased some of the important chemical characteristics of coolatai grass, such as the metabolisable energy and crude protein composition compared to control, wastewater sludge and fertiliser treatments.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 1st South East Europe Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems |
Publisher | SDEWES Centre |
Pages | 1-8 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Event | South East European Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (1st : 2014) - Ohrid, Macedonia Duration: 29 Jun 2014 → 3 Jul 2014 |
Conference
Conference | South East European Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (1st : 2014) |
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City | Ohrid, Macedonia |
Period | 29/06/14 → 3/07/14 |
Keywords
- Coolatai grass
- Wastewater sludge
- Biochar
- Nutritive value