IMPACT OF PAPER MILL SLUDGE ON EARTHWORM BIOMASS AND COCOON PRODUCTION DURING THE PROCESS OF VERMICOMPOSTING

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1 IMPACT OF PAPER MILL SLUDGE ON EARTHWORM BIOMASS AND COCOON PRODUCTION DURING THE PROCESS OF VERMICOMPOSTING 1 Poonam Gupta and 2 S. C Pradhan 1 C/O- S.C. Pradhan, P.G. Department of Environmental Science, F.M University VyasaVihar, Balasore Odisha. poonamnainu@gmail.com 2 P.G. Department of Environmental Science, F.M University VyasaVihar, Balasore Odisha. scpradhanfmu@yahoo.co.in Abstract : Paper mill sludge is regarded as a waste material which is imposing burden on the industry. Its proper management is a challenge for the industrialist and environmentalist. The management and utilization of these waste is one of the most critical environmental issues. During the process of management, if its beneficial potential is understood then it never stands as a waste. The process of vermicomposting has been considered as an appropriate one to mitigate the issue. Earthworms, which are used as the key organism, have to suffer a lot during this process. This study was conducted to know the influence of paper mill sludge on the body tissue status and reproductive potential of the earthworm. This has been done by studying the impact of paper mill sludge (PMS) on earthworm biomass and cocoon production. In this study the paper mill sludge in different percentage was mixed with soil for vermicomposting in earthen pots. Five sets of pots with about ten litre capacity were taken with four replicates each. Each pot of the first set contained 8kg of only powdered soil called the control set. Each pot of second, third, fourth sets contained 8kg of mixture of powdered soil and sludge in the ratio of 25% sludge & 75% soil, 50% sludge and 50% soil, 75% sludge & 25% soil. All the pots of the fifth set contained only sludge at the rate of 8kg each. All the pots were maintained with moisture content of 60±5g% and 25±5 C temperature. In each pot ten numbers of immature earthworms of species Lampito mauritii (Kinberg) of equal size were released after acclimatization to artificial condition. Earthworm biomass and cocoon production was measured at the interval of 15 days for 90 days. Maximum earthworm biomass and cocoon production were observed in 50% sludge concentration and minimum was observed in 100% sludge. As 50% sludge compost increases earthworm biomass and number of cocoons, this proved that 50% PMS concentration was found to be suitable for the growth and reproduction of the earthworms. Keywords: paper mill sludge, vermicomposting, earthworms, Lampito mauritii, biomass, cocoon. I. INTRODUCTION: Paper mill sludge is an inevitable product, thrown out of the industries, which not only creates filthy environment at the outskirt of the factory but also acts as a polluting substance for soil. The sludge is needed to be disposed in an effective way to make pollution free surroundings for the betterment of the mankind. These substances are a rich source of nutrients which can be utilized to prepare good quality compost after processing. There are many evidences that vermicomposting can manage these nutrient rich waste into useable form of compost (Butt et al 1993; Elvira et al 1998; Gajalakshmi et al 2002; Suthar 2007; Kaur et al 2010; Negi and Suthar 2013; Albasha et al 2015; Bhat et al 2015). Earthworms constitute the largest component of animal biomass within the soil macro fauna (Fragntoso and Lavelle 1992) and are good indicators of soil fertility. They are commonly known as ecosystem engineers (Bradford et al 2007; Blouin et al 2013; Bhat et al 2015). While different workers do vermicomposting taking different raw materials and produce vermicompost, they don t care for the earthworm. Since it is the key organism of the process its survival, growth, and reproduction is to be studied. The biochemical and physicochemical nature of waste can be alter by the activities of the earthworms(kaushik et al 2003; Kaushik et al 2004; Gupta et al 2005; Nogales et al 2005; Garg et al 2006; Suthar 2006; Vivas et al 2009,). They mineralize the organic matter, converting a part of it to worm biomass, respiratory products, and the rest digestive by product the cast, is converted into nutrient rich vermicompost by the process of vermicomposting with their manipulation in the process of vermicomposting (Rahmani and Salehrastin 2000). Many researchers also reported an increase in cocoons/worm/day (Suthar 2006; Khwairakpam and Bhargava 2009; Deka et al 2011) during vermicomposting. Bostrom (1988) mentioned that the quality and constituent of the food source have an impact on cocoon production. Sometimes biodegradable waste materials are used in the process of vermicomposting which are the food source for earthworms (Banu et al 2008; Majlessi et al 2012; Li et al 2016). Change in earthworm biomass and cocoon production specifically depends upon the type of waste (Dominguez 2000). Paper mill sludge is a good source of cellulosic fibres (Kuokkanen et al 2008; Mari et al 2009) high levels of macro (N, P and K) and micronutrients (B, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn, S) Page No: 955

2 which can be converted by the earthworms into available forms of nutrients that plant can use for the growth and development(ndegwa 2001). Sludge of waste paper recycling paper mill is expected to contain chemicals which are used for deinking. Emami paper mills Ltd. at Balgopalpur in Balasore District of Odisha is such an industry using waste and printed papers as the raw material. The sludge produced by the said industry was used in the process of vermicomposting. This work is intended to assess the impact of the sludge on the growth and reproduction of earthworms during the process of vermicomposting. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For the present study dried bulks of paper mill sludge was collected from the dumping sites of Emami paper mill located at Balgopalpur, Balasore, Odisha. This paper mill uses printed rough papers as the raw material for production of fine papers. Deinking is a primary step in the paper manufacturing process, which may be the source of some pollutants. For the experiment earthen pots of 10 litre capacity were taken in 5 sets with 4 replicates in each set. Each pots of the first set contained 8kg of dried powdered soil without any amendment, which was called as control set, the second set contained 25% sludge and 75% soil i.e. 2kg of powdered sludge mixed with 6kg of powdered soil, the third set contained 50% sludge and 50% soil i.e. 4kg of sludge mixed with 4kg of soil, the fourth set contained 75% sludge and 25%soil i.e.6kg of sludge mixed with 2kg of soil, the fifth set contained only sludge which was called as 100% sludge. Ten numbers of immature earthworms of species Lampito mauritii (Kinberg) were released into each pot of all the sets after acclimatized to laboratory condition. The soil and sludge mixture in the pots were maintained with 60±5gm% of moisture and 25±5 C temperature. Earthworm biomass and cocoon production was studied at the interval of 15 days for a period of 90 days. The biomass was determined taking the weight of earthworms by electronic balance. The earthworms were taken out from the pots by hand sorting method pouring all the contents to a plastic tray. Simultaneously, cocoons were also searched by hand sorting method and counted. The mean values were tabulated below. III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Table-1 shows the earthworm biomass during the process of vermicomposting of paper mill sludge. In control earthworm biomass was found to be increased to 4.62g on 90 th day. In 25% sludge composting earthworm biomass was 4.78g on 15 th days and found to be increased to 5.39 on 90 th day. In 50% sludge earthworm biomass was found to be increased from 5.21g to 5.99 on 90 th day. In 75% sludge at the initial stage i.e. on 15 th day the earthworm biomass was 4.63g and it increased to 4.98g on 90 th day. A reduction in biomass was observed in 75% sludge in comparision to 50% sludge in all observations. In 100% sludge on 15 th day of observation the earthworm biomass was 4.11g where as on 90 th day it was 4.39g. Similarly, in 100% sludge earthworm biomass was further reduced in comparision to 50% sludge in all observations. Table- 1 Earthworm biomass (g) during the process of vermicomposting of paper mill sludge. Days Sludge Control % % % % The growth rate of earthworms has been considered as a good comparative index in the study of earthworm biomass analysis under different feeds (Edwards et al 1998). Yadav and Garg (2009) reported an increase in percentage of Food industry sludge (FIS) in the feed mixtures resulted in a decrease in biomass of E. fetida. Greater percentage of solid textile mill sludge (STMS) in the feed mixture significantly affected the biomass gain. Worms grew and reproduced favourably in 70% poultry droppings (PD) + 30% (STMS) and 60% PD + 40% (STMS) feed mixtures, in which the percentage of (STMS) is less (Garg and Kaushik 2005). Page No: 956

3 Suthar (2009) also concluded that the increasing proportion of sewage sludge suppresses the growth rate of inoculated earthworms. The maximum and minimum growth rate [of individual worm (mg day 1)] was also recorded in 40% sewage sludge and 60% sugarcane trash and 100% sewage sludge treatment respectively. Further, Batham et al (2014) suggested, that the number of earthworm increases in all the concentration of waste but as the concentration of waste increase, number of earthworms was significantly decreased. Maximum earthworm numbers (26) was obtained in the substrate having (20% distillery waste) and 80% (cow dung, water hyacinth& saw dust).in this study when the percentage of paper mill sludge increased to 75% and 100%, there has been a reduction in the worm biomass. This work is in agreement with the above authors. Vasanthi et al (2011) employing earthworms Eudrilus eugenie found that the biomass of the earthworms was higher in the filtermud-jeevamirtham vermibed than in the filtermud cowdung vermibed. Veeresh and Narayana (2013) reported that inoculation of cow dung and microbial consortium like Jeevamrutha enhances the earthworm biomass. The maximum (38.67 mg) net biomass of E. eugeniae was found in organic substrates treated with Jeevamrutha after 21 days of inoculation, followed by treatments treated with cow dung(35 mg) and without treatment replicate showed the less earthworm biomass i.e., 30.67mg. Worm biomass, however, increased with the increasing proportion of paper mill sludge in the feed mixture but it corresponded with a very low rate of production of cocoons (Natarajan and Gajendran 2014; Natarajan and Gajendran 2015). A noticeable increase in the earthworm biomass was also observed in all the concentration of dewatered sludge mixed with cow dung and food processing waste during vermicomposting. The greatest increase in earthworm biomass i.e. (19.3%) and number of cocoons were recorded in the mixture of waste where the proportion of cow dung is more (Sonowal et al 2014). Albasha et al (2015) opined that a mixture of Kitchen waste and cow dung in the ratio of 1:1 was found to be the best ratio than 2 (Kitchen waste): 1 (cow dung) and 3 (Kitchen waste): 1 (cow dung) for the growth of earthworms. In this study, in comparision to control there is increase in worm biomass in 25% sludge and 50% sludge. 50% sludge showed higher biomass than 25%. Garg and Kaushik (2005) also reported worms grew and reproduced favourably in 70% poultry droppings (PD) + 30% solid textile mill sludge (STMS) and 60% PD + 40% STMS feed mixtures. Greater percentage of STMS in the feed mixture significantly affected the biomass gain. E. foetida showed more mortality in beddings, which contained lower amounts of organic supplements in textile mill sludge vermibeds. In this study 25% sludge and 50% sludge amendment showed a higher earthworm biomass at the end of the experiment. In 75% sludge and 100% sludge amendment growth in earthworm biomass was less than the other sludge amendments. Up to 50% sludge increase in worm biomass has been observed, which is the favourable dose of sludge for tissue growth of earthworms. But when the sludge percentage increased up to 75 and 100, it reduced the worm biomass. Higher dose of sludge is not favourable for worm biomass. This might be due the content of the sludge which has suppressed the growth of the earthworms. Table- 2 shows the cocoon production during the process of vermicomposting of paper mill sludge. In control set on 15 th day 17 numbers have been obtained on 90 th day maximum cocoon was produced to be 33. In 25% sludge after 15 days, 19 numbers of cocoons have been found, where as it increased to 36 after 90 days. In 50% sludge the cocoon production on 15 th day was 20, which increased to 37 on 90 th day. In comparision to control in 25% sludge cocoon production was higher in all the observation. In 50% sludge the cocoon production has been further increased in comparison to control and 25% sludge. In 75% sludge a reduction in cocoon production has been found which were 16 numbers on 15 th day and 30 on 90 th day with respect to 50% sludge. In 100% sludge the number of cocoon production has been further reduced to 10 on 15 th day and 22 on 90 th day. Table- 2. Cocoon production in numbers by earthworms during the process of vermicomposting of paper mill sludge. Days Sludge Control % % % % Page No: 957

4 There are many findings about the combined proportions of industrial waste and organic material to optimize earthworm biomass and cocoon production (Yadav and Garg 2009; Veeresh and Narayan2013; Natarajan and Gajendran (2014). Garg and Kaushik (2005) reported worms reproduced favourably in 70% poultry droppings (PD) + 30% solid textile mill sludge (STMS) and 60% PD + 40% STMS feed mixtures. E. foetida showed more mortality in beddings, which contained lower amounts of organic supplements in textile mill sludge vermibeds. Greater percentage of STMS in the feed mixture decreases the cocoon production. According to Yadav and Garg (2009) an increasing percentage of Food industry sludge (FIS) in the feed mixtures resulted in a decrease in the number of cocoons. Suthar (2009) also concluded that the increasing proportion of sewage sludge suppresses cocoon production of inoculated earthworms. Vasanthi et al (2011) employing earthworms Eudrilus eugenie found that cocoon production were higher in the filtermud-jeevamirtham vermibed than in the filtermud cowdung vermibed. Pandit and Maheshwari (2012) also indicated that, when sugarcane industries waste (bagasse and pressmud) was treated with an organic nutrient preparation Jeevamrutham (effective microbial suspension) for 15 days at 30 c then it was subjected to vermicomposting using earthworm Eisenia fetida a maximum average (26) numbers of cocoons were obtained at the end of 6th week of vermicomposting. Natarajan and Gajendran (2015) reported a very low rate of production of cocoons with the increasing proportion of paper mill sludge in the feed mixture. A noticeable increase in the cocoons was also observed in all the concentration of dewatered sludge mixed with cow dung and food processing waste during vermicomposting. Albasha et al (2015) opined that a mixture of Kitchen waste and cow dung in the ratio of 1:1 was found to be the best ratio than 2 (Kitchen waste): 1 (cow dung) and 3 (Kitchen waste): 1 (cow dung) for the cocoon production. The greatest increase in number of cocoons were recorded in the mixture of waste where the proportion of cow dung is more (Sonowal et al 2014). Batham et al (2014)reported maximum cocoons in the substrate having (20% distillery waste) and 80% (cow dung, water hyacinth & saw dust). Pandit and Maheshwari (2012) observed maximum average (26) numbers of cocoons at the end of 6th week of vermicomposting when sugarcane industries waste (bagasse and pressmud) was treated with an organic nutrient preparation Jeevamrutham (effective microbial suspension) for 15 days at 30 c then it was subjected to vermicomposting using earthworm Eisenia fetida. Similarly, Natarajan and Gajendran (2014) reported total number of cocoons produced by P.excavatus was maximum (76) in 25% Paper Mill Sludge and minimum (25) in 75% Paper Mill Sludge feed mixture. The results suggested that higher proportions of PMS in bedding materials were not suitable for cocoon production. In this study cocoon production increased in 25% and further increased in 50% sludge. When sludge percentage increased to 75 and 100 the cocoon production was reduced. This work agrees to the work of above authors. So sludge percentage up to 50 is favourable for reproduction of the earthworm Lampito mauritii. IV. CONCLUSION: During the process of vermicomposting of paper mill sludge when it is mixed with soil of appropriate quantity, the earthworm biomass and production of cocoons were enhanced. In this work, in 25% sludge concentration biomass of the earthworm and cocoon production has been increased than control, and it is further increased in 50% sludge. So, up to 50% sludge amendment during the vermicomposting process growth and reproduction of earthworm was favoured. When the concentration of the sludge increased, to 75% and 100% the condition has become unfavourable showing less growth and reproduction. This result established that paper mill sludge mixed with soil up to 50% is suitable for growth and reproduction of the earthworm Lampito mauritii. REFERENCE: [1] Albasha M.O. Gupta P. and Ramteke P.W Management of Kitchen Waste by Vermicomposting Using Earthworm, Eudrilus Eugeniae. International Conference on Advances in Agricultural, Biological & Environmental Sciences. (AABES-2015) July 22-23, London(UK). [2] Banu J.R. Yeom I.T. Esakkiraj S. Kumar N. Lee Y.W and Vallinayagam S Biomanagement of Sago Sludge using an earthworm, Lampito mauritii. Journal of Environmental Biology. 29(5): [3] Batham M. Arya R. and Tiwari A Time Efficient Co-composting of Water Hyacinth and Industrial Wastes by Microbial Degradation and Subsequent Vermicomposting. Journal of Bioremediation & Biodegradation. 5(3): [4] Bhat S.A. Singh J. and Vig A.P Potential utilization of bagasse as feed material for earthworm Eisenia fetida and production of vermicompost. Springer plus. 4:11. Page No: 958

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