Liquid digestate from anaerobic treatment of source-separated household waste as fertilizer to barley

Abstract

This study examined the efficiency of different organic waste materials as NPK fertilizer, in addition to the risk for leaching losses related to shower precipitation in the first part of the growing season. The experiment was tested in a pot trial on a sandy soil in a greenhouse. Six organic fertilizers were evaluated: liquid anaerobic digestate (LAD) sourced from separated household waste, nitrified liquid anaerobic digestate (NLAD) of the same origin as LAD, meat and bone meal (MBM), hydrolysed salmon protein (HSP), reactor-composted catering waste (CW) and cattle manure (CM). An unfertilized control, calcium nitrate (CN) and Fullgjødsel® 21-4-10 were used as reference fertilizers. At equal amounts of mineral nitrogen both LAD and Fullgjødsel® gave equal yield of barley in addition to equal uptake of N, P, and K in barley grain. NLAD gave significantly lower barley yield than the original LAD due to leaching of nitrate-N after a simulated surplus of precipitation (28 mm) at Zadoks 14. There was significantly increased leaching of nitrate N from the treatments receiving 160 kg N ha⁻¹ of CN and NLAD in comparison with all the other organic fertilizers. In this study LAD performed to the same degree as Fullgjødsel® NPK fertilizer and it was concluded that LAD can be recommended as fertilizer for cereals. Nitrification of the ammonium N in the digestate caused significantly increased nitrate leaching, and cannot be recommended.