Evaluation of metal nutrient from sewage sludge on growth of medicinal herbs

Generally municipal sewage sludge can be used as fertiliser as it contains a lot of nutrients. However the level of each particular nutrient has not yet been established locally. By focusing on copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) contents in municipal sewage sludge from primary oxid...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Seng, Chin Loon
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/19171/5/SengChinLoonMFKA2010.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my-utm-ep.19171
record_format uketd_dc
spelling my-utm-ep.191712017-09-19T06:30:58Z Evaluation of metal nutrient from sewage sludge on growth of medicinal herbs 2010-12 Seng, Chin Loon TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering Generally municipal sewage sludge can be used as fertiliser as it contains a lot of nutrients. However the level of each particular nutrient has not yet been established locally. By focusing on copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) contents in municipal sewage sludge from primary oxidation pond of Taman Sri Pulai, Johor and in plant tissue sections, this study attempts to explain the relationship between plant yield and metal concentrations and suggest alternative evaluation for future in-depth studies. Raw sludge samples were collected, then air dried and ground to powder form in the beginning of a field work. The metal concentrations of sewage sludge were copper 6.9 mg/kg; iron 330.2 mg/kg; manganese 6.7 mg/kg; and zinc 9.1 mg/kg. Curcuma longa (turmeric) and Orthosiphon stamineus (cat’s whiskers) were selected and the plants received different quantity of sludge application ranging from 1 g per plant to 4 g per plant weekly for six consecutive weeks while observations were done for eleven weeks inclusive of the first six weeks of sludge application and five weeks of post application period. The field experiments spanning 12 rows of vegetation and 65 pH grid points were carried out on iron rich soil. Physical parameters such as leaf length, plant height, rhizome yield, shrub width and shrub height were monitored parameters used to determine plant growth together with the chemical contents of both types of plants. All samples were acid digested using EPA Method 3050B and analysed using HACH DR5000 spectrophotometer. Soil pH readings during and after sewage sludge surface application at plant base section throughout the entire experiment did not display any statistically significant changes using one way ANOVA at a=0.05. Turmeric displayed 99% confidence level of negative correlation in the ironmanganese interaction in the plant using one way ANOVA at a=0.01 while cat’s whiskers displayed no definite pattern of metal relationships within the shrubs. Metal ratios between copper, iron, manganese and zinc were analysed to determine the occurrence of potential metal induced stress. Cu:Mn, Fe:Mn, Cu:Zn, Fe:Zn and Mn:Zn ratios suggested that turmeric suffered from manganese and zinc deficiency under high iron environment while Fe:Mn, Cu:Mn and Mn:Zn ratios suggested that cat’s whiskers suffered from manganese deficiency only. Through this study, the determined optimum sewage sludge dosage for turmeric was 3 g per plant while the optimum dosage for cat’s whiskers was between 2 to 3 g per plant 2010-12 Thesis http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/19171/ http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/19171/5/SengChinLoonMFKA2010.pdf application/pdf en public masters Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Civil Engineering Faculty of Civil Engineering
institution Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
collection UTM Institutional Repository
language English
topic TD Environmental technology
Sanitary engineering
spellingShingle TD Environmental technology
Sanitary engineering
Seng, Chin Loon
Evaluation of metal nutrient from sewage sludge on growth of medicinal herbs
description Generally municipal sewage sludge can be used as fertiliser as it contains a lot of nutrients. However the level of each particular nutrient has not yet been established locally. By focusing on copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) contents in municipal sewage sludge from primary oxidation pond of Taman Sri Pulai, Johor and in plant tissue sections, this study attempts to explain the relationship between plant yield and metal concentrations and suggest alternative evaluation for future in-depth studies. Raw sludge samples were collected, then air dried and ground to powder form in the beginning of a field work. The metal concentrations of sewage sludge were copper 6.9 mg/kg; iron 330.2 mg/kg; manganese 6.7 mg/kg; and zinc 9.1 mg/kg. Curcuma longa (turmeric) and Orthosiphon stamineus (cat’s whiskers) were selected and the plants received different quantity of sludge application ranging from 1 g per plant to 4 g per plant weekly for six consecutive weeks while observations were done for eleven weeks inclusive of the first six weeks of sludge application and five weeks of post application period. The field experiments spanning 12 rows of vegetation and 65 pH grid points were carried out on iron rich soil. Physical parameters such as leaf length, plant height, rhizome yield, shrub width and shrub height were monitored parameters used to determine plant growth together with the chemical contents of both types of plants. All samples were acid digested using EPA Method 3050B and analysed using HACH DR5000 spectrophotometer. Soil pH readings during and after sewage sludge surface application at plant base section throughout the entire experiment did not display any statistically significant changes using one way ANOVA at a=0.05. Turmeric displayed 99% confidence level of negative correlation in the ironmanganese interaction in the plant using one way ANOVA at a=0.01 while cat’s whiskers displayed no definite pattern of metal relationships within the shrubs. Metal ratios between copper, iron, manganese and zinc were analysed to determine the occurrence of potential metal induced stress. Cu:Mn, Fe:Mn, Cu:Zn, Fe:Zn and Mn:Zn ratios suggested that turmeric suffered from manganese and zinc deficiency under high iron environment while Fe:Mn, Cu:Mn and Mn:Zn ratios suggested that cat’s whiskers suffered from manganese deficiency only. Through this study, the determined optimum sewage sludge dosage for turmeric was 3 g per plant while the optimum dosage for cat’s whiskers was between 2 to 3 g per plant
format Thesis
qualification_level Master's degree
author Seng, Chin Loon
author_facet Seng, Chin Loon
author_sort Seng, Chin Loon
title Evaluation of metal nutrient from sewage sludge on growth of medicinal herbs
title_short Evaluation of metal nutrient from sewage sludge on growth of medicinal herbs
title_full Evaluation of metal nutrient from sewage sludge on growth of medicinal herbs
title_fullStr Evaluation of metal nutrient from sewage sludge on growth of medicinal herbs
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of metal nutrient from sewage sludge on growth of medicinal herbs
title_sort evaluation of metal nutrient from sewage sludge on growth of medicinal herbs
granting_institution Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Civil Engineering
granting_department Faculty of Civil Engineering
publishDate 2010
url http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/19171/5/SengChinLoonMFKA2010.pdf
_version_ 1747815398738231296