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Wastewater from monosodium glutamate industryas a low cost fertilizer source for corn (Zea mays L.)

Satnam Singh a, P.D. Rekha b, A.B. Arun b, Y.-M. Huang a, F.-T. Shen a,Chiu-Chung Young a,*aDepartment of Soil and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, National Chung Hsing University,

250, Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROCbYenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya University, Deralakatte, Mangalore, India

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 8 December 2008

Received in revised form

9 June 2011

Accepted 14 June 2011

Available online 13 July 2011

Keywords:

Sodium 2-aminopentanedioate

Wastewater

Corn (Zea mays L.)

Fuel-crop

Fertilizer

* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: þ886 4 228E-mail address: ccyoung@mail.nchu.edu.

0961-9534/$ e see front matter ª 2011 Elsevdoi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2011.06.033

a b s t r a c t

Nitrogen rich wastewater from monosodium glutamate industry (MSG) and paper-mill

wastewater were used in this study as low cost fertilizers for growing corn, a common

fuel crop. Detailed characterization of the wastewaters and toxicity testes were conducted

to assure the safety of these wastewaters. In a greenhouse pot experiment, effects of these

wastewaters on corn growth and biomass yield along with the soil properties were eval-

uated. MSG-wastewater was applied at three rates i.e., zero, 5 m3 ha�1 and 7.5 m3 ha�1 and

paper-mill wastewater was applied at and zero, 3.5 m3 ha�1 and 5 m3 ha�1 in a complete

randomized blocks design experiment. Significant increase in the corn biomass yield was

observed in all the wastewater treatments compared to the Control. Both these waste-

waters did not show any adverse effects on plant. N-use efficiency from the

MSG-wastewater was comparable to urea-N application. This study emphasizes on

sustainable practices for energy crop production by utilizing wastewaters as fertilizer

sources. Hence, we report for the first time that the MSG-wastewater can be used for

growing corn as a low cost green practice without adverse affects on the soil properties.

ª 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction possible environmental pollution. Considering the high cost of

Wastewater from monosodium glutamate manufacturing

industry is a rich source of N in addition to significant

amounts organic C. Remediation of MSG-wastewater pollu-

tion is difficult due to high levels of COD, and very low pH and

if left untreated causes serious environmental problems [1]

and a very few studies have emphasized on the alternative

uses of it [2e4]. Agricultural uses of this N-richwastewater are

not studied seriously so far probably due to the extreme pH

(<3). Though, use of industrial waste by-products in agricul-

ture is a feasible strategy for convertingwastes into resources,

proper management practice is required for reducing the

61495.tw (C.-C. Young).ier Ltd. All rights reserved

fertilizer and increased pressure on agro-ecosystems for fuel

crop production exploring the alternative economical sources

of fertilizer is crucial inmodern agriculture. Role of agriculture

for growing fuel crops is gaining importance in developed and

in many developing countries and forcing the farmers and

scientists to redesign the agriculture systems for improved

production and energy-use efficiency [5,6]. It is predicted that

fertilizer demand in Asia is expected to account for 40% of the

global forecast of 187.7 Mt in 2015 [7]. Crops historically used

for food and fiber are now being grown as fuel crops in

response to renewable energy demand andmandated rates of

adoption. Fertilizer demand for growing corn (Zea mays L.) is

.

b i om a s s an d b i o e n e r g y 3 5 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 4 0 0 1e4 0 0 74002

higher and scientists are therefore looking for alternatives

fuel crops such as switchgrass [8]. However, investigating low

cost fertilization strategies for fuel crop production and

emphasizing on sustainable farming practices can provide

expected yield output and reduce the environmental impacts.

Fertilizer practices for growing the fuel crops are not seriously

looked into so far. Hence, exploring the opportunities for

reuse of industrial by-products in fuel crop production is

a reliable strategy with multiple benefits on environment and

economy.

Our aim of this studywas to explore the possibilities for the

safe utilization of theMSG-wastewater as an N source for corn

by stabilizing the pH with highly alkaline paper-mill waste-

water. Scientific studies on the effects of wastewater appli-

cation are crucial to make informed decisions on application

rates and other waste management practices. Hence, our

objective for the present studywas to investigate the effects of

wastewaters from MSG industry and paper-mill on the corn

biomass yield and soil properties.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Wastewater samples

MSG-wastewater was collected from Vedan Enterprise Corp.,

Taichung, Taiwan and paper-mill wastewater was collected

from Hsingying mill, Tainan, Taiwan Pulp and Paper Corpora-

tion. MSG has been generally produced from Corynebacterium

glutamicum fermentation, using molasses, cassava, wheat and

potatoetc. as solecarbonsource, ammoniumionsasanitrogen

source and other nutrients. MSG production, extraction and

separation process generates huge amount of wastewater. In

paper-mill industry about 80% of the wood chips derived from

Eucalyptus, kraft (sulfate) process were being used for paper

pulp production which generates 5.475 Mt y�1 of water and

washings from the alkali black liquor.

Characterization of the wastewaters was carried out

according to the standard methods for the analyses of water

and wastewater [9] and the properties are listed in Table 1.

Table 1 e Properties of the monosodium glutamateindustry and paper-mill wastewaters used in the study.

Parameter Units Wastewaters

MSG Paper-mill

pH e 3.6 � 0.6 12.5 � 0.5

Electrical conductivity dS m�1 63.8 � 2.2 77.4 � 4.5

Total solids % 60.7 � 1.3 22.2 � 1.7

Organic C g l�1 344.6 � 8.2 148.9 � 2.8

Total-N g l�1 56.7 � 0.8 0.2 � 0.04

Ammonium-N g l�1 39.8 � 1.0 NDa

Total P g l�1 2.1 � 0.2 ND

Total K g l�1 32.8 � 2.2 4.4 � 0.2

Sulfate g l�1 21.3 � 1.2 15.3 � 0.7

Calcium (CaO) g l�1 17.3 � 0.7 1.9 � 0.01

Manganese (Mn) mg l�1 31.8 � 0.6 27.7 � 1.1

a ND: Not detectable.

2.2. Germination assay

To evaluate the tolerance limits and suitable concentration of

wastewater for corn growth, a germination bioassay was

carried out. Ten seeds of corn (Z. mays L. cv. Bright Jean) were

placed over two sheets of filter paper (Advantech, Japan)

wetted with MSG or paper-mill wastewater (3 ml) at different

dilutions (100 dm3 m�3, 50 dm3 m�3, 25 dm3 m�3, 10 dm3 m�3,

1 dm3 m�3, and zero diluted with deionized water). Treated

seedswere incubated in the dark at 30 �C for 96 h. Germination

was scored for the seeds which showed a primary root elon-

gation of 5 mm. Germination parameters were calculated

from the following equations;

Relative seed germination; RSG ð%Þ ¼No: of seeds germinated in test extract

No:of seeds germinated in control� 100

Relative root elongation; RRE ð%Þ ¼Root growth in test extract

Root growth in control� 100

Germination index; GI ð%Þ ¼ RSG � RRE100

2.3. Effect of wastewater on plant growth and soilproperties-greenhouse study

On the basis of seed germination assay, evaluation of the

effect of wastewaters on the plant (corn) growth and soil

properties was carried out under greenhouse at Department

of Soil and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Hsing

University, Taiwan (24� 070 09.9300 N, 120� 400 31.0400 E). For this,red soil was collected from the upper layer (0e30 cm) of an

agriculture farm at Donghai, Taichung County in Taiwan.

Soil texture was silty clay (42% clay, 40% silt and 18% sand),

pH 6.2, electrical conductivity 0.125 dS m�1, total organic

C 23.9 g kg�1andN 0.53 g kg�1 respectively. Other soil nutrients

namely, Bray-1 P, Mehlich’s K, Ca, Mn and Fe levels were

respectively, 205.0 mg kg�1, 41.2 mg kg�1, 236.7 mg kg�1,

157.0 mg kg�1 and 96.7 mg kg�1.

Three application rates of MSG-wastewater, i.e., zero,

5 m3 ha�1, 7.5 m3 ha�1 and paper-mill wastewater i.e., zero,

3.5 m3 ha�1, 5 m3 ha�1 were used in a complete randomized

blocks design to get total nine treatments. An additional

treatment with recommended dose of N at 250 kg ha�1 was

selected for comparing the N uptake efficiency with the

MSG-wastewater. Details of the treatments and treatment

names are given in Table 2. Based on the soil tests no addi-

tional nutrients were applied to any of the treatments.

Exactly one kg air dried and sieved (4 mm) soil was filled in

plastic pots (10 cm height and 15 cm diameter). Wastewater

samples were added directly to the surface of soil in the

pots and then upper 5 cm of the soil was mixed well for the

uniform distribution. Urea (N at 250 kg ha�1) was applied to

the RD-N treatment at the same time. All the 40 pots

(10 treatments � 4 repeats) were randomly arranged and

watereduniformly to30%moisture level. Fivepre-soakedseeds

of corn (Z. mays L. cv. Bright Jean) were sown below the surface

(2 cm) of the soil on the following day ofwastewater treatment.

Table 2 e Description of the treatments used for thegreenhouse experiment.

Treatmentname

Description

Control Without any amendments

RD-N Recommended dose of N, 250 kg ha�1 in the form

of urea

PW3.5 Paper-mill wastewater at 3.5 m3 ha�1

PW5 Paper-mill wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1

MW5 MSG-wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1

MW7.5 MSG-wastewater at 7.5 m3 ha�1

MW5 þ PW3.5 MSG-wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1 plus paper-mill

wastewater at 3.5 m3 ha�1

MW5 þ PW5 MSG-wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1 plus paper-mill

wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1

MW7.5 þ PW3.5 MSG-wastewater at 7.5 m3 ha�1 plus paper-mill

wastewater at 3.5 m3 ha�1

MW7.5 þ PW5 MSG-wastewater at 7.5 m3 ha�1 plus paper-mill

wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1

b i om a s s a n d b i o e n e r g y 3 5 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 4 0 0 1e4 0 0 7 4003

After a week of sowing only two plants per pot were retained.

All the pots were watered uniformly throughout the experi-

ment. Mean temperature, relative humidity and day hours

during the experimental period were 32.0 �C, 76.8% and 12 h:

25 min, respectively. Plants were harvested after 35 days after

sowing. Immediately after theharvest, fromeach pot the shoot

and root samples were collected and biomass was measured

separately after drying at 70 �C to constant weight. Plant N

was measured by Kjeldahl method. The P, K, and Ca contents

in the dried and powdered shoot material (0.1e0.5 mm) were

measured after acid digestion [10] by inductively coupled

plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) with a

sequential Jobin Yvon JY 138 Ultrace spectrometer.

2.3.1. Analyses of soil pH, EC and total NSoil samples collected from the pots soon after the harvest

were air dried, sieved and stored at 4 �C until analyzed. The pH

and EC were recorded by mixing 3 g soil in 15 ml deionized

water. Total N was measured by Kjeldahl method [11].

2.3.2. Soil organic C and extractable organic CTo evaluate the effects of wastewater amendment on the soil,

SOC in the soil samples (free of root and other plantmaterials)

collected after the harvest was measured by loss on ignition

method [12]. Briefly, a weighed amount of oven-dried (105 �C,24 h) soil sample was placed in a high-form porcelain crucible

and set in a muffle furnace for combustion at 430 �C for 4 h.

Organic C was determined by the mass difference. Separation

of different fractions of SOC was carried out by a two-step

extraction method. For this, 10 g dried soil samples were

shaken for 6 h at room temperature in 100 ml deionized water

and filtered through Whatman No. 42. Five grams of dry soil,

was shaken for 24 h in 50ml 0.1mol dm�3 NaOH under N2 and

filtered through Whatman No. 42. Before feeding both the

filtrates were filtered again through 450 nm membrane filter.

The quantification of organic C in the extracts was measured

in a TOC analyzer (Analytik Jena, multi N/C 2100 S, Germany).

The OC in the water extract was referred as dissolved organic

C (DOC) and in alkaline extract as humic substances-C (CeHS).

2.3.3. Soil respirationThe soil respiration was monitored in the freshly wastewater

amended soils by placing 50 g experimental soils mixed with

the same amount of wastewater used for the greenhouse

study in 2 L mason jars. The incubation was carried out for

a week at 30 �C temperature. This duration represents similar

conditions in the pot soil where plant respiration is limited but

microbial respiration is high for the initial one week. The CO2

trapped in 20 ml of 0.1 mol dm�3 NaOH was precipitated with

10 ml of 0.5 mol dm�3 BaCl2 and titrated against 0.1 mol dm�3

HCl using phenolphthalein indicator [13]. Daily measurement

of CO2 was followed for a week. Similarly, to compare the final

soil respiration in the greenhouse pot, soon after the harvest

50 g dry weight equivalent soil was collected and roots were

separated and pooled with the remaining root biomass.

The soil was incubated in themason jars and CO2 was trapped

and quantified similarly. Average CO2eC liberated was quan-

tified from 3 day incubation.

2.4. Statistical analyses

Mean and standard deviation values of the data were calcu-

lated from at least 4 replicates. One-way analysis of variance

(ANOVA) was used to evaluate the significance differences

between the treatments. Pearson’s correlation was applied to

analyze the correlation between the changes in N supply,

plant biomass, plant N concentration and N remained in the

soil after the harvest. All the statistical analyses were

performed using software package STATISTICA [14]. Tukey’s

HSD post hoc test was used for all multiple comparisons.

Differences were declared significant at p value <0.01 unless

specified.

3. Results

3.1. Effect of wastewater on corn seed germination

Germination index was significantly affected by the concen-

tration of the wastewaters and details are presented in

Table 3. Both the wastewaters showed stimulating effects at

1 dm3 m�3 concentration and in higher concentrations nega-

tive effects on the seed germination index were observed.

The growth inhibition at higher concentrationwasmainly due

to the extreme pH. These observations served as the basis for

selecting appropriate concentration in the greenhouse study

to avoid toxic effects.

3.2. Effect of wastewaters on the corn growth andnutrient contents

In the greenhouse pot experiment, corn plant biomass was

significantly affected by the wastewater application (Fig. 1).

MSG-wastewater, paper-mill wastewater and the combina-

tion of two did not show any adverse effects on plant growth.

Biomass in all the wastewater treatments and in RD-N was

significantly higher than the Control treatment. The highest

plant biomass was observed in MW7.5 þ PW3.5 treatment,

which was 37% higher than the RD-N treatment. Plant

nutrient levels, one of the important parameters to assess the

Table 4 e Mineral nutrient levels in corn grown in thegreenhouse with wastewater amended soil. Values aremean ± standard deviation (n [ 4).

Treatmentsa N P K C

g kg�1

Control 4.42 � 0.10 1.97 � 0.08 5.26 � 0.06 1.00 � 0.03

RD-N 5.47 � 0.09 1.98 � 0.10 4.82 � 0.06 0.88 � 0.03

PW3.5 4.45 � 0.19 1.99 � 0.05 5.25 � 0.03 0.92 � 0.04

PW5 4.65 � 0.22 1.93 � 0.02 5.15 � 0.11 0.77 � 0.03

MW5 5.12 � 0.18 1.77 � 0.03 4.94 � 0.05 1.10 � 0.03

MW7.5 6.48 � 0.23 1.75 � 0.08 5.25 � 0.11 0.87 � 0.02

MW5 þ PW3.5 5.56 � 0.28 1.99 � 0.06 5.28 � 0.04 0.89 � 0.07

MW5 þ PW5 5.69 � 0.20 1.87 � 0.09 5.43 � 0.09 0.79 � 0.05

MW7.5 þ PW3.5 6.25 � 0.17 1.85 � 0.05 5.17 � 0.05 0.93 � 0.01

MW7.5 þ PW5 6.83 � 0.25 1.83 � 0.06 5.41 � 0.10 1.04 � 0.04

a Treatments are: Control, no amendments; RD-N, 250 kg ha�1

urea-N; MW5, MSG-wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1; MW7.5, MSG-waste-

water at 7.5 m3 ha�1; PW3.5, paper-mill wastewater at

3.5 m3 ha�1; PW5, paper-mill wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1.

Table 3 e Effect of MSG-wastewater and paper-millwastewater at different concentrations on corn seedgermination. RSG, RRE and GI are respectively relativeseed germination, relative root elongation andgermination index.

Concentration (dm3 m�3) MSG-wastewater

Paper-millwastewater

RSGa RREa GIb RSG RRE GI

%

0 100 100 100 100 100 100

1 108 108 117 100 107 107

10 92 79 73 92 85 78

25 52 70 36 76 76 58

50 48 25 12 60 38 23

100 47 22 10 48 15 7

a Percentage of control.

b GI ¼ ðRSG � RREÞ=100.

b i om a s s an d b i o e n e r g y 3 5 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 4 0 0 1e4 0 0 74004

beneficial effects, also responded positively to the wastewater

treatments (Table 4). In the MW7.5 þ PW5 treatment, plant N

concentration was the highest as well, all the MW7.5 treat-

ments showed higher N levels compared to MW5 treatments.

As expected, no significant difference between RD-N and all

MW5 treatments in the plant N contents was observedmainly

because of the similar rate of N-input to the soil. Paper-mill

wastewater amended treatments (PW3.5 and PW5) showed

N contents similar to that of Control. Among other plant

nutrients, Mn was higher in all the MSG-wastewater treated

plants, however, combination of paper-mill wastewater with

MSG-wastewater, reduced the Mn concentration significantly

in MW7.5 þ PW5 treatment. Plant-K contents responded

positively to the combined treatment MW5 þ PW5 and

MW7.5 þ PW5. The plant-P content in MW5 and MW7.5

Fig. 1 e Effect of wastewater treatments on corn (Zea mays

L. cv. Bright Jean) biomass yield as observed in the

greenhouse pot experiment. Mean ± standard deviation

(n [ 4), the values in the bar with same letters are not

significantly different at p < 0.01. Treatments are: Control,

no amendments; RD-N, 250 kg haL1 urea-N; MW5, MSG-

wastewater at 5 m3 haL1; MW7.5, MSG-wastewater at

7.5 m3 haL1; PW3.5, paper-mill wastewater at 3.5 m3 haL1;

PW5, paper-mill wastewater at 5 m3 haL1.

treatments were significantly lower than the Control treat-

ment but, paper-mill wastewater addition significantly

increased the plant-P levels of these treatments. Positive

response on plant nutrients directly affects the plant yield.

3.3. Effect of wastewaters on the soil properties and SOC

Soil pH values in all the treatments with paper-mill waste-

water were higher than the MSG-wastewater treatments

(Fig. 2A). Higher application rate of MSG-wastewater (MW7.5)

decreased the soil pH, but in the respective paper-mill

wastewater added soil (MW7.5 þ PW5) the soil pH remained

unaffected. The electrical conductivity of the soil was signifi-

cantly higher in the highest wastewater amended treatment

(MW7.5 þ PW5) and no significant differences were observed

between the Control and other wastewater amended treat-

ments (Fig. 2B).

Nitrogen contents in the soil were moderate in all the

treatments, but, in PW5 treatment the N depletion was the

highest (Table 5). The SOC, DOC, and CeHS in the experi-

mental soils after the plant harvest are presented in Table 5.

In all the treatments, the SOC and CeHS were higher than the

RD-N and Control treatments, where no organic input was

made. Interestingly, highest SOC and CeHS levels were

observed in MW5 þ PW5 and MW7.5 þ PW5 treatments indi-

cating the combined contribution of the wastewaters to the

SOC pool. Contrary, the DOC levels were significantly lower in

the same treatments and also in the PW3.5 and PW5

treatments.

3.4. Soil respiration

Soil respiration showed a marked increase in all the waste-

water applied treatments and in RD-N treatment, due to the

increased organic matter and N availability (Fig. 3). After the

harvest, the soil respiration in the wastewater treated soils

was significantly lower than their respective initial values but

higher than the Control treatment.

Fig. 2 e Effect of wastewater treatments on soil (A) pH and

(B) electrical conductivity. Mean ± standard deviation

(n [ 4), the values in the bar with same letters are not

significantly different at p < 0.01. Treatments are: Control,

no amendments; RD-N, 250 kg haL1 urea-N; MW5, MSG-

wastewater at 5 m3 haL1; MW7.5, MSG-wastewater at

7.5 m3 haL1; PW3.5, paper-mill wastewater at 3.5 m3 haL1;

PW5, paper-mill wastewater at 5 m3 haL1.

0

10

20

30

40

Con

trol

RD

-N

PW3.

5

PW5

MW

5

MW

7.5

MW

5+PW

3.5

MW

5+PW

5

MW

7.5+

PW3.

5

MW

7.5+

PW5

mg

CO

2-C

kg

soil-1

d-1

Initial

Harvest

Fig. 3 e Effect of wastewater treatments on soil respiration

during the first week of amendment and after the harvest

of plants. Treatments are: Control, no amendments; RD-N,

250 kg haL1 urea-N; MW5, MSG-wastewater at 5 m3 haL1;

MW7.5, MSG-wastewater at 7.5 m3 haL1; PW3.5, paper-

mill wastewater at 3.5 m3 haL1; PW5, paper-mill

wastewater at 5 m3 haL1.

b i om a s s a n d b i o e n e r g y 3 5 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 4 0 0 1e4 0 0 7 4005

4. Discussion

This is the first study on utilization of MSG-wastewater as

a low cost fertilizer source by combining with paper-mill

wastewater to reduce the adverse effect of extreme pH on

plant and soil. Most important requisite for the utilization of

Table 5 e Soil-N, soil organic C (SOC), humic substanceeC (CeHamended soil after the harvest of corn. Values are mean ± stan

Treatmentsa Total N g kg�1 SOC g

Control 0.44 � 0.10 22.47 �RD-N 0.51 � 0.01 22.30 �PW3.5 0.42 � 0.08 23.10 �PW5 0.21 � 0.07 23.13 �MW5 0.49 � 0.06 23.32 �MW7.5 0.44 � 0.07 23.63 �MW5 þ PW3.5 0.51 � 0.04 23.73 �MW5 þ PW5 0.52 � 0.09 24.13 �MW7.5 þ PW3.5 0.48 � 0.09 23.15 �MW7.5 þ PW5 0.53 � 0.06 24.25 �

a Treatments are: Control, no amendments; RD-N, 250 kg ha�1 urea-N;

7.5 m3 ha�1; PW3.5, paper-mill wastewater at 3.5 m3 ha�1; PW5, paper-m

the waste by-products in agriculture is to study its impacts on

plant growth and soil parameters for preventing environ-

mental damage. These wastewaters can be used only in lower

concentrations as higher concentrations showed plant

toxicity. An earlier study also showed the adverse effects of

MSG-wastewater at higher concentrations on seed germina-

tion [15] but, wastewater concentrations below 2 dm3 m�3

were not tested in that study. In the greenhouse experiment,

plant growth response to thesewastewaters either singly or in

combination was interesting at the doses selected in the

study. Growth promotion was directly attributed to the N and

other nutrients present in MSG-wastewater. The input of N

from theMW5 treatments to the soil was almost similar to the

RD-N treatment, which was directly reflected in the plant

yield and N concentration. A significant correlation between

the N applied, plant biomass and plant N content clearly

depict the N-use efficiency (Table 6). Walker et al. [16] showed

that plant growth response is linearly correlated to the

S) and dissolved organic C (DOC) in the wastewaterdard deviation (n [ 4).

kg�1 CeHS g kg�1 DOC mg kg�1

0.52 5.72 � 0.29 112.5 � 3.00

0.46 5.50 � 0.87 121.3 � 12.09

0.36 5.85 � 0.40 81.13 � 4.92

0.87 5.97 � 0.10 90.98 � 4.59

0.33 5.78 � 0.22 98.03 � 5.25

0.14 5.92 � 0.52 113.55 � 8.54

0.15 6.24 � 0.23 106.68 � 9.09

0.09 6.44 � 0.16 73.18 � 5.16

0.29 6.28 � 0.25 131.23 � 10.54

0.18 6.43 � 0.32 74.15 � 3.52

MW5, MSG-wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1; MW7.5, MSG-wastewater at

ill wastewater at 5 m3 ha�1.

Table 6 e Correlation between the applied-N, plantbiomass, plant N and soil-N contents. Data from thegreenhouse experiment was used.

Parameters Plantbiomass

PlantN

TotalN in soil

Soil-N afterharvest

Plant biomass 1.000

Plant N 0.975 1.000

Total N in soila 0.975 0.989 1.000

Soil-N after harvest �0.952 �0.987 �0.952 1.000

�0.632 critical value 0.05 (two-tail); �0.765 critical value 0.01

(two-tail).

a Total N in soil is the sum of initial soil N and N from the

amendments.

b i om a s s an d b i o e n e r g y 3 5 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 4 0 0 1e4 0 0 74006

external N supply, N availability and the plant N uptake.

Paper-mill wastewater did not show any adverse effects on

the plant growth and mineral nutrition when combined with

MSG-wastewater, instead enhanced the plant biomass and

plant mineral nutrition at least in some cases. This suggests

the overall benefits of the paper-mill wastewater addition to

the MSG-wastewater on the plant.

Environmental sustainability has become one of the fore-

front issues faced by the agriculture [17]. Decrease in the soil

pH due to the acidic MSG-wastewater application was

successfully contained by the highly alkaline paper-mill

wastewater. High alkalinity of the paper-mill residues was

used generally to alleviate the acidity of soils [18,19]. Most of

the N-added to the soil was incorporated into the plant

biomass indicating the proper utilization of the N and this will

reduce leaching of the nitrogen to the ground water. Proper

fertilizer management strategies are important to prevent

N-leaching [20]. Fertilizer-N is an important factor regulating

the biomass yield either it is a food or fuel crop. Amendment

of these organic rich wastewaters improved the SOC and

increased organic inputs along with nutrient supply increase

microbial activities and soil respiration [21]. Measurements

of soil CO2 emissions help in understanding soil C cycling

and a basis for evaluating soil C dynamics and potential C

sequestration under different crop management systems [22].

Residues from paper-mill have been known to increase the

SOC and been used as soil conditioner to low fertility soils [23].

Combining these wastewaters helped in balancing the C:N

ratio and a good N balance of the organic residue is critical

factor in land application [24]. The paper-mill-wastewater

showed additional benefits by lowering the DOC levels as

observed in this study. DOC is a potential entity that can

impact the groundwater quality and carbonmovement across

geographical scale [25]. Generally, the contribution from root

biomass to soil organic pool is ignored while evaluating the

organic amendments for SOC. Here, wastewater application

increased root biomass that will further increase the SOC.

Some of the recent studies explained the dynamics of

C-inputs to soil from the roots [26]. Hence, the utilization of

the wastewaters for the crop production will have multiple

benefits such as, increase in plant biomass and nutrition,

decrease in pollution from the wastewater and increased

C-sequestration in soil.

Scientific efforts on the exploitation of under-utilized

organic residues are valuable for waste minimization and

agricultural uses of this will reduce the mineral fertilizer

demand and help in fertilizing the fallow with fuel crops with

minimum investments. Emerging markets for fuels and

energy from crop biomass are creating new opportunities for

redesigning agricultural systems for improved ecological

function and energy-use efficiency. Innovative bioconversion

processes configured to recover key plant nutrients from

residual biomass will allow recycling nutrients to crop fields,

thereby reducing the energetic and economic costs of fertil-

ization [27]. To fulfill the national energy agenda, many

countries have developed programs to promote the produc-

tion of fuel-crops locally. In this regard the present study is of

high significance.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, MSG-wastewater can be used as a low cost

fertilizer by adjusting pH with paper-mill wastewater for

direct use in agriculture for fuel crop production. Finally, the

significant effect on plant growth at very low application rates

of these wastewaters make it environmentally safe for long

term use. Utilizing MSG-industrial residues in agriculture for

growing fuel crops is a low cost green practice with multiple

benefits on plant, soil and environment.

Acknowledgements

Financial support from the National Science Council, and

Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, R.O.C. for

carrying out this work is gratefully acknowledged. Authors

thank Dr. Yu-Min Tzou for providing the TOC analyzer facili-

ties. S. Singh acknowledges the Taiwan Govt. Scholarship.

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