Pelayo Lind, Olle and Hultberg, Malin and Bergstrand, Karl-Johan and Larsson Jönsson, Helene and Caspersen, Siri and Asp, Håkan
(2021).
Biogas Digestate in Vegetable Hydroponic Production: pH Dynamics and pH Management by Controlled Nitrification.
Waste and Biomass Valorization. 12
, 123-133
[Research article]
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Abstract
Soilless cultivation of vegetables with digestate fertilizer from biogas production as a nutrient source is a promising method for integrating food production and organic waste management. In this study, bok choy (Brassica rapa var. chinensis) was cultivated in a hydroponic nutrient film technique system with biogas digestate as the only fertilizer source. Nitrification in moving bed biofilm reactors (external and/or integrated into the hydroponic cultivation system) was employed to lower the high ammonium concentration in the digestate prior to use. Treatments with differing nitrification and digestate input strategies were compared with respect to pH dynamics, crop growth, shoot water content, and shoot mineral content. The results showed that < 20% longer cultivation time (< 1 week) gave similar yield in biogas digestate-based hydroponics as in conventional hydroponics based on synthetic fertilizers. Automatic pH control through addition of digestate resulted in similar shoot dry weight as in the mineral fertilizer reference system. It can be concluded that biogas digestate is a suitable plant nutrient source for hydroponic production of bok choy, considering productivity and circularity aspects. The combined impact of digestate ammonium content, digestate pH, and the nitrification step needs to be considered when designing a hydroponic system with biogas digestate as the fertilizer source. Graphic
Authors/Creators: | Pelayo Lind, Olle and Hultberg, Malin and Bergstrand, Karl-Johan and Larsson Jönsson, Helene and Caspersen, Siri and Asp, Håkan | ||||||
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Title: | Biogas Digestate in Vegetable Hydroponic Production: pH Dynamics and pH Management by Controlled Nitrification | ||||||
Series Name/Journal: | Waste and Biomass Valorization | ||||||
Year of publishing : | 2021 | ||||||
Volume: | 12 | ||||||
Page range: | 123-133 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 11 | ||||||
Associated Programs and Other Stakeholders: | Z - SLU - Library > Odla mera | ||||||
ISSN: | 1877-2641 | ||||||
Language: | English | ||||||
Publication Type: | Research article | ||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 | ||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 401 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries > Horticulture (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 405 Other Agricultural Sciences > Renewable Bioenergy Research (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 401 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries > Agricultural Science | ||||||
Keywords: | Anaerobic digestate, Biogas production, Biofertilizer, Circular economy, Organic hydroponics | ||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-104523 | ||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-104523 | ||||||
Additional ID: |
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ID Code: | 22140 | ||||||
Faculty: | LTV - Fakulteten för landskapsarkitektur, trädgårds- och växtproduktionsvetenskap | ||||||
Department: | (LTJ, LTV) > Department of Biosystems and Technology (from 130101) | ||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||
Deposited On: | 08 Feb 2021 09:23 | ||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 03 Aug 2021 14:01 |
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