UMT 11th International Annual Symposium on Sustainability Science and Management 09th 11th July 2012, Terengganu, Malaysia

Use of Decanter Cake from Palm Oil Mill as Fertilizer Supplement: The Pattern of Macronutrients Accumulation in Soil and Plant with the Amendment of Decanter Cake
Azhani Ramli1, Rajeev Pratap Singh2, M. Hakimi Ibrahim3
1

Environmental Technology Division,School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia 2 Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development,3Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India
Corresponding authors e-mail: azhani_atifah@yahoo.com

Abstract Waste management has become a problem to an expanding industry such as Palm Oil Mill. Since it is an agriculture base industry, the by-products produced are of organic origin. Among the wastes produced by this industry are palm oil mill effluent (POME), empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm kernel shell (PKC), palm press fiber, boiler ash (BA) and decanter cake (DC). Study conducted trying to figure out the suitability of decanter cake (DC) to be applied as fertilizer specific to leafy vegetable, using direct application method. Pots experiments planted with Amaranthus sp. were carried out with the amendments of DC to soil (S) in different amendment ratios (0%, 5%, 15%, 25%). Analysis of nutrients content in soil and plant done using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Overall, the result for three macronutrients potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and calcium (Ca) shows that the final accumulation of these three macronutrients more at shoots compare to roots of the plant parts. Initially the desirables macronutrients accumulations were higher at the initial soil sample which before sowing seed taking place. The accumulation of these elements found to be reduced in the final soil sample taken after harvesting of the plant. The objective of this paper is to find out the pattern of macronutrients accumulation in soil and plant with the amendment of DC. Keywords: Decanter cake; Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer; Different amendment ratios; Fertilizer; Amaranth sp. Introduction For the past years, Malaysia was the largest producer of palm oil, but being toppled down by Indonesian palm oil industry at the moment [4]. Being the leading agricultural industry in Malaysia, palm oil industry contributes quiet a huge percentage to the countrys economy [3]. Besides producing the crude palm oil (CPO) as the core product, this industry also generated several byproducts such as palm press fiber (PPF) (30%), empty fruit bunch (EFB) (28.5%), palm kernel shell (PKS) (6%), decanter cake (DC) (3%) [5], palm oil mill effluent (POME), palm kernel cake (PKC), palm oil fuel ash (POFA) and palm oil mill sludge (POMS) [1]. And the accumulation of these byproducts will be increasing since the number of palm oil mill increased in Malaysia for the past few years [3]. Study on the usage of these by-products is an on-going process. Since they are organic in composition, study shows that it is suitable to be use as ruminant feed [6] and also in compost fertilizer production [5]. The objective of this paper is to figure out the pattern of macronutrients accumulation in soil and plant parts with the amendment of DC. Material and Method The study was taken place at the rooftop nursery located at School of Industrial Technology, USM. The decanter cake used for this experiment obtained from MALPOM Industries Sdn. Bhd., a palm oil mill located at Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang. Six sacks of wet decanter cake then were dried using a blow dryer at the temperature of 80 C. Then the dried DC was grind to powdery form and stored in a container before use. While the soil sample used in this study collected from Kampung Sungai Kechil, Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang. The soil was dried using the blow dryer at 60 C to remove the
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UMT 11th International Annual Symposium on Sustainability Science and Management 09th 11th July 2012, Terengganu, Malaysia

moisture content. And then sieved using 2mm mesh size sieve, in order to remove the entire big particles. The process of sample preparation, soil and DC, was taken place at Vermitech Laboratory, Division of Environmental Technology, School of Industrial Technology, USM. Mixing of soil and DC according to the respected ratios (0%, 5%, 15%, 25%) w/w with 0% treatment, which the unamended soil act as control was taken place at the rooftop itself. Total of 12 pots were used, represent the 4 treatments and 3 replicates. The mixed soil and DC then filled into the pots and left for 10 to 15 days for stabilization process. Initial sample of the soil was taken after the stabilization period, before sowing the seed. The seeds were then sowed manually with identical distance from one another. Amaranthus sp. has been selected as the experimental plant in this study. And the seed was purchased from nursery located at Jitra, Kedah. Daily watering done, using Distilled Water in order to ensure no nutrient supply from other sources to the plant. Final soil sample was taken after harvesting of the Amaranthus. Then, the accumulation of macronutrients, magnesium (Mg), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) were analyzed in the Initial Soil (IS) sample, Final Soil (FS) sample, and plant parts; Root (R) and Shoot (S), following the wet digestion method. 1g of dried sample was digested in 20ml of tri-acid mixture (HNO3:H2SO4:HCLO4), (5:1:1) at 80 C till transparency. Distilled water then added to the digested solution and left overnight. Then, filtered with whatman No 1 filter paper and made up to 50ml with deionised water. The final solution then analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Results and Discussion Result obtained shows that, generally, concentration of K, Ca and Mg higher in initial soil than in final soil. And it also found highest in 25% amendment followed by 15%, 5% and the least is in 0% or control. The result also shows that the concentrations of those elements decreased tremendously in FS compared to IS. This might be due to the uptake of the elements by the plants or possibly by the leached that happen during watering plant along the planting period. Figure 1 shows the comparison between initial soil (IS) and final soil (FS) readings

Initial Soil (IS) VS Final Soil (FS)

K+ Ca2+ Mg (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) FS IS FS IS FS IS 0.000 100.000 200.000 300.000 400.000 500.000 600.000 700.000 800.000 900.000 K+ (mg/l) IS 25% DC 15% DC 5% DC CONTROL 834.568 501.136 468.182 179.773 FS 24.950 11.500 13.575 19.925 IS 261.616 178.409 174.242 142.929 Ca2+ (mg/l) FS 0.259 0.146 0.159 0.091 IS 10.592 5.042 5.275 3.767 Mg (mg/l) FS 5.475 2.425 1.950 1.350

Figure 1: Initial Soil (IS) VS Final Soil (FS) As shown in figure 1, the level of concentration is different among those three elements. Potassium, found to be in highest amount, followed by calcium and magnesium. This pattern of accumulations of the particular elements similar as mention by [2] .
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UMT 11th International Annual Symposium on Sustainability Science and Management 09th 11th July 2012, Terengganu, Malaysia

Shoot (S) VS Root (R)

K+ Ca2+ Mg (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) R S R S R S 0.000 50.000 100.000150.000200.000250.000300.000350.000400.000450.000500.000 K+ (mg/l) S 25% DC 15% DC 5% DC CONTROL 54.675 43.250 71.875 96.375 R 432.273 234.545 244.432 232.500 S 1.639 1.226 2.621 2.941 Ca2+ (mg/l) R 0.544 0.031 0.456 0.681 S 8.475 5.800 9.075 5.650 Mg (mg/l) R 2.963 2.225 2.138 5.600

Figure 2: Shoot (S) VS Root (R) For the plant parts, there is an uncertain pattern. For potassium (K), the concentration found to be much higher in root than in shoot. It shows that there is an uptake of the element but the movement of the element to the shoot part is little. Thus it accumulates more at the root of the amaranthus plant. The accumulation of calcium in plant part is vice versa to that potassium. Concentration of Ca is higher in shoot than in root. From figure 1 and figure 2, it shows that there is quiet a high lost of the original concentration of Ca found in initial soil sample. This might be due to leach that occurs during the planting period. There is also an uncertain pattern of the accumulation of magnesium (Mg). For control, the accumulation of Mg is almost similar in shoot part and root part. While for the 5% treatment shows a lower concentration in shoot compared in root. For 15% and 25% treatment shows that concentration of Mg higher in root than in shoot of the plant. Conclusion As the conclusion, since the DC is an organic by-product in component, it is suitable to be use at the farm as fertilizer or amendment based on the result obtained from the research. It shows that there are significant accumulations of macronutrients in DC. The accumulation of the macronutrients in Amaranthus sp. plant also shows a good result. Further study can be done in order to enrich the contents of the by-products, thus can be apply to more field and eventually reduce the environmental issues regarding the matter. References [1] Asha Embrandiri, Rajeev P. Singh, Hakimi M. Ibrahim and Azhani A. Ramli. Land Application of Biomass Residue Generated from Palm Oil Mill Processing: Potential Benefits and Threats . Environmentalist (2012), 32: 111-117 [2] Khalid Haron, Ahmad Tarmizi Mohammed, Rohaya Mohamed Halim and Ahmad Kushairi Din. Palm-Based Bio-Fertiliser from Decanter Cake and Boiler Ash of Palm Oil Mill. MPOB Information Series (2008), 412: 437. [3] Man Kee Lam and Keat Teong Lee. Renewable and Sustainable Bioenergies Production from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME): Win-win Strategies toward Better Environmental Protection . Biotechnology Advances (2011), 29: 124-141.
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[4] Mohd Arif Simeh and Mohammad Fairuz Kamarudin. An Overview of Malaysian Palm Oil Market Share in Selected Markets. Oil Palm Industry Economic Journal (2009), 9(1); 29-36. [5] R. P. Singh, A. Embrandiri, M. H. Ibrahim and N. Esa. Management of Biomass Residues Generated from Palm Oil Mill: Vermicomposting A Sustainable Option . Resource, Conservation and Recycling (2011), 55: 423-434. [6] Wong Hee Kum and M Wan Zahari. Utilisation of Oil Palm By-products as Ruminant Feed in Malaysia. Journal of Palm Oil Research (2011), 23: 1029-1035.

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