Persistent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons removal from sewage sludge-amended soil through phytoremediation combined with solid-state ligninolytic fungal cultures.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely present in the environment, causing increasing concern because of their impact on soil health, food safety and potential health risks. Four bioremediation strategies were examined to assess the dissipation of PAHs in agricultural soil amended with sewage sludge over a period of 120 days: soil-sludge natural attenuation (SS); phytoremediation using maize (Zea mays L.) (PSS); mycoremediation (MR) separately using three white-rot fungi (Pleurotus ostreatus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Irpex lacteus); and plant-assisted mycoremediation (PMR) using a combination of maize and fungi.

Bioremediation of the synthetic musk compounds Galaxolide and Tonalide by white rot fungal strain-assisted phytoremediation in biosolid-amended soil.

The study was aimed to conduct the bioremediation of synthetic musks by four species of white rot fungi combined with phytoremediation (Zea mays) in biosolid-amended soils where only Galaxolide (HHCB) and Tonalide (AHTN) were found as other musks were below the detection limit (0.5-2 μg/kg dw). The HHCB and AHTN concentration in natural attenuation treated soil was decreased by not more than 9%.

Problems associated with vermicomposting of dog excrement in practice using .

One 25-kg dog produces about 500 g of excrement per day. Excrement is a potentially hazardous material, as it may contain pathogenic microorganisms. Our samples were tested for the presence of thermotolerant coliform bacteria, spp.

Differences of Enzymatic Activity During Composting and Vermicomposting of Sewage Sludge Mixed With Straw Pellets.

The study aims were focused on profiling eight hydrolytic enzymes by fluorescence method using a multifunctional modular reader and studying the proportion of basic microorganism groups during composting and vermicomposting of sewage sludge mixed with straw pellets in several proportions (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%). The greatest decrease in enzymatic activity occurred in the first half of composting and vermicomposting. After 4 months of these processes, the least enzymatic activity was observed in the sludge with 50% and also 25% straw addition, indicating that straw is an important means for the rapid production of mature compost from sewage sludge.

Conversion of spent coffee grounds into vermicompost.

The present study was focused on vermicomposting of spent coffee grounds (SCG) and its mixtures with straw pellets. The process was evaluated in terms of biological and physico-chemical properties. The greatest number and biomass of earthworms was found in the treatment with 25% vol.

Vermicomposting of sludge from a malt house.

Malting sludge is waste that could be used as a good soil conditioner after proper treatment. In the current study, the feasibility of vermicomposting malting sludge and its mixtures with straw pellets on the basis of physico-chemical and biological properties was verified. A vermicomposting system with continuous feeding of earthworms Eisenia andrei was used.

Characterization of humic acids in a continuous-feeding vermicomposting system with horse manure.

The increasing numbers of kept horses create problems with processing horse manure as important local waste. This work was focused on horse manure vermicomposting in a real-field continuous-feeding system under controlled conditions, and on the complex study of the maturity and stability of the produced vermicompost. Commonly used simple indicators such as the C/N ratio, N-NH/N-NO ratio, DOC or ion exchange capacity, and also more advanced spectroscopic and thermoanalytic techniques were used and applied on the humic substances isolated from the vermicompost during its maturation (12 months in total).