International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology E-ISSN 0976-3945

Research Article
RECYCLING OF INDUSTRIAL SLUDGE ALONG WITH
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE –VERMICOMPOSTING METHOD
Dr.B.Hemalatha

Address for Correspondence

*M.E (Env).,Ph.D, Head of the Department, Sree Sastha Institute of Engg & Technology,
Chennai-Bangalore highways, Chembarambakkam, Chennai-600123
ABSTRACT
Human activity generates considerable amount of waste. Depending upon the kind of activity the type of the waste differs.
Solid waste and industrial sludges are the major waste generated from an urban center. The disposal of the solid waste
becomes the major problem. This paper shows the safe disposal of the solid waste and industrial sludge’s by the process of
vermicomposting. The wastes are converted in to nutrient rich organic manure by this process. The study was conducted to
obtain the compost by using partially decomposed Municipal solid waste and industrial sludges. The earthworm species used
for this process was Eudrillus euginea.Water was added to provide the necessary moisture content. In this process the
partially decomposed municipal solid waste and industrial sludges were broken down and fragmented rapidly by earth
worms, resulting in a stable less toxic material which has a high economic value as a good soil conditioner. The casting was
obtained with in 40 days on the top surface, which was collected, sieved, dried, tested and used as natural fertilizer.
KEY WORDS: earthworms, decomposition, industrial sludge, solid waste
INTRODUCTION • It is pollution free, with no odour or leachate
With the fast development of housing colonies and an problems.
increase of population and change in life styles have • Conversion of organic wastes into vermicompost
witnessed increase of municipal solid waste by by worms is faster than any other composting
several folds during the lasts few years.. This call for process.
an urgent attention of municipal authorities and • In industries it is a cost effective and pollution
common public to deal with this growing problem.. It abatement technology.
is therefore necessary to improve the nutrient status • No polluting chemicals need to be used or
of rural and urban wastes to reduce the pollution produced.
load. Among the various possible wastes to improve • Less health hazards.
the nutrient status of urban and rural wastes. The rich • Saving on subsidies to national economy.
biomass can be converted into bio-energy in the form COMMON PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
of rich organic manure that can be utilized for Problem 1
meeting the energy needs of our crops(K. Fruit flies are seen around the bins causing
Hashemimajd,et.al 2004). occasional nuisance.
Earth worms like Eudrilles eugenae, Eisena foetida, Solution
and Peronyx excavatus are known to feed voraciously Discourage them by always burying the waste and
on organic waste of plant and animal origin and their not overloading. Keep a plastic sheet or piece of old
excreta forms as suitable organic manure. Keeping carpet or sacking on the surface of the compost in the
these points in view the municipal sold waste and the bin. If flies are still persistent move the bin to a
industrial sludges are mixed in proper proportion to location where flies will not be bothersome. A few
evolve the means for utilization of industrial waste friendly spiders near by will help to control fly
(Anitha Subash, et.al, 2001). problems. Cover the bin with a tight lid or a moist
VERMICOMPOSTING newspaper.
Vermicomposting technolgy is the modern concept of Problem 2
harnessing an ecosystem for effective utilization of Worms will drown if their surroundings become too
organic residues with the help of earthworms (Dr. wet.
Sultan Ahmed Ismail, 2004). Earthworms are Solution
creeping animals living in moist soils. Earthworms Periodic checking of drainage holes is necessary to
play a key role in soil biology by serving as versatile make sure that they are not blocked. Drill more holes
nature’s bio-reactor to effectively harness the if necessary.
beneficial soil micro flora and destroy soil pathogens, Problem 3
thus converting organic wastes in to valuable Worms have been known to crawl out of the bedding
products such as bio-fertilizer, biopesticides, and on to the sides and lid if conditions are wrong for
vitamins, enzymes, antibiotics and pertinacious worm them. If the moisture level seems alright, the bedding
bio-mass. Vermicomposting is the process of may be too acidic. This happens when we add a lot of
converting organic waste into vermicompost through citrus peels and cutting down.
the action of epigeic earthworm species (.N.B. Singh Solution
et.al ,2003). Before the worms can digest the waste Adjust by adding a little garden lime and cutting
partial decomposition is essential. Vermicompost is down on acidic wastes.
the cast or excreta of epigeic earthworm species, Problem 4
which have been cultured on organic wastes. The most common problem is unpleasant, strong
ADVANTAGES OF VERMICOMPOSTING odours, which are caused by lack of oxygen in the
Solid waste management by composting using worms compost due to over loading with waste so that the
has many advantages.

IJAET/Vol.III/ Issue II/April-June, 2012/71-74

 International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology E-ISSN 0976-3945

waste site around too long and the bin contents Table2: Initial Characteristics of Sludges
become too wet.
Solution
The solution is to stop adding waste until the worms
and microorganisms have broken down what food is
in there, and to gently stir up the entire contents to
allow more air in.
Problem 5
Worms are dying or trying to escape.
Solution
The causes may be
1. Too wet - so more bedding added.
2. Too dry - moisten bedding.
3. Bedding is used up - harvesting may be done. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
EARTH WORMS
In agriculture practice, earthworms play a key role, as
they improve the soil texture, enrich the soil, enrich
the nutrients in the crops, act as powerful biopesticide
and protect the useful micro flora of the soil. They eat
soil and rock particles as grinding medium for waste
organic residues. Soil excreted by the earthworms has
a natural acidity/ alkalinity (pH) and contains Fig1. Worm Bin Setup
balanced plant nutrients in available form. A laboratory scale of worm bin was made up of
The earthworm is no doubt, one of the greatest forces earthen material in the form of a rectangular box with
of the nature in the continuous renewal and size 43 CmΧ29CmΧ20Cm. The worm bin was
maintenance of the “all important top soil layer” provided with wire like holes at bottom for drainage
upon which all life depends. and on periphery for better ventilation. The bin was
Eudrillus eugeniae is the species used for placed in a steel stand and a tray was kept at the
vermicompsting. The excrement /castings of bottom of bin to collect the drained liquid. The bin
earthworms, which consist largely of digested soil and was covered at top using wire mesh to prevent the
particles of organic matter is more chemically neutral entry of birds, rat’s etc. The experimental setup was
than the surrounding soil(Gillian ELCOCK and Joise placed in a cool dark place.
Martens,1995). Experimental procedure
MATERIALS AND METHODS
FEED MATERIALS
Sample Collection
a) Waste
The place collected for Municipal solid waste was
Podanur area near Coimbatore City.
b) Sludges
Paper : The paper mill sludge was collected from
Ballarpur Industrial Packaging Company Limited
(Bipco) is located at the foot hills of Western ghats of
Thekekkampatti village, Mettupalayam Taluk,
Coimbatore District.
Tannery: The tannery sludge was collected from
EKM Industries in Erode.
Distillery: Distillery Sludge was collected from
Tarani Sugars and Distillery at Sankaran Koil.
NATURE OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE
AND SLUDGES
The sample was tested for its composition
Table1: Initial characteristics of Municipal Solid
Waste

Fig.2 Reactor Setup

The worm bin was provided with the following layers
• The basal layer of 3Cm thick pebbles followed
by 3Cm thick layer of coarse sand to ensure
proper drainage.
• The third layer was filled with 3kg of partially
decomposed municipal solid waste and 1.5 kg
of paper sludge,3kg of partially decomposed
municipal solid waste and 1.5 kg of tannery
sludge and 3kg of partially decomposed

IJAET/Vol.III/ Issue II/April-June, 2012/71-74

 International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology E-ISSN 0976-3945

municipal solid waste and 1.5kg of distillery Table3:Physical Properties Of Partially

sludge for a thickness of 10Cm in each reactors. Decomposed Municipal Solid Waste With
• Earthworms of about 60 numbers were Sludges:
inoculated into the bin.
• Then a layer of green leaves was placed for a
thickness of 2cm to supply the necessary
nutrients to the compost.
• Finally 2cm thick empty space was left at the
top to collect the castings.
In this process three bins were used. One was loaded
with municipal solid waste and paper sludge
(T.Kannadasan et.al ,2001), the second bin with
municipal solid waste and tannery sludge and the
third bin with municipal solid waste and distillery
sludge. A Moisture Content of 40- 50 % was
maintained. All the three bins were maintained with
controlled parameters such as pH, Moisture Content
and Temperature.
The presence of Earthworms is not required for the
destabilization stage. Hence the partial
decomposition is done with the absence of
earthworms. When the partially decomposed organic
municipal Solid Waste along with the industrial
sludges were subjected to earth worms, the simple
compounds were readily degraded by the bacteria M.C-MOISTURE CONTENT, T-TEMPERATURE, E.C-ELECTRICAL
CONDUCTIVITY
while the complex compounds were degraded by the Table4: Chemical Properties of Partially
enzymes produced by the earthworms and then Decomposed Municipal Solid Waste With Sludges
degraded by the bacteria. The aerobic bacteria’s
enhance the degradation process which is supplied by
the earthworms from their aerobic gut.
The earthworms take only about 5 to 10 % of the
organic matter for its growth and the rest is excreted
as vermicast. The castings were left on the top
surface. The castings look like minuscule black
pellets.
The amount of worms needed depends on the amount
municipal solid waste and the industrial sludge
loaded. To add worms to the bin simply scatter them
over the top. Worms are very sensitive to light and
hence they find their way down in to the bedding.
The moisture content level of 40 to 50% is
maintained in the reactor throughout the process.
New municipal solid wastes were put in to the fresh
bedding only so the worms will move from the
finished compost in search of new food. After about a
week the mesh is removed under a birth light they
burrow away from it. Now the finished compost is
removed from the bin. The casts were sieved through T.S-TOTAL SOILDS, V.S-VOLATILE SOILDS, A.C-ASH CONTENT
a 2.5mm sieve to separate the cocoons and young Table5: Micro and Macro Nutrients of Partially
ones, which can be introduced to fresh culture beds. Decomposed Municipal Solid Waste and
The casts are then dried and it can be used as manure. Vermicast
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The technical feasibility study of adopting
vermicomposting was conducted to convert
municipal solid waste and industrial sludges to
biofertilizer. The studies were carried out to
laboratory scale reactor of 10 kg capacity. Three
reactors was loaded with appropriate proportion of
Municipal Solid Waste and industrial sludges with
earthworms. The industrial sludges used were 1) DISCUSSIONS
paper and pulp mill sludge 2)Tannery sludge 3) The result from the study gives the following
Distillery sludge(C. Garcia,et.al 1989). conclusions,
The study was conducted to determine the nutrients. • The Municipal solid waste, paper, tannery and
The micronutrients include nitrogen, phosphorous, distillery sludges can be treated by
Potassium and the Macronutrients include Calcium, vermicomposting method.
Magnesium, Carbon, Sulphates.
IJAET/Vol.III/ Issue II/April-June, 2012/71-74
 International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology E-ISSN 0976-3945

• Effective diposal and reuse of waste and

industrial sludges are possible.
• This process can eliminate the odour problems.
• The result shows that the micro and
macronutrients of vermicast for municipal solid
waste with industrial sludges are increased when
compared with that of the partially decomposed
waste.
• The result also shows the increased worm
population, with municipal solid waste and
industrial sludges.
• The processing time is less by using
vermicomposting method.
• The compost obtain is a good quality soil
conditionar.
• It is a cost effective, fast and eco-friendly
method of waste disposal.
REFERENCES
1. Anitha Subash, Parvatham. R and Deepa, K.K
:Comparison of the leaves of minerals and heavy metals
in VERMI COMPOST and NATURAL COMPOST
from Tannery solid waste and this effects on selected
plants: proceedings of ENVIRO 2001, PSG,
Coimbatore.(2001)
2. C. Garcia, T. Hernandez and F. Casta :The influence of
Composting and Maturation Process on the Heavy-
Metal Extractability from Some Organic Waste,
Biological Wastes: Vol 31, pg 291-301(1989).
3. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Ismail : Vermitech- AN Indian
Earthworm’s Eye View: Proceedings of State Level
Workshop on Vermitechnology for Eco-friendly Waste
Management, Kongunadu Arts and Science College,
Coimbatore(2004.
4. Emterio Iglesias Jimenez and Victor Perez Garcia
:Evaluation of city refuse compost maturity : A Review:
Biological wastes, Vol 27, pg 115-142(1988).
5. Gillian ELCOCK and Joise Martens :Composting with
Red Wiggler Worms: Published by City Farmer,
Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture(1995).
6. K. Hashemimajd, M.K. Kalbasi, A. Golchin and H.
Shariatmadari:Comparison of vermicompost and
composts as patting media for growth of
Tomatoes:Journal of plant nutrition, Vol. 27, No. 6, pp.
1107-1123.(2004)
7. N.B. Singh, Dr. A.K. Khare, Dr. D.S. Bhargava, Dr.
(Ms) S. Agarwal, Vermicomposting of Tomato Skin
and Seed Waste: Indian Environmental Journal, pg : 30-
34.(2003)

IJAET/Vol.III/ Issue II/April-June, 2012/71-74