Thesis
VERMIFILTRATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF DAIRY WASTEWATER AND FURTHER IMPLICATIONS FOR VERMICOMPOST TEA
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
05/2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006935
Abstract
Increasing global populations have forced the agricultural industry to intensify production to meet demand, placing immense pressure on producers to maintain soil quality and health while continuing to make production more sustainable. To address these challenges, systems that prioritize sustainable waste management and reuse are needed to protect soil health, providing security for food production. Vermifiltration is a rising technology that utilizes composting via worm activity to provide on-site wastewater treatment while potentially minimizing greenhouse gas emissions as compared to those released from traditional agronomic wastewater technologies (e.g., lagoons). Vermicompost tea, a byproduct of this process, has the potential to both improve soil and crop health while promoting sustainable waste management practices. In this research, the microbial function of a vermifilter was analyzed to better understand how microorganisms influence the nitrogen cycle within the treatment system. The potential of vermicompost tea as a soil amendment was also investigated to quantify influence on crop growth and impact to the soil microbial community. To accomplish this goal, key nitrogen cycling genes were analyzed from vermifilter soil samples to determine if gene abundance correlated with gas emission and how these microorganisms may be impacting the nitrogen cycle within the vermifilter. Additionally, an onion model crop was grown under various soil amendments to quantify the impact that vermicompost tea had on crop production and next-generation sequencing was performed to create a comprehensive understanding of the soil microbial community under different treatment conditions and to characterize the distribution of nutrient cycling bacteria.
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Details
- Title
- VERMIFILTRATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF DAIRY WASTEWATER AND FURTHER IMPLICATIONS FOR VERMICOMPOST TEA
- Creators
- Gillian I. Falcon
- Contributors
- Courtney M Gardner (Chair)Kristen Johnson (Committee Member)Sasha McLarty (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 164
- Identifiers
- 99901125940701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis