Screening plant growth effects of sheep slaughterhouse waste-derived soil amendments in greenhouse trials.

Ameliorative effects of sheep slaughterhouse waste-derived soil amendments (struvite, blood meal, bone meal) were explored and quantified by a series of comparative greenhouse trials. A scoring matrix system was developed for 25 different test plants using 300 agricultural measurements obtained for three basic growth parameters (fresh-dry plant weights and plant heights) and four different fertilizer sources including solid vermicompost. More than 70% of NH 4 +-N recovery from sheep slaughterhouse wastewater was achieved using a chemical combination of MgCl 2.6H 2 O + NaH 2 PO 4.2H 2 O, a molar ratio of Mg2+:NH 4 +-N:PO 4 3–P = 1.2:1:1, a reaction pH of 9.0, an initial NH 4 +-N concentration of 240 mg/L, and a reaction time of 15 min. According to SEM micrographs, surface morphology of struvite exhibited a highly porous structure composed of irregularly shaped crystals of various sizes (11.34–79.38 μm). FTIR spectroscopy verified the active functional groups on the proximity of all fertilizer sources within the spectral range of 500–3900 cm−1. TGA-DTG-DSC thermograms of struvite revealed that the mass loss occurred in two temperature regions and reached a maximum mass loss rate of 1.63%/min at 317 °C. The average percentages of increase (57.55–100.62%) and performance points (69–79) corroborated that the fertility value of struvite ranked first on average in cultivation of the analyzed plant species. Findings of this agro-valorization study confirmed that sheep slaughterhouse waste-derived fertilizers could be a beneficial way to promote bio-waste management and environmentally friendly agriculture. [Display omitted] • Sheep slaughterhouse waste-derived soil amendments have agro-potential and show noticeable plant growth effects. • More than 70% of NH 4 +-N is recovered from SSW as strutive, ranking first as a high-quality fertilizer for growing 25 plant species with performance scores of 69–79. • SSW-recovered struvite shows a two-stage mass loss (with consecutive losses of 4% and 25%) reaching a maximum rate of 1.63%/min at 317 °C. • Common onion, carrot, and black bean benefit most from the fertilization with ≥70% increases (115–323%, 76–185%, and 73–200%, respectively) in all plant growth measures. • Conversion of sheep slaughterhouse waste stream into beneficial agro-materials could be a viable way of promoting bio-waste management and environmentally friendly agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]