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Nitrogen Transformations and Availability of an Anaerobically Digested Sewage Sludge in Soil¹

ABSTRACT

Samples (50 g) of Warsaw sandy loam soil (Typic Argiudoll) were incubated under aerobic conditions with varying levels of an anaerobically digested sewage sludge (up to 1,880 ppm N on an oven-dry soil basis). Total N, NH₄-N, (NO₃+NO₂)–N, NH₃ volatilization, and hydrolyzable forms of N were determined periodically during 16 weeks of incubation at room temperature (23 ± 3C). At low levels ( 235 ppm N), the inorganic N was all converted to (NO₃+NO₂)-N while at the higher levels ( 940 ppm N), a significant amount of NH₄-N was not nitrified even after 16 weeks of incubation. Recovery of added N was nearly quantitative at the low levels of sewage sludge addition. However, at the higher levels, there was evidence of concurrent nitrification-denitrification. The hydrolyzable N distribution results indicated that very little of the hydrolyzable N was mineralized at the low rates of application. At the high rates of application, apparent development of anaerobic conditions led to more rapid mineralization of the sewage sludge organic N than was found under aerobic conditions. The data indicate that from 4 to 48% of the organic N in the sewage sludge was mineralized to (NO₃+NO₂)–N in 16 weeks. Thus, the availability of sewage sludge organic N must be considered when evaluating the potential of the material as a fertilizer or a possible source of NO₃-N to ground waters.

Key Words: nitrification • denitrification • municipal waste disposal

¹ Research supported by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Univ. of Wisconsin; by research grants from the Janesville Water Pollution Control Utility, Janesville, Wis.; and the Wisconsin Dep. of Natural Resources. Presented before Div. A-5, Soil Science Society of America at their Miami Beach meeting in October 1972.

² Postdoctoral Fellow, Associate Professor, and Professor, respectively, Department of Soil Science, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison 53706.

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