Transforming Biomass Energy Waste into Innovative Fertilizer: Impact of Poultry Litter Incineration Ash-Based Fertilizer on Sugar Beet Nutrition, Yield, and Quality

Abstract

This study aims to apply circular economy principles through waste-to-energy processes to safely dispose of harmful materials, generate sustainable energy, and produce fertilizer. Poultry litter incineration ash (PLA) was acidified and enriched with urea to create a compound fertilizer, UMPLA, with a 4-14-5 composition. As a new material, molecular structure and functional groups of UMPLA were determined using SEM, XRD and RAMAN techniques. The effectiveness of UMPLA was tested on sugar beet, comparing it to the reference fertilizer (12-30-12) at both full and half-reduced P doses. The results showed that using an equal or half-reduced dose of UMPLA produced root yields equivalent to those achieved with the reference fertilizer. The P and Mg concentrations of the leaves increased to the same extent with both fertilizers compared to the control. However, reduced UMPLA resulted in lower P and Mg concentrations compared to the full dose. While, the fertilizer applications did not significantly affect the Fe and Cu concentrations in the plants, Zn and Mn concentrations decreased. Refined sugar yield (RSY) increased significantly with fertilizer applications compared to the control. Both fertilizers had a similar effect on RSY, and even the reduced UMPLA application produced a RSY comparable to that of the full-dose fertilizers. Neither the reference nor UMPLA treatments had any negative effects on root K, Na, α-amino N, or dry matter content. UMPLA was as effective as the widely used 12-30-12 fertilizer for sugar beet. These findings suggest that PLA, an increasingly abundant waste, can be effectively used as an alternative fertilizer raw material in plant production.