GB2037730A

GB2037730A - Fertilizer from fermented organic residues, manure, and peat

Info

Publication number: GB2037730A
Application number: GB7940894A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1978-12-14
Filing date: 1979-11-27
Publication date: 1980-07-16
Also published as: DE2949122C2; AU5380479A; IT1119976B; BR7908089A; IT7969396A0; DE2949122A1; MA18673A1; FR2444016B2; CH646674A5; JPS5580793A; ES486778A1; OA06400A; BE880597A; FR2444016A2

Abstract

Organic residues, residues from mushroom growing and residues from bovine manure are pounded and independently seeded with aerobic bacteria to allow independent pre-fermentation, the pre-fermented residues subsequently being admixed with peat and poultry droppings, the admixture being pounded and spread to allow a final fermentation after which the product is spread and packaged.

Description

SPECIFICATION A biological fertilizer for all cultivation purposes This invention relates to biological fertilizers for all cultivation purposes.

For some decades, agriculture has involved the use as fertilizer products, manures of all kinds, such as rotted vegetable and organic substances, and the contents of cesspools. The yield of the soil was normal, because there was a large humus content and agrigultural production was quite moderate.

Subsequently, agriculture was industrialized and chemical products were used as fertilizers, which were extremely active and in the short term brought about heavy production due to the soils then being rich in humus and in bacterial life. However, in the longer term, the use of chemical products disturbed the equilibrium in the soil, which, with other causes, produced certain plant diseases that were themselves fought by chemical plant-health products.

These products further disturbed the equilibrium in the soil. For this reason, after a period of heavy production, soils can be exhausted, that is to say they have a very low humus content, which can lead in the short and medium term to the occurrence of erosion in certain areas. Furthermore, agricultural products at the present time contain pesticide residues greater than 0.01 mg/kg, which experts consider to be a level dangerous to the constitution of the human body. Lack of humus in the soil is accompanied by destruction of animal life, earthworms, frogs, snails, and also extremely small forms of life.

By way of example, half hectare of ground which can be cultivated to a depth of 15 cm. contains under normal conditions one tonne of moulds, several hundred kilogrammes of bacteria, 100 kg. of protozoa, 50 kg. of algae and 50 kg. of yeasts. Thus, humus forms a source of vital energy which it is advisable to increase in orderto maintain a natural equilibrium of life.

It is therefore necessary to provide a fertilizer for agriculture which is produced by entirely natural methods and which contains ingredients essential to the growth of plants and the regeneration of humus, namely phosphoric acid, potash, lime, nitrogen, carbon, organic materials and trace elements, such as are necessary to bacterial life. Such a complete biological fertilizer ensures a supply of humus and regeneration of the soil, and arising from this, the production of vegetables and other products not containing pesticides. This fertilizer is obtained starting from organic waste, residues from mushroom growing, bovine manure, peat and poultry droppings.

It is beneficial for the organic wastes to be composed of the sludge recovered from purification plants. Apart from its value from the point of view of keeping the soil in good order, such a fertilizer offers the advantage of increasing the value of purifica-rion plant sludge, the removal and re-- lization of which present a problem that has not yet been solved. The fertilizer may be produced starting from three parts by volume of purification plant sludge, two parts by volume of residues from mushroom growing, two parts by volume of bovine manure, one part by volume of peat, and two parts by volume of poultry droppings. The whole of this is mixed, then pound ed, before being spread out as a layer having a thickness of the order of 1.0 to 1.2 metres.

A primary fermentation is produced after addition of aerobic bacteria which enables a temperature of the order of 80"C to be reached as a result of the bacterial culture. When this fermentation slows down, which shows itself by a reduction of temperature to a value of 40"C after a period of the order of three months, the mixture is turned over and possibly remixed and pounded. The mixture undergoes a secondary fermentation which also lasts for some three months, at the end of which sieving of the product follows before packaging. It should be noted that the fermentation only acts on part of the mixture, namely the organic wastes, the residues from mushroom growing and the bovine manure, but not on the peat and the poultry droppings.It should also be noted that it is not possibole to start a fermentation below a temperature of 16"C in the environment of the reaction, for the aerobic bacteria are then inactive. It has been proved that it is impossible to obtain pre-fermentation in the winter season unless the mixture is heated considerably, on account of the large cold mass consisting of the peat and the poultry droppings. It should also be noted that this process necessitates the tying-up of a large working area for a period that is also large, for the reason that both the pre-fermentatin and the final process of fermentation are carried out in a layer with thickness of the order of one metre.

The object of the present invention is to provide a process intended to improve and make easier the conditions of preparation of this fertilizer.

According to the present invention, a method of producing a natural fertilizer for all cultivation purposes, comprises pounding and independently seeding organic residues, residues from mushroom growing and residues from bovine manure with aerobic bacteria, and allowing pre-fermentaation of these products to take place independently of one another, subsequently admixing the pre-fermented residues with peat and poultry droppings, the admixture being pounded and spread out as a layer with thickness of the order of one metre to allow final fermentation to take place, after which the product is sieved before being packaged.

The pounding of each of the ingredients dealt with independently and consisting of the sludge from purification plant, residues from mushroom growing and residues from bovine manure respectively, causes heating which, followed by rapid seeding with aerobic bacteria allows the reaction to start whatever may be the external temperature, prefermentation continuing without any difficulty because the pre-fermentation, being exothermic, ensures the maintenance of a temperature greater than 16"C in the environment of the reaction. The reaction temperatures are in fact of the order of 50 to 60"C for purification plant sludge, 40 to 50"C for residues from mushroom growing and 609 for bovine manure.It should be noted that the pre-fermentation of each of the three categories of ingredient described above is not necessarily carried out in a thin layer but can be carried out in heaps.

The invention allows the reaction to be started at any time of the year without requiring external heating. It is equally attractive in that it allows a reduction of the production area necessary because during the whole of the pre-fermentation phase the three ingredients concerned are laid out in heaps, and the last two ingredients are not stored in the production area until the second phase of final fermentation.

Pre-fermentation occurs for a period of the order of four months. Final fermentation is itself extremely rapid, because on account of the pre-fermentation there is a large quantity of humus present at the end of pre-fermentation which facilitates mixing of all the constituents and allows a very short final fermentation stage, of the order of six weeks.

At the end of the fermentation the product is sieved before packaging. The product obtained promotes the growth of plants and vegetables as well as the regeneration of animal life.

Claims

1. A method of producing a natural fertilizer for all cultivation purposes, comprising pounding and independently seeding organic residues, residues from mushroom growing and residues from bovine manure with aerobic bacteria, and allowing prefermentation of these products to take place independently of one another, subsequently admixing the pre-fermented residues with peat and poultry droppings, the admixture being pounded and spread out as a layer with thickness of the order of one metre to allow final fermentation to take place, after which the product is sieved before being packaged.

2. a process as in Claim 1, wherein the prefermentation of organic residues, of residues from mushroom growing and of residues from bovine manure is carried out for a period of the order of four months, whilst the duration of final fermentation of the admixture is of the order of several weeks.

3. A process as in Claim 2, wherein the duration of final fermentation of the mixture is six weeks.

4. A method of producing a natural fertilizer as in Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described.