Conversion of waste animal bones to biofertilizer and adsorbent for wastewater treatment: An innovative approach to develop zero-waste technology

Abstract

Abstract Presently a number of chemical fertilizers are being used which are not only expensive but are also environment threatening. There is a need to replace these fertilizers by biofertilizers. Adsorbent were prepared from waste bones for the waste water treatment. Various bone samples were collected and calcinated to produce biofertilizer and adsorbent. Total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN) were analyzed. The broiler chicken bone-based biofertilizer has the lowest amount of TC and TN (TC = 33 and TN = 5.5 g/Kg) and also the lowest macro-elements; Ca = 55, P = 26, K = 2.5, and Mg = 0.83 g/Kg. All samples were used for the growth of kidney bean plant. After 5 weeks, the highest growth was observed for buffalo bone-based fertilizer and the lowest for broiler bone-based fertilizer. In the present study, the calcinated bones material was also used as nano-adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from the artificial wastewater. All nano-adsorbent samples showed maximum efficiency at 100 ppm, while maximum removal was at 6 h. The highest removal efficiency was obtained for buffalo bone-based nano-adsorbent (As = 60% and Pb = 75%), and the lowest removal efficiency was obtained for broiler bone-based nano-adsorbent (As = 36% and Pb = 47%). The calcinated animal bones were analyzed using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (FAAS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), chemical tests and antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST). This research can play an important role for the promotion of agricultural crops and for wastewater treatment using nano-technology.