Abstract
Parthenium hysterophorus is a toxic terrestrial weed with its erratic behavior brought on by the presence of toxic compounds. A numerous works have been conducted on the complete eradication of this weed, but due to the residuals exists in soil, the weed re-grows. Current study therefore aims at examining the transformation of this weed by an in-vessel composting approach (rotary drum composter) and the evaluation of toxicity characteristics using Vigna radiata and Allium cepa as bioindicators. The nutritional content such as total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total phosphorus (TP), and total potassium were increased by 38.8, 39.1, and 49.5%, respectively, and the reactor was effective in reducing the biochemical content such as lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose by 43.5, 50.7, and 57.3%, respectively, in the final compost. The thermophilic degradation phase in the reactor existed up to the 8th day of the composting process, which exhibits the highest degradation phase. Meanwhile, the degradation of phenolic, aliphatic, and lignocellulose was investigated and validated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and powdered X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis. Although P. hysterophorus exhibited phytotoxic and cyto-genotoxic effects in plant models at the beginning of the composting process, the toxicity potential appeared to be reduced after 20 days of composting. Therefore, the study’s findings proved that the in-vessel composting of P. hysterophorus can produce a nontoxic, nutrient-rich compost product that could be used as a soil conditioner in agricultural farmlands. The insights of the study are not limited to the nutritional, stability, and quality characteristics but also the toxicity characteristics during the composting process.
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All data, models, or experimental frameworks used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Department of Civil Engineering, Central Instrumentation Facility and Centre for the Environment at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, India, for providing workspace and carrying out PXRD, FTIR, and toxicity analysis. The authors are extremely appreciative to the anonymous reviewers who provided insightful suggestions that significantly improved the manuscript’s quality.
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The authors also acknowledge the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi, for financial support (File No. DST/TDT/WMT/2017/153 (G)).
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Krishna Chaitanya Maturi: data curation, conceptualization, writing—original draft, methodology, software
Izharul Haq: methodology, writing—review and editing
Ajay S Kalamdhad: supervision, conceptualization, funding acquisition, project administration, resources, writing—review and editing
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Highlights
• Biodegradation of toxic terrestrial weed into a nutrient-rich nontoxic compost.
• FTIR and PXRD confirmed organic matter and lignocellulose degradations.
• FTIR spectra evaluate aliphatic and phenolic compound transformations.
• P. hysterophorus extract indicated phytotoxic, cyto-genotoxic effects.
• In-vessel composting leads to a reduction in phytotoxicity and cyto-genotoxicity.
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Maturi, K.C., Haq, I. & Kalamdhad, A.S. Biodegradation of an intrusive weed Parthenium hysterophorus through in-vessel composting technique: toxicity assessment and spectroscopic study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 84600–84615 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21816-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21816-4