Beneficial Co-Utilization of Agricultural, Municipal and Industrial by-Products

Co-utilization or blending of residuals offers a unique opportunity to develop products with particular characteristics that are able to target specific customer needs. The very notion of deliberately blending by-products suggests that the recycling and beneficial reuse industries are taking a quantitative step forward towards developing products rather than simply reusing residuals. At the same time that this step provides unique opportunities, it also presents unique challenges. The science associated with the beneficial use of one product may not apply when that product is mixed with another residual. Blending of materials may alter the chemistry of the components of the mixture. This may offer additional benefits, as in the case of disease suppression in composts, or present unexpected problems, as the use of lime-stabilized biosolids has done in Maryland. This book consists of the proceedings of the Beltsville Symposium. The organizers of the Symposium attempted to structure a meeting that would outline both the potential benefits of co-utilization as well as concerns. The editors have divided the proceedings into sections that describe the practical basis for co-utilization of residuals as well as the potential benefits. Specific considerations are described. Finally, case studies include descriptions of successful operations and data that detail results of research involving co-utilization materials. Blending of materials for specific objectives needs to be the focus of any successful co-utilization effort. The scientific implications of the mix need to be determined before a product can be used properly.

Basis for Co-Utilization of Residuals.- Why Co-utilization?.- Agronomic Benefits of Agricultural, Municipal, and Industrial By-products and Their Co-utilization: an Overview.- Status of Composting in the United States.- NRC Committee Review of Using Biosolids and Effluents in Food Crop Production.- European Perspective of Compost Co-utilization for Horticulture.- Benefits and Drawbacks to Composting Organic By-products.- Potential Uses for Co-Utilization Products.- A New Paradigm to Tailoring Compost Standards.- Carbon and Nitrogen Mineralization During Co-Utilization of Biosolids and Composts.- Suppression of Soil-Borne Pathogens by Composted Municipal Solid Waste.- Using Compost in the Ornamental Horticulture Industry.- Potential for Utilizing Coal Combustion Residues In Co-utilization Products.- Costs and Environmental Impacts of Co-utilization of By-products in Nursery Operations.- Team Approach to Residuals Utilization.- Co-utilization of By-products for Creation of Synthetic Soil.- Remediation of Soils Contaminated with Toxic Organic Compounds..- Comparison of Commercial Fertilizer and Organic By-products on Soil Chemical and Biological Properties and Vegetable Yields.- Scientific and Managerial Considerations.- Fate and Potential of Xenobiotics.- Fate and Potential Effects of Trace Elements: Issues in Co-utilization of By-products.- Impact of Biosolids and Co-utilization Wastes on Rhizobia, Nitrogen Fixation and Growth of Legumes.- Microbial Effects on Environmental Health and Product Quality Aspects of Recovery and Co-utilization of Bio-mineral Products.- An Environmental Management System for Biosolids.- of Test Methods for the Examination of Composting and Compost.- Nutrient Management Planning for Co-utilization of Organic By-products.- Specific Case Studies.- Manganese Deficiency Induced by Lime Rich Co-utilization Products.- Sustainable Soil, Water and Air Quality: Mankind's Ultimate Challenge and Opportunity in the 21st Century.- Production and Marketing of Potting and Landscape Soils Containing Coal Combustion By-product.- Blend By-products to Meet Customer Needs - Make These Needs Your Highest Priority.- Slow-release Nitrogen from Composts: the Bulking Agent Is More than Just Fluff.- Research Reports.- Composting of Hazardous Wastes and Hazardous Substances.- Nitrogen Recovery by Bahiagrass from Pelletized Biosolids.- Use of Fresh and Composted De-inking Sludge in Cabbage Production.- Using Compost Products in Vegetable Production.- Co-utilization of Flue-gas Desulfurization and Organic By-products for Mine Reclamation.- Dehydration of Restaurant Food Wastes Produces a Nutritious Feedstuff for Use in Pig Diets.- Soil Remineralization for Sustainable Crop Production.- Effect of Surface Incorporated Coal Combustion By-products on Exchangeable Ca and Alin Subsoil.- Agro-environmental Impact of High Rates of Phosphogypsum Applied to Bahiagrass Pasture on a Florida Spodosol Soil.