Spanish Researchers Boost Energy Crop yields with Sewage Sludge

Researchers from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and the Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH) in Spain have found a way to increase biomass production by using sewage sludge as fertilizers. The use of sewage sludge on energy crops could be an opportunity to release residues since these are not intended for the food industry.

UPM and UMH collaborated to determine the effects of fertilization with sewage sludge compost on Cynara cardunculus L. productivity. The results showed that deep fertilization with sewage sludge compost has clear positive effects on crop productivity since the biomass production and the oilseeds increased up to 40% and 68%, respectively. Using sewage sludge compost has also achieved synergies from diverse areas of interest such as soil protection, the maintenance of its fertilization, the usage of residual products from the management of urban wastewater, and biomass production for energy purposes.