Chemical analysis of agro-pollutant coir pith- a byproduct of coir industry
Abstract
Coir pith is a byproduct of coir industry. It is dumped as an agricultural waste for a long period of time. Usually it is disposed by burning which may release lot of carbon into atmosphere causing air pollution. Coir waste h as a high lignin and cellulose content. its carbon nitrogen ratio is around 100:1. Because of the high lignin content Left to itself , coir waste takes decades to decompose. Thus it is leached out during course of time due to rain in to water resources causing water pollution. Enhanced microbial activity due to climatic effects eventually degrades the pith. Coir pith is recalcitrant and accumulates in the environment forming hillocks posing environmental pollution in the areas close to coir fiber extraction units. In this study, 4 samples of coir pith at different stages as a function of time were selected and the chemical contents were compared for the degradation studies. It was observed that the raw coir pith contained higher chemical contents. Therefore, coir pith can be treated with the help of microbes in the raw stage itself and can be used as the raw material for plant growth in an eco -friendly way.
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Introduction
Coir pith is a Lignocellulosic substrate, usually dark brown in color, light weight corky dust that decomposes very slowly in soil as it contains 30%-35% of Lignin; particle size varies from 100-300 microns similar to peat moss. It is porous structured and the pores are responsible for allowing good aeration around the roots of plants and retain water content in the pores for rewetting when dry. Chemical analysis reveals that coir pith contains three major constituent: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The fungi species has the ability to slowly degrade lignin and is capable of detoxifying phenolic compounds and also produce enzymes (Paramanandham et al., 2014).
Coir waste is a spongy material that binds the coir fiber in the husk . In the process of extraction of coir fiber from husk, generally about one third of it is obtained as fibre and two third of it is obtained as coir waste. Coir waste is used as a soil conditioner, surface mulch, rooting medium, highly compressible and desiccant. Coir waste absorbs water in the range of 400-600% its weight and releases it into the soil very slowly. Composted coir waste is an excellent organic manure and is used as an eco friendly peat moss substitute. This is effective against saline and alkaline condition of soil(Savithri and Hamed Khan, 2004).
Conclusion
Coir pith which is an industrial byproduct can be utilized as a raw material for various processes which in turn should be decompose d completely. When the coir is accumulates for a long period, it will end up in causing environmental pollution. Polyphenolics exudation from the coir may affect Nitrogen release by forming complexes with proteins, which stops decomposition. In this study, four samples of coir pith at different stages as a function of time were selected and the chemical contents were compared for the degradation studies. It was observed that the natural degradation occurred rapidly at the star t and the raw coir pith contain ed higher chemical contents. Coir pith can be treated with the help of microbes in the raw stage itself and can be used as the raw material for plant growth medium in an eco -friendly way.
