Steam-pressed scrim lumber (SPSL) involves crushing small diameter trees into mats that are coated with adhesive and pressed into boards. Water from the crushing process contains a high biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended solids (TSS). This water must be remediated before it can be discharged into public water systems. A 6-month study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of co-composting of the process water with wood waste and chicken manure as a method of remediation. Wood waste from the SPSL pilot facility in Shuqualak, Mississippi, was ground into small particles. This material was composted using four treatments: with or without added manure plus deionized (DI) water or process water to adjust moisture content. The compost end products for all treatments were evaluated for relative toxicity, weight loss, maturity, and suitability as a container substrate to grow plants. Additional testing determined the toxicity of compost leachate and evaluated the effects on germination rates of sensitive plant species. Co-composting successfully reduced the bulk and toxicity for all treatments. Treatments containing manure and process water showed over 90 percent emergence rate of sensitive seeds by Day 90. The manure amendments were comparable to the commercial greenhouse substrate in growth. Thus, a bio-based value-added medium that is nontoxic and suitable for potting mix was produced from SPCL wastes, remediating the process waste.
Contributor Notes
The authors are, respectively, Graduate Research Assistant, Professor, Professor, Research Assistant Professor, and Professor, Forest Products Dept. (leh101@msstate.edu, hborazjani@cfr.msstate.edu, sdiehl@cfr.msstate.edu, lprewitt@cfr.msstate.edu, dseale@cfr.msstate.edu); and Research Horticulturist, North Mississippi Research and Extension Center (rcsloan@ext.msstate.edu), Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State. This article is approved for publication as Journal Article FP-551 of Forest & Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State. This paper was received for publication in December 2009. Article no. 10716.