ISCA Journal of Biological Sciences _____ ______________________________ ______ __ _ _ ISCA J. Biological Sci. Vol. 1 ( 1 ), 35 - 41 , May (201 2 ) International Science Congress Association 35 Studies on Physico - Chemical Characteristics of Waxed and Dewaxed Pressmud and its effect on Water Holding Capacity of Soil Bhosale P.R. 1 , Chonde S.G. 2 , Nakade D.B. 3 and Raut P.D. 1 1 Department of Environmental Science, Shivaji University, Kolhapur , MS, INDIA 3 Department of Microbiology, Rajaram College, Kolhapur, M S , INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in (Received 10 th April 201 2 , revised 20 th April 201 2 , accepted 20 th April 201 2 ) Abstract Pressmud is a by - product of sugar industry. For every 100 tonnes of sugarcane crushed about 3 tonnes of pressmud cake is left behind as by - product. It is used as both a soil reclamation agent as well as a soil conditioner. But presence of wax in pressmud stimulates a decrease in soil quality and porosity after its repeated applications. Present study was undertaken to analyze the physical and chemica l characteristics such as pH , NPK o rganic c arbon, o rganic m atter, m oisture content etc. of raw pressmud as well as pressmud from which the wax is extracted by solvent recovery, and also water holding capacity of Loam soil by applying different percentage of waxed and wax extracted pressmud. It was found that the water holding capacity of soil containing dewaxed pressmud was high as compared to waxed pressmud and in the range of 58.39 to 92.43 % in the dewaxed pressmud where as for wax containing pressmud i t was 49.39 to 86.63 %. The C: N ratio of dewaxed pressmud was high, and was 18.54 % as compared to that of waxed pressmud. The composting processes improve the physical structure and lower the C: N ratio of the pressmud and leads to reduction in C: N rati o i.e. 16.53 % of dewaxed pressmud after composting. However the physico - chemical parameters of the composted waxed pressmud were not significantly higher than those of composted dewaxed pressmud. So it can be conclude that dewaxed pressmud are used as fe rtilizer in agriculture field. Key w ords: Sugar industries, p ressmud, p hysico - c hemical c haracterization, w ater holding capacity. Introduction In India, s ugar industry with 400 s ugar factories rank as the second major agro - industry in the country. The cane - sugar industry has several co - products of immense potential value. The co products include pressmud (filter cake), molasses and spent wash. Out of which pressmud is produced dur ing clarification of sugarcane juice. About 3.6 - 4% of sugarcane crushed end up as pressmud i.e. 36 - 40 kg of pressmud is obtained after 1 ton of cane crushing. Pressmud is a soft, spongy, amorphous and dark brown material containing sugar, fiber and co agulated colloids including cane wax, albuminoids, inorganic salts and soil particles. It consists of 80 % water and 0.9 - 1.5 % sugar, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulphur, coagulated colloids and other materials in varying amo unts. The time when cost of chemical fertilizer is skyrocketing and not affordable by farmers, pressmud has promise as a source of plant nutrient and as medium for raising sugarcane seedlings and leguminous inoculants 1 The advantages of using sugarcane pre ssmud for soil application is its low cost, slower release of nutrients, presence of trace element, high water holding capacity and mulching properties 2 . Pressmud like other organic materials affects the physical, chemical and biological properties of soi l 3 However, the disadvantages of pressmud are that due to its bulky nature and wax content it causes some problems. If pressmud is directly applied to soil as manure, the wax present might deteriorate the physical properties such as permeability, aeration, soil structure and composition etc. and with the passage of time the deterioration might get worsen. Also, if it is freshly applied to the soil directly from the factory, it has the tendency to burn the plants as a result of the rapid decomposition of the new sugarcane pressmud which liberates heat and ammonia in high concentrations 4 . The aim of present study is to determine the water holding capacity of soil by using wax containing pressmud and dewaxed pressmud and its compost which would helps to give id ea which pressmud increases the water holding capacity of soil. It also aims of this work were to study the Physico - chemical parameters of wax containing pressmud and dewaxed pressmud and its compost. Extraction of wax from pressmud will be helpful to enh ance the quality of pressmud as organic manure. Material and Methods Material: i . Soxhalet Extractor was used for extraction of wax from pressmud. ii. The solvents like toluene, benzene, methanol and a cetone were used for extraction of wax. iii. Isopropyl alcohol i.e. p ropan - 2 - ol was used for purification of wax having weight per ml at 20 0 C is 0.783 - 0.786 gm and minimum assay by GC is 99%. iv. Sugarcane pressmud was obtained from ISCA Journal of Biological Sciences ________________ ______________________________ ______ __ _ _ ISCA J. Biological Sci. Vol. 1 ( 1 ), 35 - 41 , May (201 2 ) International Science Congress Association 36 Kumbhi Kasari S.S.K, Kuditre from Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. India. v. All the physical and chemical characteristics were analyzed by standard methods. Extraction procedure: Sugarcane pressmud waste was collected from Kumbhi Kasari S.S.K, Kuditre present in Kolhapur district. Sugarcane pressmud waste was extracted with different solvent such as t oluene, b enzene, m ethanol and a cetone under a reflux system for 4 - 6 hrs at a stretch. The extract was filtered under mild vacuum and solvent recovered by distillation. After recovering the solvent the solid mass containing wax mixtures and resins thus obtained was dissolved in hot isopropyl alcohol and filtered. The resin portion was separated and the total wax portion obtained which was yellow or light cream in colour. Composting: Pressmud may be composted without using any ot her inputs but it is usually composted with spent wash and followed by windrows methods. In this method the moisture content reduces below 50 % and addition of spent wash restore it to 70 %. After 5 days the temperature will rise to 60 - 70 0 C and this is mai ntained for at least one week. After third week the temperature will continue to decrease towards 45 0 C as the decline trend is noticed stop spraying spent wash. Finally after 30 days leave the windrow as such for curing without adding spent wash. The compo sted pressmud so obtained was analyzed for physical and chemical parameters. Analysis of physico - chemical properties of Pres mud: The physico - chemical properties of pressmud (PM), dewaxed pressmud (DPM), composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) were analyzed. It includes pH, m oisture content, Total n itrogen, p hosphorus, p otassium, o rganic matter, organic carbon, c alcium, m agnesium and C: N ratio. All the procedures were followed from 5 APHA. Analysis of Water holding capacity of soil by using different percentage of Pressmud : Water holding capacity of soil was analyzed by using different percentage of pressmud (PM), dewaxed pressmud (DPM), composted pressmud (CPM), composted dewaxed pressmud ( CDPM). All the c omponents were measured dry, then allowed to sit overnight. They were then drained for 15 minutes and measured wet. Then water holding capacity of soil was calculated by formula: Water h olding c apacity in % = W 3 - (W 2 + W 4 ) X 100 W 2 - W 1 Where, w t. of box + w t. of filter paper (W 1 ) , w t. of Soil + w t. of filter paper + w t. of box (W 2 ) , w t of box + w t. of water saturated soil (W 3 ), w t of wet filter paper (W 4 ) . Result s and Dis cussion The advantages of using sugarcane pressmud for soil application is its low cost, slower release of nutrients, presence of trace element, high water holding capacity and mulching properties However, a major disadvantage, in its usage as soil conditi oner is the high wax content in sugar cane pressmud which remains not only unutilized, but also reduces the fertility of the soil due to its accumulation 6 . In recent years, intensive research on the process for the recovery of wax from sugarcane pressmud for industrial exploitation, now a days extraction by solvent is a major unit operation used for solvent recovery 7 and further use of dewaxed sugarcane pressmud for recovery of useful products is being carried out. The resulting spent sugarcane pressmud then can be used for biocomposting as the extraction of wax improves its manorial value and results in good manure 8 . The physico - chemical parameters of pressmud (PM), dewaxed pressmud (DPM), composted pressmud (CPM), composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) are given in table no.1. The present study shows that the pH of wax containing pressmud (PM) and dewaxed pressmud (DPM) doesn’t show any variation, it was 6.83, while pH of composted wax pressmud (CPM) was 8.30 and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) was 8.50. Pressmud has capacity to decrease the soil pH slightly 9 . The moisture content of pressmud (PM), composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) were recorded as 73.07, 30, 25.79 % where as there was no moisture content in dewaxed pressmud (D PM) because of the solvent treatment 10 has reported on the significant quantities of plant nutrients in the form of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and micronutrients that have been measured in samples of filter ca ke from all South African sugar mills. Total Nitrogen percentage of pressmud (PM) and dewaxed pressmud (DPM) were recorded as 2.67 % and 2.33 % and for composted pressmud (CPM) it was 2.76 % and for composted dewaxed pressmud it was 2.54 %. Total p hosphoru s of composted waxed pressmud (CPM), 2.9 % was observed higher than pressmud (PM), Dewaxed pressmud (DPM), composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) 1.38, 1.26, 2.5 % respectively. Composting process helps to increase the amount of phosphorus due to mineralization of organic matter 11 . The p otassium percentage of pressmud (PM) and dewaxed pressmud (DPM) doesn’t shows any variation, it was 0.6 %, where as that of composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) were 2.8% and 2.7 % respectively. Even tho ugh after dewaxing pressmud the amount of NPK is slightly reduced, but after composting the high amount of NPK contents of pressmud has made it a valuable organic resource 12 . The percentage of organic carbon and organic matter of pressmud (PM), dewaxed pre ssmud (DPM) were 43.78 %, 43.2 %, 75.47 % and 74.48 % respectively. The deficiency in organic carbon reduces the storage capacity of soil nutrient and reduction in soil fertility 13 . Because of high organic content i.e. organic carbon and organic matter pr essmud can serve as good source of organic manure 14 an alternate source of crop nutrients and soil ameliorates 15 . In case of composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) the percentage of carbon content and organic matter were recorded 40 .65 %, 42 %, 70.08 % and 72.41% respectively. So the percentage of carbon content and organic ISCA Journal of Biological Sciences ________________ ______________________________ ______ __ _ _ ISCA J. Biological Sci. Vol. 1 ( 1 ), 35 - 41 , May (201 2 ) International Science Congress Association 37 matter of raw pressmud decreases after composting process 16 . The concentration of exchangeable cations such as calcium of pressmud (PM), dewaxed pressmud (DPM), composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud were recorded as 2.6 %, 2.94%, 4.13%, 3.2% respectively and for magnesium were recorded as 1.3%, 1.56 %, 0.83% and 1.7% respectively. Sodium percentage of composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewax ed pressmud (CDPM) were recorded to be higher than pressmud (PM), dewaxed pressmud (DPM). They were recorded as 0.54%, 0.52% and 0.12%, 0.08% respectively. C:N ratio was significantly decreased after composting process. C:N ratio of pressmud (PM) and dewax ed pressmud (DPM) were recorded as 16.397 % and 18.54 % while C: N ratio of composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) were recorded as 14.72% and 16.53 % respectively. According to 17 C:N ratio has been considered an important parameter dictating the efficacy and duration of composting. The water holding capacity of soil measured by using different percentage of (PM), dewaxed pressmud (DPM), composted pressmud (CPM), composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) are given in table no.2 while graph 5 shows the water holding capacity of soil measured by using different percentage of (PM), dewaxed pressmud (DPM). To check the efficiency of pressmud (PM) and dewaxed pressmud (DPM), water holding capacity of loam soil was tested by using different percent age of pressmud (PM) and dewaxed pressmud (DPM), here the soil was used as control, it shows 40.93 – 42.63 % of water holding capacity. It was observed that at 10 % of pressmud (PM) soil shows 49.36 % of water holding capacity while for dewaxed pressmud (D PM) soil shows 58.39 % of water holding capacity. At 20 % of pressmud (PM) water holding capacity of soil was 54.25 % and for dewaxed pressmud (DPM) it was 68.79 %. For 30% of pressmud (PM) and dewaxed pressmud (DPM) water holding capacity of soil were rec orded as 65.76% and 72.77 % respectively. At 40 % of pressmud (PM) soil shows 75.33 % of water holding capacity and for dewaxed pressmud (DPM) soil shows 81.36 % of water holding capacity. In case of 50 % of pressmud (PM) and dewaxed pressmud (DPM) the wat er holding capacity of soil were recorded as 86.63 % and 92.43 % respectively. After composting the porosity or interstitial space of material decreases due to decrease in size distribution of the particle by decomposition and mixing 18 which result ,if th e composted pressmud applied to the soil will be reduce water holding capacity of soil. Graph 6 shows the water holding capacity of soil measured by using different percentage composted pressmud (CPM), composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM). At 10 % of compos ted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) the water holding capacity of soil were recorded as 41.68 % and 42.69 % respectively. When 20 % of composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) were applied to the soil then soil sh ows 51.36% and 62.29 % of water holding capacity respectively. At 30 % of composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) the water holding capacity of soil were recorded as 54.25% and 69.67 % respectively. At 40 % of composted pressmud (CPM ) and composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) soil shows 65.83% and 72.76 % of water holding capacity and for 50 % of composted pressmud (CPM) and composted dewaxed pressmud soil shows 69.39 % and 75.33 % water holding capacity respectively. Application of press mud to the soil is reported to improve its physical and chemical properties. When pressmud mixed with the spent wash generated by the distilleries, the resultant product was the enriched organic manure, which can be used to improve farm yields. However; th e fertilizer value of dewaxed pressmud is reported to be better than that of the ordinary pressmud 19 . Conclusion Pressmud is a byproduct of sugar industries. These waste products are used as fertilizer in agriculture field, but the presence of sugarcane wax in pressmud deteriorates the physical property of soil and therefore the extraction of wax is necessary. This extracted wax has several applications in various industries which can bring products in national and international market. The results of pr esent study suggests that the extraction of wax from pressmud improves the physical structure and quality of pressmud and helps to increase water holding capacity of soil. After composting process there was improvement in physico chemical parameter of dewa xed pressmud (CDPM) which were not significantly lower than that of composted pressmud (CPM). Acknowledgement The authors express their gratitude to Mr. Vishwanath A. Shinde, Managing Director, Kumbhi - Kasari Sugar Factory, Kuditre, Dist. Kolhapur for granting permission and help in providing pressmud for carring out this work. Authors also convey their sincere thanks to Mr. A. B. Jadhav, Environmental Engineer, Kumbhi - Kasari Sugar Factory, for his guidance, suggestion and encouragement. References 1. Yadav D.V., Utilization of pressmud cake in Indian agriculture , Indian J. Sugarcane Technol , 7, 1 - 16 (1992) 2. Shankaranand V.S. and Lonsane B.K., Sugarcane pressmud as novel substrate for production of citric acid by solid state fermentation, World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology , 9 , 13 - 15 (1993) 3. Lamberton J.A. and Redcliff A.H., The chemistry of sugarcane wax and the nature of sugar cane wax, Australian Journal of chemistry, 13 , 261 - 268 (1960) 4. Xavie S. and Lonsane B.K., Sugar cane pressmud as a novel and inexpensive substrate for production of Lactic acid in a solid state fermentation system, Applied microbiology and biotechnology , 41(3) , 291 - 295 (1994 a) ISCA Journal of Biological Sciences ________________ ______________________________ ______ __ _ _ ISCA J. Biological Sci. Vol. 1 ( 1 ), 35 - 41 , May (201 2 ) International Science Congress Association 38 5. APHA, American Public Health Association, Ed 20, (2005) 6. Xavie S. and Lonsane B.K., Factors influencing fungal degradation of total soluble carbohydrates in sugarcane pressmud under solid state fermentation, Process biochemistry , 29 (4) , 295 - 301 (1994 b) 7. Sally N.J., Extraction of phenol from Industrial water using different solvents, R esearch journal of chemical sciences , 2(4), 1 - 12 (2012) 8. Rakkiyappan P., Thangavelu S., Malathi R. and Radhamani R., Effect of biocompost and enriched pressmud on sugarcane yield and quality. Sugar Techn , 3 , 92 - 96 (2001) 9. Parthasarathi K., Aging of pressmud vermicasts of Lampito mauritii (Kinberg) and Eudrilus eugeniae (Kinberg) Reduction in microbial population and activity, Journal of Environmental Biology , 27(2) , 221 - 223 (2006) 10. Bernhardt H.W. and Notcutt P., Composting of filter cake from a sugar factor y , Proceedings of The South African Sugar Technologists' Association, Sugar Milling Research Institute, Durban, 185 - 187 (1993) 11. Khwairakpam M. and Kalamdhad A.S., Vermicomposting of vegetable wastes amended with cattle manure, Research journal of chemical sciences , 1(8) 49 - 56 (2012) 12. Howard A.J. and Hamer D., The extraction and constitution of peat wax. Chromatographic fractionation of wax , Journal of The American Oil Chemists' Society , 39 (5 ), 250 - 255 (1961) 13. 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Goyal S.K., Nema P., and Devotta S., Sustainable Industrial Development and Environment Protection , An Emerging Perspective, Environmental Progress , 27(1) , (2008) Table – 1 Physico - chemical parameters of pressmud (PM), Dewaxed pressmud (DPM), Composted pressmud (CPM), Composted Dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) S.No Parameters Waxed pressmud (PM) Dewaxed pressmud (DPM) Composted waxed pressmud (CPM) Composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) 1 pH 6.83 ±0.048 6.83 ±0.047 8.30 ±0.043 8.50 ±0.053 2 Moisture content 73.07 ±0.56 Nil 30 ±2.89 25.79 ±5.99 3 Total Nitrogen (%) 2.67 ±0.24 2.33 ±0.04 2.76 ±0.10 2.54 ±0.44 4 Total Phosphorus 1.38 ±0.26 1.26 ±0.45 2.9 ±0.15 2.5 ±0.35 5 Total Potassium 0.6 ±0.09 0.6 ±0.10 2.8 ±0.03 2.7 ±0.28 6 Organic matter (%) 75.47 ±1.82 74.48 ±1.03 70.08 ±1.52 72.41 ±0.34 7 Total Organic Carbon (%) 43.78 ±0.06 43.2 ±0.85 40.65 ±0.64 42 ±0.59 8 Calcium 2.6 ±0.015 2.94 ±0.28 4.13 ±0.72 3.2 ±1.53 9 Magnesium 1.3 ±0.11 1.56 ±0.57 0.83 ±0.63 1.7 ±0.72 10 Sodium 0.12 ±0.05 0.08 ±0.09 0.54 ±0.12 0.52 ±0.30 11 C:N Ratio 16.397 18.54 14.72 16.53 ISCA Journal of Biological Sciences ________________ ______________________________ ______ __ _ _ ISCA J. Biological Sci. Vol. 1 ( 1 ), 35 - 41 , May (201 2 ) International Science Congress Association 39 Table – 2 Water holding capacity of soil using different percentages of pressmud (PM), Dewaxed pressmud (DPM), Composted pressmud (CPM), Composted Dewaxed pressmud (CDPM) Figure - 1 Total Nitrogen in Pressmud (PM), Dewaxed pressmud (DPM), Composted Pressmud (CPM) and Composted Dewaxed Pressmud (CDPM) Figure – 2 S.No % of Pressmud Soil Soil+Pressmud Soil+dewaxed pressmud Soil+Composted waxed pressmud Soil+Composted dewaxed pressmud 1 10% 40.93±1.19 49.36±1.61 58.39±1.58 41.68±1.39 42.69±0.28 2 20% 41.67±0.85 54.25±1.08 68.79±1.77 51.36±0.33 62.29±0.54 3 30% 41.83±0.78 65.76±1.26 72.77±1.66 54.25±2.45 69.67±1.23 4 40% 42.63±1.20 75.33±1.78 81.36±1.48 65.83±0.56 72.76±1.60 5 50% 42.41±1.00 86.63±1.85 92.43±1.23 69.39±0.69 75.33±2.15 ISCA Journal of Biological Sciences ________________ ______________________________ ______ __ _ _ ISCA J. Biological Sci. Vol. 1 ( 1 ), 35 - 41 , May (201 2 ) International Science Congress Association 40 Total Phosphorus in Pressmud (PM), Dewaxed pressmud (DPM), Composted Pressmud (CPM) and Composted Dewaxed Pressmud (CDPM) Figure – 3 Total Potassium in Pressmud (PM), Dewaxed pressmud (DPM), Composted Pressmud (CPM) and Composted Dewaxed Pressmud (CDPM) Figure – 4 C: N ratio in Pressmud (PM), Dewaxed pressmud (DPM), Composted Pressmud (CPM) and Composted Dewaxed Pressmud (CDPM) ISCA Journal of Biological Sciences ________________ ______________________________ ______ __ _ _ ISCA J. Biological Sci. Vol. 1 ( 1 ), 35 - 41 , May (201 2 ) International Science Congress Association 41 Figure – 5 Water holding capacity of soil m easured by using different percentage of Pressmud (PM), Dewaxed pressmud (DPM) Figure - 6 Water holding capacity of soil measured by using different percentage of Composted pressmud (CPM), Composted dewaxed pressmud (CDPM)