Production of biofertilizer using lactobacillus inoculants and glycerin pitch from oleochemical industry

Abstract

Production of glycerol waste from oleochemical industry in the form of glycerin pitch poseses risk when disposed to the environment. Conventional methods to recover glycerol are infeasible due to the cost constraint, which has urged the exploration into alternative methods by converting glycerol waste into a valuable product at low cost. The glycerol has a potential to be utilized as a cheap carbon source in fermentation attributed to its high availability. This study focuses on the use of Lactobacillus inoculant and glycerin pitch as a medium for the production of biofertilizer and the effectiveness of the biofertilizer application in promoting the growth of cucumber plant. The results found that biofertilizer with the ratio of 2:1 in the volume of Lactobacillus to glycerin pitch had high effectiveness in promoting the height of cucumber plant by up to 40 cm in 18 days which is almost 2-fold compared to the commercial fertilizer. The produced biofertilizer contained a formulation of pH 5.11, 3.78 Megapascal second (MPas) viscosity and carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) of 38.85 after 14 days of storage.