A NOVEL COIRPITH COMPOSTING METHODOLOGY	BIOSOFTENING OF COIR FIBRE.	COIRPITH EM
NCRMI has developed an effective composting process using a potential lignin degrading fungus by reducing the time period and this technology further enhances the quality of the composted product.	For the standardization and formulation of bacterial consortia for the bio softening of coir fibre NCRMI has developed a bacteria consortia from selected microorganism isolated from coir retting area which gives better results in bio softening of coir fibre.	NCRMI has developed a microbial consortium named as Coirpith EM for the conversion of household organic waste into compost using coir pith.

 

 

FIELD EVALUATION OF DIFFERENTLY TREATED COIR PITH COMPOST DEVELOPED BY NCRMI	PEATKOL	TRICHOPITH SPAWN PRODUCTION
Developed an exclusive soil less cultivation medium for plants which based on coir pith compost.	National Coir Research and Management Institute has developed a light-weight bio briquettes named as PEATKOL Dots having high calorific value and is ideal for charcoal incense products and barbecues cooking.	NCRMI have developed a specially formulated substrate based bio inoculum for rapid and efficient composting of coir pith. This produces a stable and mature compost having ideal C:N ratio for soil microbes which helps to increase microbial activities in soil and reconditions the soil. The commercial spawn production unit in NCRMI cater the full need of spawn for the production of coir pith compost.

 

 

DEVELOPMENT OF BIOFILM ON COIR-BASED BIOMASS CARRIERS FOR TREATING EFFLUENT WATER	TREATMENT OF COIR FIBRE WITH VARIOUS BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL AGENTS TO IMPROVE THE TEXTURE AND COLOUR.	TREATMENT OF RET LIQUOR WITH CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL METHODS
The golden theme of our project is to recycle wastewater effluent sustainably by using microbial biofilms of coir-based products. There are many chemical and mechanical processes to carry over the treatment of wastewater for reuse. This chemical process paves a way for an unhealthy environment. Coir is a hard organic fiber that possesses high specific area and wetting ability and makes use as a suitable substrate for biofilm complex aggregation of microorganisms on fixed-film processes. The main attraction of the project is that this treatment system can be easily portable to any condition and is economically viable. The research is under progression with different products.	This study focuses on a combined treatment (chemical and biological), which has great potential to produce more consistent quality fibres with substantially reduced retting time. It is more environmental friendly. To improve the coir fibre texture, trial experiments were conducted with a chemical softener developed by NCRMI.	Soaking coconut husk in the brackish water system for 6- 12 months is an old traditional practice carried out for the extraction of coir fiber from coconut husk. As a result of retting large quantities of organic substances including pectin, pentosan, fat, tannins, and toxic phenols are liberated into water. All these processes contribute to pollution of water and air. This is reported to have a devastating effect on the flora and fauna. This study focuses a combined chemical and biological methods which are environment friendly and economically viable treatment on ret liquor collected from various coir spinning societies.

 

Conversion of household organic waste into compost using coir pith enriched with different beneficial microorganisms

Home composting can provide a viable alternative for managing organic waste and the compost produced can be added to the soil to improve its characteristics. Present study mainly focuses on the need for enrichment of coir pith with ligno-cellulolytic inoculants (EM bacteria and Trichoderma sp.) in small to medium scale composting of household wastes. It is possible to accelerate the composting process by the introduction of suitable microbes known effective Microorganisms.

Initial studies were conducted using the mature composted coir pith developed by NCRMI as seed starter for improving the composting of household organic wastes. The result were analysed and further enrichment with beneficial microorganism were carried out to design a new EM. New combinations of microorganisms were tried along with the composted coir pith and raw coir pith and the results were analysed. Further the studies were continued with raw coir pith as the enrichment medium.

NCRMI has developed an EM solution for improving the composting in small to medium scale household wastes. Effective micro-organisms (EM) consist of common and food-grade aerobic and anaerobic micro-organisms Lactic acid bacteria, Streptomyces, Bacillussp, Trichodermasp, Actinomycetesetc, inoculations could increase the microbial population, enhance the conversion of organics.

Enrichment of EM solution with new bacterial & fungal strain is ongoing .Further work has to be done to analyse the quality of compost using different types of EM solution and different types of wastes such as nitrogen rich poultry wastes, slaughter house wastes etc.To study the effect of different types of bin for the compost in process such as plastic, earthen ware also to be carried out.

The success of household composting depends on the performance of the home composter and on the quality of the product, and experiments were conducted to standardise the performance of the domestic composter in giving aeration and batch feeding. Several parameters were monitored over time: Temperature,pH, Moisture,Organic Matter , Total Carbon and Total Nitrogen . The stabilization of food waste is feasible in simple and small composters filled with food waste and coir pith inoculum. Development of new inoculum with new microbial strains to minimize the stabilization time is ongoing .

 

Development of biofilm on coir fiber for treating waste water

Organic residues are common pollutants in wastewater. The objective of the study is to exploit coir fiber as a supporting material for the formation development of biofilm for treating waste water. The project aims to the utilization of coir fiber as resources as natural biofilm support media for the wastewater treatment to remove those organic residues. As coir fiber is rich in hard organic matters with high specific surface area and wetting ability, it seems suitable for microorganisms adhesion and biofilm formation. A cube shaped supporting material has been designed using coir yarn in which coirfibers are loosely packed inside the fabricated structure. This structure help in easy filling of biofilm supporting material into the treatment system. Micro organisms adhered on the surface of coir fibers help in digestion of organic pollutants which in turn help in reduction of BOD. The studies are on going on the development of a treatment system, which is packed with fabricated supporting material.

 

Development of biological system to treat ret liquor

The mechanical extraction of coir fibre is an acceptable alternative to the conventional fibre production by retting, as retting is time consuming and pollute water bodies. Mechanical extraction of husk is instantaneous, however yields coir fibre that initially is bright coloured but may photo oxidized to brown colour with harsh texture. Soaking the fibre for 24 hrs immediately after defibering helps to reduce the light fastness and to provide good texture to coir fibers. This washed water (ret liquor) is distinctly brown due to the organics liberated from it. Similar components are also produced in backwater where retting of coconut husk is practiced. Disposal of such water to water bodies is toxic to the biological community. The major constituents of this water are Polyphenols, tannins, pectins etc. Objective of the study is to develop a proper treatment system to remove these polluting chemicals from ret liquor and to recycle the water for next batch washing.

The physical and chemical properties of ret liquor were studied. Various chemicals that are cheaply available and less hazardous were tried to settle down the polluting components. Among the chemicals tested, treating effluent with 0.02% alum produced clear water which can be reuse for one more further washing and also noticed that alum treatment can reduce the electrical conductivity of the effluent.
Protypes of different fementers have designed to study the behavior of ret liquor on biological treatment. A double chambered fermenter design has showed good reduction of BOD (Biological oxidation Demand) of ret liquor. The treatment system is designed in such a way that the first chamber is having mixture of cow dung slurry, cheese whey and effluent from paper industry. This combination act as source of bio inoculum for the anaerobic digestion of coir ret effluent. The half portion of second chamber is filled with coconut shell pieces through which anaerobically digested effluent passes which provides a filtration effect to the treated effluent. In addition to this developed microbial consortium on coconut shell pieces helps for easy collection and propagation of microbial consortia. Studies on standardization of quantity of various inoculum sources and further analysis of treated water are going on.

Development of technology for conversion of tender coconut husk into organic manure

The objective of the project is to convert husks of tender coconut into value added products like compost by enhancing its degradation. Composting will convert more complex chemical constituents like lignin, and cellulose into more degradable form, nullify toxic effects of phenolic compounds, reduces wide C:N ratio and ultimately composted product can be used as a good organic manure for plantation crops, vegetables etc. This work also aimed for the field evaluation of developed compost. As part of the preliminary study, a machine was developed for grinding coconut husk into small pieces which will enhance the surface area of raw materials for the speedy action of selected strains. Studies are ongoing for the development of suitable strains for the effective degradation of this cellulose rich material.

 

Field Evaluation of Differently treated coir pith Compost Developed by NCRMI

The major objectives of the study ware to study the effect of differently decomposed coir pith compost on vegetative growth and yield of various crops and also to analyse the manurial value of coir pith compost through field evaluation.

Based on the previous studies, “Trichopith” based coir pith compost and the other two best performed composts were used for field evaluation on three crops viz: Bhindi, Tomato and Amaranthus. In field evaluation experiments three different potting mixtures were prepared using different composts made by NCRMI and the fourth one containing only sand and soil were taken control. All crops showed good results in terms of vegetative growth and fruit production compared to the potting mixture ,which do not contain coir pith compost. The reduced incidents of pathogen attack as noted in plants grown on Trichopith based compost.

Manurial assessment of coirpith compost by field evaluation studies were conducted to test use of coirpith compost as an exclusive medium for soil less cultivation of plants and also to evaluate the nutrient status of this product when used alone and also in combination with sand and soil. This pot trial had factorial combinations of four different types of potting mixture and four types of nutrient supplementation. The test crop selected Tomato var; vellayani Vijay . These include supply of three fertilizer nutrients N, P and K to four different types of potting mixture There was one treatment that was received all the three nutrients and another that had none. One set of four bags were considered as control in which no fertilizer element was added. In addition to soil application as above, foliar spray of 0.1% N,P,Knutrient were given at weekly intervals as per treatments starting from 14 days after planting in order to ensure the growth was not affected for the need of respective nutrients at any stage. Data on the growth, yield and yield components were subject to statistical analysis which revealed that plants grown on coir pith compost was at par with the standard medium of farm yard manure, soil and sand. The possibility of substituting farm yard manure in potting mixture is clearly indicated. Another important indication is the possibility of using coirpith compost as the sole medium for container cultivations and there for using it for soilless cultivation of plants. The only practical problem with the use of CPC alone was the poor anchorage at the later stage of the growth of the crop and necessity for the staking the plants when required.

Pith Activator

It is an effective microorganism(EM) developed by NCRMI that accelerate the biodegradation mechanism of house hold organic wastes.

NCRMI has developed a microbial consortium named as ‘Pith activator” for the conversion of household organic waste into compost using coir pith, as part of the project titled as “Conversion of household organic waste into compost using coir pith enriched with different beneficial microorganisms”. The technology was transferred to M/s.Coirfed and entrusted them for the implementation and commercialization of the Coir pith inoculum for house hold organic composting.M/s. Coirfed was entrusted by Govt. for the supply of the coir pith enriched with Pith Activator for the conversion of household organic waste into compost, Trivandrum Corporation is using the coir pith inoculum for the decentralized waste management .NCRMI was entrusted to supply the Pith Activator solution according to the requirement by Coirfed.

NCRMI has supplied Pith activator to M/s.Coirfed for the processing of 535 tons of raw coir pith.

 

Standardization and formulation of bacterial consortia for the biosoftening of coir fibre.

This study aims to bio soften the coir fibre with bacterial consortia, prepared from selected micro organism isolated from coir retting area, This might be an economical alternative for chemically treated coir fibre. The ongoing process is to formulate bacterial consortia and to optimize cultural conditions for better activity in coir fibre. Screening and selection of best combination of bacterial consortia is the subsequent procedure. Further the best bacterial consortia are applied on the coir fibre to improve the quality of fibre. The main objective is to optimize the concentration of bacterial consortia and time of treatment of fibre. In order to know the effect of these bacterial consortia on coir fibre the physical as well as chemical parameters are to be tested before & after treatment. The strains isolated from coir retting area are Chromobacteriumviolaceum,Kluyveracryocrescens,Gordoniaalkalivorans,Stenotrophomonasmaltophil, Pseudomonas pictorum, Bacillus sp. With these strains different formulations of consortia are prepared.These consortia are then sprayed onto coir fibre with definite quantity. The coir fibres treated with these consortia are then tested for their chemical and physical parameters. The best consortium which gives better results in bio softening are selected for improving the colour and softening of coir fiber.

 

Technology dissemination & Training ofcoir pith composting to the workers of defibering units

NCRMI has already given training to two trainees of each production units of Thrissur,Vaikkom, Calicut and Alappuzha, Kannur, Chirayinkeezhu. NCRMI has also checked the quality of the composted coir pith from each production unit.

Training was also given to trainees of COIRFED, Munanbam, Ernakulam, Kerala State Coir Corporation, Beypore and also to the trainees of Vaikom Coir Consortium Society, Muhamma.

Treatment of coir fibre with various biological and chemical agents to improve the texture and colour.

This study focuses a combined treatment (biological and chemical) ,that have a great potential to produce more consistent quality fibres with substantially reduced retting time and is more environmental friendly. To improve the coir fibre texture, trial experiments were conducted with a chemical softener and achieved

 

TRICHOPITH Spawn production

NCRMI have developed a specially formulated substrate based bio inoculum for rapid and efficient composting of coir pith. This produces a stable and mature compost having ideal C:Nratio for soil microbes which helps to increase microbial activity in soil and reconditions the soil. The commercial spawn production unit in NCRMI cater the full need of spawn for the production of coir pith compost. NCRMI has been supplying TRICHOPITH to CVCS as per their request. As per the request NCRMI had supplied 500 packets of TRICHOPITH to Coirfed for the composting of 50 tons of coir pith. NCRMI is regularly supplying the inoculum to Kerala State Coir Corporation ltd,Beypor division for the composting. The private entrepreneurs are also procuring the spawn from NCRMI

Utilization of coir pith for the production of bio plastic using significant microbial Strains.

Bioplastics were made from a compound called poly hydroxyalkanoate (PHA). In some microbial species, accumulation of PHA occurs during the presence of excess carbon and a limitation of nitrogen sources. Coir pith is a carbon rich material. PHB granules are synthesized and intracellularly accumulated in most bacteria under unfavourable growth condition. The aim of the project was to identify a suitable microorganism that can use coir pith as a substrate for the production of PHA. Initial studies were conducted to isolate bacteria that can grow in the minimal media that was specially designed with coir pith as the carbon source with minimal nitrogen supplement. Identification of the organism were carried out using the conventional microbial technique. Most of the strains were Gram positive and identified as Bacillus sp .other strains including Klebsiella, Pseudomonas sp. were also identified. The newly identified Bacillus sp was shown to accumulate PHB via microscopic staining techniques using Sudan black B stain. Further the strains has to be identified through MALDI-Tof technology. The selected microbial strains were grown in the presence of newly designed coir pith media and PHA extraction were done by using the dispersion method of sodium hypochlorite and chloroform. The quantification of PHA is ongoing to select the best strain comparing with a standard PHA producing strain.