Green trend of 'turning' sludge into fertilizer helps businesses make money

Once an environmental burden with treatment costs of up to billions of dong each year, sludge from rubber processing factories is being used by many businesses.

Many businesses have turned waste sludge into organic fertilizer, earning billions of dong each year.

In the rubber processing industry, wastewater and sludge treatment has always been a big challenge. The amount of sludge generated annually is huge, containing many organic compounds but cannot be discharged directly into the environment. Previously, the common solution was to hire outside units to handle it, an extremely expensive option.

Mr. Le Quoc Duy, Head of Phuoc Hoa Fertilizer Production Factory (Phuoc Hoa Rubber Joint Stock Company) said: From two wastewater treatment systems, our company generates about 10,000 tons of biological sludge each year. Before the fertilizer production process, this amount of sludge had to be pressed, then hired an outside unit to process. With those costs, the company also spends billions of dong every year.

Organic fertilizers are used by companies to fertilize their own gardens.

Similarly, at Binh Long Rubber Company Limited, the story of 4 years ago was not much different. Mr. Bui Dinh Bay, Deputy General Director of the company said: "Every year the company has to spend about 1 billion VND to treat 1,000 tons of sludge."

Faced with increasing cost pressure and environmental protection requirements, businesses have proactively researched and turned challenges into opportunities. Instead of considering sludge as waste, they see it as a valuable resource containing very high organic content. This is the beginning of an inevitable trend, turning sludge into organic fertilizer, creating a closed cycle right at the factory.

Two prominent biotechnology solutions that are being successfully applied by rubber companies are earthworm farming and bio-composting. At Binh Long Rubber Company Limited, earthworm farming technology has created a revolution. Mr. Bui Dinh Bay, Deputy General Director of the company, said: This topic has been researched since 2021 and put into production since 2023. Each year, the total amount of waste from the two factories is about 1,000 tons and we use it all to raise earthworms. The amount of organic fertilizer output is about more than 500 tons.

Binh Long Rubber Company Limited, thanks to applying vermiculture technology, has helped the company save costs on sludge treatment and have high quality organic fertilizer.

The effectiveness of this model is shown through impressive numbers. Plants using vermicompost have a growth rate of 10 to 15% higher than other fertilizers. In terms of cost, the production cost is only about 1,000 VND/kg, equal to 50% of the market price. "Calculating that if we produce 500 tons a year, we make a profit of about 500 million VND. Compared to before, when we have to add the cost of hiring to handle waste, the total cost must double, at least about 1 billion VND per year."

Organic fertilizer after being obtained from the vermiculture model.

Meanwhile, many other units choose the solution of composting with microorganisms. At Phuoc Hoa Fertilizer Factory, Mr. Le Quoc Duy and his colleagues have successfully researched the process of composting sludge into fertilizer since 2017. “The entire process is biological, without using chemicals. We compost completely with microorganisms such as Bacillus and Trichoderma strains, then mix in organic substrate ingredients such as sawdust, peat and plant residue,” Mr. Duy explained.

The company's products not only meet Vietnamese standards but also have superior quality, with a microbial density higher than the standard from 1x10⁷ to 1x10⁸ CFU/mg or more. In terms of cost, the production cost is just under 2 million VND/ton, while the outside purchase price is over 2.5 million VND/ton.

Organic fertilizer from waste sludge is researched and produced by rubber enterprises in a closed system.

At Phu Rieng Rubber Company Limited, the wastewater treatment system is even more unique as it uses no chemicals at all, only anaerobic and anoxic microorganisms. The sludge is composted in a separate pond for a year before being treated as fertilizer. This model not only helps plants grow well (increase 2 - 2.5%) but also significantly improves soil quality. If the company does not handle it itself, the cost of hiring an outside unit to handle 100 tons of sludge will cost about 200 to 250 million VND per year.

The sludge after being composted according to technology has created a source of high quality organic fertilizer.

"Turning" sludge into fertilizer is not just a temporary solution but has become a strategy that brings comprehensive benefits. Economically , companies save billions of dong each year from two main sources: waste treatment costs and fertilizer purchase costs.

Environmentally, this is a big step forward in protecting the ecosystem. Biological treatment systems help the wastewater output meet standards, while reusing water resources. More importantly, returning organic microbial fertilizers to the soil helps improve the soil, increase fertility and move towards green, sustainable agriculture . This entire closed process is a clear demonstration of the enterprise's commitment to the green growth strategy.

Thanks to the application of technology, wastewater after passing through settling tanks can be used for fish farming and irrigation.

Socially, the process of producing fertilizer from waste sludge also helps create more jobs and increase income for workers. With proven success, the model of converting waste sludge into organic fertilizer is being rapidly replicated by businesses. This is not only the story of the rubber industry but also a promising direction for many other manufacturing industries, contributing to bringing Vietnamese agriculture closer to the goal of being green, organic and circular.

baotintuc.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/xu-huong-xanh-bien-bun-thai-thanh-phan-bon-giup-doanh-nghiep-hai-ra-tien-post881433.html