Process optimization and “magic bullets’ characterization of compost tea

• Main Author: Tan, Yoke Chang
• Other Authors: Wang Jing-Yuan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/61270
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Phytohormones play an important role in the development of plants. Phytohormones regulate plant physiological processes. Under the umbrella of phytohormones, there are 5 different classes of phytohormones. While there are different classes of phytohormones, this Final Year Project (FYP) seeks to extract and analyze 2 specific groups of phytohormones - cytokinins and gibberellins from vermicompost tea. The main objective of this FYP is to analyze the presence of “magic bullets” - phytohormones in vermicompost tea. Parametric analyses have been conducted to draw a correlation between time and the presence of cytokinins and gibberellins. The type of compost tea and time of compost teas left for fermentation are carefully tested as part of the FYP. The purification and extraction of cytokinins and gibberellins from vermicompost teas are conducted using solid phase extraction techniques. An analytical chemistry technique known as liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is then adopted to analyze the samples. Results from the experiments showed that a layered setup with feedstock and horticultural compost yields the highest concentration of gibberellins and the concentration of gibberellins has a positive correlation with time of vermicompost tea left for fermentation. This closes the research gap on analyses of gibberellins as no previous literature has managed to trace for gibberellins in compost teas. On the other hand, experiments also showed that the cytokinins’ concentration were beyond detectable limits. Explanation and potential solutions to the problem was also presented. The successful detection has shown that food waste has a value added feature from the perspective of industrial ecology. Short-term future works, for example, the next batch of FYP students, could consider targeting the explanation and explore new setups to evaluate the most effective setup. Long-term future works could see substitution of the current chemical fertilizer with the green vermicompost teas in the field of horticulture and agriculture. It is also expected that the optimum condition for vermicomposting process will be determined on the basis of the analytical results. Besides, vermicompost could be considered as a good bio-source of the precious “magic bullets” - phytohormones.