Journal of Environmental Management 114 (2013) 8e12

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Journal of Environmental Management

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Development of a vinasse nutritive solution for hydroponics

José Darcy dos Santos a, André Luís Lopes da Silva a, Jefferson da Luz Costa b, Gessiel Newton Scheidt b,
Alessandra Cristine Novak a, Eduardo Bittencourt Sydney a, Carlos Ricardo Soccol a, *
a
Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
b
Federal University of Tocantins, Gurupi, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Vinasse is a residue that originates from the distillation of fuel alcohol. However, it contains a relative
Received 13 May 2012 amount of nutrients. The aim of this work was to develop a nutritive solution using vinasse and to
Received in revised form compare it with a commercial solution for the cultivation of lettuce, watercress and rocket. Vinasse
22 September 2012
obtained from juice must was decanted and filtered, followed by chemical analyses of the nutrients. A
Accepted 12 October 2012
Available online 30 November 2012
nutritive solution composed of 10% vinasse supplemented with nutrients was in agreement with the
results of the chemical analyses (a similar amount of Furlani’s solution). Experiments were then per-
formed in an NFT (Nutrient film technique) system. The treatments used the vinasse solution and
Keywords:
Food production
a commercial solution constituted from a Yara FertilizantesÒ product. The height of the aerial part and
Commercial solution the number of leaves of the crops were evaluated at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days. In most crops, the
Vinasse disposal results were very similar. The vinasse solution promoted a larger number of leaves in lettuce and the
Lettuce highest aerial part in watercress. For the rocket, there were no significant differences between the two
Rocket solutions. In conclusion, a nutritive solution was developed using vinasse, and this solution provided
Watercress suitable growth, which was higher in some cases, for the crops studied herein. This study shows the great
potential of this technology as a rational alternative to vinasse disposal.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Vinasse is the largest pollution source of the ethanol industry. It
is a dark colored liquid residue with a high chemical oxygen
demand that is removed from the base of distillation columns. It is
generated in an average proportion of 12e15 L for each liter of
alcohol produced. However, this residue is rich in several mineral
nutrients essential for plant growth, which can also increase crop
yield (Silva and Orlando Filho, 1981). In Brazil, incorporating
vinasse into agricultural soil using a technique known as fertigation
is a common practice. This use is a cheap way to dispose of such
a waste product. Nevertheless, this process causes soil salinity
mainly due to the high potassium level (Hassuda, 1989).
Vinasse use can change soil characteristics, promoting changes
in its chemical properties and favoring an increased availability of
elements for plants (Da Silva et al., 2007). Vinasse use can also
promote changes in the physical properties of the soil, increasing
the amount of ions and thus increasing the leaching of ions
(contamination of the groundwater). Infiltration problems due to
vinasse aspersion were identified in the Bauru Aquifer in Brazil
(Hassuda, 1989). These issues show the urgency in the develop-
ment of more rational uses for this residue of sugarcane production.
Vinasse has the potential to be used as a solution capable of
supporting plant growth. Vinasse use in hydroponics is an inter-
esting alternative. Hydroponics is a technique of growing plants
without soil, in water containing dissolved nutrients. Its numerous
advantages include fast growth, high productivity, easy manage-
ment and environmental safety.
The aims of this study were to establish a hydroponic nutritive
solution containing vinasse to be used as fertilizer for plant growth,
evaluate its efficiency and compare it with a commercial solution
for the cultivation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cv. Vanda (curly
type), rocket (Nasturtium officinale R. Br.) cv. Apreciatta and
watercress (Eruca sativa Mill.) cv. Gigante Redondo. This study is
part of a patented process (Soccol et al., 2008) developed in our
laboratory.

* Corresponding author. Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology Division,
Chemical Engineering Department, Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), P.O. Box
19011, CEP 81531-970, BR-Curitiba PR, Brazil. Tel.: þ55 41 33 613 191; fax: þ55 41 33
613 695.
E-mail address: soccol@ufpr.br (C.R. Soccol).
2. Material and methods
The experiments were performed at 25
260 5500 longitude west
and 49
130 5000 latitude south at an altitude of 923.9 m. The average

0301-4797/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.10.045
 J.D. dos Santos et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 114 (2013) 8e12
precipitation per month in this area is 81 mm, and the average
temperature is 16.5
C. The climate in the region is subtropical
humid mesothermic, Cfb, according to Köppen’s classification,
and is characterized by soft summers and relatively cold winters.
The greenhouse used was a semi-arch type with a polyethylene
covering (1.5 mm) with the following dimensions: 5 m width, 10 m
length, 3.6 m height of the right foot and 5.1 m height of the
concavity in the arch.
The vinasse was collected in artificial ponds made with imper-
meable material. The vinasse stored in those ponds originated from
distillation of the alcohol obtained from juice must. The vinasse was
decanted to remove the excess solid and organic matter that was
dispersed in the liquid. The decantation was carried out in a hori-
zontal tank with the addition of two chemical products, calcium
hydroxide and aluminum sulfate, in proportions of 40 g Ca(OH)2
and 30 g Al2(SO4)3 per 100 L of vinasse over 24 h. The liquid ob-
tained from the vinasse decantation was filtered through a system
comprised of a tube of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) with a diameter of
20 cm and length of 1.80 m above an iron tripod and an exit of
2.5 cm installed in the inferior part. The filter inside the tube was
formed by the following layers, from top to bottom: (1) layer of
thick rock fragments, (2) layer of fine rock fragments, (3) layer of
thick sand, (4) layer of fine sand and (5) two layers of impermeable
felt on a metallic drain with a sieve with a 3 mm mesh (Fig. 1). The
purpose of the filtration was to retain the flakes that had not been
removed during the decantation phase.
Pure vinasse and the treated vinasse (decanted and filtered)
were analyzed with respect to their content of sulfate, chloride,
phosphate, nitrate, ammonium, calcium, magnesium, sodium,
potassium, manganese, zinc, copper, molybdate, borate and total
iron. The sulfate content was quantified by the turbidimetric
method, chloride content was quantified by the titulometric
method with mercury nitrate, phosphate content was quantified by
the colorimetric method (ascorbic acid) and the forms of nitrogen,
as nitrate and ammonium, were quantified by the reduction
method with cadmium and by the phenate method, respectively.
The calcium and magnesium contents were obtained by titulom-
etry with EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid), and sodium and
potassium contents were quantified by flame photometry. The
content of total iron was quantified by the phenanthroline method
(Saywell and Cunningham, 1937). The micronutrients, such as zinc,
copper and manganese, were quantified by atomic absorption
spectroscopy (Clesceri et al., 1998). Borate was determined by ion
chromatography (Kototilina and Dolgonovov, 2005). Molybdate
was determined by a colorimetric method with catechol (Seifter
and Novic, 1951).
Fig. 1. Filtration system of the decanted vinasse.
9
The NFT (nutrient film technique) was used as a hydroponic
system. Workbenches constituted of five cultivation channels with
4.0 cm of depth and spacing of 25 cm between plants and 20 cm
among lines of different channels. For the storage of the nutritive
solution was used five reservoirs, one for each cultivation channel,
each reservoir had capacity of 36 L, but 80% of their capacity was
used (i.e., 30 L). These reservoirs were installed below the level of
the cultivation channels, allowing return of the nutritive solution
through tubing with a 19 mm diameter under the effect of gravity at
a 15% slope. The system was closed for recuperation of the nutritive
solution, and the same solution applied to the plant roots came
back to the reservoir and was reused during scheduled periods.
The pump system of the nutritive solution from the reservoir to
the cultivation channels was composed of multiple 28 W pumps
installed in the fund of the reservoir, which was turned on by
a timer to circulate in intervals of 15 min on and 15 min off. The
solutions were applied at a flow of 0.8 L min1.
Plantlets of lettuce were cultivated hydroponically using pure
vinasse at the following dilutions: 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%. The
survival of the plantlets was evaluated after 20 days of hydroponic
cultivation.
The vinasse solution was formulated using the treated vinasse
(decanted and filtered) at a 10% dilution in water and supplemented
with 150 mg L1 NH4PO4, 750 mg L1 Ca(NO3)2$6H2O, 500 mg L1
KNO3 and 400 mg L1 MgSO4$7H2O as well as 1 mL L1 micro-
nutrient stock solution (2.34 mg L1 MnCl2$H2O, 0.88 mg L1
ZnSO4$7H2O, 0.2 mg L1 CuSO4$5H2O, 2.04 mg L1 H3BO3 and
0.26 mg L1 Na2MoO4$2H2O). This supplementation was carried to
adjust the composition of the vinasse solution (10% dilution) to that
proposed by Furlani (1995), largely used in hydroponics. The
supplementation of vinasse solution was performed with salts
reagents grade. The commercial solution was composed of the
following commercial fertilizers with fantasy names: 800 mg L1
KristalonÒ (Yara, Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil) (06-12-36: NePeK),
800 mg L1 CalcinitÒ Yara Liva (15, 5e19: NeCa), 25 mg L1
HydroFeÒ (2.06 mg L1 Iron) and 1 mL L1 micronutrient stock
solution (2.34 mg L1 MnCl2$H2O, 0.88 mg L1 ZnSO4$7H2O,
0.2 mg L1 CuSO4$5H2O, 2.04 mg L1 H3BO3 and 0.26 mg L1
Na2MoO4$2H2O), just for the micronutrient stock solution was used
salts reagent grade. The pH for both solutions was adjusted to 6.2.
The plantlets of lettuce cv. Vanda, rocket and watercress were
transplanted to the cultivation channels when they were approxi-
mately 20e25 days old, presenting from two leaves and were
approximately 4e6 cm in height. All plantlets were purchased
locally. These plantlets were obtained through sowing in trays
of 200 cells containing commercial substratum (PlantmaxÒ
HT):vermiculite (7:3 v/v) and irrigated with nutritive solution
(Furlani, 1995) for 15 min of intermittent nebulization for a total
of 60 min during the day and once during the night.
Two nutritive solutions were tested as treatments: the vinasse
solution and the commercial solution, both described above. The
electrical conductivity and the pH of the solutions were measured
once a week, and the pH was adjusted to 6.2 every week. During the
culture period, the nutrients in the solutions were not replaced;
however, because of evapotranspiration, the level of the solutions
was maintained with pure water every week. The vinasse solution
had an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.81 mS cm1, and the
commercial solution had a CE of 1.83 mS cm1. During the exper-
imental period, the application of insecticides and fungicides was
not necessary. The meteorological data and cultivation periods
were reported (Table 1). At 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days of hydro-
ponic cultivation, the following features of the plants were evalu-
ated: the height of the aerial part (cm) and the number of leaves.
The experimental design was completely randomized in
a factorial arrangement (2  5) with three replicates of twelve
10 J.D. dos Santos et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 114 (2013) 8e12

Table 1 Table 2
Global solar radiation and maximum and minimum averages for temperature and Amount of ions found in the pure vinasse and treated vinasse (decanted and
relative humidity during the cultivation of the lettuce, rocket and watercress filtered), vinasse at 10% (Treated vinasse and diluted in water without salt supple-
(Mx ¼ maximum and Mn ¼ minimum). mentation), Furlani (1995) (This solution is largely used in hydroponics and was
used as a “standard” in the adjustment in the composition of the vinasse solution
Crop Temperature Relative Rg Year Months through supplementation) and the vinasse solution (Hydroponics solution
(
C) humidity (%) W m2 composed with treated vinasse diluted at 10% in water and supplemented with
Mx Mn Mx Mn 750 mg L1 Ca(NO3)2$6H2O, 500 mg L1 KNO3, 150 mg L1 NH4PO4, 400 mg L1
MgSO4$7H2O and 1 mL L1 micronutrient stock solution composed of (2.34 mg L1
Lettuce 21.5 7.9 80.8 79.5 551.5 2009 May/June
MnCl2$H2O, 0.88 mg L1 ZnSO4$7H2O, 0.2 mg L1 CuSO4$5H2O, 2.04 mg L1 H3BO3
Rocket 23.1 10.9 84.9 80.3 712.0 2008 September/October
and 0.26 mg L1 Na2MoO4$2H2O)).
Watercress 23.1 10.9 84.9 80.3 712.0 2008 September/October
Ion (mg L1) Pure Treated Vinasse Furlani Vinasse
vinasse vinasse at 10% (1995) solution

plants, with the first factor being the type of nutritive solution Cl 59.4 37.1 3.71 72.6 4.95
SO4 1680 1458 145.8 106.2 302.1
(commercial or vinasse) and the second factor being the evaluation
Na 8.6 7 0.7 1.6 0.75
period (0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 or 42 days). All data were submitted to the K 1620 1760 176 315.8 368.85
Lilliefors’s test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). In addition, the Ca 3160 1642 164.2 147.3 274.45
data originating from the quantitative treatments were submitted Mg 162.4 101.8 10.18 24.6 49.14
PO4 560 380 38 126.1 161.92
to regression analysis, and the data originating from the qualitative
NO3 ea 0.66 0.066 823.7 648.36
treatments were submitted to the F test, both at the levels of 1 and NH4 e 47.65 4.765 23.9 24.18
5% probabilitypof error. The data obtained by counting were trans-
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi Fe 44.9 27.92 2.792 2.4 2.792
formed using x þ 1:0. All of the analyses were performed using the Mn 4.9 2.88 0.288 0.89 1.18
software GENES (Cruz, 2001). Zn 1.2 0.75 0.075 0.2 0.27
BO3 e 0 0 1.94 1.94
Cu e 0 0 0.06 0.06
3. Results and discussion MoO4 e 0 0 0.17 0.17
a
Chemical analyses were not performed for these ions.
After decantation of the vinasse, a clearer residue was obtained
with a slightly sweetened smell and a pH varying between 5.3 and
6.0. The volume of solid and organic matter removed from the in 8.3 leaves per plant compared with 8.5 leaves per plant,
solution was approximately 90%. After filtration, approximately respectively.
0.2% of the remaining organic and solid matter was retained in the The small differences presented among the means of the vari-
filter. Chemical analysis of the pure vinasse and the treated vinasse ables observed in the cultivation of the lettuce are due to the
demonstrated that the level of potassium increased after the reduced experimental error, which allowed the analysis of variance
treatment of the vinasse, while those of the other nutrients (chlo- to consider those small significant differences (Data not shown).
ride, sulfate, sodium, calcium, phosphate, iron, manganese and The coefficients of variation obtained in this work were inferior to
zinc) decreased. These chemical alterations were most likely due to those reported in the literature, which have high quality experi-
chemical reactions involving the Ca(OH)2 and Al2(SO4)3 used mental controls. For the number of leaves, the CV (%) was 3.2, lower
during the decantation of the vinasse. Moreover, the remaining than the one found in cv. Regina and Deisy, which varied 9.5e27%
organic and solid matter may have degraded and solubilized some (Backes et al., 2004). For the height of the aerial part, the CV (%)
ions, which would explain the increase in potassium. Moreover, the was 1.1, also lower than that obtained with cv. Ryder (CV (%) ¼ 15.2)
decantation process elevated the pH from 3.5 to 6.2 due to the (Costa et al., 2001).
application of calcium hydroxide (Table 2). The analysis of variance was also significant for the time of
In the pure vinasse, the nutrients found in the largest amounts cultivation (P < 0.01) for both variables observed in the lettuce
(all greater than 1000 mg L1) were Ca, SO4 and K. There was also (Data not shown). Moreover, there was interaction between the
560 mg L1 PO4 and 110 mg L1 Mg. Cl and Fe showed superior nutritive solution and time of cultivation for the number of leaves.
amounts at 10 mg L1, and the nutrients Na, Mn and Zn were all There was no interaction between these factors for height of the
present at less than 10 mg L1. Similar results were found in the aerial part in lettuce (Data not shown).
vinasse from sugarcane, which had high amounts of K, Ca and SO4 The increase in the height of the aerial part of the lettuce fol-
(Almeida, 1952; Glória, 1976). In addition to the micronutrients lowed a positive linear effect in the function of the time of culti-
found in larger amounts in the vinasse, Fe and small concentrations vation (Fig. 2A). Because there was no interaction among the factors
of Mn, Cu and Zn were also found (Rodella and Ferrari, 1977). for this variable, it was adjusted using one equation for both
Plantlets of lettuce cultured in different vinasse dilutions pre- nutritive solutions. The increase in the number of leaves for the
sented different survival percentages. The best survival percentage plant also followed a positive linear effect in the function of the
of the plantlets was 60%, which was obtained with vinasse diluted time of cultivation (Fig. 2B). However, due to an interaction among
at 10%. In the dilutions at 5 and 20%, the survival percentage was the factors, two equations were used.
only 5%. All plantlets died in the treatments at 40, 60, 80 and 100%, The number of leaves per plant obtained in this experiment,
most likely due to the excess salts in the solution, which resulted in approximately 8.4 leaves per plant, was inferior to that obtained in
severe saline stress. cv. Deisy (curly type), which varied from 16 to 24 leaves per plant,
The results for the analysis of variance indicated significant but the time of cultivation was 20 days more than our plants
differences for the cultivation of the lettuce with respect to the type (Backes et al., 2004). Moreover, many other factors can be involved,
of nutritive solution, the height of the aerial part (P < 0.05) and the such as the genetic factors of the cultivar, type of nutritive solution
number of leaves (P < 0.01) (Data not shown). The commercial and environmental conditions.
solution was superior with respect to the height of the aerial part, For the rocket, the results of the analysis of variance did not
reaching 14.2 cm compared with the 13.9 cm obtained with indicate significant differences with respect to the nutritive solu-
the vinasse solution. However, for the number of leaves, the tions for the height of the aerial part and number of leaves (Data
commercial solution was inferior to the vinasse solution, resulting not shown). The vinasse solution and the commercial solution
 J.D. dos Santos et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 114 (2013) 8e12 11

A 30 B 14
Lettuce Lettuce - commercial
25 12
Watercress

Height of aerial part (cm)

Lettuce - vinasse
Rocket - commercial 10
20 Watercress

Leaf number
Rocket - vinasse 8
15 Rocket
6
10
4
5
2
0
0
0 7 14 21 28 35 42
0 7 14 21 28 35 42
time (days)
time (days)

Fig. 2. Height of aerial part and leaf number evaluated during hydroponic culture until 42 days. (A) Regression equations adjusted to height of aerial part. - Lettuce:
y ¼ 4.19 þ 0.24x (R2 ¼ 0.94) C Rocket (cultured on vinasse solution): y ¼ 2.66 þ 0.48x (R2 ¼ 0.98) B Rocket (cultured on commercial solution): y ¼ 1.22 þ 0.52x (R2 ¼ 0.93) and
A Watercress: y ¼ 0.020 þ 0.676x (R2 ¼ 0.99) (B) Regression equations adjusted to leaf number. - Lettuce (cultured on vinasse solution): y ¼ 2.08 þ 0.16x (R2 ¼ 0.94) , Lettuce
(cultured on commercial solution): y ¼ 1.69 þ 0.17x (R2 ¼ 0.95) C Rocket: y ¼ 1.43 þ 0.14x (R2 ¼ 0.98) and A Watercress: y ¼ 1.09 þ 0.27x (R2 ¼ 0.99). When there was not
interaction among the factors, an equation was just adjusted for both solutions. Factors were hydroponics solution (vinasse and commercial) and time (days). The formulation of
vinasse solution and commercial solution are detailed in material and methods.

A 1.95 B 7.2
Vinasse
1.9 Vinasse
7 Commercial
Commercial
1.85
6.8
EC (mS.cm )
-1

1.8
6.6
pH

1.75
6.4
1.7
1.65 6.2

1.6 6
1.55 5.8
0 7 14 21 28 35 42 0 7 14 21 28 35 42
Time (days) Time (days)

C 1.95 D 7.2
Vinasse
1.9 7 Commercial
1.85
6.8
EC (mS.cm )
-1

1.8
6.6
pH

1.75
6.4
1.7
1.65 6.2
Vinasse
1.6 6
Commercial
1.55 5.8
0 7 14 21 28 35 42 0 7 14 21 28 35 42
Time (days) Time (days)

E 1.95 F 7.2
1.9 7 Vinasse

1.85 6.8 Commercial

CE (mS.cm )
-1

1.8 6.6
pH

1.75 6.4

1.7 6.2

1.65 Vinasse 6
Commercial
1.6 5.8
0 7 14 21 28 35 42 0 7 14 21 28 35 42
Time (days) Time (days)

Fig. 3. Weekly values of the electrical conductivity (EC) and pH of the nutritive solutions (vinasse and commercial). (AeB) Lettuce cv. Vanda, (CeD) Rocket cv. Gigante Redondo and
(EeF) Watercress cv. Apreciatta.
12 J.D. dos Santos et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 114 (2013) 8e12
presented means of 23.8 cm and 25.6 cm, respectively, for the
height of the aerial part. The number of obtained leaves was 7.8
leaves per plant for both solutions. Different results were found in
the cultivars, Folha Larga, Cultivada and Selvática, varying from 6.5
to 16.6 cm for the aerial part and from 8.8 to 11.4 for the leaf number.
However, the cultivation period after the subculture was 26 days,
and the plantlets had the same number of days after sowing as the
plantlets used in another study (Cavarianni et al., 2008).
The time of cultivation (P < 0.01) was statistically significant for
both variables observed in the rocket (Data not shown). The height
of the aerial part showed an interaction (P < 0.01). The increase in
the height of the aerial part of the rocket followed a positive linear
effect in the function of the cultivation period (Fig. 2C). However,
due to an interaction among the factors, two equations were used.
The increase in the number of leaves also followed a positive linear
effect in the function of the cultivation period, but because the
interaction among the factors was not significant, only one equa-
tion was adjusted (Fig. 2D).
For the cultivation of the watercress, the results of the analysis
of variance indicated significant differences with respect to the
nutritive solutions for the height of the aerial part (P < 0.01) and for
the number of leaves (P < 0.05) (Data not shown). The vinasse
solution showed a higher height of the aerial part, reaching 28.9 cm
compared with the 27.6 cm obtained with the commercial solution.
However, the vinasse solution presented a lower number of leaves
than the commercial solution, with 12.7 leaves per plant compared
with 13 leaves per plant, respectively.
The analysis of variance was also significant for the time of
cultivation (P < 0.01) for both variables observed in the watercress
(Data not shown). There was no interaction of the factors of
nutritive solution and cultivation period (Data not shown). The
increase in the height of the aerial part of the watercress followed
a positive linear effect in the function of the time of cultivation
(Fig. 2E). The increase in the number of leaves per plant also fol-
lowed a positive linear effect in the function of the cultivation
period (Fig. 2F). Because there was no interaction among the factors
for those variables, only one equation was used for both nutritive
solutions.
The number of days after the sowing that the plantlets were
obtained influenced the final productivity of the cultivated crop.
The plantlets of watercress had from 20 to 25 days after the
emergence of the seeds, and after 42 days of cultivation, they
presented from 27.6 to 28.9 cm of height of the aerial part, differing
from the results obtained by the same cultivar at 28 days of culture
in the nutritive solution proposed by Furlani (1995). However, the
latter plantlets were cultivated for 53 days after the sowing
(Barbosa et al., 2009).
The electrical conductivity of the commercial solution decreased
as the culture period elapsed. In contrast, the electrical conductivity
of the vinasse solution showed a larger variation and even
increased during some periods of the culture. Nevertheless, these
increases did not lead to increases in the amount of nutrients
(Fig. 3). Even after the decantation treatments and filtration of the
vinasse, a small amount of solid particles, possibly residues of
organic matter, remained in the solution, and these particles can be
solubilized, likely causing the increase in electrical conductivity of
the vinasse solution. In addition, the commercial solution pre-
sented a higher buffering effect than the vinasse solution (Fig. 3).
This observation also possibly contributed to solubilization of the
solid residues present in the vinasse.
4. Conclusion
Establishing a nutritive solution using vinasse was possible, and
this solution resulted in suitable, and sometimes higher, growth for
lettuce, watercress and rocket. These results show the significant
potential of this technology as a rational alternative to vinasse
disposal.
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