# Thermo-Chemical Treatment for Carass Disposal and the Application of Treated Carcass as Compost
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Application of Zeolite for Retarding the Release of NH\({}_{4}\) from Treated carcass Product  
NH\({}_{4}\) concentrations eluted from the treated carcass product in the presence and absence of zeolite are shown in Figure 2. Statistical analysis was also performed to investigate the effect of zeolite amendment and elution time on NH\({}_{4}\) elution from the treated carcass, and the results are provided in Table 5. The ANOVA results showed that both zeolite treatment and reaction time significantly (\(p\) < 0.0001) influenced NH\({}_{4}\) concentration eluted from the treated carcass. Because the treated carcass product did not undergo a composite process, NH\({}_{4}\) was not mineralized to NO\({}_{3}\) and therefore, there were high levels of NH\({}_{4}\) present [31]. The NH\({}_{4}\) concentration rapidly (within 15 min) rose to 32.5 mg/L, thereafter it slowly increased to 44.6 mg/L in 3 h. When the zeolite was added to the solution after reacting with the treated carcass for 24 h. The NH\({}_{4}\) concentration initially decreased to 5.5 mg/L but increased again to 7.4 mg/L at 24 h. With zeolite, the average concentration of NH\({}_{4}\) was 5.7 mg/L, representing a decrease of 87.9%. These results show that the addition of zeolite resulted in adsorption of NH\({}_{4}\); zeolite was therefore effective in retarding the release of NH\({}_{4}\) from the treated carcass. When the zeolite was added to treated carcass in solution, the NH\({}_{4}\) concentration gradually increased to 8.4 mg/L by 3 h, thereafter it decreased to 6.7 mg/L. The initial increase of NH\({}_{4}\) concentration was consistent with the maximum eluted NH\({}_{4}\) concentration from the treated carcass, as observed after 3 h. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Treated carcass Addition (\%)** & **0\%** & **25\%** & **50\%** \\ \hline N (\%) & 0.019 & 0.059 & 0.120 \\ P\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{5}\) (\%) & 0.006 & 0.081 & 0.024 \\ K (\%) & 0.055 & 0.320 & 0.060 \\ C (\%) & 4.99 & 6.10 & 8.28 \\ Organic matter to nitrogen ratio & 262.7 & 103.4 & 8.28 \\ Moisture (\%) & 24.82 & 26.66 & 32.47 \\ Salinity (\%) & 0.058 & 0.096 & 0.062 \\ Decomposed degree(germination) & 91.38 & 97.68 & 95.09 \\ Alkali fraction (\%) & 0.91 & 2.2 & 0.98 \\ _E. coli_ (O157:H7) & N.D. & N.D. \\ _Salmonella_ & N.D. & N.D. & N.D. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Properties of nutrient-poor soil amended with 0%, 25%, and 50% treated carcass product. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Treated carcass** & **Plant Height** & **No. of** & **Leaf Length** & **Leaf Width** & **Fresh** & \\
**Addition (\%)** & **(mm)** & **Leaves** & **(mm)** & **(mm)** & **Weight (g)** & **Dry Weight (g)** & **Chlorophyll** \\ \hline
0\% & 158.1 \(\pm\) 6.7 b 1  & 6.7 \(\pm\) 0.2 b & 112.3 \(\pm\) 5.2 b & 41.1 \(\pm\) 1.2 b & 3.335 \(\pm\) 0.3 b & 0.356 \(\pm\) 0.03 ab & 26.6 \(\pm\) 1.0 a \\
25\% & 132.3 \(\pm\) 0.9 c & 6.5 \(\pm\) 0.2 b & 91.9 \(\pm\) 2.1 c & 35.2 \(\pm\) 0.6 c & 2.289 \(\pm\) 0.1 b & 0.286 \(\pm\) 0.00 bc & 23.9 \(\pm\) 0.9 b \\
50\% & 134.8 \(\pm\) 2.6 c & 6.6 \(\pm\) 0.1 b & 92.9 \(\pm\) 2.2 c & 34.4 \(\pm\) 0.7 c & 2.055 \(\pm\) 0.1 b & 0.246 \(\pm\) 0.01 c & 25.4 \(\pm\) 0.3 ab \\ Commercial soil & 307.1 \(\pm\) 6.9 a & 7.8 \(\pm\) 0.2a & 167.8 \(\pm\) 4.6 a & 49.1 \(\pm\) 0.8 a & 8.915 \(\pm\) 0.8 a & 0.420 \(\pm\) 0.04 a & 25.4 \(\pm\) 0.2 ab \\ Significance & *** & *** & *** & *** & *** & ** & ns \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Growth properties of lettuce cultivated under three different conditions, i.e., nutrient-poor soil and commercial soil amended with 0%, 25%, and 50% of treated carcass product, respectively. Zeolite can adsorb NH4+ ions in aqueous solution through cation exchange by replacing exchangeable cations adsorbed on the framework, formed from SiO4 and AlO4 tetrahedra of zeolite [31; 32]. The anions adsorbed via cation exchange are loosely held together by electrostatic attraction, and they can diffuse into a solution after replacement by other anions [33].