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Composting plants should be operated at a high degradation rate in order to lower their capital and operational costs. Initial C/N ratio is one of the most influential factors on the composting process. This study aimed to determine the impacts of initial C/N ratio on operational composting parameters of two‐phase olive mill pomace with separated dairy manure. Five initial C/N ratios ranging from 29.43 to 43.33 were examined using fifteen 100 L cylindrical reactors. The highest decomposition rate was estimated at 0.02 day−1 with the C/N ratio of 34.49. The maximum relative heat generation was obtained with the C/N ratio of 36.07. The C/N ratio of ≅33 reduced the composting cost of process‐based total airflow supplied per dry matter and organic matter loss. The maximum throughput capacity was obtained when the compost blend had the C/N ratio of ≅37.24. It was concluded that operating the composting of two‐phase olive mill waste, separated dairy manure, and straw with the boundary of the initial C/N ratios between 33 and 37 was recommended.

In this study, two-phase olive-mill pomace with poultry manure and chopped tomato harvest stalks were composted at different initial carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios with fixed free air space of 35%. Composting experiment was carried out in the 15 aerobic reactors made of stainless steel and was monitored for 28 days. During the composting process, temperature, moisture content, organic matter (OM), pH, electrical conductivity, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, total carbon, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen ([Formula: see text]), nitrate nitrogen ([Formula: see text]), and total phosphorus were monitored. Compost mass and volume changes were determined at the beginning, during remixings, and at the end of composting. While the stabilization period took less time for the mixtures containing a high amount of poultry manure, the mixtures having the high portion of two-phase olive-mill pomace took a longer time due to the structure of olive stone and its lignin content. Dry matter loss (range: 18.1-34.0%.) in the mixtures increased with an increase in the share of poultry manure and tomato stalks in the initial mixture. OM loss (range: 21.7-46.1%) for tomato stalks (measured separately) during composting increased due to an increase in the ratio of poultry manure in the initial mixtures.

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