Effect of adding bulking materials over the composting process of municipal solid biowastes

Abstract

Biowastes (BW), the main raw materials for the composting installations in developing countries, are characterized for containing uncooked food wastes (FW), high moisture content, low porosity, acidic pH, and low C/N ratios which affects the overall composting process (CP). In this study, we evaluated the effect of adding sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and star grass (SG) (Cynodon plectostachyus (K. Schum.) Pilg.) as bulking materials (BM) over the quality of the substrate, progress of the process, and quality of the obtained product. In this sense, two pilot-scale experiments were performed. The first one contained a substrate formed by 78% BW and 22% SCB (pile A). The second experiment contained a substrate formed by 66% BW and 34% SG (pile B). For each experiment, control treatments (piles A´ and B´ respectively) were performed by using 100% BW without BM. The results showed that in both cases the adding of BM improved substrate quality (pH, moisture, and total organic C content [TOC]), speeding up the starting step (2-3 d) and reducing the duration of the thermophilic phase of CP (3 d). However, the physico-chemical properties of both BM increased cooling and maturation phases duration (between 15 and 20 d). Obtained products quality was improved in terms of higher TOC, cation-exchange capacity, bulk density, and higher water holding capacity. Application of obtained products A and B could improve some soil properties like major nutrient, water retention, and increasing the organic matter.

Izbor Optimalnog Metoda Kompostiranja U Uslovima Nerazvijenih Sistema Upravljanja Otpadom

“…Efikasnost procesa kompostiranja zavisi od velikog broja faktora, a najvažniji od njih su: odnos ugljenika i azota, veličina čestica, temperatura, koncentracija kiseonika, nivo vlažnosti i pH vrednost [7].…”

Review on Termite Mound Soil Characteristics and Agricultural Importance

“…It is demonstrated that bulking agents speed up the degradation process at the initial stage of composting process and reduce the duration of composting [81]. The addition of bulking materials helps to achieve the thermophilic phase and lower the period of mesophilic phase [81,82]. The efficiency of composting process depends on Bulk Density, CEC and moisture holding capacity of the bulking material added.…”

Efecto de la incorporación de pasto estrella sobre el mejoramiento del proceso y la calidad del producto del compostaje de biorresiduos

“…En todos los experimentos, la mayor reducción en el contenido de SV se observó durante la fase termofílica (ver Figura 1b), que está de acuerdo con la rápida descomposición de compuestos fácilmente degradables como carbohidratos, proteínas que son usados como fuente de energía y nitrógeno por los consorcios microbianos (Jiang-ming, 2017;Hemidat et al, 2018;Waqas et al, 2018). Entre los tratamientos evaluados, la máxima reducción de SV se presentó en A2 y A3, los cuales consistentemente presentaron las mayores temperaturas medias durante el proceso indicando una mayor actividad microbiológica, que pudo estar favorecida por el incremento en la disponibilidad de oxígeno asociada a la porosidad aportada por el PE (Oviedo et al, 2015). En contraste, las menores pendientes de biodegradación se observaron en los tratamientos A0 y A1, los cuales no mostraron diferencias significativas (p>0.05).…”