Thermophilic Biodegradation of Diesel Oil in Food Waste Composting Processes Without Bioaugmentation

Abstract

In this study, 26,315 mg/kg of diesel oil was mixed with food waste; the mixture was subjected to composting and monitored for temperature, pH, and moisture content to assure a normal composting process. Variation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in the compost was monitored to better understand the progress of diesel decomposition. Samples were also collected for identifying Oleiphilus species. Results showed that food waste composting is effective in decomposing diesel oil, as the TPH was reduced to 2000 mg/kg with about 90%-92% removal efficiencies at the 24th day. Eleven Oleiphilus species were isolated during various composting stages: five from the initial stage, two from the temperature-rising stage, one from the thermophilic stage, one from the temperature-recovering stage, and two from the maturing stage. These observations reveal that the food waste composting pile contained a wide variety of microorganisms, and microorganisms with different oil-decomposing capabilities developed during the various stages of the composting process. After isolation and enrichment, these microbial consortiums may be developed to improve the novel biological method for treating oils in contaminated environment using food waste composting process. It was observed that major decomposition occurred in the thermophilic stage, a divergence from conventional biological treatment approaches conducted in mesophilic environments. Therefore, the proposed composting process involving various diesel-degrading thermophiles facilitated the biodegradation of diesel oil without bioaugmentation, reducing the bioremediation time and cost.

Aerobic co-composting degradation of highly PCDD/F-contaminated field soil. A study of bacterial community

“…A N U S C R I P T 4 2016). Suitable environmental parameters, for example, moisture content, pH, temperature, nutrients, oxygen feeding and ratio of bulking agents determine the efficiency of the cocomposting process (Lin et al 2012).…”

Prediction of Influential Operational Compost Parameters for Monitoring Composting Process

“…In these experiments, saw dust was used to adjust the moisture content of the initial composting mixture. Moreover, mature compost was added to enrich the microbial population and, thus, to hasten the development of the thermophilic fermentation stage (Lin, 2008;Lin et al, 2012). In other words, mature compost can be used as biofilter media to absorb and decompose odorous exhaust gas from the composting process.…”

“…In addition, the moisture content (%, w/w) was monitored by the National Institute of Environmental Accreditation (NIEA) standard method R203.01T, whereas pH was monitored by that of NIEA R208.03C. Temperature was measured with a TES 1310 K-type digital thermometer that was equipped with a 1.2-m probe (-0.1°C sensitivity) (Lin et al, 2012). All measurements were done on samples collected at the center inside the compost piles.…”

“…Thus, the organic contents and the nutrients are of value to be recycled and composted Lin, 2008). Similar demands are also obvious in the major cities of the developing Asian countries, such as India, Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, and China (Seo et al, 2004;Kumar et al, 2010;Lin et al, 2011Lin et al, , 2012.…”

“…Two types of composting systems are widely applied, in-vessel systems and windrow systems (Déportes et al, 1995;Huang et al 2005;Liang et al, 2006;Maliki and Lai, 2011;Lin et al, 2012;Chen et al, 2014). Traditional windrow composting is favored by farmers for use in routine work, because this method requires low capital investment and as only limited intensive knowledge and skills are necessary to operate windrow systems; however, during waste turnover, malodorous gas may be generated and emitted when using the system.…”