Composting process: a review

2019

This paper discusses the composting process as one of the methods of biodegradable waste management. It presents the fundamentals of the composting process, an overview of raw materials for composting, the basic characteristics of composting products, as well as an example of composting within the public utility company “Mediana” from Niš.

Journal of International Environmental Application and Science, 2017

Both the waste component, the rate of waste production and the amount of waste with increasing urbanization and industrialization day by day have increased. Disposal or evaluation of these wastes resulting from industrial, commercial, domestic, treatment plant and agricultural activities has become inevitable for municipal corporations. The amount of organic waste in solid wastes is about 40%, and the priority preferences of waste management include these wastes that have been chastened and recycled into environmentally compatible products. For this reason, compost production is becoming an alternative as an environmentally friendly biodegradation option that is becoming increasingly widespread. Biodegradable wastes which are described as garbage in public by compost are possible to convert into useful products. Therefore, compost can be made from a lot of waste as tree bark, animal faces, vegetable and fruit wastes, algae and other water plants, paper, newspapers to wastewater treatment muds. These produced composts can also be used in different fields from fruit to flower, from erosion control to odour elimination filter material. In Turkey, 33*10 6 t/year of Urban Solid Waste (USW) was produced according to the data of the year 2013 and if compost production was made from these wastes, 6.6*10 6 t/year compost could be produced. With the assumption that 5 t/ha compost can be used for agricultural land, the amount of land that can be applied to this manufacturable compost is seen 1.3*10 6 ha/year. In the light of this information, compost raw materials, application areas of compost, compost technologies and preferential reasons and compostrelated legislations in our country have been examined.

Ecology, Environment and Conservation, 2024

Composting is a technological waste management method in which organic material is broken down and stabilized into a biodegradable mixture in the presence of aerobic microbial activities, ultimately becoming compost. The breakdown of organic matter has garnered significant interest recently owing to its ecofriendly approaches that prevent further pollution of the environment. The process of breaking down of organic matter into carbon dioxide, heat, water, humus, and compost, a rather stable end organic product is facilitated by microorganisms such bacteria, fungus, and actinomycetes. Microorganisms break down the intricate lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose molecules during the composting process. The content of composite mixtures and temperature fluctuations throughout the composting process have an impact on the existence of various microorganisms. The temperature rises at the start of compression due to a large increase in microbial activity. The fungi that are most active during the compost maturation process take over from the initial dominance of bacteria. The most significant variables affecting the success of decomposition are the C/N ratio, temperature, humidity, particle size of the substrate, pH, oxygen content, and microorganisms. The final stable product, known as compost, is a sustainable fertilizer and soil improver that contains humified fraction similar to humus. It may be used to increase the efficacy of fertilizers, improve the physico-chemical features of the soil, and encourage crop growth. Humic materials enhance soils with minerals that are essential to plant growth, including calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. Additionally, composting, which recycles byproducts and is based on the circular economy model, is a clever and sustainable way to lessen the harmful environmental effects associated with waste management.

Agronomy

Composting has become a preferable option to treat organic wastes to obtain a final stable sanitized product that can be used as an organic amendment. From home composting to big municipal waste treatment plants, composting is one of the few technologies that can be practically implemented at any scale. This review explores some of the essential issues in the field of composting/compost research: on one hand, the main parameters related to composting performance are compiled, with especial emphasis on the maturity and stability of compost; on the other hand, the main rules of applying compost on crops and other applications are explored in detail, including all the effects that compost can have on agricultural land. Especial attention is paid to aspects such as the improvement of the fertility of soils once compost is applied, the suppressor effect of compost and some negative experiences of massive compost application.

From a scientific perspective, composting is the partial decomposition and stabilization of heterogeneous organic substances by a mixed microbial population under optimum conditions of moisture, temperature and aeration. Compost is composed of fairly homogeneous, stable organic matter with high molecular weight and is free of pathogens and weeds seeds. In nature, dead organic materials undergo several processes of microbial transformation according to substrate composition and physical environment. Composting requires that the process be mostly aerobic so that the organic matter is partially mineralized and humified. In order to produce suitable compost for agriculture, the composting process must be controlled, particularly through the choices of substrate, moisture content and aeration. Many of the different composting systems that have been developed have utilized this basic principle in their design .

Notulae Botanicae, Horti …, 2009

Composting is commonly used to treat solid wastes prior to recycling or disposal. It reduces the amount of material to handle and has the potential to inactivate pathogens thermally. Using composts in agriculture to minimize organic wastes and to reduce the addition of fertilizers and ...

Environmental Engineering and Management Journal

The need for processing solid urban and agro-industrial wastes is in agreement with the demands of the society sustainable development. The paper presents aspects regarding some of the chemical and physical aspects of the composting process. Effective utilization of waste materials biodegraded by composting assumes added significance. The optimum composting conditions, for a mixture based on wood residues and domestic waste are: 40 0 C starting temperature, for a C/N ratio of 30 and a humidity value of 60%. Nutrient supplements with carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus sources by mixing two or more feedstock (starch, soybean, rice, urea etc.) made in order to establish a desired ratio of carbon to nitrogen, and perhaps carbon to phosphorus, to control odor generation, and to achieve market requirements for product stability could be also take into consideration.

Organic fraction of solid waste, which upon degradation produces foul smell and generates pathogens, if not properly managed. Composting is not a method of waste disposal but it is a method of waste recycling and used for agricultural purposes. An integrated approach of composting methodology was tested for municipal solid waste management. Solid waste first was composted and after 22 days, was further processed by vermicomposting. Samples were routinely taken for analysis of carbon, nitrogen, moisture content, pH and temperature to determine the quality of composting. Decrease in moisture content to 32.1 %, relative decrease in carbon and nitrogen content were also observed. Among the different types of treatment, municipal solid waste + activated sludge integration showed promising results, followed by vermicomposting municipal solid waste + activated sludge combination, compared to the combinations of dried activated sludge, municipal solid waste + activated sludge semisolid and municipal solid waste + sewage water. Thus, windrow composting followed by vermicomposting gave a better result than other methods. Thus this method would serve as a potential alternative for solid waste management.

International journal of engineering research and technology, 2020

Escalating population erratic urbanization and vigorously changing income leads to the modified lifestyle of people in developing countries like India. That massively affects the solid waste generation which includes the organic and inorganic waste of different types that are dumped directly to the outskirts of the city or in landfill sites that simultaneously challenging the ecological balance by producing greenhouse gases. Over the last few years, the immanent campaign SWACHH BHARAT MISSION commenced by the government helps to strengthen solid waste management (SWM) and new technologies. Composting is one of the prominent methods to decompose organic waste to make waste to wealth in an economic way. This study gives an overview of the composting method which is affected by various parameter such as aeration rate , appropriate temperature(40-70 °C), moisture content (50-60%), pH(5.5-8) , carbon and nitrogen ratio(C/N). This paper is aimed to review the composting method and its byproduct compost as the best suitable soil conditioner.