Effect of pre-composting and vermicomposting on compost characteristics

Frederickson, James R.; Howell, Graham; Hobson, A.M.

doi:10.1016/j.ejsobi.2007.08.032

Cited by 49 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In WC on the other hand, the weekly turning and mixing up of the substrate might have helped the redistribution of the mineralized ions in the compost mass and hence the loss of those ions from the system through leaching might have relatively been reduced. This finding is in line with Lazcano et al (2008) and Frederickson et al (2007) who reported a significantly lower EC value for VC and WVC than WC. The EC value in the final product of all treatments was far below the threshold value of 3000 µS cm −1 indicating a material which can be safely applied to soil (Soumaré et al 2002).…”

Section: Evolution Of Electrical Conductivity (Ec)supporting

confidence: 81%

Comparative effectiveness of different composting methods on the stabilization, maturation and sanitization of municipal organic solid wastes and dried faecal sludge mixtures

et al. 2017

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Background:Composting is one of the integrated waste management strategies used for the recycling of organic wastes into a useful product. Composting methods vary in duration of decomposition and potency of stability, maturity and sanitation. This study was aimed to investigate the comparative effectiveness of four different methods of composting viz. windrow composting (WC), Vermicomposting (VC), pit composting (PC) and combined windrow and vermicomposting (WVC) on the stabilization, maturation and sanitization of mixtures of municipal solid organic waste and dried faecal sludge. Methods:The composting treatments were arranged in a completely randomized block design with three replications. The changes in physico-chemical and biological characteristics of the compost were examined at 20 days interval for 100 days using standard laboratory procedures. The analysis of variance was performed using SAS software and the significant differences were determined using Fisher's LSD test at P ≤ 0.05 level.Results: The evolution of composting temperature, pH, EC, NHratio, OC, C:N ratio and total volatile solids varied significantly among the composting methods and with composting time. The evolution of total nitrogen and germination index also varied significantly (P ≤ 0.001) with time, but their variation among the composting methods was not significant (P > 0.05). Except for PC, all other methods of composting satisfied all the indices for stability/maturity of compost at the 60th day of sampling; whereas PC achieved the critical limit values for most of the indices at the 80th day. A highly significant differences (P ≤ 0.001) were noted among the composting methods with regard to their effectiveness in eliminating pathogens (faecal coliforms and helminth eggs). The WVC method was most efficient in eliminating the pathogens complying with WHO's standard. Conclusion:Turned windrow composting and composting involving earthworms hastened the biodegradation process of organic wastes and result in the production of stable compost earlier than the traditional pit method of composting. The WVC method is most efficient in keeping the pathogens below the threshold level. Thus, elimination of pathogens from composts being a critical consideration, this study would recommend this method for composting organic wastes involving human excreta.© The Author(s) 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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Section: Evolution Of Electrical Conductivity (Ec)supporting

confidence: 81%

Comparative effectiveness of different composting methods on the stabilization, maturation and sanitization of municipal organic solid wastes and dried faecal sludge mixtures

et al. 2017

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“…The pH of the treatments ranged from 7.9 to 8.7, with no significant effect of either additives or worms, in contrast to results obtained by other authors (Frederickson et al, 2007;Lazcano et al, 2008). The contrasting results may be explained by a lower production of CO 2 and organic acids by microorganisms in our experiment due to the almost mature precomposted material used compared to the fresh green wastes used in previous experiments.…”

Section: Properties Of the Co-(vermi)compostscontrasting

confidence: 55%

The effects of worms, clay and biochar on CO<sub>2</sub> emissions during production and soil application of co-composts

Barthod

Rumpel

Paradelo

et al. 2016

SOIL

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Abstract. In this study we evaluated CO 2 emissions during composting of green wastes with clay and/or biochar in the presence and absence of worms (species of the genus Eisenia), as well as the effect of those amendments on carbon mineralization after application to soil. We added two different doses of clay, biochar or their mixture to pre-composted green wastes and monitored carbon mineralization over 21 days in the absence or presence of worms. The resulting co-composts and vermicomposts were then added to a loamy Cambisol and the CO 2 emissions were monitored over 30 days in a laboratory incubation. Our results indicated that the addition of clay or clay/biochar mixture reduced carbon mineralization during co-composting without worms by up to 44 %. In the presence of worms, CO 2 emissions during composting increased for all treatments except for the low clay dose. The effect of the amendments on carbon mineralization after addition to soil was small in the short term. Overall, composts increased OM mineralization, whereas vermicomposts had no effect. The presence of biochar reduced OM mineralization in soil with respect to compost and vermicompost without additives, whereas clay reduced mineralization only in the composts. Our study indicates a significant role of the conditions of composting on mineralization in soil. Therefore, the production of a low CO 2 emission amendment requires optimization of feedstocks, co-composting agents and worm species.

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“…This product is nutrient rich and contains especially high-quality humus, plant growth hormones, enzymes, and substances that are able to protect plants against pests and diseases (Sinha et al 2010a, b). Prior to the vermicomposting process, it can be appropriate to assign pre-composting (thermophilic composting), which comprises a short period of high temperature, facilitating mass reduction, waste stabilization, and pathogen reduction (Nair et al 2006;Frederickson et al 2007). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processing separated digestate by vermicomposting technology using earthworms of the genus Eisenia

Hanč

Vašák

2014

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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In the current study, pre-composting and subsequent vermicomposting of separated digestate (also called separated biogas plant slurry) were verified to improve its properties for use as a soil conditioner. Increasing the proportion of straw in combination with separated digestate had a positive effect on reducing both weight and volume during vermicomposting. The pH value decreased and was found to be between 7.3 and 7.7 in the final vermicomposts. Due to a loss in organic matter, the total content of macro-elements increased at the end of vermicomposting with the exception of calcium. Similarly, the available contents of phosphorus and potassium increased, which was positive in terms of the use of vermicompost for agricultural purposes. After 5 months of vermicomposting, the earthworm biomass increased from 282 to 896 % depending on the treatment. The best results were achieved during the vermicomposting of a mixture of straw (25 vol %) with separated digestate (75 vol %).

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Effect of pre-composting and vermicomposting on compost characteristics

Cited by 49 publications

References 14 publications

Comparative effectiveness of different composting methods on the stabilization, maturation and sanitization of municipal organic solid wastes and dried faecal sludge mixtures

Comparative effectiveness of different composting methods on the stabilization, maturation and sanitization of municipal organic solid wastes and dried faecal sludge mixtures

The effects of worms, clay and biochar on CO<sub>2</sub> emissions during production and soil application of co-composts

Processing separated digestate by vermicomposting technology using earthworms of the genus Eisenia

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Effect of pre-composting and vermicomposting on compost characteristics

Cited by 49 publications

References 14 publications

Comparative effectiveness of different composting methods on the stabilization, maturation and sanitization of municipal organic solid wastes and dried faecal sludge mixtures

Comparative effectiveness of different composting methods on the stabilization, maturation and sanitization of municipal organic solid wastes and dried faecal sludge mixtures

The effects of worms, clay and biochar on CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; emissions during production and soil application of co-composts

Processing separated digestate by vermicomposting technology using earthworms of the genus Eisenia

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The effects of worms, clay and biochar on CO<sub>2</sub> emissions during production and soil application of co-composts