It is widely known that variation of the C/N ratio is dependent on many state variables during composting processes. This study attempted to develop a genetic algorithm aided stepwise cluster analysis (GASCA) method to describe the nonlinear relationships between the selected state variables and the C/N ratio in food waste composting. The experimental data from six bench-scale composting reacto...

The effects of thermochemical pretreatment and continuous thermophilic conditions on the composting of a mixture of rice straw residue and cattle manure were investigated using a laboratory-scale composting reactor. Results indicate that the composting period of rice straw can be shortened to less than 10 days by applying alkali pre-treatment and continuous thermophilic composting conditions. T...

Composting of deer carcasses was effective in reducing pathogen levels, decomposing the carcasses and producing a useable end product after 12 months. The composting process used in this project involved enveloping the carcasses of road-killed deer in woodchips and allowing those pues with natural air circulation to sit undisturbed. Temperatures were measured and samples from the piles were ana...

Waste management planners and engineers are sometimes faced with questions of how much land, equipment, labor, and investment is required for a proposed composting operation. The numerous factors that impact process design and costs such as type of materials composted, location of facility, cost of labor, etc. make it tedious to make these assessments quickly. To address this situation, a user-...

Composting of two different types of sludge from the recycled paper manufacturing industry was carried out at laboratory scale. Physico-chemical sludge (PCS) from the de-inking process and biological sludge (BS) from the wastewater treatment plant were composted and co-composted with and without addition of a bulking material. Despite its poor initial characteristics (relatively high C/N ratio,...

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of initial moisture content on the in-vessel composting under air pressure of organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco in terms of internal temperature, produced gases quantity, organic matter conversion rate, and the quality of the final composts.For this purpose, in-vessel bioreactor was designed and used to evaluate both appropriate initial...

Research has shown that aluminum sulfate (alum) and phosphoric acid greatly reduce ammonia (NH3) volatilization from poultry litter; however, no studies have yet reported the effects of these amendments on field-scale composting of poultry litter. The objectives of this study were to (i) evaluate NH3 volatilization from composting litter by measuring both NH3 volatilization and changes in total...

There has been a multitude of research conducted on different aspects of passively aerated windrow systems (PAWS) composting of mortality in the past several years. Early on, the research was concentrated on whether or not (PAWS) composting could actually dispose of animal tissue. Once that was determined, researchers began looking at optimization of the process (bulking material, type of syste...

oil at more than 30 munitions sites across the United States is contaminated with explosives. The U.S. military has discovered that the composting process, and the use of finished (mature, cured) compost can effectively remediate munitions-contaminated soils. To incorporate such soil into the composting process, the soil is excavated and mixed with other feedstocks. The end-product is a contami...

oil at more than 30 munitions sites across the United States is contaminated with explosives. The U.S. military has discovered that the composting process, and the use of finished (mature, cured) compost can effectively remediate munitions-contaminated soils. To incorporate such soil into the composting process, the soil is excavated and mixed with other feedstocks. The end-product is a contami...