Atypical co-composting technique of managing tannery limed fleshing

Abstract

In a tannery at beamhouse, limed fleshing (LF) is generated during fleshing operation. It is the most generated solid waste of the entire tannery. In this study, atypical co-composting of tannery LF is presented to reduce the generated solid waste in the tannery. The collected LF was chopped and mixed with the chicken excreta (CE), sawdust (SD), and cow pats (CP). The mixed composting materials were placed in the soil with the top of the composting materials under 5 cm of soil. The physicochemical parameters of the compost met the requirements of the standard. The nutrient-nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), and sulfur (S) content of compost were within the standard limits. The metal content-chromium (21.3 mg/kg), copper (11.7 mg/kg), zinc (125 mg/kg), and nickel (9.6 mg/kg) were below the standard limits. Lead and cadmium were below the detection levels. The photograph of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis demonstrated the degradation of composting materials. The composting process suggests a pathway to reduce solid waste by producing a valuable product. The study recommends the LF transformation into nutrient-rich compost is a simple and progressive method without any additional pretreatment.