Bio-Augmentation as an Emerging Strategy to Improve the Textile Compost Quality Using Identified Autochthonous Strains

Abstract

The present investigation is devoted, for the first time, to the potential of autochthonous inoculums through bio-augmentation tests to improve the compost quality and to decrease the composting time during composting of textile waste. For this reason, three strains were isolated from a mixture of textile waste, green waste, paper, and cardboard waste, and therefore identified as Streptomyces cellulosae, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, and Serratia liquefaciens, employed using bio-augmentation test. The organic matter decaying was assessed according to three different inoculums doses, separately and in consortium (4%, 6%, and 8%), to describe the effect of bio-augmentation process on the organic matter decaying. Indeed, these three strains and their consortium have shown a strong potential of organic matter degradation, equally the bacterial consortium showed a total organic carbon degradation of 20.3%, total Kjeldahl nitrogen of 1.52%, and a Carbon/Nitrogen ratio of 13.36. Compost maturity has been completed after only 12 weeks of treatment instead of 44 weeks using the classical treatment by composting. Ultimately, according to these results, bio-augmentation could be an emerging and promising strategy to accelerate the composting process of solid waste, especially in the case of industrial waste. Equally, it could be an effective tool to avoid the accumulation of industrial waste disposal in public landfills and/or nature while allowing their treatment.