Abstract
Co-composting produces a valuable compost material that can be used as valuable soil amendment. The process of the co-composting and control of the composting factors are the current challenges for the researchers. There are different factors that govern the quality, stability and the maturity of the co-compost in terms of amount of plant nutrients and reduction of heavy metals. Among these, C:N ratio is a parameter that can affect the loss of plant nutrients. Different studies showed wide ranges of C:N ratios (14-40) for maturity of quality compost. Temperature, aeration and types of the bulking agents also regulate the process of co-composting. Most widely used co-composted materials are animal manures with agro-wastes (sawdust, wheat straw, rice straw, corn stalks etc.). This practice brought substantial loss of heavy metals and maximum retention of plant nutrients. Higher nutrients contents of the compost and favourable soil properties as a result of co-composting of the saw dust, cow dung and egg shells have been reported. The application of co-composted dairy manure with wheat straw and sawdust produced higher plant biomass. Co-compost of cattle manure with rice straw produced an organic matter, total N and C:N ratio contents suitable for soil amendment. Therefore, this review focuses on the characteristics and utilization of organic waste after a reasonable co-composting process.
Highlights
Cattle farms are producing a huge amount of manure throughout the world which must be managed through proper disposal practices to avoid the adverse impacts on environment (Burton & Turner, 2003)
The process is able to transform unstable organic waste into stable ones by converting them into a humus like structure called compost which results into a valuable agronomic by-product (Kashmanian et al, 2000)
Marco et al (2013) used disposed white rot fungus Trametesversicolor after its application in the biotechnological process and co-composted with organic fraction of municipal solid waste and suggested that the final compost obtained through co-composting process ensured the higher stable final product than that obtained through organic fraction of municipal solid waste composting
Summary
Cattle farms are producing a huge amount of manure throughout the world which must be managed through proper disposal practices to avoid the adverse impacts on environment (Burton & Turner, 2003). Composting presents a low-technology and low-investment process to add value to organic solid waste through conversion into an organic fertilizer known as compost (Neves et al, 2009). It considerably reduces odour emissions, biodegradable hydrocarbons, and dries up the waste making it unattractive to insects (Barrington et al, 2002). Waste co-composting enhances the compost quality by the comprehensive usage of diversified material properties (Fang & Wong, 1999) This type of waste management is well accepted when compared with other types, such as incineration or landfill. Efforts have been made to review the co-composting of different materials and its effects on plant nutrient transformations under varied conditions
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