Abstract
Poultry litter-based organic fertilizers are usually incorporated into soil to improve its structure and fertility to increase crop production, however, poultry litter may also contain a variety of microorganisms which can compromise the safety of fresh produce when applied on agriculture lands. Composting can be a strategy to inactivate these microorganisms while creating a soil amendment beneficial for application to arable agricultural land. The objective of this study was to design and test the effect of moisture and temperature in a mechanically aerated in-vessel composting system for the purpose of reducing bacteria concentration in poultry litter while producing bio fertilizer. The actual composting occurred in four digesters which measured 1.2m x 1.2m x 1.2m. Four treatments were utilized with four different levels of moisture content in each vessel (treatment 1=65%, treatment 2=55% treatment 3=60% treatment 4=50%).Moisture gradually decreased and reached 55%, 44% and 48%, and 38.9% for treatment 1,2,3 and 4, respectively in the final compost product. The maximum average temperatures recorded for test 1, 2, 3 and, 4 were 50.54°C, 50.9 °C, 60.7 and 71.5°C respectively compared to outside temperature (15.4°C), and these temperatures were able to significantly reduce the concentration of total aerobic bacteria, fecal coliform and enterococcus listeria. The initial concentration of the compost piles was approximately 6.57, 6.04 and 3.72 log10 CFU/g of total aerobic bacteria, fecal coliform and enterococcus respectively. After analyzes, all target microorganisms were significantly eliminated. The significant levels of total aerobic bacteria, fecal coliform and enterococcus were p=0.0303, P=0.0258, p=0.0233 respectively. The presence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria spp. were not detected in all sampling period. Results of in-vessel compost analyses revealed a 16.9% N reduction; 10.1% P increase and 33.7% K increase. Moisture content decreased by 52.2% and elevated C/N ratio and pH by 27.7 % and 3.30% respectively. The leachates generated from the in-vessel composting for the first 21 days were analyzed, and the average results for week 1, 2, and 3, were observed to be 1043.7 mg/L, 1335.23mg/L, and 1029.9mg/L.Â
Highlights
Compost is used as soil amendment to improve its fertility, structure, and water holding capacity Composting is one of the essential and most cost-effective methods of recycling organic waste material
Poultry has been considered to be one of the most valuable animal wastes as bio fertilizer (Wilkinson, 1979), poultry manure can be a source of human pathogens, such as Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes, that can potentially contaminate fresh produce associated with foodborne outbreaks (Wilkinson et al, 2010; Chinivasagam et al, 2010)
Studies conducted by Martin et al, (1998) and Shepherd et al, (2007) found out that E. coli was present in poultry litter with the prevalence rate as high as 100%; E. coli O157:H7 was not detected in poultry litter samples
Summary
Compost is used as soil amendment to improve its fertility, structure, and water holding capacity Composting is one of the essential and most cost-effective methods of recycling organic waste material. Poultry has been considered to be one of the most valuable animal wastes as bio fertilizer (Wilkinson, 1979), poultry manure can be a source of human pathogens, such as Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes, that can potentially contaminate fresh produce associated with foodborne outbreaks (Wilkinson et al, 2010; Chinivasagam et al, 2010). Livshutz (1964) observed the complete elimination of Salmonella, C. jejuni, and L. monocytogenes from poultry compost when temperature exceeded 55°C Composting is commonly adopted as a pathogen control method to recycle animal wastes back into the soil to improve its fertility (Singh, 2011). In-vessel composting produces a more stable and, consistent product in less process time, because of its ability to control environmental conditions, such as airflow, temperature, and oxygen concentration. The specific temperatures that must be achieved and maintained for successful composting vary based on the method and use of the product
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