Abstract
Composting is a sustainable alternative for the management of manure. In this study, the effects of bioaugmentation on cattle manure composting was investigated. In this study, two windrow piles were placed at 1.7 m in height, 2.1 m in bottom width, 0.6 m in top width, and 54 m in length. Microbial inoculum was added to pile 1, whereas the second pile was used as the control. After 17 days, the C:N ratio was reduced from 25.6 to 13.6 and the total nitrogen was increased from 1.89% to 3.36% in pile 1. The dominant bacteria identified in the compost samples belonged to the genera Clostridium, Bacillus, and Flavobacterium. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction indicated that the most commonly known pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli, Shigella, and Salmonella, were not detected in the finished material, indicating that the pathogenic microorganisms were inactivated by the composting process. Agronomic testing for cured compost indicated a C:N ratio of less than 15 and NH+4-N:NO3−-N ratio of less than 1. The whole process of windrow composting resulted in net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 157.94 tCO2-e and a global warming factor (GWF) of 1.04 tCO2-e·t−1 manure composted. This study showed that although bioaugmentation is a feasible treatment method for manure, GHG emissions need to be monitored.
Highlights
Aerobic composting is an effective and beneficial means of treating organic waste
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction indicated that the most commonly known pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli, Shigella, and Salmonella, were not detected in the finished material, indicating that the pathogenic microorganisms were inactivated by the composting process
Cattle manure, which is rich in these nutrients, was selected for the windrow composting in this study
Summary
Aerobic composting is an effective and beneficial means of treating organic waste. Excess amounts of manure waste cause nutrient surplus in agricultural areas when applied in excess amounts. Proper management of manure should include volume reduction and state-of-the-art design and operation. The composting process significantly reduces the manure volume through aerobic biochemical reactions, producing a good-quality end product called “compost” [2,3]. The process of composting is selected and designed based on the C:N ratio of the input materials. The suggested C:N ratio in the literature varies between 25 and 35, in which C and N are used as an energy source and a nutrient source, respectively. If the C:N ratio is not at the desired value during composting, it will hinder the compost process and result in N losses. The loss of nitrogen is usually from the volatilization of ammonia, which occurs during the first weeks of the process [5,6,7]
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