[Inoculating microbes on municipal solid wastes composting affects organic acids and maturity]

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Microbiology
• Waste Management

Background:

• Municipal solid waste (MSW) composting is a crucial process for waste treatment.
• Industrialized composting technologies are widely adopted for MSW management.
• Understanding microbial dynamics is key to optimizing composting efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of microbial inoculation on MSW composting.
• To analyze the dynamic changes in organic acids and humic substances during composting.
• To evaluate the impact of different microbial inoculants on compost maturity.

Main Methods:

• Industrialized composting of MSW with different microbial inoculants: Meishang compound microbes (MS) and Zhongjia fermentation microbes (ZJ).
• Monitoring of low molecular weight organic acids and high molecular weight humic substances.
• Assessment of compost maturity using the humification index.

Main Results:

• Microbial inoculation increased organic acid content initially, then decreased it by the final stage.
• Humic substance and humic acid levels declined initially but increased by the end of composting.
• The combined MS + ZJ inoculation resulted in the highest compost maturity, followed by ZJ, MS, and the control (CK).

Conclusions:

• Microbial inoculation significantly enhances the maturity of MSW compost.
• The combination of MS and ZJ microbes is most effective in improving compost quality.
• Optimizing microbial communities can lead to more efficient and effective composting processes.