A kinetic analysis of solid waste composting at optimal conditions

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Waste Management
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Current methods for measuring biodegradable organic matter in solid waste are indirect.
• Existing indirect measures often rely on respiration indices or chemical parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore a direct measure for biodegradable organic carbon content in solid wastes.
• To establish a method for quantifying "aerobic biodegradable carbon".

Main Methods:

• Utilized composting experiments to measure cumulative carbon dioxide production.
• Calculated "aerobic biodegradable carbon" based on CO2 evolution.
• Compared results with measurements of "anaerobic biodegradable carbon".

Main Results:

• Cumulative carbon dioxide production in composting experiments was successfully used to quantify "aerobic biodegradable carbon".
• The "aerobic biodegradable carbon" content allows for the calculation of a biodegradable C/N ratio.
• Presented a comparison with "anaerobic biodegradable carbon" measurements.

Conclusions:

• "Aerobic biodegradable carbon" can be quantified using CO2 production during composting.
• This quantification provides a useful biodegradable C/N ratio for solid waste characterization.
• The study offers a more direct approach to assessing biodegradable organic carbon in waste streams.