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Drum composting of municipal solid waste.

Ajay S Kalamdhad1, Meena Khwairakpam, A A Kazmi

  • 1Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, India. kalamdhad@gmail.com

Environmental Technology
|April 24, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Amending municipal solid waste (MSW) with cattle manure or tree leaves significantly improves compost quality and speeds up the composting process in rotary drum composters. This amendment strategy reduces composting time to 20 days, yielding high-quality compost.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Waste Management
  • Soil Science

Background:

  • High initial carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratios (> 30) in Indian municipal solid waste (MSW) prolong composting duration (> 3 months) and result in poor compost quality.
  • Optimizing the C/N ratio is crucial for efficient and effective composting of MSW.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of amending MSW with cattle manure and tree leaves on compost quality and composting dynamics.
  • To compare the efficacy of amended MSW with unamended MSW in a rotary drum composter.

Main Methods:

  • Three composting trials were conducted in a rotary drum composter: MSW amended with cattle manure (Trial 1), MSW amended with tree leaves (Trial 2), and unamended MSW (Control).
  • Initial C/N ratios were adjusted to 22 for Trial 1 and Trial 2, while the Control sample had a C/N ratio of 32.
  • Compost quality parameters, including total nitrogen, total phosphorus, electrical conductivity, oxygen uptake rate (OUR), CO2 evolution, and C/N ratio, were monitored over 20 days.

Main Results:

  • Trial 1 (MSW + cattle manure) produced high-quality, stable compost in 20 days, with elevated final total nitrogen (2.2%) and phosphorus (3.2 g/kg), low electrical conductivity (2.7 dS/m), and reduced OUR (1.8 mg/g VS/day) and CO2 evolution (1.0 mg/g VS/day).
  • Trial 2 (MSW + tree leaves) also yielded good-quality compost within 20 days, showing 1.9% total nitrogen, 2.7% total phosphorus, and lower OUR (2.0 mg/g VS/day) and CO2 evolution (1.5 mg/g VS/day).
  • The Control (unamended MSW) exhibited characteristics of unstable, low-quality compost after 20 days, with lower total nitrogen (1.6%), lower total phosphorus (2.3 g/kg), and higher OUR (3.6 mg/g VS/day) and CO2 evolution (2.6 mg/g VS/day).

Conclusions:

  • Amending MSW with cattle manure or tree leaves significantly enhances compost quality and accelerates the composting process in rotary drum systems.
  • Optimizing the initial C/N ratio through amendments is key to achieving stable, high-quality compost efficiently.
  • Cattle manure amendment demonstrated superior results in terms of compost quality and process efficiency compared to tree leaves and unamended MSW.