Biochar reduces volatile organic compounds generated during chicken manure composting.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Soil Science
• Waste Management

Background:

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted during composting, posing environmental and health concerns.
• Poultry manure composting generates significant levels of VOCs, including nitrogenous compounds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of biochar in reducing VOC emissions from poultry manure-based composting.
• To determine the impact of biochar on different VOC families and the composting process.

Main Methods:

• Composting experiment with poultry manure, straw, and 3% biochar addition at different process stages.
• Analysis of VOC concentrations, focusing on nitrogenous and oxygenated compounds.

Main Results:

• Biochar application reduced overall VOC concentrations, especially during the thermophilic phase.
• Significant reduction in nitrogen volatile compounds and oxygenated volatile compounds (ketones, phenols, organic acids).
• No significant effect observed on aliphatic, aromatic, and terpene VOC families.

Conclusions:

• Biochar effectively mitigates VOC emissions during composting.
• Both biochar's sorption capacity and its influence on microbial degradation processes contribute to VOC reduction.
• Biochar can improve the environmental performance of manure composting.