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Carbon and N conservation during composting: A review
Danlian Huang1, Lan Gao1, Min Cheng1
1College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, PR China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control, Hunan University, Ministry of Education, Changsha 410082, PR China.
The Science of the Total Environment
|June 2, 2022
Summary
Composting conserves carbon and nitrogen but releases gases. Amendments like physical, chemical, and microbial additions can reduce these losses by adsorption or conversion, enhancing nutrient conservation.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Soil Science
- Waste Management
Background:
- Composting is crucial for nutrient and energy conservation in solid waste management.
- Gas emissions during composting lead to inevitable carbon and nitrogen losses.
- Optimizing parameters and using amendments are key strategies to mitigate these losses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review studies on physical, chemical, and microbial amendments in composting.
- To propose mechanisms (adsorption or conversion) for enhanced carbon and nitrogen conservation.
- To evaluate the contribution of composting amendments to greenhouse gas mitigation.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on composting amendments.
- Analysis of proposed mechanisms for carbon and nitrogen conservation.
- Evaluation of the impact of amendments on greenhouse gas emissions.
Main Results:
- Physical, chemical, and microbial amendments enhance carbon and nitrogen conservation.
- Mechanisms involve adsorption and conversion processes.
- Amendments contribute to mitigating the greenhouse effect.
Conclusions:
- Amendments offer a viable strategy to improve carbon and nitrogen conservation in composting.
- Further research is needed on the life cycle assessment of composting and compost clinker impacts on sequestration.
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