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[Studies on the composting of feathers (author's transl)]
Zentralblatt Fur Bakteriologie, Parasitenkunde, Infektionskrankheiten Und Hygiene. Zweite Naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung: Mikrobiologie Der Landwirtschaft Der Technologie Und Des Umweltschutzes
|January 1, 1978
Abstract:
The nitrogen of keratin of feathers is not taken up by plants as a suitable N-source. It becomes available by the keratinolytic activity of microorganisms. The high temperature evolved during the composting process promotes the growth and activity of thermophilic, keratin-decomposing microorganisms, e.g. Thermoactinomyces vulgaris. The increasing in temperature (self-heating) reflects the course of composting. A feather-peat mixture exhibits a considerably high heat production, i.e. a fast decomposition of keratin and other organic matter.