Changes in Thermophilic Bacteria Population and Diversity during Composting of Coal Fly Ash and Sewage Sludge

The thermophilic bacteria in compost made from coal flyash-amended sewage sludge were isolated and identified using theBiolog system to investigate the effect of coal fly ash on thethermophilic decomposition of sewage sludge during composting. Atotal of 8 species of Bacillus were isolated from thecompost and Bacillus brevis was the dominant speciesduring the entire composting process. The present resultsdemonstrate that the Biolog system is a fast and simple methodfor identifying bacterial species in compost, provided thatoptimum conditions could be achieved for the Bacillusculture. Adding coal fly ash as an amendment did not change thedominant bacteria species during composting, but decreased thepopulation and diversity of thermophilic bacteria species due tothe high alkalinity and salinity. Fewer thermophilic bacteriawere detected in ash-amended sewage sludge compost than insludge compost. There was also reduced metabolic activityobserved in the ash-amended sludge compost from the data ofCO₂ evolution and weight loss. Although ash amendmentdemonstrated a negative effect on the population and diversityduring thermophilic phase, it did not cause any significanteffect on compost maturity.