Comparison of Cassava Distillery Residues and Straw as Bulking Agents for Full-scale Sewage Sludge Composting

To solve problems of bulking agents shortage for sewage sludge (SS) composting and of disposal of cassava distillery residues (CDR) in the alcohol industry, the effects of using CDR instead of maize straw as bulking agents were investigated at full scale in Rizhao, China. This was done by comparing CDR-added and straw-added piles. Both CDR and straw promoted sanitation achievement of SS composts. CDR was effective at increasing fermentation temperature, whereas straw was superior in maintaining the thermophilic phase. The free air space (FAS) of matrices provided by CDR or straw were sufficient (>30%) for fermentation, and showed rising trends during composting. Extensive mass reduction was also accomplished in composting even after considering the weight of added straw or CDR. Compared with straw-added piles, CDR-added piles showed less average FAS (51.42%), water removal (49.68%), and organic matter (OM) loss (21.51%), but greater volume reduction (16.34%). The time-dependence of OM loss varied between the CDR-added (which followed zero-order kinetics) and straw-added (first-order kinetics) piles. After fermentation, the composts were phytotoxin-free in both treatments. The CDR-added piles had lower EC (2,221 μS cm^?1) and C/N (13.29) than straw-added piles. A smaller germination index (73.59%) for CDR-added piles, combined with higher pH (7.33) and oxygen consumption rate (4.33 mL L^?1 min^?1), suggests that SS composting with CDR requires a longer time to reach maturity than with straw. However, CDR can be used instead of maize straw as a bulking agent for full-scale SS composting.