Effect of Composting on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Removal in Sewage Sludge

Changes in the concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as priority pollutants were investigated during the composting process of sewage sludge mixed with rapeseed marc (9:1, weight base). Results showed that total PAHs concentrations of the sludge sampled in different seasons had far exceeded the accepted Europe Union cut-off limits for land application. Phenanthrene, fluorene and dibenz(a, h) anthracene were dominant PAHs in the sludge, accounting for 62.8~69.6% of the total amount of the 16 PAHs. Composting appeared to be an effective method for the removal of PAHs in sewage sludge. After 50 days of composting, a significant reduction of concentration of the total PAHs was detected as compared with the initial concentration in composting material. The significant relationship between the biodegradation of organic matter and the losses of Σ16 PAHs during composting indicated that microbial degradation was the key process responsible for the efficient removal of PAHs from the sludge. Among all tested PAHs, fluorene was the most recalcitrant and became the primary residual PAH in the composted material. The lower removal rate of fluorene during composting was a limiting factor for the potential land application of the sludge. Further studies are needed to enhance the removal of fluorene in order to achieve a safe utilization of this sludge.     

Studying the Effects of Two Various Methods of Composting on the Degradation Levels of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Sewage Sludge

The research comprised of studying the effect composting sewage sludge with sawdust and vermicomposting with earthworm Eisenia fetida has on the degradation of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Raw rural sewage sludge prior composting was more contaminated with PAHs than urban sewage sludge, in both cases exceeding EU cutoff limits of 6 mg/kg established for land application. Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (DBahAnt), acenaphtylene (Acy) and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene (IPyr) were predominant in rural sewage sludge, whilst the urban sewage sludge contained the highest concentrations of benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbFl), benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkFl) and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene (IPyr). Thirty days of composting with sawdust has caused a significant reduction of 16 PAHs on average from 26.07 to 4.01 mg/kg (84.6%). During vermicomposting, total PAH concentration decreased on average from 15.5 to 2.37 mg/kg (84.7%). Vermicomposting caused full degradation of hydrocarbons containing 2 and 6 rings and significant reduction of PAHs with 3 aromatic rings (94.4%) as well as with 5 aromatic rings (83.2%). The lowest rate of degradation (64.4%) was observed for hydrocarbons with 4 aromatic rings such as fluoranthene, benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene and pyrene. On the other hand, the highest level of degradation was determined for PAHs with 2 rings (100%), 3 rings (88%) and 6 aromatic rings in the molecule (86.9%) after composting with sawdust. Acenaphthene and pyrene were found to be the most resistant to biodegradation during both composting methods.     

Practical Applicability of Germination Index Assessed by Logistic Models

Sewage sludge management is a major challenge in environmental protection. Composting is an organic waste treatment method that is cost effective and leads to resource recovery. Composting is considered an environmentally and agriculturally friendly method of sewage sludge utilisation. The objective of this study was to evaluate maturity of three composts prepared on the basis of sewage sludge mixed with structure-forming waste materials, such as pine bark, sawdust and wheat straw. The germination index (GI) was used to assess the maturity and phytotoxicity of composts at particular composting stages (initial, mesophilic, thermophilic, cooling, maturation). Cress seeds were used to determine the GI. The logistic model, which belongs to a broad class of generalized linear models, was used to analyze experimental data. Using this model the interesting probabilities (from the point of view of the experimenter) for the occurrence of a specific root length were determined. In addition, a model was constructed providing a dependence of probability on temperature.

This work indicates a marked dependence between root length produced by cress seeds and the temperature of the composting process, which was closely related to the GI values. The longest plant roots, similarly as the highest GI values, were found at the lower temperature, which took place at the beginning and at the end of the composting process. Our findings suggest that the practical applicability of GI in the evaluation of compost maturity is limited. Additionally, the role of additional wastes being structure-forming agents in composted mixtures with sewage sludge was stressed as a sorption matrix for harmful substances released from sewage sludge.     

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Availability in Groundfish Waste and Chitin-Sludge Cocomposts

Seafood processing generates a substantial volume of wastes. This study examined the feasibility of converting the fish waste into useful fertilizer by composting. Groundfish waste and chitin sludge generated from the production of chitin were composted with red alder or a mixture of western hemlock and Douglas-fir sawdust to produce four composts: alder with groundfish waste (AGF); hemlock/fir with groundfish waste (HGF); alder with chitin sludge (ACS); and hemlock/fir with chitin sludge (HCS). The resulting AGF had a higher total N and a lower C:N ratio than the other three composts. A large portion of the total N in the AGF, HGF, and HCS composts was in inorganic forms (NH₄⁺-N and NO₃^?-N), as opposed to only two percent in the ACS compost. Alder sawdust is more quickly decomposed, which favored N retention and limited nitrification during the composting period. It was less favorable than the hemlock/Douglas fir sawdust for composting with chitin sludge. Corn growth on soil amended with compost was dependent upon both compost type and rate. Nitrogen and P availabilities in all composts except the ACS were high and compost addition enhanced corn yields, tissue N and P concentrations, and N and P up-take. Neither the total N concentration nor the C:N ratio of the composts was an effective measure of compost N availability in the soil. Because soil inorganic N test levels correlated well with the corn biomass, tissue N and N uptake, they should be an effective measure of the overall compost effects on soil N availability and corn growth response. Phosphorus concentration, which increased linearly with increasing compost rates, was related to soil P availability from compost additions and correlated well with corn biomass, tissue P concentration and P uptake under uniform treatments of N and K fertilizers. Composting groundfish waste with alder or hemlock/Douglas-fir sawdust can produce composts with sufficient amounts of available N and P to promote plant growth and is considered to be a viable approach for recycling and utilizing groundfish waste.     

The Effects of Goat Manure,Sewage Sludge And Effective Microorganisms on the Composting of Pine Bark

This study investigated the cocomposting of pine bark with goat manure or sewage sludge, with or without inoculated effective microorganisms (EM). Composting was done for 90 days and parameters monitored over this period included temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), C/N ratio, inorganic N, as well as tannin content. Changes in temperature, pH and EC during composting were consistent with those generally observed with other composting systems. The parameters were influenced by the feedstock materials used but were not affected by inoculation with effective microorganisms. The highest temperature measured from pine bark-goat manure composts was 60°C but much lower maximum temperatures of 40°C and 30°C were observed for pine bark sewage sludge and pine bark alone composts, respectively. The C/N ratios of the composts decreased with composting time. Ammonium levels decreased while nitrate levels increased with composting time. Tannin levels generally decreased with composting time but the extent of decrease depended on the contents of the composting mixtures. The trends observed showed that temperature, pH, EC, C/N ratio, tannin levels, and inorganic NH₄-N and NO₃-N were reliable parameters for monitoring the co-composting of pine bark with goat manure or sewage sludge. The pine bark-goat manure compost had more desirable nutritional properties than the pine bark and pine bark-sewage sludge composts. It had high CEC, near neutral pH, low C/N ratio, and high amounts of inorganic N and bases (K, Ca, and Mg) while pine bark compost had the least amounts of nutrients, was acidic, and had high C/N ratio and low CEC. The final tannin content of the pine bark-goat manure compost was below the 20 g/kg upper threshold level for horticultural potting media, implying that its use as a growing medium would not cause toxicity to plants.     

Degradation of DEHP,PAHs and LAS in Source Separated MSW and Sewage Sludge During Composting

The efficiency of composting to remove the pollutants DEHP, PAHs and LAS from organic waste products was investigated. Source separated MSW and sewage sludge, respectively, were composted at temperatures ranging from 35 to 70°C using a laboratory-scale reactor composting system. At regular intervals, compost samples were taken from the reactors for chemical analysis. DEHP disappeared rapidly during composting of MSW; 96 to 99% of the initial content was degraded within 25 days of composting regardless of process temperature. In sewage sludge, the highest degradation of 91% was reached at a composting temperature of 65°C. LAS degradation in sewage sludge was fastest at 55°C, but at both process temperatures tested 99% of the initial content had been removed within 25 days. Degradation of PAHs was less complete. However, in all composting experiments, with MSW as well as sewage sludge, the final PAH concentration was less than in the starting material. Further experiments suggested that less than 0.1% of the pollutants had evaporated. Thus, composting proved to be a promising technique to promote degradation of organic pollutants — especially DEHP and LAS — in MSW and sewage sludge.     

Compost Maturity Assessment Using Calorimetry,Spectroscopy and Chemical Analysis

This work is aimed at characterizing compost maturity and, organic matter transformation during this process, by the use of nondestructive spectroscopic and thermal techniques, together with some chemical analysis. Composting was conducted in a laboratory over a period of one year using the organic fraction of domestic wastes, fresh farmyard manure, spent coffee and sawdust as the raw materials. Samples were retired after different periods of composting and were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as well as by routine chemical parameters including temperature, pH, C/N, ash content and humic-like substances content. Results showed that in case of domestic wastes, spent coffee and farmyard manure, the C/N ratios, ash and humic acid content showed a typical high rate of change during the first 197 days of composting and tended to stabilize thereafter, probably as a result of the maturity of the produced composts. In contrast, sawdust underwent only a very limited transformation even after one year of composting. Thermoanalytical and spectroscopic data confirms these finding and gives useful and complementary information with respect to the structure, the heterogeneity and the relative stability of the compost products. In particular, as the decomposition proceeded, there was an increase in aromatic to aliphatic structure ratio and a decrease in the importance of peptide structures of composts. Besides, both the spectroscopic and the thermal behavior of compost samples, retired beyond 197 days of composting, tended to be regular, less dependent on the raw material and close to that characterizing mature composts, with the exception of sawdust samples. We concluded that the spectroscopic and thermal techniques used are complementary to one another and to chemical tests and could be a powerful and fast approach for the study of compost maturity.     

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.     

粉煤灰和钢渣处理多种金属污染的酸性土壤，金属有效性的衰减研究

The objectives of this work were to determine the potential mineralization of various organic pollutants that are likely found in compostable materials during composting, and to evaluate the participation of the microflora of the thermophilic and maturation composting phases in pollutant mineralization. Four composts were used: a biowaste compost (BioW), a municipal solid waste compost (MSW), a green waste compost (GW) and a co-compost of green waste and sludge (GW+S). In each composting plant, two samples were withdrawn: one in the thermophilic phase (fresh compost) and one in the maturation phase (mature compost) to have the microflora of thermophilic and maturation phases active, respectively. The mineralization of 5 organic pollutants, 3 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (i.e., phenanthrene, fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene), 1 herbicide (dicamba) and 1 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB, congener 52), was measured in a laboratory setting during incubations at 60 ℃ in fresh composts and at 28 ℃ in mature composts. All molecules were 14 C-labeled, which allowed the mineralization of the molecules to be measured by trapping of produced 14CO2 in NaOH. Their volatilization was also measured by trapping molecules on glass wool impregnated with paraffin oil. Mineralization of the organic molecules was only observed when the maturation microflora was present in the mature composts or when it was inoculated into the fresh compost. Phenanthrene mineralization of up to 60% in the fresh GW+S compost was the only exception. Mineralization of PAH decreased when the complexity of the PAH molecules increased. Mineralization of phenanthrene and fluoranthene reached 50%-70% in all mature composts. Benzo(a)pyrene was mineralized (30%) only in the MSW mature compost. Dicamba was moderately mineralized (30%-40%). Finally, no PCB mineralization was detected, but 20% of the PCB had volatilized after 12 d at 60 ℃. No clear difference was observed in the degrading capacity of the different composts, and the major difference was the larger mineralizing capacity of the maturation microflora compared with the thermophilic microflora.     

污泥添加粉煤灰堆肥化对Cu、Zn、Pb形态的影响

污泥中重金属的危害是影响污泥土地利用的重要因素;污泥重金属危害不仅取决于总量,其形态分布更能反映重金属的迁移性以及生物有效性。实验以木屑为调节剂,粉煤灰作为钝化剂,研究污泥堆肥前后重金属Cu、Zn与Pb的形态分布变化。结果表明,堆肥对Cu有活化作用,而添加粉煤灰堆肥化能有效抑制这种活化,起到钝化作用,堆肥化使Pb向更稳定形态转化,添加粉煤灰堆肥化对Zn的钝化效果较好,当粉煤灰添加量为35%时,对Cu、Zn、Pb 3种重金属的易迁移态均具明显的钝化效果。     

Composting and Evaluating a Pulp and Paper Sludge for Use as a Soil Amendment/Mulch

Composting could be used in the pulp and paper industry to treat primary sludges as an alternative to landfilling. The objective of this project was to compost and evaluate a pulp and paper sludge for use as a soil amendment/mulch. Primary sludge, tailings, wood ash (0, 5 or 10 percent by volume), and paunch (cattle stomach contents and tissue) from a slaughterhouse were composted in a 91 m windrow that was turned one to two times per week. The pile moisture content and temperature were controlled at 50 percent and 57–63°C during 14 weeks of composting. The compost was then cured for 4 weeks for a total treatment time of 18 weeks. Sludge dry mass decreased by approximately 50 percent, pH increased slightly to 8.2 to 8.5, and carbon-nitrogen ratio decreased from 270:1 to 14–67:1 after composting and curing. Electrical conductivity of all final composts was over 4 dS/m. Shoot biomass of tomato plants grown in a compost-amended medium (50 percent compost, 25 percent sand, 25 percent perlite by volume) improved with composting time but was still only 35–65 percent that of plants grown in a peat moss-amended medium (control). Shoot weight and height of poplar plants grown in soil amended with aged compost were unaffected by compost application rate (incorporated or as a mulch) at less than or equal to 180 Mg/ha. In summary, this study demonstrated that a pulp and paper sludge and wood ash mixture yielded a compost that could be used as a low quality mulch or soil amendment for poplar.     

Toxicity of Light Soil Fertilized by Sewage Sludge or Compost in Relation to PAHs Content

The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of light soil fertilization using sewage sludges or composts on soil toxicity for three plant species (Lepidium sativum, Sorgo saccharatum, and Sinapis alba) and crustaceans (Heterocypris incongruens). The results obtained were compared to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) content as a potential toxicity factor. The PAH content in soils fertilized with sludges was proportional to the dose applied. Soil fertilization with the studied materials negatively influenced plant growth and development. The negative influence was clearer in the case of sewage sludges than composts. Both sludges and composts significantly influenced H. incongruens mortality. However, the influence of sludges and composts on H. incongruens growth did not exceed 20%. The EC50 and LC50 values calculated on the basis of toxicity parameters showed that H. incongruens was characterized by a higher sensitivity to sludges and composts than most of the plants. L. sativum was characterized by the lowest EC50 values among all plants. No significant relationships between sewage sludge or compost toxicity and their PAHs content were observed.     

Compost Recycling of Wood Fiber Waste Produced by Paper Manufacture

The composting of wood fiber waste from the manufacture of newsprint is described, with a mixture of wood fiber waste:sewage sludge at a ratio of 1:1 giving best results in a trial of shoot growth of Pinus radiata. An alternative chemical nutrient amendment (initial C:N ratio of 60:1) gave a plant response which was not significantly different to that of sewage sludge. Over a five month period volume reductions of up to 39 percent were observed in the composts, providing potential savings in subsequent transport operations. Use of uncomposted materials or addition of fly- or screen-ash compost amendment (12.5 percent or 25 percent v /v) was inhibitory to plant growth. Concentrations of some heavy metals in Hobart city sewage (particularly of chromium) were high, precluding its long-term use as a soil nutrient supplement. In view of the high heavy metal content of sewage sludge and its high volume to nutrient ratio, it was concluded that composting with chemical amendment was the preferred option for future investigation. Such composts would require ash amendment (or lime equivalent) at concentrations lower than those used in this study to counter acidity produced during composting.     

Temperature and Chemical Changes During Composting of Broiler Litter

Composting broiler litter (a mixture of manure, bedding material, and wasted feed) with commonly available high-C substrates may be a viable alternative to reduce current land disposal practices for litter. Broiler litter with wood shavings as a bedding material and broiler litter with peanut hulls as a bedding material were composted with wheat straw, peanut hulls, pine bark and paper mill sludge in 0.33 m³ batch reactors. Litters and C substrates were mixed to achieve C:N ratios of approximately 30:1. Dry weight, total N, total C, temperature, electrical conductivity and pH were determined at regular intervals. Maximum temperatures peaked near 70°C within 2.25 d after mixing peanut hulls with litter and within 2.58 d for pine bark and litter. Composts made from paper mill sludge approached 50°C within 3.71 d. Wheat straw composts never exceeded 40°C which could present potential health problems associated with pathogenic microorganisms. Mass loss and C:N ratio gradually declined and stabilized approximately 84 d after mixing. Mass loss averaged 73 percent for wheat straw compost, 33 percent for peanut hull composts, and 16 percent for the other mixes. Wheat straw compost C:N ratios stabilized near 14:1 and other mixes remained above 20:1, indicating N limited conditions for complete composting. Compost pH was 5.8 after 84 d from pine bark composted with wood shaving litter and was significantly lower than pH from paper mill sludge compost with an average pH of 6.9 but similar to all other compost mixes (pH 6.7). Electrical conductivity ranged from 0.35 S m^?1 for paper mill sludge composted with wood shaving litter to 0.91 S m^?1 from wheat straw composted with peanut hull litter. Composting temperature varied considerably among C sources and all required at least 72 d of curing to stabilize the C:N ratio. Composts made from wheat straw were most effective for waste reduction but temperatures were below the 50°C level generally considered necessary to kill pathogens.     

A comparison of the properties of manufactured soils produced from composting municipal green waste alone or with poultry manure or grease trap/septage waste

Manufactured soil for landscaping purposes was produced by composting for 6 weeks (1) municipal green waste alone, (2) green waste amended with 25% v/v poultry manure, or (3) green waste immersed in, and then removed from, a mixture of liquid grease trap waste/septage. Composting temperatures increased most rapidly and reached highest values (78oC) in the grease trap/septage-amended green waste. In comparison with green waste alone, addition of poultry manure prolonged the period of elevated temperatures and increased the maximum temperature attained from 52oC to 61oC. Following composting, each of the materials was split into (1) 100% compost, (2) 80% compost plus 20% v/v soil, and (3) 70% compost plus 20% soil plus 10% coal fly ash. Addition of poultry manure or grease trap/septage to green waste prior to composting increased bulk density and reduced total porosity of the composted product. Addition of soil, or soil and ash, to composts increased bulk density, reduced total porosity, decreased percentage macropores, and increased percentage mesopores and available water-holding capacity. Bicarbonate-extractable P, exchangeable NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻, electrical conductivity (EC), soluble C, soluble C as a percentage of organic C, basal respiration, and metabolic quotient were all markedly greater in the grease trap/septage-amended than poultry manure-amended or green waste alone treatments. Values for extractable P and EC were considered large enough to be damaging to plant growth and germination index (GI) of watercress was less than 60% for all grease trap/septage composts. Extractable P and EC were also high, and GI was <100%, in the green waste alone and poultry manure-amended green waste alone treatments. Addition of soil or soil and ash to these composts resulted in GI values >100%.     

Carbon and nitrogen transformation during composting of sweet sorghum bagasse

Two types of compost, consisting of sweet sorghum bagasse with either sewage sludge or a mixture of pig slurry and poultry manure, were studied in a pilot plant using the Rutgers system. The total degradation of the piles as determined by the weight loss of organic matter during the bio-oxidative and maturation phases accounted for 64% of the organic matter applied and followed a first-order kinetic function. Concentrations of total and organic N increased during the composting process as the degradation of organic C compounds reduced the compost weight. Losses of N through NH₃ volatilization were low, particularly in the compost with sewage sludge due to pH values of <7.0 and the low temperatures reached in the compost during the first 2 weeks. The C:N ratio in the two composts decreased from 24.0 and 15.4 to values between 12 and 10. Increases in cation exchange capacity and in fulvic and humic acid-like C revealed that the organic matter had been humified during composting. The humification index, the C:N ratio, fulvic:humic acid-like C, and cation exchange capacity proved to be the most suitable parameters for assessing the maturity of these composts.     

不同通风量下城市污泥堆肥过程中硫素的转化特征

  【目的】  研究通风量对城市污泥堆肥过程中硫素转化和挥发性硫化物释放的影响,为有效控制挥发性含硫恶臭物质,保留污泥堆肥产品中的硫素营养提供理论依据和方法。  【方法】  城市污泥和调理剂 (锯末) 以3∶1 (湿重) 的比例混合后,采用自动好氧堆肥控制装置进行15天的堆肥试验,通过改变鼓风机频率实现不同堆体的通风量调节。设置鼓风机工作频率10、13、16 Hz 3个处理,相应的通风量为2.5、3.0和3.5 L/min。在堆肥的第0、1、2、3、5、7、9、11、13、15天进行堆体内部多点混合采样,进行挥发性硫化物的浓度测定,研究城市污泥不同堆肥阶段硫素的转化特征。  【结果】  相较于低通风量 (10 Hz),高通风量 (16 Hz) 下H₂S的峰值浓度下降了约50%,但其累积释放量增加了45.4%;甲硫醚的累积释放量提高了398%,峰值浓度增加了490.8%;CS₂的累积释放量下降了57.8%,其峰值浓度下降了77%。堆肥产品中有效硫浓度在低、中、高通风量条件下相较于堆肥前分别上升了19.5%、19.1%、36.1%。  【结论】  城市污泥堆肥过程中,提高通风量可以降低H₂S的浓度峰值,但增加了H₂S的累积释放量,甲硫醚的峰值浓度和累积释放量均显著增加;提高通风量可以抑制城市污泥堆肥过程中CS₂的释放。在低、中、高3种通风量条件下,堆肥产品的有效硫浓度相较于堆肥前都明显升高。高通风处理虽然全量硫的损失最大,但更有利于提高堆肥产品中可直接被植物吸收的有效硫含量。     

秸秆不同用量对污泥堆肥保氮效果研究

通过对北京市城市生活污泥与不同量小麦秸秆进行混合堆肥,研究堆肥过程中N素损失的控制。结果表明,在堆体中添加小麦秸秆能够在堆肥初期很好的抑制NH3挥发;添加20%麦秸的处理堆体最高温度能够达到67℃,比对照处理(纯污泥)高16℃,在50℃以上维持7天,比对照处理长6天,完全达到无害化处理要求;而且,堆肥初期NH3挥发量为对照处理的1/5;NH4+-N最高含量和变化范围都小于对照处理;堆肥后全N损失仅为15.77%;经过50天的堆肥化处理,所有处理的物料变为疏松形态的灰黑色腐殖质,臭味消失,基本达到腐熟。     

添加不同辅料对污泥堆肥腐熟度及气体排放的影响

选择玉米秸秆和木本泥炭两种辅料添加至脱水污泥中进行联合好氧堆肥,研究了秸秆和木本泥炭作为添加剂对污泥堆肥腐熟度和堆肥过程中气体排放(NH_3、CH_4和N_2O)的影响。两种辅料添加量均为初始物料的15%,堆肥在60 L的密闭反应器中共持续35 d。研究结果表明,秸秆作为添加剂与污泥联合堆肥,堆肥产品可以达到卫生标准和腐熟标准。添加秸秆处理整个堆肥过程中累积NH_3、CH_4和N_2O排放量分别为2.2、0.14和0.09 g/kg,NH_3和CH_4排放主要发生在堆肥的升温期和高温期,N_2O排放主要发生在堆肥的后腐熟阶段。添加木本泥炭作为添加剂不能成功启动堆肥,整个堆置过程中未检测到NH_3和CH_4排放,但是在堆肥前期有大量N_2O产生。对于添加秸秆的处理,CH_4、N_2O和NH_3对总温室气体排放的贡献率分别为45%,36%和19%,CH_4所占比重最高。     

Mass and Nutrient Losses During the Composting Of Dairy Manure Amended with Sawdust or Straw

Composting has become an increasingly popular manure management method for dairy farmers. However, the design of composting systems for farmers has been hindered by the limited amount of information on the quantities and volumes of compost produced relative to farm size and manure generated, and the impact of amendments on water, dry matter, volume and nitrogen losses during the composting process. Amendment type can affect the free air space, decomposition rate, temperature, C:N ratio and oxygen levels during composting. Amendments also initially increase the amount of material that must be handled. A better understanding of amendment effects should help farmers optimize, and potentially reduce costs associated with composting. In this study, freestall dairy manure (83% moisture) was amended with either hardwood sawdust or straw and composted for 110-155 days in turned windrows in four replicated trials that began on different dates. Initial C:N ratios of the windrows ranged from 25:1 to 50:1 due to variations in the source and N-content of the manure. Results showed that starting windrow volume for straw amended composts was 2.1 to 2.6 times greater than for sawdust amendment. Straw amended composts had low initial bulk densities with high free air space values of 75-93%. This led to lower temperatures and near ambient interstitial oxygen concentrations during composting. While all sawdust-amended composts self-heated to temperatures >55°C within 10 days, maintained these levels for more than 60 days and met EPA and USDA pathogen reduction guidelines, only two of the four straw amended windrows reached 55°C and none met the guidelines. In addition, sawdust amendment resulted in much lower windrow oxygen concentrations (< 5%) during the first 60 days. Both types of compost were stable after 100 days as indicated by CO₂ evolution rates <0.5 mg CO₂-C/g VS/d. Both types of amendments also led to extensive manure volume and weight reductions even after the weight of the added amendments were considered. However, moisture management proved critical in attaining reductions in manure weight during composting. Straw amendment resulted in greater volume decreases than sawdust amendment due to greater changes in bulk density and free air space. Through composting, farmers can reduce the volume and weights of material to be hauled by 50 to 80% based on equivalent nitrogen values of the stabilized compost as compared to unamended, uncomposted dairy manure. The initial total manure nitrogen lost during composting ranged from 7% to 38%. P and K losses were from 14 to 39% and from 1 to 38%, respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between C:N ratio and nitrogen loss (R₂=0.78) and carbon loss (R₂=0.86) during composting. An initial C:N ratio of greater than 40 is recommended to minimize nitrogen loss during dairy manure composting with sawdust or straw amendments.