Abstract
Composting of municipal solid waste (MSW) was studied in an attempt to better understand the composting process and define parameters of maturity. Composting was performed in l–m3 plastic boxes and the following parameters were measured: temperature, C/N ratio in solid and liquid phase (C/N(s) and C/N(w) respectively), humic substance fractions and contents, dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Spectroscopic method (DRIFT) was used to study the chemical composition of the bulk organic matter (OM). A bioassay based on cucumber plants growth was correlated to other parameters. C/N(w), C/N(s) and DOC showed high rates of change during the first 60 days, then stabilized. Humic acid (HA) content increased to a maximum at 110 days, corresponding to the highest plant dry weight and the highest 1650/1560 (cm–l/cm–1) peak ratios from DRIFT spectra. DRIFT spectra showed that the OM transformed to a more aromatic structure.
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© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Chefetz, B., Chen, Y., Hadar, Y. (1996). Municipal Solid Waste Composting: Chemical and Biological Analysis of the Process. In: de Bertoldi, M., Sequi, P., Lemmes, B., Papi, T. (eds) The Science of Composting. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1569-5_118
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1569-5_118
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