Evolution of organic matter from sewage sludge and garden trimming during composting

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 91; no. 2; pp. 163 - 169
• Main Authors: Grigatti, Marco, Ciavatta, Claudio, Gessa, Carlo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 2004; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Agriculture; Agriculture - methods; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; Biological treatment of sewage sludges and wastes; Biotechnology; carbon; Carbon - metabolism; Compost; Environment and pollution; Enzymatic hydrolysis; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; humification; Humification parameters; Hydrolysis; Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects; Lipase; Muramidase; nitrogen; Nitrogen - metabolism; Other nutrients. Amendments. Solid and liquid wastes. Sludges and slurries; Plant Structures - chemistry; Plant Structures - metabolism; Pronase; Sewage - chemistry; Soil - analysis; Soil Microbiology; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Water-soluble nitrogen; Water-soluble organic carbon; yard wastes; Compost; Humification parameters; Enzymatic hydrolysis; Water-soluble organic carbon; Water-soluble nitrogen; Organic carbon; Organic matter; Humification; Nitrogen; Sewage sludge; Composting; Enzymatic digestion; Water solubility; Garden waste
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/S0960-8524(03)00170-6

To use compost appropriately in agriculture it is extremely important to estimate the stabilization level of the organic matter. In this work, two different piles of compost were studied by means of (i) humification parameters (degree of humification––DH, humification rate––HR, humification index––HI) prior to and after enzymatic hydrolysis of the extracted organic carbon, (ii) water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and (iii) water-soluble nitrogen. A significant relationship between composting time, WSOC and humification parameters after enzymatic hydrolysis (DH enz; HR enz; HI enz) was found.