Abstract
This chapter delivers a panorama of the latest progress on characterization techniques to study the biodegradation and transformation of organic residues and structural agents during composting. Although biological tests can provide valuable information on compost stability and maturity, further insight into the transformation by composting can be easily gained through the monitoring of a set of chemical parameters obtained from other analytical instrumental techniques. Spectroscopic and thermal analysis methods allow the facile tracking of physicochemical parameters such as the C/N ratio, the water-soluble organic carbon, the mineralization rate, etc. and supply data associated with kinetic and thermodynamic processes. The different sections covered herein explain and review how they may be used for the rapid identification of fulvic and humic acids or of the different lignocellulosic constituents; for the determination of aromaticity or of carbon contents (both soluble and in solid-phase); for the tracking of dehydration, decarboxylation reactions, degree of humification, C/N ratio evolution, indirect microbial activity, etc. Examples of the biodegradation of different heterogeneous raw materials are discussed and achievements reported in the last few years are described.
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Notes
- 1.
The humification ratio (HR) is calculated by multiplying by 100 the extractable organic carbon/total carbon quotient; and the humification index (HI) is determined by multiplying by 100 the humid acid-like carbon/total carbon rate.
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PMR gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Santander Universidades through the “Becas Iberoamérica Jóvenes Profesores e Investigadores, España” scholarship program.
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Martín-Ramos, P., Martín-Gil, J. (2020). Facile Monitoring of the Stability and Maturity of Compost Through Fast Analytical Instrumental Techniques. In: Meghvansi, M., Varma, A. (eds) Biology of Composts. Soil Biology, vol 58. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39173-7_8
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