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Effects of operating parameters on in situ NH3 emission control during kitchen waste composting and correlation analysis of the related microbial communities

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Abstract

Ammonia emission during composting results in anthropogenic odor nuisance and reduces the agronomic value of the compost due to the loss of nitrogen. Adjusting the operating parameters during composting is an emerging in situ odor control technique that is cheap and highly efficient. The effects of in situ NH3 emission control were investigated in this study by simultaneously adjusting key operating parameters (such as C/N ratio, aeration rate, and moisture content) during the composting processes (C1–C9). Results showed that the average NH3 emission concentrations for different treatments were in the order of C1 > C4 > C2 > C5 > C3 > C6 > C7 > C8 > C9. The total content of NH3 emission (21.02 g/kg) in C9 (C/N ratio = 35, aeration rate = 15 L/min, and moisture content = 60%) was much lower than that (65.95 g/kg) in C1 (C/N ratio = 15, aeration rate = 5 L/min, and moisture content = 60%). The nitrogen loss ratio was 27.36% for C1, while 16.15% for C9. The microbial diversity and abundance in C9 and C1 were compared using high-throughput sequencing. The relationship between NH3 emission, operating parameters, and the related functional microbial communities was also investigated. Results revealed that Nitrosospira, Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter, Pseudomonas, Methanosaeta, Rhodobacter, Paracoccus, and Sphingobacterium were negatively related to NH3 emission. According to the above results, the optimal values for different operating parameters for the in situ NH3 control during kitchen waste composting were, respectively, moisture content of 70%, C/N ratio of 35, and aeration rate of 15 L/min, with the order of effectiveness from high to low being aeration rate > C/N > moisture. This information could be used as a valuable reference for the in situ NH3 emission control during kitchen waste composting.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Bojing Liu of Zhejiang University for the GC-MS analysis.

Funding

The research was financially supported by the social development project of Hangzhou City (Grant Number 20160533B78), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Grant Number LY14E080020), the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant Number 41001147), and the China Scholarship Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310016, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Ding, Jiaojiao Wei, Junsheng Xiong, Bowei Zhou, Weiqin Zhu & Hangjun Zhang

  2. Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310016, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Ding, Jiaojiao Wei, Junsheng Xiong, Bowei Zhou, Weiqin Zhu & Hangjun Zhang

  3. China National Bamboo Research Center, Hangzhou, 310012, People’s Republic of China

    Hanjiang Cai

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  1. Ying Ding
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Correspondence to Ying Ding.

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Ding, Y., Wei, J., Xiong, J. et al. Effects of operating parameters on in situ NH3 emission control during kitchen waste composting and correlation analysis of the related microbial communities. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 11756–11766 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04605-4

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