Abstract
Food waste is a major issue in the context of pollution, climate change, and the future circular economy. Composting kitchen waste is a promising method to recycle elements, yet the efficiency of composting is limited, calling for new processes that degrade rapidly and thoroughly organic matter. Here, we built a rapid laboratory-scale aerobic composting system, equipped with a water bath fueled with either solar energy, or electricity under low sunlight. We tested compositing with and without energy. Results show that only three days are needed to raise the temperature to over 45 °C by energy composting in winter, leading to notable increases in pH, total nitrogen, and cation exchange capacity after 7 days. Composting materials were thoroughly decomposed and mature in 10 days, displaying pH of 7.5, ratio of total organic carbon to total nitrogen of 9.9, cation exchange capacity of 65.61 cmol kg−1, and germination index of 80.4%. Overall, energy composting starts biodegradation quickly in 2 days, reduces effectively the inhibition from some waste compounds, decomposes organic substances well, and yields mature compost.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.References
Banegas V, Moreno JL, Moreno JI, García C, León G, Hernández T (2007) Composting anaerobic and aerobic sewage sludges using two proportions of sawdust. Waste Manage 27(10):1317–1327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2006.09.008
Bernal MP, Navarro AF, Sánchez-Monedero MA, Roig A, Cegarra J (1998a) Influence of sewage sludge compost stability and maturity on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 30(3):305–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(97)00129-6
Bernal MP, Sanchez-Monedero MA, Cegarra J, Paredes C (1998b) Maturity and stability parameters of composts prepared with a wide range of organic wastes. Bioresour Technol 63(1):91–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-8524(97)00084-9
Bernal MP, Alburquerque JA, Moral R (2009) Composting of animal manures and chemical criteria for compost maturity assessment. Rev Bioresour Technol 100(22):5444–5453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2008.11.027
Chikae M, Ikeda R, Kerman K, Morita Y, Tamiya E (2006) Estimation of maturity of compost from food wastes and agro-residues by multiple regression analysis. Bioresour Technol 97(16):1979–1985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2005.09.026
Choi MH, Park YH (2010) The influence of yeast on thermophilic composting of food waste. Lett Appl Microbiol 26(3):175–178. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1472-765X.1998.00307.x
Giwa AS, Xu H, Wu J, Li Y, Chang F, Zhang X, Jin Z, Bo H, Wang K (2018) Sustainable recycling of residues from the food waste (FW) composting plant via pyrolysis: thermal characterization and kinetic studies. J Clean Prod 180:43–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.201801.122
Gu G, Yong L, Ren W, Qiu D (2011) Reclamation technologies of food residue (in Chinese). Environ Sanit Eng 19(3):1–3
Gutiérrez MC, Siles JA, Diz J, Chica AF, Martín MA (2017) Modelling of composting process of different organic waste at pilot scale: biodegradability and odor emissions. Waste Manage 59:48–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2016.09.045
Hagemann N, Subdiaga E, Orsetti S, Rosa JMDL, Knicker H, Schmidt HP, Kappler A, Behrens S (2018) Effect of biochar amendment on compost organic matter composition following aerobic compositing of manure. Sci Total Environ 613–614:20–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.201708.161
Jain MS, Jambhulkar R, Kalamdhad AS (2018) Biochar amendment for batch composting of nitrogen rich organic waste: effect on degradation kinetics, composting physics and nutritional properties. Bioresour Technol 253:204–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2018.01.038
Kate SH, Pettitt TR, Tappin AD, Rollinson GK, Fitzsimons MF (2018) Does carbon limitation reduce nitrogen retention in soil? Environ Chem Lett 16:623–630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-017-0700-9
Kebria DY, Ghavami M, Javadi S, Goharimanesh M (2018) Combining an experimental study and ANFIS modeling to predict landfill leachate transport in underlying soil—a case study in north of Iran. Environ Monit Assess 190(1):26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6374-8
Kutu FR, Mokase TJ, Dada OA, Rhode OHJ (2019) Assessing microbial population dynamics, enzyme activities and phosphorus availability indices during phospho-compost production. Int J Recycl Org Waste Agr. 8(1):87–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40093-018-0231-9
Liu F, Liu X (2007) Measuring and analysis technology of soil and solid waste (in Chinese). Chemical Industry Press, China
Maiti SK (2013) Analysis of Chemical Parameters of Soil and Overburden. Ecorestoration of the coalmine degraded lands. Springer, India
Moradi B (2015) Feasibility study of green wastes composting with digested and dewatering sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plant in Iran. Soc Sci Electron Publ 2(3):149–155
Naher UA, Sarkar MIU, Jahan A, Biswas JC (2018) Co-composting urban waste, plant residues, and rock phosphate: biochemical characterization and evaluation of compost maturity. Commun Soil Sci Plan 49(6):751–762. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2018.1435799
Nanda S, Berruti F (2021) Municipal solid waste management and landfilling technologies: a review. Environ Chem Lett 19:1433–1456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01100-y
Rawoof SAA, Kumar PS, Vo DVN, Devaraj K, Subramanian S (2021) Production of optically pure lactic acid by microbial fermentation: a review. Environ Chem Lett. 19:539–556. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01083-w
Sánchez A, Artola A, Font X, Gea T, Barrena R, Gabriel D, Sánchez-Monedero MÁ, Roig A, Cayuela ML, Mondini C (2015) Greenhouse gas emissions from organic waste composting. Environ Chem Lett 13(3):223–238
Sharma D, Varma VS, Yadav KD, Kalamdhad AS (2017) Evolution of chemical and biological characterization during agitated pile composting of flower waste. Inter J Recycling Org Waste Agric 6(1):89–98. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40093-017-0155-9
Shi H, Wang XC, Qian L, Jiang S (2018) Effects of elevated tetracycline concentrations on aerobic composting of human feces: composting behavior and microbial community succession. Indian J Microbiol 58(4):423–432. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-018-0729-x
Sundberg C, Franke-Whittle IH, Kauppi S, Yu D, Romantschuk M, Insam H, Jönsson H (2011) Characterisation of source-separated household waste intended for composting. Bioresour Technol 102(3):2859–2867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.10.075
Usmani Z, Kumar V, Rani R, Gupta P, Chandra A (2018) Changes in physico-chemical, microbiological and biochemical parameters during composting and vermicomposting of coal fly ash: a comparative study. Int J Environ Sci Te 16(8):4647–4664. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-1893-6
Vázquez MA, Sen R, Soto M (2015) Physico-chemical and biological characteristics of compost from decentralised composting programmes. Bioresour Technol 198:520–532. https://doi.org/10.1016/jbiortech.2015.09.034
Wang SP, Zhong XZ, Wang TT, Sun ZY, Tang YQ, Kida K (2017) Aerobic composting of distilled grain waste eluted from a Chinese spirit-making process: the effects of initial pH adjustment. Bioresour Technol 245:778–785. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.09.051
Waqas M, Almeelbi T, Nizami AS (2018) Resource recovery of food waste through continuous thermophilic in-vessel composting. Environ Sci Pollut R 25(6):5212–5222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9358-x
Wu S, Shen Z, Yang C, Zhou Y, Xiang L, Zeng G, Ai S, He H (2017) Effects of C/N ratio and bulking agent on speciation of Zn and Cu and enzymatic activity during pig manure composting. Int Biodeter Biodegr 119:429–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2016.09.016
Xie X, Guo X, Zhou L, Yao Q, Zhu H (2017) Study of biochemical and microbiological properties during co-composting of spent mushroom substrates and chicken feather. Waste Biomass Valoriz 10(1):23–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-017-0035-6
Yan Z, Song Z, Dong L, Yuan Y, Liu X, Tao Z (2015) The effects of initial substrate concentration, C/N ratio, and temperature on solid-state anaerobic digestion from composting rice straw. Bioresour Technol 177:266–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2014.11.089
Yang F, Ouyang X, Li G, Luo W, Yang Q (2012) Effect of bulking agent on CH_4, N_2O and NH_3 emissions in kitchen waste composting (in Chinese). Trans Chinese Soc Agr Eng 29(18):226–233
Zeng G, Zhang L, Dong H, Chen Y, Zhang J, Zhu Y, Yuan Y, Xie Y, Fang W (2018) Pathway and mechanism of nitrogen transformation during composting: functional enzymes and genes under different concentrations of PVP-AgNPs. Bioresour Technol 253(3):112–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.12.095
Zhang L, Sun X (2016) Influence of bulking agents on physical, chemical, and microbiological properties during the two-stage composting of green waste. Waste Manag 48:115–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2015.11.032
Zhao Y, Niu D, Chai X (2010) Treatment and reuse of solid waste (in Chinese). Chemical Industry Press, China
Zhou S (2009) Principle and technology for pollution control of solid waste (in Chinese). Tsinghua University, China
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Public Welfare Technology Project (LGF19E080006)002E
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, B., Shi, Z., He, M. et al. Energy composting allows rapid degradation of food waste using a water bath heated with electricity or solar energy. Environ Chem Lett 19, 3539–3545 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01250-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01250-7