Performance assessment of laboratory scale bioreactors for composting experiments
Composting, Bench scale Reactors, Differential Temperature Control, Respirometry.
Composting is a technique for treating solid residues of organic origin that allows the reinsertion in the production chain of micro and macronutrients that, in principle, are removed from the soil by the agricultural harvest, thus providing the replacement or reduction in the need for the use of organic fertilizers of synthetic nature
However, there are still opportunities for improvement, which mainly include reducing nitrogen losses and accelerating the decomposition of lignocellulosic materials, and promoting nitrification after the thermophilic phase. These improvements would have a direct impact on reducing the maturation time of the compost and on its quality as an organic fertilizer.
However, the study of the composting process on a full scale is often not feasible since it requires a lot of inputs (large volume of material to be composted, large physical space requirement, etc.)
This study aims to present alternatives for simulating the composting process on a laboratory scale, as well as presenting protocols for testing and validating these simulations. The study will be carried out at Embrapa Solos facilities and will use polypropylene reactors with a volume of 3l and compensation of thermal losses via differential temperature control (CDT). Analysis of respirometry obtained with O2 and CO2 sensors. The test period will be 30 days and after the end of the experiment maturation tests will be conducted in order to prove the stability and maturity of the obtained compost.