Title: Bio-conversion of organic waste using composting technologies - a review

Authors: V. Sudharsan Varma; Ajay S. Kalamdhad

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati – 781039, Assam, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati – 781039, Assam, India

Abstract: Composting is nowadays evolving as a highly technical process for processing organic waste separately replacing landfilling along with municipal solid waste. Vegetable waste with high organic content can be composted to produce nutrient rich material that can work as soil conditioner instead of dumping in open landfills. Various studies reveal that due to high organic content of vegetable waste it increases leachability, thereby contaminating the groundwater and increasing greenhouse gas emissions on open dumping. Since the nitrogen and carbon rich materials are layered in an optimal balanced composition in composting, microbes decompose the material faster to produce high quality compost with nutrient value. Vegetable waste rich in organic nitrogen can be easily mineralised by compost microorganisms to form NH₄ and NO₃, thereby successfully incorporating them in the compost. Depending on the source of organic waste, composting methodology can be selected for the efficient degradation and better compost quality. In the present study, it has been reviewed about the composting methodologies practiced for organic waste providing the optimised parameters for improving the processes.

Keywords: organic waste; composting technologies; vermicomposting; microbial diversity; enzyme activity; organic transformation; stability; bioconversion; vegetable waste; optimisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2014.066518

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2014 Vol.17 No.6, pp.483 - 507

Accepted: 15 May 2014
Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

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