Evaluation of pilot-scale in-vessel composting for food waste treatment

This study is aimed to evaluate the performance of pilot-scale in-vessel composting for food wastes treatment. The composting plant was installed with 324 m(3) of the composting bay volume and 14,000 kg/day of the composting material flow rate. The evaluations studied included the operational indices, the compost maturity indices, and the quality of the final compost. Blowers of this system were useful in maintaining aerobic condition (over 6% oxygen concentration in off-gas) through the entire compost bay. The levels of indices evaluated remained constant in the final part of composting. The final compost was satisfactory for its agricultural application. It was revealed in this study that bulk density bore a linear relation to moisture content during composting, and the final compost without bulking agent showed negative correlation between heavy metal and organic matters content. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.