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Performance Evaluation of In-vessel System for Co-composting of Septage

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Waste Management and Resource Efficiency

Abstract

The present study deals with the evaluation of in-vessel co-composting as a treatment option for septage management. Optimization of process parameters such as carbon: nitrogen (C/N) ratio, moisture content, pH, temperature and oxygen supply can accelerate the naturally occurring composting process. Since the C/N ratio of septage is <10, it needs to be composted with complementary waste having higher C/N. Hence, in this study, efforts were made to understand the compost dynamics of septage co-composting in a laboratory-scale in-vessel system. Co-composting of septage was done with mixed organic fraction which includes mainly paper waste, vegetable waste and food waste to increase the overall C/N ratio. The parameters such as pH, moisture content, temperature, carbon and nitrogen were monitored during the process. The results showed that the compost mixture has an initial C/N ratio of 20 and organic matter (OM) content of 83%. The OM content was reduced to 62% and C/N ratio to 11 after a composting operation of 20 days, which indicated the effective degradation of organic waste. Temperature above 55 °C for more than 5 days ensured significant pathogen inactivation during the composting process. Final compost quality indicated that it can be used as a fertilizer since it has enough organic and nutrient content for plants to grow.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express gratitude towards DST-IGCS for funding this project. The authors also express sincere gratitude towards DST-INSPIRE for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India

    Anu Rachel Thomas, A. Praveen Rosario & Ligy Philip

  2. University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    Martin Kranert

Authors
  1. Anu Rachel Thomas
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  2. A. Praveen Rosario
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  3. Ligy Philip
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Correspondence to Anu Rachel Thomas .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Sadhan Kumar Ghosh

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Thomas, A.R., Praveen Rosario, A., Philip, L., Kranert, M. (2019). Performance Evaluation of In-vessel System for Co-composting of Septage. In: Ghosh, S. (eds) Waste Management and Resource Efficiency. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7290-1_43

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