Composting of Municipal Solid Waste as a Useful Product

Abstract

Abstract

The amount of solid waste has been increasing by rapid population growth, improved technology, economic development and changing consumption habits. Therefore there is a need to apply different disposal methods of which the product can be achieved rather than landfilling. In order to avoid the deposition of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) on landfill, composting can be used as a alternative method in solid waste disposal plants. In addition to this, legal regulations restrict open windrow composting of biodegradable waste due to vermin attraction, odour, leachate production, greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore anaerobic digestion has been investigated nowadays instead of aerobic composting.

Anaerobic composting is a biological process which results in the degradation of organic waste without oxygen to a stable end product, which can generally be recommended as an additive to soil for various agricultural purposes. This type of composting has various advantages: e.g. reduces mass of waste; stabilizes waste; reduces pathogens and produces a product. The aim of this study was chosen to apply anaerobic composting process of solid wastes containing organic matter and to determine its biodegradability. In this study, the organic solid waste such as kitchen waste was filled to the reactor. The reduction of BOD/COD ratio was monitoring during composting.Compostwhich is the final product of our process was mixed with soil using different rates then tested using arugula as a test plant.