TY - JOUR
T1 - Application of municipal solid waste (MSW) char during rotary drum co-composting (RDC) of vegetable waste and its characterization
AU - Saikia, Silvia
AU - Maturi, Krishna Chaitanya
AU - Prit, Harsh
AU - Pottipati, Suryateja
AU - Kalamdhad, Ajay S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.
PY - 2025/11
Y1 - 2025/11
N2 - Composting, a sustainable method for handling biodegradable waste constituting nearly 50% of municipal solid waste (MSW), can be enhanced by incorporating char produced from MSW pyrolysis. This study investigates the impact of MSW char (0% char—Control, 2.5% char—Trial 1, 5% char—Trial 2) on the physicochemical properties of vegetable waste compost. A thermophilic temperature range of 53.8 °C was detected in Trial 2, 50.8 °C in Trial 1, and 46.8 °C in Control. The pH of the mixes increased at day 20 to 7.5, 7.87, and 8.2 in Control, Trial 1, and Trial 2, respectively. The highest drop of total organic carbon (TOC) and volatile solids in Trial 2 is about 21.18% and 21.02%, respectively. Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) increased, particularly in Trial 2 (2.35%), while NH4-N concentrations decreased, and phosphorus levels rose notably to 23.48 mg/kg, with 2.49 mg/kg available phosphorus in Trial 2. The C/N was reduced to 10 in Trial 2. Total potassium increase was highest for Trial 1 (6.9 g/kg). Trial 2 had the highest overall macronutrient concentration and correspondingly showed the greatest decrease in volatile solids. Furthermore, Trial 1 demonstrated a reduction in heavy metal concentration in comparison to Control and Trial 2. Consequently, the utilization of MSW char during rotary drum composting enhances the process of composting and significantly improves compost quality, making it a sustainable waste management solution.
AB - Composting, a sustainable method for handling biodegradable waste constituting nearly 50% of municipal solid waste (MSW), can be enhanced by incorporating char produced from MSW pyrolysis. This study investigates the impact of MSW char (0% char—Control, 2.5% char—Trial 1, 5% char—Trial 2) on the physicochemical properties of vegetable waste compost. A thermophilic temperature range of 53.8 °C was detected in Trial 2, 50.8 °C in Trial 1, and 46.8 °C in Control. The pH of the mixes increased at day 20 to 7.5, 7.87, and 8.2 in Control, Trial 1, and Trial 2, respectively. The highest drop of total organic carbon (TOC) and volatile solids in Trial 2 is about 21.18% and 21.02%, respectively. Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) increased, particularly in Trial 2 (2.35%), while NH4-N concentrations decreased, and phosphorus levels rose notably to 23.48 mg/kg, with 2.49 mg/kg available phosphorus in Trial 2. The C/N was reduced to 10 in Trial 2. Total potassium increase was highest for Trial 1 (6.9 g/kg). Trial 2 had the highest overall macronutrient concentration and correspondingly showed the greatest decrease in volatile solids. Furthermore, Trial 1 demonstrated a reduction in heavy metal concentration in comparison to Control and Trial 2. Consequently, the utilization of MSW char during rotary drum composting enhances the process of composting and significantly improves compost quality, making it a sustainable waste management solution.
KW - Char
KW - Compost
KW - Municipal solid waste
KW - Pyrolysis
KW - Rotary drum composting
KW - Vegetable waste
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85198750466
U2 - 10.1007/s11356-024-34332-4
DO - 10.1007/s11356-024-34332-4
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 39012530
AN - SCOPUS:85198750466
SN - 0944-1344
VL - 32
SP - 29917
EP - 29933
JO - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
IS - 54
ER -
