Compost ( or ) is an organic material that has been described in a process called composting. This process recycles various organic materials - if not considered a waste product - and produces a soil conditioner (compost).
Compost is rich in nutrients. These are used for example in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, urban farming and organic farming. The compost itself is beneficial to the soil in many ways, including as a soil conditioner, fertilizer, the addition of vital humic or humic acid, and as a natural pesticide to the soil. In ecosystems, compost is useful for erosion control, land and river reclamation, wetland construction, and land cover (see composting).
At the simplest level, the composting process requires the manufacture of a pile of wet organic matter (also called green waste, such as leaves, grass, food scraps) and waiting for the material to decompose into humus after a few months. However, composting can also be done as a multi-step process, closely monitored with measured inputs from water, air, and carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich materials. The decomposition process is aided by cutting up plant matter, adding water and ensuring proper aeration by regularly changing the mixture when open stacks or "windrows" are used. Earthworms and fungi increasingly break down the material. Bacteria that need oxygen to function (aerobic bacteria) and fungi manage chemical processes by converting inputs to heat, carbon dioxide, and ammonium.
Video Compost
Fundamentals
Composting is an aerobic method (which means requiring the presence of air) from decomposition of organic solid waste. It can therefore be used to recycle organic materials. This process involves decomposition of organic matter into a material such as humus, known as compost, which is a good fertilizer for plants. Composting requires the following three components: human management, aerobic conditions, internal biological heat development.
Composting organisms requires four equally important ingredients to work effectively:
- Carbon - for energy; oxidation of carbon microbes produces heat, if included at the recommended level. High carbon materials tend to be brown and dry.
- Nitrogen - to grow and reproduce more organisms to oxidize carbon. High nitrogen materials tend to be green (or colorful, like fruits and vegetables) and wet.
- Oxygen - to oxidize carbon, decomposition process.
- Water - in the right amount to maintain activity without causing anaerobic conditions.
A certain ratio of these materials will give the microorganisms to work at levels that will heat up the pile. Active stack management (eg turns) is required to maintain proper oxygen supply and moisture levels. Air/water balance is essential to maintain high temperatures (135 ° -160 ° Fahrenheit/50 ° -70 ° Celsius) until the material is damaged.
The most efficient composting occurs with a carbon: optimal nitrogen ratio of about 25: 1. Composting of heat containers focuses on retaining heat to increase the decomposition rate and produce faster compost. Fast composting is preferred by having a C/N ratio of ~ 30 or less. Above 30 substrates are starved nitrogen, below 15 possibilities for partial exit of nitrogen as ammonia.
Almost all plants and animals have carbon and nitrogen content, but the numbers vary greatly, with the above-mentioned characteristics (dry/wet, brown/green). Fresh grass cuts have an average ratio of about 15: 1 and dried autumn leaves of about 50: 1 depending on the species. Mixing the same piece with volume approaches the ideal C: N range. Some individual situations will provide the ideal material mix at any point. Observation of the number, and consideration of different materials as piles build up over time, can quickly achieve a workable technique for individual situations.
Microorganisms
With the right mixture of water, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, micro-organisms are able to break down organic matter to produce compost. The composting process depends on micro-organisms to break down organic matter into compost. There are many types of microorganisms found in the most common active compost are:
- Bacteria - The most numerous of all microorganisms found in compost. Depending on the composting phase, mesophilic or thermophilic bacteria can dominate.
- Actinobacteria- Required to break down paper products such as newspapers, bark, etc.
- Mushroom and yeast mushrooms help break down substances that can not be bacteria, especially lignin in wood.
- Protozoa- Help consume bacteria, fungi and micro organic particles.
- Rotifera-Rotifera helps control bacterial populations and small protozoa.
In addition, earthworms not only feed on partial compost materials, but also continue to re-create aeration and drainage tunnels as they move through the compost.
Composting phase
Under ideal conditions, composting takes place through three main phases:
- The initial mesophilic phase, in which the decomposition was carried out under moderate temperature by mesophilic microorganisms.
- As the temperature rises, the second phase, thermophilic phase begins, where decomposition is performed by various thermophilic bacteria under high temperatures.
- Since the supply of high-energy compounds decreases, the temperature begins to decrease, and the mesophyll once again dominates in the maturation phase.
Composting is slow and fast
There are many composting supporters who are trying to fix some of the perceived problems associated with slow traditional composting. Many suggest that compost can be made in 2 to 3 weeks. Many such short processes involve some changes to traditional methods, including smaller and more homogeneous pieces of compost, controlling the carbon-nitrogen (C: N) ratio at 30 to 1 or less, and monitoring the moisture levels more carefully. However, none of these parameters differ significantly from the initial writings of compost researchers, suggesting that actual modern composting has not made significant advances over traditional methods that take months to work. For this and other reasons, many scientists are dealing with skeptical carbon transformations that there is a "super-charged" way to make nature compost quickly.
Both parties may be true to some extent. The activity of bacteria in a high-heat fast method breaks down the material as far as pathogens and seeds are destroyed, and the original raw material is unrecognizable. At this stage, compost can be used to prepare other fields or cropping areas. However, most professionals recommend that compost be given time to be cured before being used in a nursery to start seeds or grow young plants. Time of preservation allows the fungus to continue the decomposition process and remove phytotoxic substances.
Pathogen Removal
Composting can destroy unwanted pathogens or seeds. Unwanted live plants (or weeds) can be discouraged by covering with mulch/compost. "Microbial pesticides" in compost may include thermophils and mesophylls.
Thermophilic composting (high temperatures) is known to destroy many seeds and almost all types of pathogens (exceptions may include prions). The quality of sanitation from the composting (thermophilic) is desirable if there is a high possibility of pathogens, such as with manure.
Maps Compost
Composable materials
Composting is a process used for resource recovery. This can recycle unwanted by-products from other (waste) processes into useful new products.
Organic solid waste (green waste)
Composting is the process of converting decomposed organic materials into useful stable products. Therefore, valuable TPA space can be used for other waste by composting these materials rather than disposing them in landfills. However, it may be difficult to control the inert and plastic contamination of municipal solid waste.
Co-composting is a technique that processes organic waste along with other input materials such as dried sludge sludge or sewage sludge.
An industrial composting system is being installed to process organic waste and recycle it rather than cultivate it. This is one example of a sophisticated sewage treatment system. The mechanical separation of mixed waste streams combined with anaerobic digestion or composting in vessels is called mechanical biological treatments. It is increasingly being used in developed countries because of regulations governing the amount of organic material allowed in landfills. Treating biodegradable waste before entering the landfill reduces global warming of runaway methane; untreated wastes are anaerobically damaged in landfills, producing landfill gas containing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Animal manure and bedding
In many farms, the basic composting materials are animal waste produced in farms and bedding. Straw and sawdust are common bedding materials. Non-traditional bedding materials are also used, including newspaper and cardboard chopped. The amount of dirt composted on a farm is often determined by clearance schedules, land availability, and weather conditions. Each type of dirt has its own physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Cattle and horse manure, if mixed with bedding, has good quality for composting. Pig manure, which is very wet and usually not mixed with bed material, should be mixed with straw or similar raw materials. Poultry must also be mixed with a preferred low carbon nitrogen material, such as sawdust or straw.
Human waste and sewage sludge
Human excreta can also be added as input to the composting process because human excreta is a nitrogen-rich organic material. Can be composted directly, like in compost toilets. Or human excreta can be composted indirectly (as mud waste), after which it has undergone treatment at a sewage treatment plant.
Urine can be placed in compost pile or directly used as fertilizer. Adding urine to compost can increase the temperature and thereby increase its ability to destroy undesirable pathogens and seeds. Unlike feces, urine does not attract flies that spread the disease (such as houseflies or flies), and do not contain the most potent pathogens, such as parasitic worm eggs. Urine usually does not smell long, especially when fresh, watery, or wearing a sorbent.
Usage
Compost can be used as an additive for soil, or other matrix such as coir and peat, as wetting tilth, supplying humus and nutrients. It provides a rich growing medium, or a porous absorber that retains moisture and soluble minerals, provides support and nutrients in which plants can thrive, although rarely used alone, which is primarily mixed with soil. , sand, sand, crisps, vermiculite, pearlite, or clay grains to produce clays. Compost can be worked directly into the soil or growing medium to increase the level of organic matter and soil fertility as a whole. Compost ready for use as an additive is dark brown or even black with an earthy odor.
Generally, direct seeding into compost is not recommended because of its drying rate and the possible presence of phytotoxins in immature composts that can inhibit germination, and the possibility of binding to nitrogen by lignin that is not completely decomposed. It is common to see mixtures of 20-30% compost used for planting seedlings at the cotyledon stage or thereafter.
Composting technology
Various approaches have been developed to deal with various materials, locations, throughput and applications for compost products.
Industrial scale
Industrial composting can be done in the form of composting in ships, composting static aeration pile, vermicomposting, wind coil composting and happening in most western countries now.
Vermicomposting
Vermicompost is a product or process of degradation of organic matter using various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms, to create heterogeneous mixtures of decomposition of vegetables or food scraps (excluding meat, milk, fat, or oil) , and vermicast. Vermicast, also known as worm worms, humus worms or dirt worms, is the final product of the breakdown of organic matter by earthworm species.
Vermicomposting can also be applied to the treatment of mud waste.
Toilet composting
The compost toil collects human waste. This is added to the compost pile that can be found in the downstairs toilet seat. Sawdust and straw or other carbon-rich materials are usually added as well. Some compost toilets do not require water or electricity; the other is possible. If they do not use water to water, they fall into the category of dry toilets. Some compost toilet designs use urine diversion, others do not. When properly managed, they do not smell. The composting process in these toilets destroys pathogens to some extent. The amount of pathogen damage depends on the temperature (mesophilic or thermophilic conditions) and the time of composting.
Composting toilets with large composting containers (of the Clivus Multrum type and derivation thereof) are popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. They are available as commercial products, as designs for self-builders or as "design derivatives" marketed under various names.
Black soldier fly larvae
Black Soldier Fly ( Hermetia illucens ) larvae can quickly consume large amounts of organic matter when stored at about 30 ° C. Black Soldier Fly larvae can reduce dry matter from organic waste by 73% and change 16- 22% of the dry matter in the waste becomes biomass. The resulting compost still contains nutrients and can be used for the production of biogas, or more traditional compost or vermicomposting. The larvae are rich in fats and proteins, and can be used for example animal feed or biodiesel production. Fans have experimented with a large number of different waste products. Some even sell starter kits to the public. There are also large-scale facilities.
Other systems at the household level
hÃÆ'¼gelkultur_ (raised_garden_beds_or_mounds) "> HÃÆ'¼gelkultur (the garden that raised beds or bumps)The practice of making elevated garden beds or mounds filled with decomposed wood is also called "HÃÆ'¼gelkultur" in German. This applies to create a Nurse log that is covered with soil.
The benefits of garden sleep hÃÆ'¼gelkultur include water retention and soil warming. Buried timber acts like a sponge as it decomposes, is able to capture water and store it for later use by plants grown on the bed of hÃÆ'¼gelkultur.
Bokashi
Bokashi is a method that uses a mixture of microorganisms to cover leftover food or wilting plants to reduce odors, reduce the risk of attracting pests and increase the speed of decomposition. Bokashi (???) is Japanese for "shadow" or "gradation." This comes from the practice of Japanese farmers centuries ago which includes food scraps with rich local soil containing microorganisms that will ferment the material.
This technique relies on effective microorganisms. These essential microbes are usually added to the rest of the food using inoculated bokashi.
Fermented newspapers in the culture of lactobacillus can be replaced with bokashi bran for a successful bokashi bucket.
The first stage of bokashi retains the ingredients in the fermentation of lactic acid. Acid is a natural disinfectant, used as in household cleaning products, so what enters the second stage (digestion) is essentially free of pathogenic microbes.
Compost tea
Compost tea is defined as a washed water extract from composted ingredients. Compost tea is generally produced from adding one volume of compost to 4-10 volumes of water, but there is also a debate about the benefits of aerating the mixture. Field studies have demonstrated the benefits of adding compost tea to plants due to the addition of organic matter, increased availability of nutrients and increased microbial activity. They have also been shown to have an effect on plant pathogens.
Related technology
Organic materials intended for composting can also be used to produce biogas through anaerobic digestion. This process stabilizes organic matter. Residual materials, sometimes in combination with sewage sludge can be treated by composting before selling or composting.
Rule
There are product processes and guidelines in Europe dating from the early 1980s (Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland) and only recently in the UK and the United States. In both countries, private trade associations in the industry have set loose standards, some said as a pause to prevent independent government bodies from forming tighter standards that are consumer-friendly.
The US is the only Western country that does not distinguish mud-source compost from green-composts, and by default in the United States 50% of countries expect compost to comply with some of the ways with the federal EPA 503 rule announced in 1984 for mud products.
Compost is also set in Canada and Australia.
Many countries like Wales and some individual cities like Seattle and San Francisco require food and waste pages to sort for composting (San Francisco Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance).
Example
Large-scale composting systems are used by many urban areas around the world.
- The largest city co-composter in the world for municipal solid waste (MSW) is the Edmonton Composting Facility in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which converts 220,000 tons of municipal solid waste and 22,500 tons of dry mud waste per year to 80,000 tons of compost. The facility is 38,690m 2 (416,500 sq.ft.) in the area, equivalent to 4Ã,½ Canadian football field, and the operating structure is the largest stainless steel building in North America.
- In 2006, Qatar awarded Keppel Seghers Singapore, a subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, a contract to commence the construction of an anaerobic anaerobic and compost plant of 275,000 tonnes/year licensed by Swiss Compogas. The plant, with 15 independent anaerobic mills, will become the world's largest composting facility after full operation in early 2011 and is part of Qatar's Domestic Waste Management Center, the largest integrated waste management complex in the Middle East.
- Another major solid-waste composter is the Lahore Composting Facility in Lahore, Pakistan, which has the capacity to convert 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste into compost. It also has the capacity to convert most of its intake into fuel-derived fuel (RDF) for further burning use in some energy-consuming industries across Pakistan, for example in a cement manufacturing company used to heat cement kilns. The project has also been approved by the Executive Council of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce methane emissions, and has been listed with a capacity to reduce 108,686 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.
- Kew Gardens in London has one of Europe's largest non-commercial compost piles.
- Compost is used as an amendment of soil in organic farming.
History
Composting as a recognized practice is at least derived from the early Roman Empire, and is touted as early as Cato the Elder's 160 BCE De Agri Cultura . Traditionally, composting involves accumulating organic matter until the next planting season, at which time the material will decompose enough to be ready for use on the ground. The advantage of this method is the little work time or effort required of the composter and fits naturally with agricultural practices in temperate climates. Disadvantages (from a modern perspective) are spaces used for a full year, some nutrients may be washed out by rain, and organisms that produce disease and insects may not be adequately controlled.
A rather modern composting began in 1920 in Europe as a tool for organic farming. The first industrial station for the transformation of urban organic matter into compost was established in Wels, Austria in 1921. The first frequent quote for compost composting in agriculture is for the German-speaking world Rudolf Steiner, founder of agricultural methods called biodynamics, and Annie FrancÃÆ'Â © -Harrar , who was appointed on behalf of the government in Mexico and supported the country from 1950 to 1958 to establish a great humus organization in the fight against soil erosion and degradation.
In the English-speaking world, Sir Albert Howard works extensively in India on sustainable practices and Lady Eve Balfour is a huge proponent of composting. Composting was imported into America by various followers of this early European movement by people like J.I. Rodale (founder of Rodale Organic Gardening), EE Pfeiffer (who developed scientific practices in biodynamic farming), Paul Keene (founder of Walnut Acres in Pennsylvania), and Scott and Helen Nearing (who inspired the movement back to the 1960s). Coincidentally, some of the above met briefly in India - all of them quite influential in the US from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Society and culture
Terminology
The term "composting" is used all over the world with different meanings.
The term "anaerobic composting" is still used in the United States but should be replaced with anaerobic digestion. This is not a composting process.
"Humanure" is a portmanteau of human and dirt, pointing to human waste (feces and urine) that are recycled through composting for agricultural purposes. The term was first used in 1994 in a book by Joseph Jenkins who advocated the use of this organic soil amendment. The term humanure is used by composting enthusiasts in the United States but is not widely used elsewhere. Since the term "humanure" has no authoritative definition, it is subject to various uses. News reporters can use this term also for mud or biosolid waste.
See also
- Agroecology
- Biodynamic farming
- Carbon farming
- Certified Naturally Grown
- Organic movement
- Permaculture
- Sustainable farming
- Terra preta
- Urban farming
- Junk screens
Related list
- List of composting systems
- List of environment topics
- List of sustainable farming topics
- List of gardening topics and organic farming
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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