Addition of microbial inoculum and optimized processing conditions in a commercial compost

Abstract

Introduction. Composting transforms residual organic materials into a product with the potential to restore organic matter and nutrients for agriculture, while reducing the volume and weight of these materials and their disposal in landfills or as pollutants in rivers and aquifers. Objective. To optimize the commercial production of compost, with the improvement of the process conditions and the addition of microbial inoculum. Materials and methods. On an agro-industrial substrate, conditions such as aeration, temperature, pile height and humidity were optimized on the composting process, and the addition of 3 microbial inoculum degrading organic matter was evaluated, in order to compare them with a commercial and an absolute control. Chemical and microbiological analyzes were carried out, as well as innocuity, stability and maturity. In total, 17 chemical, 7 microbiological, 2 safety and 13 maturity variables were evaluated. For the analysis and comparison of the treatments, a multicriteria method was used to summarize the result of the 39 variables studied in a single representative value. Results. Two confidence intervals were established, the first (a) includes the commercial and the absolute control, with the lowest quality scores. The second (b) encompasses the microbiological treatments Degradabiol, Bacilos and Agrecicla, with the highest weighted values, and the best quality characteristics. Conclusion. The addition of inoculum, as well as humidity and temperature management, frequent turning, and row height, allowed to obtain better quality characteristics, compared to conventionally produced compost. Poor C/N ratio of initial raw materials was a factor that could not be corrected due to the type of waste usually processed. Viable measures need to be implemented in order to improve this relationship, which is generally deficient in commercial compost productions.