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Composting completes the life cycle of organic material in today’s modern lifestyle. The flow chart illustrates the integral role that composting plant, which may treat sludge from the local sewage works or the community’s green and kitchen waste, plays in an environmentally conscious society.The Role of Composting Today
Composting completes the life cycle of organic material in today’s modern lifestyle. The flow chart illustrates the integral role that composting plant, which may treat sludge from the local sewage works or the community’s green and kitchen waste, plays in an environmentally conscious society.
Composting is a biological process carried out by a variety of micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi.
Through a series of complex biochemical reactions in predominantly aerobic conditions, micro-organisms convert the organic material to a more stable product. The degree of decomposition and, therefore, the stability of the composted organic material depends on the duration and the temperatures reached during composting.
For more information about composting systems, waste recycling and thermophylic decomposition see TEG Environmental at www.tegenvironmental.co.uk
Microbiology of Composting
Micro-organisms are key to composting
To maintain maximum microbial activity, process factors need to be optimal and this requires a degree of management and process control. Microbial activity is sensitivite to changes in process factors, such as the temperature, pH, nutrient and oxygen availability and moisture content. Physical (oxygen uptake, temperature) and chemical properties (pH, volatile fatty acids and metabolite concentrations) can be used to indicate the state of the composting system.
Most of the micro-organisms present during composting are bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi.
Bacteria make up 80 % to 90 % of the myriad of micro-organisms and are responsible for most of the initial decomposition of the readily-degradable organic material and the heat generation characteristic of composting. Actinomycetes and fungi, however, constitute most of the biomass, particularly in the later stages of composting when they are more prevalent. Fungi have a competitive advantage over bacteria and actinomycetes because they are able to operate in environments too dry, acidic, and low in nitrogen for bacteria and are often found growing extensively on carbonaceous organic material. Their enzymes enable them to decompose complex organics such as cellulose, lignin, chitin, and proteins. Ultimately, the type of organic material determines microbial population dynamics but, because the biochemical reactions during composting are catalysed by enzymes, temperature is the principal influence on microbial activity.
Temperature and pH profiles during composting
Under optimal conditions, composting typically experiences three distinctive stages: active, cooling and maturation. Microbial populations operate within a specific temperature range. The typical temperature and pH profiles during composting are shown in the graph above.
Psychrophiles favour temperatures below 10°C, mesophiles thrive in temperature between about 20°C and 45°C and thermophiles grow well between about 50°C to 70°C. An increase above the maximum temperature in the range leads to the thermal destruction of the cell proteins and the death of the micro-organisms, whilst temperatures below the minimum affect the metabolism of the cell.
Composting Systems
The wide variety of composting systems can be broadly classified as open and closed or in-vessel.
Open systems include turned piles such as windrows and static piles, either of which can be aerated by natural or forced convection.
In-vessel systems can be vertical, such as tower composters, or horizontal, such as tunnel composters and rotating drums. In-vessel systems range in complexity from the simple box containers, which rely on natural aeration, to the reactor-type vessels with elaborate control systems.
Systems can be further classified as interventionary (mixed, agitated and stirred) and non-interventionary (static and non-agitated) systems. 
For more information about composting systems, waste recycling and thermophylic decomposition see TEG Environmental at www.tegenvironmental.co.uk
Created: 2005-06-29 08:57:49 | Updated: 2006-06-14 14:49:32Related Items
More Fires in Galicia : It was reported yesterday that nineteen new fires are ravaging Galicia, the most serious of which is burning close to the capital of the autonomy Santiago de Compostela. [more...]Benissa Mayor Reshuffles Cabinet : Benissa Mayor Juan Bautista Rosello yesterday gave an impromptu press conference during which he announced that he would be taking over the running of the Urbanizing department from Pepa Del Valle, who would be taking over the Culture portfolio, whilst Maria Llopis would be moved from Culture to Personnel. [more...]
Preservation Orders : It has been revealed that the Environment ministry has included in its budget for this year the acquisition of the Serra Renega in Oropesa del Mar in Castellon Province [more...]
Going into the Sea : It has been revealed that some five thousand cubic meters of slush will be returned to the sea each day as the Benidorm desalination plant comes into service this will apparently be returned to the sea via a huge pipe that will discharge its load several hundred metres from the shores. [more...]
Blazing a Trail : The work to create a minor road up the slopes of the San Antonio Hill have resulted in a great deal of earth and stones falling down the hill to land in the Montgo National park, it was revealed yesterday. [more...]
0 Investment : Antoni Bernabe, the Official Government Delegate to the Valencian Community, will today inaugurate the modernization and consolidation of the watering system of sector X Jucar/Turia in Picassent. [more...]
Investigation Launched : The Seprona, the environmental arm of the Guardia Civil is now involved in an investigation into the pruning of ancient olive trees in the Castellon town of Canet. [more...]
At it Again! : Environment minister formally requesting that those in the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia refrain from topping up swimming pools and watering parks and gardens. [more...]
Minister Makes Suggestion : Socialist Environment Minister Cristina Narbona yesterday publicly called on all tourists who stay in hotels in the Valencian Community that they ‘save as much water as possible’. [more...]
Water Problems : It has been revealed that the water reservoirs of Alarcon and Contreras will be completely dry within two months, causing the supply of water to major cities in the Valencian Community to come under threat. [more...]
Villajoyosa Tragedy : Three technicians were in Villajoyosa Hospital in a serious condition last night after a leak of hydrogen sulfide gas caused them to fall to the ground unconscious as they were inspecting a purification plant. [more...]
Water Crisis Deepens : With the Province of Alicante and the Region of Murcia in the depths of an unprecedented water crisis, and the Partido Popular nationally demanding that Environment Minister Cristina Narbona having ‘an absolute obligation’ to provide water to the entire country. [more...]
Buying it Up : The Environment Ministry yesterday revealed that it was intent on spending some twenty million Euros in acquiring what it termed ‘specific beachfront estates’ in order to prevent their being destroyed by building. [more...]
Huge Park Proposed : Esteban Gonzalez Pons the Councillor for the Territory yesterday unveiled his department’s ambitious plans to create a huge area to be called the Turia Natural Park that would include the towns of Quart de Poblet, Manises, Paterna, Ribarroja del Turia, L’Eliana, Benaguasil, Lliria, Vilamarxant and Pedralba. [more...]
Back to Basics : It has been revealed that some 84 towns in the Valencian Community have resorted to taking water from the local wells and distributing it in trucks as a way of trying to deal with the current water shortage. [more...]
Reaching Crisis Point : Water supplies are now severely threatened for over 32 municipalities of the Valencian Community including Alicante City and Benidorm. [more...]
One Big No : Environment Minister Cristina Narbona yesterday stated that there ‘was no need’ to have a meeting with the Valencian Government over the lack of water in the Community. She also stated that she would not answer a call for her to appear in the Valencian Parliament to answer her allegations that the people in the Community ‘systematically wasted water’. [more...]
Under Fire : Environment Minister Cristina Narbona yesterday received a wave of criticism from Valencian Tourism Consellera Milagrosa Martinez, who called the Minister ‘a huge jellyfish that was alarming the tourists in the Valencian Community’. [more...]
I Accuse : Jose Manuel Llorca, the mayor of Villajoyosa, has stated that the Socialist Government in Madrid is generating a news blackout over the purification plant that ended in the death of one person and three others being injured after they inhaled toxic gases as they inspected the installation. [more...]
More on Galicia : Cristina Narbona, the Environment Minister, stated yesterday that ‘there are more pyromaniacs in Galicia than in the rest of Spain put together’. [more...]
A Real First : The Valencian Government yesterday gave the green light for the creation of a decree that will give rise to a Law of the Countryside of the Valencian Community. [more...]
Minister Alters Approach on Galicia : Cristina Narbona, the Environment Minister, altered her approach yesterday by stating that she was not criminalising any one sector for the disastrous Galician fires that are currently ravaging the Autonomy. [more...]
New Rules : Some new regulations were unveiled yesterday as part of the Valencian Government’s Law of the Landscape. These include a total ban on any building taking place on mountainsides or near cliffs. [more...]
Resignation Demanded : Victor Campos, the deputy President of the Valencian Government, gave a press conference yesterday during which he officially demanded the resignation of Environment Minister Cristina Narbona. [more...]
The Final Straw? : The Socialist Government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has almost constantly tried to impede the progress of the Valencian Community, further borne out by their recent decision to allow the British company Medoil to undertake a prospection exercise just 5 Kms off the coast of Valencia. [more...]
Water Meeting : The meeting yesterday between two water collectives – the Valencian and that of La Mancha – started off well, but during the break in discussions sources from both collectives accused each other of wasting water, with the La Mancha representatives accusing the Valencians of wasting more water per hectare ‘given the sort of cultivation they are undertaking’. [more...]
Work Stopped : Following a decision by the Coastal Council and the Ports directorate of the Valencian Government, all work has been stopped on the enlargement of the Campomanes Port in Altea after several ecological lobbies including the World Wildlife Fund issued official complaints to the effect that rubbish was being thrown into the sea to form the basis for the port extension. [more...]
Public and Private News : The decision by the Socialist Government to allow oil prospecting to take place slap in the middle of the Americas Cup racecourse and extremely close to the Albufera Natural Park has raised the voice of protest from almost every organisation in the Community. [more...]
Farmers Complain : The president of the Alicante Young Farmers Association Eladio Aniorte, stated yesterday that he considered the proposals of the Socialist Mayors of the Province for saving water as ‘complete idiocy’ and added that it would be far better if they turned their attention to seeking alternative water sources ‘rather than permanently insult farmers’. [more...]
Babies : To the delight of conservationists, some 25 baby Marine Turtles were born yesterday on the La Punta beach outside Valencia. [more...]
All Pending : The Environment Ministry now has had on its desk for the last three weeks, the proposals to enlarge Valencia Port, which envisages an investment of 530 million Euros from the Valencian Port Authority and a thousand million Euros from the private sector. [more...]
Getting Nearer : The dreaded Zebra Mussel discovered by naturalist Peter Pallas in 1771, giving it the biological name of Dreissena Polymorpha, appears to have arrived near Buñol on the banks of the Magro river. [more...]
Going Ahead : Edificaciones Calpe, one of the construction companies belonging to the Ballester group, has now started preparatory work on building two skycraper blocks of 21 storeys each in the Ponto Llisera in Benidorm – just 60 cms from the shore line. [more...]
Opening Revealed : The Ministry of the Environment has revealed that the Denia desalination plant would probably be able to start functioning by 2008. [more...]
Pulling it Down : A demolition team from the Coastal Department of the Environment Ministry yesterday started demolishing the Villa Carmen near the Playa de Los Deveses in Denia, after a financial arrangement had been made with the owners. [more...]
Trying to Stop It : A joint effort championed by the CIBE/Bloc party of Benissa has now mad an official complaint against the building project for the Beniver area of the municipality. [more...]
Changes in the Law : Esteban Gonzalez Pons, the Councillor for the Territory, yesterday proposed an alteration to the Land Laws that are currently being prepared by the Madrid Government in order to stabilise the division of profits that could generate any requalification of land amongst the affected owners. [more...]
More of the Same : It was this month that the Port Authority of Valencia was hoping that the Environment ministry would resolve the Declaration on the Environment on the new extension work for the Port on the hope that work could begin next year. [more...]
Go to Jail : The Penal Division of the Supreme Court has ratified a jail sentence of six years that was passed on Carlos Pascual, the former Mayor of Pego by an Alicante court. [more...]
A Reaction : The ecological collective Agro yesterday expressed some pleasure at the ratification of a six-year jail term for Carlos Pascual the former Mayor of Pego. [more...]
Plans Opposed : Yesterday, representatives of the Gent de Denia, Partido popular and the Greens parties rushed off from Denia to have an urgent meeting with Agricultural Councillor Juan Cotino [more...]
Bypass Opposed : It was not until the new General Plan for Gata de Gorgos was put on display that a new project was revealed: a road bypassing the town slicing through vast tracts of agricultural land. [more...]
Over the Top : It was revealed yesterday that water consumption in Elche is three times over the limit of 60 litres per day per person as set by Environment Minister Cristina Narbona. [more...]
Not Getting Any Better : Ramon Isidro, the Councillor for Water in Valencia Town Council, finally went public yesterday after receiving a number of criticisms from the socialist party [more...]
Not Exactly Friends : Esteban Gonzalez Pons, the Councillor for the Territory, and Cristina Narbona, the Environment Minister have crossed swords yet again over the energy consumed as well as the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the Socialist plans to install desalination plants in the Community as well as the cancellation of the Ebro River diversion. [more...]
Ok for Some : It has been revealed that Environment Minister Cristina Narbona has agreed to a diversion of the Segre River – one of the widest tributaries of the Ebro - to the amount of approximately 350 hectometres for the watering of some 70 hectares in Lerida Province. [more...]
Meeting Prior to Visit : Martin Libicki, the Chairman of the Petitions Committee in the European Union, is to have a meeting later today with Stavros Dimas the Environmental Commissioner and Charlie McCreevy [more...]
Land problems (1) : The Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community yesterday announced the suspension of the approval by the Conselleria for the Territory of the Partial Plan for Porxinos in Ribarroja, stating that it not have the necessary report from the Water Commission CHJ. [more...]
Confrontation : Cristina Serrano, the Autonomous Secretary for the Territory and the Environment, stated yesterday that whilst her department, headed by Esteban Gonzalez Pons ‘was actively seeking alternative energy sources such as the possible use of oranges to obtain bioethanol [more...]
Appeal Launched : The Valencian Government and Valencia Football Club have now launched a joint appeal against a decision made earlier this week to stop any project in the Porxinos area from going ahead on the premise that there was not enough water. [more...]
Inspection Demanded : The Valencian Government yesterday formally requested that the Orihuela court that is examining the case of building irregularities in Catral ‘undertake a visual inspection’ of non-buildable land in the municipality. [more...]
Seeking to Preserve It : An agreement seemed to be reached yesterday between Juan Bautista Rosello (of the Partido Popular) the Mayor of Benissa, Juan Bautista Reus, the Socialist Mayor of Lliber, and Cesar Sivera of the Bloc, the Mayor of Xalo [more...]
Just Not Listening : The Ministry of the Environment through the public company AcuaMed made it plain yesterday that they have no intention of paying any heed to complaints made by the Valencian Government [more...]
Speaking Out : Environment Minister Cristina Narbona was in Valencia yesterday where she was presentation of the ‘Guide for the Realization of Studies of Viability in Projects of the Reuse of Purified Water’ in the Faculty of Economics at Valencia University [more...]
Water Discovered : The use by the Environment Ministry of Russian military technology has enabled the Ministry to reveals that ‘huge’ underground lakes of water have been discovered in the north of Castellon Province between Benicassim and the border with Catalunia. [more...]
Land Acquired : The Ministry of the Environment was given the green light by the Cabinet yesterday to acquire the English Cemetery and the Gerro Tower in Denia. [more...]
Ebro Floods : If over the past few days, there have been critical murmurs against the Environment ministry for ‘allowing the Ebro River to flood whilst Valencia has no water at all’ [more...]
A Suggestion : The Conselleria for the Territory has revealed that the state-owned company Acuamed simply is unable to justify placing the largest desalination plant in Europe in Torrevieja [more...]
Cristina Narbona Strikes Again : The draft of the new proposals for amendments to the water law that were released yesterday, and which the Socialist Government intends to turn into a law prior to the upcoming local elections [more...]
Investing iin Altea : Environment Minister Cristina Narbona was in Altea yesterday, and during her visit she revealed that he Ministry was prepared to invest some 18 million Euros in the revitalization of the seafront of the town. [more...]
Seprona Investigates : Seprona, the environmental arm of the Guardia Civil, is now investigating the dumping of building and other rubble for the future four-star, 104-metre-high hotel in Calpe in the La Soliva area of the municipality. [more...]
The Case of Albufera : The European Court of Justice yesterday handed down a decision against Spain for its failure to adopt the necessary measures to protect the Albufera area outside Valencia. [more...]
Belief or Reality : According to Antonio Romera of Calpe Town Council, the same company that is involved with building g a new seafront hotel in the municipality is also involved with actions in and around the Barranc Salat area [more...]
Environmental Action : The Valencian Government has renewed its actions over the environment, by proposing that the Community become a pioneer in the use of non-contaminating energy. [more...]
Testing to Take Place : The Acuamed Company – a branch of the Ministry of the Environment – has now officially informed Torrevieja Town Hall that it intends to take samples from the seabed, in order to assess the environment. [more...]
This page has been printed from the Valencia Trader website.
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