Biodegradation of animal fats in a co-composting process with wastewater sludge
A composting process was proposed as an effective technology for the biodegradation of fats in a proportion of 40-50%. Anaerobically digested sludge was used as co-substrate for animal fats to balance the C/N ratio of the composting mixture and to provide additional biodegradable organic matter and...
| Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Publication Date: | 2008 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repository: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:163645 |
| Online Access: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/163645 https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.ibiod.2008.02.004 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Animal fats Composting Porosity Turning Wastewater sludge |
| Summary: | A composting process was proposed as an effective technology for the biodegradation of fats in a proportion of 40-50%. Anaerobically digested sludge was used as co-substrate for animal fats to balance the C/N ratio of the composting mixture and to provide additional biodegradable organic matter and active biomass. Two different strategies were studied: static pile and dynamic turned pile. Air-filled porosity was initially adjusted to 40% for both experiments. It was observed that non-turned strategy increases the formation of material agglomerates which derived in a non-homogeneous fat distribution, the development of filamentous fungi, and a considerable increase in the amount of leachate generated. Turning the composting material resulted in the best results for composting fat-enriched wastes, preventing the formation of agglomerates. An effective biodegradation up to 92% of the fats was observed under these conditions. Besides, the addition of fats increased significantly the duration of the thermophilic period of the composting process. |
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