Showing 22 results for Compost
Ms Hassanvand, R Nabizadeh, M Heidari,
Volume 1, Issue 1 (10-2008)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In the recent years Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has been one of the most important environmental concerns to throughout regions of Iran. Sound MSW management for any area needs to the reliable data in which present the actual MSW condition in that area. The aim of this study is express of integrated view of MSW in Iran.
Materials and Methods: In this study we collect the data from various municipal regions of Iran, to represent the roughly integrated view of MSW management situation in Iran. In this paper quantity, average generation rate, physical composition, and types of disposal methods in all of municipal regions of Iran also were investigated.
Results: Results from this study has shown that the amount of MSW generated in all of the municipal regions of Iran was 10370798 tons per year, and the average generation rate of MSW was 0.64 kg/capita/day. Results showed that only 6% of MSW was recycled, 10% was treated at organic waste (composting) plants, and about 84% was disposed of in landfill.
Conclusion: According to obtained results from this study and compare MSW composition of Iran to some countries, its found that MSW properties in Iran is near to MSW properties in Low-income countries. Since the most of MSW in Iran contain organic fraction, there is a high potential to develop of composting industry.
R Rostami, A Nabaey, A Eslami,
Volume 1, Issue 2 (3-2009)
Abstract
Background and Objectives:Nowadays vermicompost production of food wastes is posed as one of appropriate methods to food wastes. disposal, its production used in agriculture and gardening. Moreover this process has some by products beside useful fertilizer that one of them is the worms. we can use them in variety of products specially in production of poultry and fish food. So determination of optimal condition for operating vermicompost production process of food wastes and worms. growth in these wastes is important. The aim of this study was determination of optimal temperature and moisture range for process progression in vermicompost production of food wastes.
Materials and Methods: In this study we used Eisenia foetida species. Process performed in pots with 15 cm (h) and 12 cm (d) and in a mouth period of time. Three ranges of temperature including 5-15, 15-25, 25-35 oC and three ranges of moisture including 55-65%, 65-75%, 75-85% were applied in this study.
Results: Multivariate analysis was used for analyze of results and it showed that influence of temperature and moisture on C:N ratio is significant in vermicomposting process (p <0.05).
Conclusion: The results showed that the range of temperature 15-25 oC is more appropriate for operating of process. Due to these study.s results with increasing or reduction of ambient temperature, like summer and winter, conservation of moisture around the range of 65-75 %, is effective in better performance of the process. According to this study.s results, it seems that the temperature of 15- 25 oC and moisture of 65-75% are better conditions for worm.s growth.
M Farzadkia, S Salehi, A Aameri, A Joneidy Jafari, R Nabizadeh,
Volume 2, Issue 3 (11-2009)
Abstract
Backgrounds and Objectives: Over than 70% of solid wastes is consisted of food wastes with high putrecibility in Iran. Due to this regard, construction of composting factories for sanitary disposal or fertilizer production from solid wastes was very appreciated in our country. The objective of this research was to study on the quality and comparing of the compost produced by Khomain and Tehran compost factories.
Materials and Methods: This study was accomplished on the compost produce from Khomain and Tehran compost factories about 9 months. For investigation of chemical qualities of these materials, some indexes such as percentage of organic materials, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and heavy metals consists of lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium were measured. Microbial quality of these compost materials were defined by assessing of the amounts of coliforms bacteria, salmonella bacteria and parasites ova.
Results: The average amounts of some indexes in compost of Khomain and Tehran were been: organic materials % (37.77, 29.80), carbon %( 22.14, 18.12), nitrogen% (2.08, 1.6), lead (229.6, 59.44 ppm), and chromium (70.2, 19.75), respectively. The microbial quality of these compost samples were agreement with class B of USEPA guidelines.
Conclusion: This study showed that quality of organic materials percent in Tehran's samples was better than Khomain's samples, but these indexes on these samples were lower than the grade No.2 of compost. The percentage of carbon, nitrogen and potash in these samples were desirable but, phosphorus amount were not in sufficient. The heavy metals especially lead and chromium in Tehran's samples were higher than Khomain's samples, but these samples were usually in agreement with guidelines of compost. Due to the defined microbial qualities, these samples could be used as well as amendment agents for poor soil.
B Karimi, M.h Ehrampoush, M Mokhtari, A Ebrahimi,
Volume 4, Issue 2 (9-2011)
Abstract
Backgrounds and Objectives: Wet air oxidation (WAO) is one of the advanced oxidation process which is mostly used to reduce organic matter concentration from industrial wastewater, toxic and non biodegradable substance and solid waste leachate.The objective of this paper is comparisons of three advance oxidation in organic matter removal in different conditions from Esfahan composing factory leachate
Material and Methods: The experiment was carried out by adding 1.5 Lit pretreated leachate sample to 3Lit autoclave reactor and adding 10 bar pressure at temperature of 100, 200 and 300 °C and pressure (10 bars) with retention time of 30, 60 and 90 min. leachate sample in 18 stages from composting factory in Isfahan in the volume of 20 lit was taken and the three methodsWAO, WPO, and a combination of WAO/GAC were used for pre-treatments. Pure oxygen and 30% hydrogen peroxide was used as oxidation agent.
Results: The result shows significant improvement on the removal rate of COD (7.8-33.3%), BOD5 (14.7-50.6%)by WAO process.The removal efficiency of 4.6-34% COD, 24-50% BOD, was observed in the reactor.Adding theGACto the reactor improved removal efficiency of all parameters.Combination Process (WAO/GAC) removed 48% of COD, 31-43.6% of BOD.Combination process demonstrated higher efficiency than two other previous methods as BOD5/COD ratio of 90% achieved.
Conclusion: The WAO process presented in this paper is efficient for pretreatment of leachate, And the modified WPO process remove organic materials and ammonia moreover WAO/GAC can be considered as an excellent alternative treatment for removing reluctant organic matter (COD, BOD5) and organic nitrogen compounds, which found in leachate.
َahmad Joneidi Jafari, Ayooob Rastegar, Mahdi Farzadkia, Roshanak Rezaee Kalantary, Zahra Rezaee Gozalabad,
Volume 6, Issue 4 (3-2014)
Abstract
Background and Objective:Application of compost containing heavy metals can increase the concentration of metals in soil and groundwater. Therefore,the aim of this study was to investigate leaching lead, chromium,and cadmium from three soils (a sandy loam, a sandy clay loam and silt clay loam) amended with compost from the municipal solid waste. Material andMethod:First, the selected soils were repacked into columns (with an inner diameter of 100mm and a height of 600mm). Treatments included(a) low metal content compost (LMCC), (b) enriched metal content compost (EMCC) and (c) control. Then soil columns were incubated at room temperature for 9 days and were irrigated daily with deionized water to make a total of a 250 mm. Leachates were collected and analyzed for pH, EC, Pb, Cr, and Cd concentration. Results: It was found that the application ofEMCCwas significant (p≤0/05) on reducing pH, increasing electrical conductivity and leakage of metalscompared withcontrolin all three soils. But application of LMCC was not significant (p≥0/05) on the metals leaching compared withcontrolin all three soils. The overall quantities of metals leached followed the sandy loam> sandy clay loam> silt clay loam. Conclusion: The concentration of metals in the leachates depended on the soil characteristics and on the type of compost added to the soil. Therefore,application of enriched metal content compost on the soils containinga high percentage ofsandmay pose a risk in terms of groundwater contamination with heavy metals.
S Valizadeh, Z Shekari,
Volume 8, Issue 2 (8-2015)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Significant increase in population and as a result, the production of excessive waste has recently made attention to municipal solid waste management a necessary issue. The objective of this study was to use matrix-based EIA process in order to determine best waste management option in Birjand City and to suggest appropriate solutions to managers and planners of this city. Materials and Methods: Assessing the environmental impacts of waste management options was done using Iranian Leopold Matrix. Through this method, the environmental impacts of waste management options were determined in the Birjand City. The options were Open dumping, Recycling, Composting, and Sanitary damping. Results: The results indicated that Open dumping with a final score of -3.06 had the highest environmental impact and was introduced as the fourth preference. In addition, composting with final score of -2.34 has the lowest environmental impact compared with other options. Conclusion: About 76.95% of the composition of municipal solid waste of Birjand City is household waste therefore, putrescible organic materials are the predominant waste. Thus, according to the results of the Iranian Leopold matrix method, composting option was introduced as the first priority and the most logical option for waste management in the Birjand City.
K Naddafi, R Nabizadeh, S Nasseri, K Yaghmaeian, A Koolivand,
Volume 8, Issue 3 (12-2015)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Remaining of crude oil in storage tanks usually results in accumulating oily sludge at the bottom of the tank, which should be treated and disposed of in a suitable manner. The efficiency of in-vessel composting process in removing total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) from bottom sludge of crude oil storage tanks was investigated in the present study.
Material and methods: The sludge was mixed with immature compost at the ratios of 1:0 (as control), 1:2, 1:4, 1:6, 1:8, and 1:10 (as dry basis) with the initial C:N:P and moisture content of 100:5:1 and 55% respectively for a period of 10 weeks. The moisture adjustment and mixing process were done 3 times a day during the composting period. Sampling and analysis of TPH and pH were done every week and every two days, respectively.
Results: TPH removal in the 1:2, 1:4, 1:6, 1:8, and 1:10 composting reactors was 66.59, 73.19, 74.81, 80.20, and 79.91%, respectively. Thus, initial adjustment of sludge to immature compost ratios plays a great role in reduction of TPH. The results of the control reactors indicated that the main mechanism of TPH removal in the composting reactors was biological process.
Conclusions: In-vessel composting by addition of immature compost as amendment is a viable choice for bioremediation of the bottom sludge of crude oil storage tanks.
V Past, Ar Mesdaghinia, M Naderi,
Volume 9, Issue 2 (9-2016)
Abstract
Background and objective: Compost is beneficial for conditioning the structure and nutrient content of soil. Toxic metals are the most important contaminants that can enter the food chain through the compost products and affect human health. The aim of this study was to assess the arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead levels in six brands of vermicompost produced from the organic solid wastes in Tehran and to compare the amounts with the international and national standard levels.
Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive - analytical study in which samples of six brands of vermicompost products were randomly selected from the distribution centers in Tehran, and from each brand four samples were prepared (24 samples). Then the samples were extracted using the TCLP (Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure) method and after filtration the metal concentrations were measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP). All data were analyzed using Excel software.
Results: The means and standard deviations of the toxic metals concentrations (arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead) in the collected samples of each brand were reported in terms of mg/kg. The maximum concentrations of these toxic metals were 7.45, 0.15, 0.19, and 79.95 mg/kg, respectively.
Conclusion: The results indicated that the levels of toxic metals in the vermicompost samples derived from the municipal solid waste in Tehran were lower than the permissible limits of the national and international standards.
A Koolivand, K Naddafi, R Nabizadeh, A Jonidi Jafari, M Yunesian, K Yaghmaiean, S Naseri,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objective: The performance of in-vessel composting process, as one of the most effective methods of oily sludge treatment, depends on factors such as nutrients and temperature. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the trend of changes of these factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the trend of changes of organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and temperature during the composting of bottom sludge of crude oil storage tanks.
Materials and Methods: The sludge was mixed with the immature compost at the various ratios of sludge to compost including 1:2, 1:4, 1:6, 1:8, and 1:10 with the initial C/N/P of 100/5/1 and then was composted for a period of 10 weeks. The process of mixing and moisture adjustment of the mixtures was done 3 times a day during the composting period. Sampling and analysis were performed every week for organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus and every day for temperature.
Results: The research indicated that the concentrations of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus were decreased sharply during the first weeks of the process and then they were decreased gently. At the final stage of the composting, the ratios of C/N and C/P increased from 20:1 and 100:1 to 26:1 and 166:1, respectively. In addition, the temperature of the reactors was kept in the mesophilic range during the process period.
Conclusion: The similar trend of decrease of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the composting reactors is an indication of decreasing the activity of the microorganisms involved in petroleum hydrocarbons degradation.
M Jalili, M Mokhtari, Aa Ebrahimi, F Boghri,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objective: About 1.35×105 tons of pistachio waste are produced in annually Iran that can result in environmental problems if managed improperly. . The purpose of this study was to investigate in-vessel composting of pistachio residuals with addition of cow manure and dewatered sludge as a recycling alternative.
Materials and Methods: Pistachios wastes were combined with weight ratio of 5.5:10 (dewatered sludge: pistachio waste) and weight ratio of 1:10 (Cow manure: pistachio waste) to achieve the carbon to nitrogen ratio of 25:1. The parameters measured were pH, EC, percentage of moisture, total and volatile solids, ash, organic carbon, temperature, and phenol. The 20th edition of SPSS software was used for t-test statistical analysis and comparing the results with standards and Microsoft Excel 2007 was used for drawing the plots.
Results: During the 60-days process of in-vessel composting of pistachio residuals with addition of cow manure, the ratio of carbon to nitrogen reduced from 25:1 to 13:1, dewatered sludge from 25:1 to 14:1; phenol amount in cow maneuver decreased from 4980 to 254 ppm and in dewatered sewage sludge from 6100 to 254 ppm. The maximum temperature in cow manure and dewatered sewage sludge treatments in the composting process reached to 51.9 and 48.9 ˚C respectively.
Conclusion: Results showed that the produced compost with cow manure has a higher fertilizing value compared with the dewatered sewage sludge due to its better organic degradation.
M Mokhtari, A Salehi Vaziri, T Zareyi, M Jalili,
Volume 9, Issue 4 (3-2017)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Dewatered sewage sludge is a by-product of wastewater treatment process which can cause health and environmental problems if not properly managed. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of composting of Yazd WWT dewatered sludge with windrow method using different treatments.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the dewatered sewage sludge was mixed with two treatments of agricultural wastes (straw) and green waste (leaves), respectively. The mixture was done based on weight ratio of 20:1 and 10:1 (agricultural waste: dewatered sludge, and green waste: dewatered sludge) to achieve a ratio of C/N:20. The windrows were built with a length of 2 m, width of 75 cm and height of 1.5 m. Composting process was controlled by measuring the temperature, humidity, volatile solids, ash, pH, EC, organic carbon and estimating the C/N ratio. The results were compared with those of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran.
Results: After 100 days of composting, C/N ratio was 13.08±6.25 in the treatment with green waste and reached to 15.46±5.35 in the treatment with agricultural waste. The amount of volatile solids decreased to 19.8±14.01% and 20.71±16.06% in the treatments with green waste and agricultural waste, respectively. The amount of EC had an increasing trend in both treatments.
Conclusion: composting with both treatments was led to an improvement in indicators of organic fertilizers in dewatered sewage. However, the windrow containing green waste reached to the mature compost standards sooner than the windrow containing agricultural waste.
Ah Baghaie,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (12-2017)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Polltion of food chain components such as vegetables to heavy metals is one of the important environmental problems. Remediation management of these metals especially Cd is very important. Thus, this research was done to investigate the effect of Arak municipal waste compost enriched with tire rubber ash on decreasing spinach Cd concentration in a Cd polluted soil.
Materials and Methods: Treatments consisted of applying (0, 200 kg/ha) Arak municipal waste compost enriched with tire rubber ash and Cd pollution at the rates of 0, 10, 20 and 30 mg Cd (kg soil)-1. The plant used in this experiments was spinach.
Results: Increasing application rate Arak municipal waste compost from 0 to 20 and 40 ton/ha in a Cd polluted soil (mg Cd (kg soil)-1) caused a significant reduction in DTPA extractable-Cd by16 and 45 %, respectively. Similar to this result, shoot Cd concentration was decreased. Applying tire rubber ash also had an important role on decreasing Cd concentration.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that applying Arak municipal waste compost had an important role on decreasing Cd concentration. This was due to the application of the organic amendment on increasing soil sorption properties that it in turn decreased soil and plant Cd concentration. However, the role of plant type and soil physico-chemical properties on changes in Cd availability cannot be ignored.
Ah Baghaie,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2018)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Today, landfill management of municipal waste and soil pollution with heavy metals are major environmental problems. This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of Shazand municipal waste compost and Saveh pomegranate peel biochar on decreasing Pb availability in soil and sorghum plant.
Materials and Methods: Treatments consisted of applying Shazand municipal waste compost (0, 10 and 20 ton/ha) and Saveh pomegranate peel biochar (0 and 15 g/kg) in a Pb polluted soil (0, 600, 800 and 1000 mg Pb/kg soil). After 8 weeks of sorghum planting (Kimya CV.), the soil physio-chemical properties and soil and plant Pb concentration were measured.
Results: Applying 20 ton/ha municipal waste compost with 15 g/kg biochar increased soil pH by 0.4 units and decreased soil Pb availability by 11%. The similar results were observed for the root and shoot Pb concentrations, when the same amount of manure in a Pb polluted soil was applied (1000mg Pb/kg soil) that decreased the root and shoot Pb concentration by 1.8 and 2.2 times, respectively.
Conclusion: The result of this experiment showed that applying Shazand municipal waste compost and biochar can increase soil sorption properties and decrease soil or plant Pb concentration. However, the role of these organic amendments on supplying plant nutritional needs cannot be ignored.
A Jonidi Jafari, M Farzadkia, M Gholami, M Mohagheghi,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2018)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Nowadays, the increasing use of antibiotics to control diseases and mismanagement and inappropriate disposal of medicinal wastes cause environmental problems and threatens human health. The present study was conducted to determine removal of antibiotic Metronidazole as one of the most used drugs during the process of composting.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, a mixture of livestock manure, fruit, straw and sludge were used for the preparation of compost. Duration of the process was 40 days. Metronidazole was added to the compost reactors at three concentrations of 20, 50 and 100 mg/kg. Totally, 42 Samples were taken weekly. HPLC was used to analyze the samples. The experiment was repeated twice. SPSS22 software was used to analyze the results.
Results: The rate of Metronidazole removal after day 21 and end of the thermophilic phase was 99.9, 96.73 and 93.48 % in the reactors contained 20, 50 and 100 mg/kg, respectively. Increasing concentrations in the reactors caused the removal rate to decrease, while increasing removal time caused to increase the removal rate. At the end of the process, the removal rate for all three reactors was 99.99 %. The physico-chemical properties of the final compost were within the national standard.
Conclusion: The use of an aerobic composting process to degrade antibiotic Metronidazole is an economical, effective and, environmentally friendly method. At the end of the process, 99.99 % of Metronidazole was degraded.
Fariba Abbasi, Mohammad Reza Samaei, Mahrokh Jalili, Hosein Khodadadi, Ali Karimi,
Volume 13, Issue 4 (2-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of seasonal variation on the diversity of fungal airborne species in the composting process.
Materials and Methods: Samples were taken based on the 0800 NIOSH method at a height of 1.5 m above the ground during the waste separation, turning of windrow and stabilization of compost. Air samples were collected in two various seasons; summer (108 samples) and winter (108 samples) at the composting plant in Shiraz. The culture media consisted of Sabouraud Dextrose Agar with chloramphenicol for the selective isolation of fungi, which was further incubated at 37 and 45°C. The results were analyzed by a t-test method using MATLAB 2018.
Results: The highest mesophilic fungi density was related to the segregation process of composting. The variation of fungi observed was higher during summer throughout separation and stabilization process (p < 0.05). The predominant species were found to be Aspergillus flavus (4449.8 CFU/m3) (p < 0.05) and Paecilomyces (1850.9 CFU/m3) (p < 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, the highest varieties of fungal species in the turning of windrow mass were observed during winter (p < 0.05) and the predominant species was yeast (420.6 CFU/m3). At all stages of composting, the varieties of thermophilic fungal species were higher during summer with the large number of Aspergillus fumigatus, Mucoral, and Paecilomyces.
Conclusion: The density and diversity of mesophilic fungi during summer was higher than winter. The concentration of Aspergillus, was beyond the guidelines set by the EPA, ACGIH, NIOSH and EU. Thus, the use of self-protection is essential.
Asghar Yavari, Mehdi Moradi Nazar, Seyedeh Maryam Sharafi, Amir Hossein Nafez, Meghdad Pirsaheb,
Volume 15, Issue 1 (4-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objective: It is important to determine the quality of the compost to use compost properly. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mixing ratio of bulking agent on stability and maturity indices in poultry waste compost.
Materials and Methods: Two piles of sawdust mixture with poultry wastes and volume ratios of 1:1 (W1) and 2:1 (W2) were prepared by Windrow method and a pile containing poultry manure was used as control (W0). In order to determine the stability and maturity indices in compost, the most important physicochemical and biological parameters were studied.
Results: The thermophilic phase lasted about 7 weeks for W1 and about 4 weeks for W2. The initial C/N ratios in the W0, W1 and W2 were 27.10, 31.40 and 56.24, respectively, which eventually reached less than 20. The reduction of organic matter in the three piles was 8.30%, 62.59% and 85.53%, respectively. The thermophilic phase caused a sharp decrease in the population of indicator and pathogenic microorganisms in all piles. The highest dehydrogenase activity in W1 pile was 2.95 mgTPF/gDW.h and by decreasing temperature until the last day, its value decreased to 0.29 mgTPF/gDW.h.
Conclusion: The best ratio for mixing sawdust with poultry manure was 1:1 (v:v). Microbial and enzymatic activities are useful parameters for monitoring poultry composting process and determining the rate of compost stability, and the use of this compost in agriculture will improve soil quality.
Parisa Mohammad Hosseini,
Volume 15, Issue 2 (8-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Due to the negative effects of municipal waste, the need for proper management and selection of appropriate solutions to minimize these effects is strongly felt. One of the methods of recycling waste is preparing compost from organic materials. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental impacts of the two options of implementation and non-implementation of the Karaj compost plant project.
Materials and Methods: Based on the obtained results, the project implementation was determined by gaining more points (0.181) in terms of sustainability and having the least destructive environmental effects, and the project was not implemented by gaining more points (-0.155) in terms of sustainability and having more environmentally destructive effects.
Results: Based on the obtained results, the first option (project implementation) was determined as the best option by gaining more points (0.181) in terms of sustainability and having the least destructive environmental Impacts and the second option (non-implementation of the project) was determined with a lower score (-0.155) in terms of sustainability and more environmental damage than the first option.
Conclusion: According to the research findings, the results of the rapid impact assessment matrix and sustainability model are consistent in confirming the superiority of compost plant performance over non-implementation.
Zohreh Naderi, Hiwa Hossaini, Meghdad Pirsaheb, Akbar Barzegar, Sara Kianpour,
Volume 15, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Toluene is one of the most important volatile organic compounds that threaten human health and introduce many environmental problems. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the performance of a biofilter based on pine cones/compost to remove toluene vapors from polluted air streams.
Materials and Methods: In this research, a biofilter with a volume of 19.468 L was designed and built. The biofilter bed consisted of two parts 26 cm in height and packed with a mixture of compost and pine cones in 1:1 volumetric ratio. After inoculating the bed with sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant and making it compatible with toluene, the performance of the biofilter in different parts of the bed was investigated at the inlet toluene concentrations of 2.5-5.5 g/m3 and Empty Bed Retention Times (EBRTs) of 1.3, 1.7, and 2.43 min. Also, the results were analyzed statistically.
Results: At EBRT of 2.43 min and different inlet toluene concentrations of 2.5-5.5 g/m3, the removal efficiency reached 100 percent. Also, the removal efficiency decreased with the reduction of EBRT. The results showed that removal efficiency was higher in the first part of the biofilter bed relate to the second part. At an inlet toluene concentration of 2.62 g/m3 and EBRT of 1.7 min, the maximum elimination capacity (ECmax) of 2.74 g/m3.min was obtained.
Conclusion: In all experimental conditions the outlet concentration of pine-cone/compost biofilter was below the WHO standard (260 µg/m3). Also, the high elimination capacity of biofilter verified its capability toward toluene removal from polluted gas streams.
Sepideh Sadeghi, Farzaneh Mohammadi, Amir Hossein Nafez, Sahar Gholipour, Mahnaz Nikaeen,
Volume 16, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
Background and Objective: The presence of pathogenic microorganisms in compost of solid waste can threat public health. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the safety of produced composts before its land application as a soil conditioner. This study was conducted to investigate the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in municipal solid waste (MSW) compost and health risks associated with accidental ingestion of compost by children.
Materials and Methods: In this study, sampling was done from compost piles at different public parks of Isfahan city during the period of compost spreading. Presence and concentration of pathogenic microorganisms including salmonella, campylobacter, cryptosporidium and adenovirus were investigated by culture or real-time PCR methods.
Results: All pathogenic microorganisms were detected in MSW compost in a frequency from 11%-62% with the highest frequency for detection of adenovirus. The health risk assessment showed that the highest risk of daily infection was for Cryptosporidium (7.67 × 10-4 pppy) and the lowest risk was related to adenovirus (8.27 × 10-10 pppy). The annual infection risk from gastrointestinal disease was calculated above guideline infection risk (10-3 pppy).
Conclusion: The results showed contamination of produced compost to pathogenic microorganisms and potential health risks from applying MSW compost in urban green spaces. Therefore, the relevant organizations should pay more attention to the composting process and its microbial quality and application in public access areas.
Mohammadali Zazouli, Samaneh Dehghan, Mahdieh Mohammadi Alashti, Afsaneh Fendereski, Reza Dehbandi,
Volume 16, Issue 4 (3-2024)
Abstract
Background and Objective: One of the main limitations of using compost is the possibility of heavy metals with high concentrations. Unlike organic contaminants, these elements resist decomposition by microorganisms and, when present at elevated levels, pose a toxicity risk to soil, plants, aquatic ecosystems, and human health.
Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2021-2022w. Samples were collected from three compost factories in Mazandaran (Babol, Behshahr, and Tonekabon) using random sampling methods and prepared according to the acid digestion method (National Standard Institute 5615). The concentration of heavy metals in the samples was measured using an ICP-OES.
Results: The average concentration of arsenic, zinc, lead, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, and nickel in the analyzed samples were 1.38±3.47, 490±151.5, 74±12, 2.56±0.65, 4.5±1.46, 31.72±16.47, 186.11±49.9, 22.72±4.2 mg/kg dry weight of compost, respectively. The average concentration of heavy metals in different cities was compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test, based on which the concentration of heavy metals in none of the cities was significantly different from each other (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The concentration of heavy metals in the investigated compost samples was lower than the limits specified in both domestic and international standards. Therefore, the final product of the examined compost factories meets the health standards for heavy metals and is safe for use in environmental applications.
