ENHANCED DIRECT COMPOSTING OF SLUDGE IN A VERTICAL BIOREACTOR

A typical plant scheme for biological stabilization, and hygienic agronomic use of sludge, which has been separated in the various phases of urban or assimilable wastewater treatment includes: – the mechanical dewatering of fresh or predigested sludge, – the mixing of sludge with high carbon and low moisture content materials (e.g. sawdust), – the initial forced aeration for the oxygenation of the whole mass under automatically controlled conditions of oxygen and temperature in a vertical bioreactor.

During composting process a part of the mass is recycled for a massive inoculation.
After about two weeks of biological stabilization, the material taken out from the bioreactor is automatically conveyed and arranged in piles for about 6–8 weeks, before utilizing the final product in agricolture.

The compost taken out by the proposed plant scheme will be easily stored, with lower moisture and reduced volume, is free of unpleasant odour, pathogens and parasites, harmful weeds, phytotoxic or undesidered substances.
At the same time physical chemical and biological characteristics of the soil and of the plants are positively affected when this compost is used in agriculture.

International Symposium on Compost Recycling of Wastes

F. Angiolo

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1992.302.32