Analysis of physical and chemical characteristics of commercial substrates and comparison with a compost of organic waste
2010
Brito, L.M. | Paiva, A. | Reis, M. | Ribeiro, H.M.
For environmental reasons there is a growing pressure to reduce the use of peat as substrate component and to increase the use of waste materials, such as organic wastes that very often go to landfill. In this study the physicochemical characteristics of 16 commercial substrates were compared with those of a compost of the source-separated organic fraction of municipal solid wastes, with different periods of maturation, to identify compost constraints as a substrate component and to suggest composting adjustments to achieve more suitable characteristics in the final composts. The main limitations of composts as substrate components include low C/N ratio, low moisture content, high pH and high electrical conductivity values, and very high contents of ammonia, sodium and potassium. These limitations may be minimized by raw materials selection for the composting process with increased C/N ratio and decreased electrical conductivity and maintaining compost moisture content during its maturation phase, to increase remaining organic matter mineralization and ammonia nitrification
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