Acceleration Effects of Microbial Inoculum on Palm Oil Mill Organic Waste Composting

Yeoh, C.Y.; Chin, N.L.; Tan, C.S.; Ooi, H.S.

Acceleration Effects of Microbial Inoculum on Palm Oil Mill Organic Waste Composting

2011

Yeoh, C.Y. | Chin, N.L. | Tan, C.S. | Ooi, H.S.

The acceleration effects of inoculum in composting of empty fruit bunches were investigated. Composting of empty fruit bunches fibres in two sizes, 4 cm and 2 cm length, were treated with microbial inoculum consisting of Agromonas, Aspergillus, Azotobacter, Bacillus, Cellulomonas, Chaetomium, Clostridium, Coprinus, Microbispora, Penicillium, Pseudomonas, Thermoactinomyces, Trichoderma and Trichurus in separate laboratory scale in-vessel of 30 liters volume.A control without inoculum with 4 cm length empty fruit bunches was also conducted in parallel.The compost piles were shift-turned weekly. Parameters such as moisture content, temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity were used to monitor the composting processes. The carbon-nitrogen ratio, UV-vis spectrophotometer test, and germination test were used to assess the maturity of compost. The results showed that the inoculum was effective in reducing the C/N ratio by 54% compared to control 46% and rapidly increasing the UV-vis absorption ratio in first three weeks.By using functional microbes, the composting of empty fruit bunches was reduced to 5 weeks compared to 9 weeks for those without inoculation. The acceleration effect was more prominent for the 2 cm length samples.

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