2008 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 21-28
Experiments were performed with sewage sludge using a 600 l in-vessel aerated static pile composting system during a two-year period. Fifteen batch runs were operated to determine the distributions of temperature throughout the composting pile in order to assess the proportion of the pile that were exposed to effective and ineffective temperature conditions during composting. Effects and interactions of several main factors such as aeration and moisture content on the evolutions of the process temperature were investigated. Aeration and heat evaporation led to high rates of moisture removal from the composting pile. Rapid reduction of moisture seemed to result in a significant reduction in biodegradation rate, thereby causing low temperature zones in the composting pile. This study proved that aeration rate and initial moisture content had a great influence on composting performance.
