Biofilter media mixtures were compared in 18 pilot-scale biofilters treating pit gases from a swine facility. The compost and wood chips mixtures ranged from 100% wood chips to a 50-50 blend in 10% increments. The effect of three media moisture contents (low, medium, and high) on biofilter performance was also evaluated. Odor and hydrogen sulfide reduction did not change significantly for mixtu...

Compost amendment to grassland is a novel strategy proposed and demonstrated to increase ecosystem carbon (C) storage. However, the effects of compost applications on biomass production and plant diversity are not well known. We assessed impacts of a onetime compost amendment over 4 yr on plant dynamics in two grazed grassland ecosystems in California: a coastal prairie and valley grassland. Th...

We examined the mycoparasitic and saprotrophic behavior of isolates representing groups of Trichoderma harzianum to establish a mechanism for the aggressiveness towards Agaricus bisporus in infested commercial compost. Mycoparasitic structures were infrequently observed in interaction zones on various media, including compost, with cryoscanning electron microscopy. T. harzianum grows prolifical...

A permeable reactive barrier, consisting of a mixture of compost and calcite gravel, was built in Aznalcóllar (SW Spain) to treat acidic groundwater containing zinc, aluminium and copper. Monitoring results show that practically no dissolved sulphate is reduced as water flows through the barrier, which has a residence time of about 1 to 2 days. Despite this lack of bacterial activity significan...

Production of agriculture and timber commodities leads generation of enormous quantity of wastes. Improper disposal of these agroindustrial wastes pollutes the environment. This problem could be reduced by adding value to them. Therefore, a study was carried out to analyse and compare the nutrients content of RS, RH, SD, and EFB of composts and crude humic substances; furthermore, their effect ...

Compost production is a critical component of organic waste handling, and compost applications to soil are increasingly important to crop production. However, we know surprisingly little about the microbial communities involved in the composting process and the factors shaping compost microbial dynamics. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing approaches to assess the diversity and composition...

Utilisation of Municipal Solid Waste is important to curb the ever rising demand of scarce land for its disposal. Changing life style patterns, particularly in urban areas, has led to increase in generation of MSW. Municipal solid waste from Indian cities estimated to have 40% 60% organic matter, which could be recycled as compost. The most suitable way to recycle it with low investment is aero...

Actinobacteria are widely distributed in many environments and represent the most important trigger to the occupant respiratory health. Health complaints, including hypersensitivity pneumonitis of the workers, were recorded in a mushroom compost facility (MCF). The studies on the airborne bacteria were carried out to find a possible microbiological source of these symptoms. Culture analysis of ...

A capability to determine the availability of nitrogen in organic amendments is necessary to ensure that such materials will provide sufficient nitrogen to the growing crop and cause minimal environmental degradation. Greenhouse bioassays were used to evaluate N availability of organic by-products, including several employed in the field study of this research. Tall fescue was grown in greenhou...