Open AccessChemical structures and characteristics of animal manures and composts during composting and assessment of maturity indices
Author(s) -
Jieying Huang,
Zixuan Yu,
Hongjian Gao,
Xiaoming Yan,
Jiang Chang,
Chengming Wang,
Jingwei Hu,
Ligan Zhang
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0178110
Subject(s) - compost , manure , maturity (psychological) , volatilisation , zoology , chicken manure , agronomy , food science , chemistry , biology , psychology , developmental psychology , organic chemistry
Changes in physicochemical characteristics, chemical structures and maturity of swine, cattle and chicken manures and composts during 70-day composting without addition of bulking agents were investigated. Physicochemical characteristics were measured by routine analyses and chemical structures by solid-state 13 C NMR and FT-IR. Three manures were of distinct properties. Their changes in physicochemical characteristics, chemical structures, and maturity were different not only from each other but also from those with addition of bulking agents during composting. Aromaticity in chicken manure composts decreased at first, and then increased whereas that in cattle and swine manure composts increased. Enhanced ammonia volatilization occurred without addition of bulking agents. NMR structural information indicated that cattle and chicken composts were relatively stable at day 36 and 56, respectively, but swine manure composts were not mature up to day 70. Finally, the days required for three manures to reach the threshold values of different maturity indices were different.