Hyperthermophilic composting reduces nitrogen loss via inhibiting ammonifiers and enhancing nitrogenous humic substance formation

Peng Cui; Hanpeng Liao; Yudan Bai; Xi Li; Qian Zhao; Zhi Chen; Zhen Yu; Zhigang Yi; Shungui Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.239

Hyperthermophilic composting reduces nitrogen loss via inhibiting ammonifiers and enhancing nitrogenous humic substance formation

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Nov 20:692:98-106. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.239. Epub 2019 Jul 16.

Authors

Peng Cui¹, Hanpeng Liao², Yudan Bai¹, Xi Li¹, Qian Zhao¹, Zhi Chen¹, Zhen Yu³, Zhigang Yi¹, Shungui Zhou⁴

Affiliations

¹ Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
² Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China. Electronic address: liaohp@fafu.edu.cn.
³ Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-environmental Pollution Control and Management, Guangdong Institute of Eco-environmental Science & Technology, Guangzhou 510650, China.
⁴ Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China. Electronic address: sgzhou@soil.gd.cn.

PMID: 31340193
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.239

Abstract

Composting is an efficient and economic approach used to convert organic waste into organic fertilizers. However, the substantial nitrogen loss during the composting process is one of the major disadvantages of conventional thermophilic composting (cTC). Here, we demonstrated for the first time that hyperthermophilic composting (hTC) was able to mitigate nitrogen loss by 40.9% compared to cTC after 44 days of composting in a full-scale plant. Results demonstrate a decrease in NH₃ volatilization (52.4%), together with an inhibitory effect on protease (19.4-87.5%) and urease (9.1-75.2%) enzyme activities and the ammonification rate (5.2-80.1%) for hTC. Additionally, this study found that hTC could accelerate the humification process, thereby enhancing the formation of the recalcitrant nitrogen reservoir (mainly in the form of nitrogenous humic substances) and reducing the substrate for ammonification reactions. These findings suggest that hTC can significantly reduce nitrogen loss and provide insights into the role of humic substances in nitrogen retention in composting systems.

Keywords: Ammonifier relative abundance; Humic substances; Hyperthermophilic composting; NH(3) emission; Nitrogen loss.