Comparison between UV spectroscopy and Nirs to assess humification process during sewage sludge and green wastes co-composting

Abstract

The humification of organic matter during composting was studied by the quantification and monitoring of the evolution of humic substances (Humic Acid-HA and Fulvic Acid-FA) by UV spectra deconvolution (UVSD) and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) methods. The final aim of this work was to compare UVSD to NIRS method, already applied on the same compost samples in previous studies. Finally, UVSD predictions were good for HA and HA/FA (r(2) of 0.828 and 0.531) but very bad for FA (r(2) of 0.092). In contrary, all NIRS correlations were accurate and significant with r(2) of 0.817, 0.806 and 0.864 for HA, FA and HA/FA ratio respectively. From these results, HA/FA ratio being a well-used index of compost maturity, UVSD and NIRS represent two invaluable tools for the monitoring of the composting process. However, we can note that NIRS predictions were more accurate than UVSD calibrations.