Affiliations: Department of Civil Engineering, Sathyabama
University, Chennai, India | Mamallan Institute of Technology, Chennai, India | Department of Environmental Technology, CLRI, Chennai,
India | R & D Centre, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd,
Chennai, India
Abstract: This work examines the spectral, elemental and SEM images of compost
from different blends obtained from food waste. Four composting bins, each of
100 L capacity, were installed with holes at various depths for probes and
leachate collection system. The bins (length 50 cm, width 40 cm, height 50 cm)
were placed horizontally with a slight inclination to permit the collection of
leachate. The blends were prepared from food waste, cow dung and saw dust as
bulking agent. The evaluation studies included the operational indices such as
temperature, pH, moisture content, compost maturity indices like carbon,
nitrogen, C/N ratio, sulphur, Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) analysis and
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images. SEM images revealed a reduction in
the easily assimilated peptide and carbohydrate components. The germination
index for tomato seed was above 60% after dark room studies, showing that the
final compost was not phytotoxic.
Keywords: C/N ratio, Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR), SEM observation
