Composting of vinasse and cotton gin waste by using two different systems

Two composts were obtained by co-composting of a concentrated depotassified beet vinasse and cotton gin waste using two different aeration systems: static aerated pile (forced aeration provided by a blower whom operated in the positive mode) and windrow (turned pile). The composting mixtures were cotton gin trash (55%) and vinasse (45%) (dry weight). In static pile, the total amount of vinasse was added at the beginning of the process whereas. in windrow two additions of vinasse were performed. Differences in temperature changes between both composting systems were found: a faster increase of temperature in the windrow (54 degreesC at 7 days) than in the static pile (45 degreesC at 21 days) was observed. Probably in the static pile system, the compaction of the substrates made difficult the correct distribution of the air inside the pile. Moreover, after the second addition of vinasse a new thermophilic phase was started in windrow. The different aeration systems and the way of addition of vinasse could cause differences in organic matter (OM) degradation and in weight (22.6% for the static pile and 26.7% for the windrow) and gas losses during the process. Nevertheless, the composts obtained by the two systems had a high fertilizer value (25.1 kg(-1) N; 3.2 g kg(-1) P2O5; 21.4 g kg(-1) K2O; QNS) for compost obtained in static pile and (16.2 g kg(-1) N; 3.4 - kg(-1) P2O5; 16.1 - kg(-1) K2O; C/N 12) for compost obtained in the windrow). A high degree of stability was reached in the final composts. Composting of vinasse with cotton gin waste serves two objectives, disposal of wastes and recycling of waste components. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.