Composting parameters and compost quality: a literature review

Economic growth and rising food consumption in the world have led to increased production of organic wastes due to an important intensification of the agricultural production systems. The analysis of macro elements (nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P], and potassium [K]) in organic wastes reveals that the economic loss is significant with the intensification of the agricultural system. The good management of those wastes would be an effective means of organic matter restoration through carbon restitution to the depleted soils through organic amendments. Composting is a type of waste processing that has gained increasing acceptance over the years. As a rule, the process consists of the natural biological decomposition of organic waste components and involves diverse species of microorganisms. Those organic residues could reconstitute soils and be an important fertilization backup. Composts prepared from different organic wastes differ in their quality and stability, which further depends upon the composition of raw material used for the compost production. Compost quality is closely related to its stability and maturity. The wide variety of chemical and biological variations that occur during composting, and the range of methods suggested in literature, has made it difficult to agree on methods for the practical assessment of maturity. A literature review of the main start-up, monitoring and maturity parameters are discussed concerning different raw materials used and different composting methods practiced. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.