International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Shuyan Li

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Guest Editor

National Engineering Laboratory for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environment in Universities of Shandong, College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Interests: solid waste; composting; gaseous emission; nitrogen transformation; biochar; recycling agriculture

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Composting is an effective and promising treatment technology for biological waste. During this process, organic materials are spontaneously decomposed and stabilized by microbes under aerobic conditions, resulting in a stable and value-added product. However, gaseous emissions, such as greenhouse gases (GHGs) and odors, debase the agricultural values of the final composts and also cause atmospheric pollution. The development of treatment practices for gaseous emissions will be key to address the above issues. Thus, this Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), entitled “Pollution Treatment towards Gaseous Emission during Composting” aims to highlight the recent advances in this field. New research papers, reviews, case reports and conference papers are welcome. Papers dealing with gaseous emission risk assessment and management during composting are also welcome.

This Special Issue invites papers on effective and innovative treatment relating to the following topics:

Topics

Greenhouse gas pollution abatement technologies during composting;
Odor pollution abatement technologies during composting;
Other harmful gaseous pollution abatement technologies during composting;
Carbon and/or nitrogen conservation measures during composting;
Analysis and/or evaluation of gaseous pollutants during composting.

Dr. Shuyan Li
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

composting
odor
greenhouse gases
maturity
biological solid waste
gaseous emission
humification

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2457 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison and Evaluation of GHG Emissions during Simulated Thermophilic Composting of Different Municipal and Agricultural Feedstocks

by Jianfei Zeng, Frederick C. Michel, Jr. and Guangqun Huang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3002; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph20043002 - 9 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1510

Abstract

Composting is widely used to recycle a variety of different organic wastes. In this study, dairy manure, chicken litter, biosolids, yard trimmings and food waste were selected as representative municipal and agricultural feedstocks and composted in simulated thermophilic composting reactors to compare and evaluate the GHG emissions. The results showed that the highest cumulative emissions of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O were observed during yard trimmings composting (659.14 g CO₂ kg⁻¹ DM), food waste composting (3308.85 mg CH₄ kg⁻¹ DM) and chicken litter composting (1203.92 mg N₂O kg⁻¹ DM), respectively. The majority of the carbon was lost in the form of CO₂. The highest carbon loss by CO₂ and CH₄ emissions and the highest nitrogen loss by N₂O emission occurred in dairy manure (41.41%), food waste (0.55%) and chicken litter composting (3.13%), respectively. The total GHG emission equivalent was highest during food waste composting (365.28 kg CO₂-eq ton⁻¹ DM) which generated the highest CH₄ emission and second highest N₂O emissions, followed by chicken litter composting (341.27 kg CO₂-eq ton⁻¹ DM), which had the highest N₂O emissions. The results indicated that accounting for GHG emissions from composting processes when it is being considered as a sustainable waste management practice was of great importance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollution Treatment towards Gaseous Emission during Composting)

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Review

Jump to: Research

22 pages, 822 KiB

Open AccessReview

Measures for Controlling Gaseous Emissions during Composting: A Review

by Minghan Li, Shuyan Li, Shigeng Chen, Qingyu Meng, Yu Wang, Wujie Yang, Lianhui Shi, Fangjun Ding, Jun Zhu, Ronghui Ma and Xinsong Guo

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3587; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph20043587 - 17 Feb 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2507

Abstract

Composting is a promising technology for treating organic solid waste. However, greenhouse gases (methane and nitrous oxide) and odor emissions (ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, etc.) during composting are practically unavoidable, leading to severe environmental problems and poor final compost products. The optimization of composting conditions and the application of additives have been considered to mitigate these problems, but a comprehensive analysis of the influence of these methods on gaseous emissions during composting is lacking. Thus, this review summarizes the influence of composting conditions and different additives on gaseous emissions, and the cost of each measure is approximately evaluated. Aerobic conditions can be achieved by appropriate process conditions, so the contents of CH₄ and N₂O can subsequently be effectively reduced. Physical additives are effective regulators to control anaerobic gaseous emissions, having a large specific surface area and great adsorption performance. Chemical additives significantly reduce gaseous emissions, but their side effects on compost application must be eliminated. The auxiliary effect of microbial agents is not absolute, but is closely related to the dosage and environmental conditions of compost. Compound additives can reduce gaseous emissions more efficiently than single additives. However, further study is required to assess the economic viability of additives to promote their large-scale utilization during composting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollution Treatment towards Gaseous Emission during Composting)

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