title: Characteristics of nitrogen transformation and microbial community in an aerobic composting reactor under two typical temperatures.
abstract: Batch experiments were conducted for feces composting using an aerobic composting reactor with sawdust as bulky matrix. In the 14-day composting processes at 35±2 and 55±2°C, compost samples were collected daily and chemical analyses and PCR-DGGE were carried out for investigating the influence of composting temperature on organic decomposition, nitrogen transformation, and microbial communities. At 55±2°C, in addition to a slightly higher COD removal, nitrogen loss was greatly restrained. As organic nitrogen took about 85% of the total nitrogen originated from human feces, the suppression of ammonification process under thermophilic environment might be the main reason for less nitrogen loss at 55±2°C. By PCR-DGGE analysis, the microbial community was found to undergo successions differently at 35±2 and 55±2°C. Certain sequences identified from the compost at 55±2°C represented the microbial species which could perform nitrogen-fixation or sustain a lower pH in the compost so that gaseous ammonia emission was suppressed.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710055, China.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: X C
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Ngo
mesh_terms: D001420:Bacteria, Aerobic / Q000378:metabolism*; D019149:Bioreactors; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D012987:Soil; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D009584:Nitrogen