title: Molecular composition of recycled organic wastes, as determined by solid-state 13C NMR and elemental analyses.
abstract: Using solid state (13)C NMR data and elemental composition in a molecular mixing model, we estimated the molecular components of the organic matter in 16 recycled organic (RO) wastes representative of the major materials generated in the Sydney basin area. Close correspondence was found between the measured NMR signal intensities and those predicted by the model for all RO wastes except for poultry manure char. Molecular nature of the organic matter differed widely between the RO wastes. As a proportion of organic C, carbohydrate C ranged from 0.07 to 0.63, protein C from <0.01 to 0.66, lignin C from <0.01 to 0.31, aliphatic C from 0.09 to 0.73, carbonyl C from 0.02 to 0.23, and char C from 0 to 0.45. This method is considered preferable to techniques involving imprecise extraction methods for RO wastes. Molecular composition data has great potential as a predictor of RO waste soil carbon and nutrient outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Futures Centre, School of Environment, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia; NSW Department of Primary Industries, Bruxner Highway, Wollongbar, NSW 2477, Australia. Electronic address: simon.eldridge@dpi.nsw.gov.au.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Eldridge
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Z H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meszaros
authors.forename: K Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D005735:Garbage; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008372:Manure / Q000032:analysis*; D059027:Recycling; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D008372:Manure; D014866:Waste Products
keywords: Carbon sequestration; Detergent fibre analysis; Lignin; Molecular mixing model; NMR; Nitrogen mineralisation