Optimizing composting parameters for nitrogen conservation in composting

A central composite experimental design was used to investigate the influence of environmental composting parameters (moisture, aeration, particle size and time) for legume trimming residues, used on soil restoration, on the properties of products obtained (organic matter, Kjeldahl-N, C/N ratio and nitrogen losses (N-losses)) in order to determine the best composting conditions. A second-order polynomial model consisting of four independent process variables was found to accurately describe (the differences between the experimental values and those estimated by using the equations never exceeded 10% of the former) the composting process. Results of the experiment showed that compost with acceptably chemical properties (OM, 85%; Kjeldahl-N, 3.2%), high degradation and minimum N-losses entails operating at high operation time (78 days), low particle size (1 cm), medium moisture content (40%) and medium to low aeration level (0.2-0.41 air/min kg). (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.