Sanabria-León, Rebeka

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    Composting as an alternative method to dispose of slaughterhouse wastes in Puerto Rico
    (2006) Sanabria-León, Rebeka; Rodríguez-Carías, Abner A.; College of Agricultural Sciences; Pagán-Morales, Melvin; Santiago-Anadón, Héctor L.; Sotomayor-Ramírez, David; Valencia-Chin, Elide; Department of Animal Science; Torres-López, Ramón I.
    The elaboration, and chemical, physical and biological properties of compost made of organic wastes from a slaughterhouse (SHW) plant were evaluated. Freshly cut (FYT) and semi-decomposed (SCYT) yard trimmings were evaluated as bulking agents (BA). Treatments consisted of combinations of BA (FYT and SCYT) with layers of SHW (none, single or double). All treatments combinations composted well and exhibited thermophillic temperatures after three days of composting. Chemical composition (pH, organic matter, OM; inorganic matter, IM; carbon, C; and nitrogen; N, content) varied depending BA and layers of SHW throughout the composting phases. However, the use of SCYT as BA resulted in greater N content and lower OM than FYT. The SHW composted in double layers resulted in a higher N content than none or single layers of SHW. However, even though it reaches higher temperatures, experimental analyses suggest that a longer period of time is needed to decompose it. The physical and chemical characteristics were evaluated in finished compost in order to assess the stability and maturity, and compare them to three commercial composts (CC1, CC2, and CC3). All treatments evaluated produced mature and stable compost, which are a potential source of nutrients for plant growth. However, as the agronomic performance shows, the compost needs to be mixed with other nutrient sources (i.e. inorganic fertilizers) when added to soils in order to provide the optimum quantities of nutrients that cv Mulato needs in 42 days of growth. In a third study, the biological properties showed that an active heterogeneous population responsible for the breakdown of OM was identified at the first HC during the composting process of SHW and YT.