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. 1985 Dec;50(6):1395–1403. doi: 10.1128/aem.50.6.1395-1403.1985

Physical and Chemical Correlates of Microbial Activity and Biomass in Composting Municipal Sewage Sludge

Vicky L McKinley 1, J Robie Vestal 1,*
PMCID: PMC238770  PMID: 16346940

Abstract

Various physical and chemical parameters were monitored to evaluate their influence on the microbial communities present in composting municipal sewage sludge. Temperature, moisture content, depth, pH, protein content, total nitrogen, total carbon, lipid phosphate biomass, and the rates of microbial incorporation of substrates into lipids were measured at several times throughout the 17- to 19-day composting runs. Temperature was found to have the most consistent and dramatic effect on microbial activity and biomass. When temperatures exceeded 55 to 60°C, microbial activity fell dramatically, usually by more than 1 order of magnitude. Microbial activity was generally greatest in samples taken from the 35 to 50°C areas of the composting piles. Changes in the composition of the compost over time included increased pH, increased protein content, and decreased total organic content. The changes in these parameters appeared to reflect the microbial activity and biomass present. The results of this study indicate that the rate of composting may best be optimized by controlling the composting temperatures, provided that the other parameters fall within reasonable limits in the starting material.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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