[USCC] Compost, Oxygen, CO2, & Active Microbes doing the composting

[John A. Crockett]

Bill Carney, Ph.D. said/asked:
"So what your saying is that you are looking at the "... number of active
bacteria and the CO2 level..." Is this correct, and is there anything else
you are using to determine "optimum composting"?"

YES, there are many things we look at when seeking to optimize the
composting process!
1.	Finished Product Performance, how do plants grow in it.  Woven into
that is what the application is, whether it is top dressing turf,
landscape areas, or conditioning soil for planting, or sowing seeds.

2.	Turn Around time from receiving feedstock to the time it is ready to
ship off site;

3.	How particular feedstocks affect the process and finished compost
quality;  

4.	How particular feedstocks and management practices affect the
process, 	product quality and economics.

Looking at the population and bio-mass of active bacteria is an indicator
during the bacterial dominant phase of the composting process.  Once the
compost has become fungal dominant, then fungal bio-mass and oxygen uptake
are indicators of how well we are managing the composting process.

We understand so little about the composting process.  It's easy for the
aeration requirements to vary from 8 times the volume of compost every hour
in fresh air, to over 15 times the volume of the compost, maintaining the
same temperature range and close to 2% CO2 in the off-gas.

Just after turning the compost, we may be able to move air at 10X the volume
of the compost with 0.025"wc, and 23 hours later need more air, maybe 20X
the volume of the compost, to maintain the same 2% CO2 in the off-gas, and
need to use 0.060"wc of vacuum to pull air through the compost at that rate.
While the difference is only 0.035"wc, it is more than double the vacuum,
and double the volume of air.  

The dynamics of managing aeration are interesting and challenging. I know of
a number of composting facilities with forced aeration, where system design
flaws cost millions of dollars every year, in lost facility capacity.  Once
the concrete is poured, it's real hard and expensive to change those parts
that are down in the concrete.  Optimizing the composting process requires
excellence in compost process research & development.  What we share on this
list and our website is only a tiny percentage of what we're doing, because
we've got to protect our competitive advantages.  And I don't see others
sharing about air flow rates, and microbial populations.  "TEAM" stands for
"Together Everybody Achieves More".  

We strive for excellence in composting, and that starts with excellence in
our Research and Development... excellence in practical Research,
identifying how we can optimize the composting process.  We'll like very
much to network with others who are serious about improving the composting
process.  If anyone monitoring this list is aware of others who are doing
practical research of this type, we'd appreciate your letting us know.

Working Together to Create a Sustainable Environment,

John A. Crockett, a.k.a. Dr. Mike Robe

Mother Nature's Farms, Inc.
(845) 225-7763
http://www.magicsoil.com/
jac at magicsoil.com