Fermentation Process and Maturation Characteristics for Biogas Slurry and Cattle Manure Compost

This experiment evaluated biogas slurry compost,and was particularly interested in the changes in maturation time and composition characteristics that resulted from the application of nitrogen additives.We investigated changes in various fermentation and maturation processes in both biogas slurry and leaf composts,and we used cattle and leaf compost as the control.Results demonstrated that the duration of the thermophilic phase(more than 50 ℃)for biogas slurry compost was 8 days longer than the according duration for cattle manure compost.For the biogas compost,hemicellulose and cellulose concentrations decreased from 12.1% and 20.5%,to 6.5% and 9.8%,respectively;meanwhile,concentrations for the cattle manure compost decreased to 9.6% and 15.9%.Biogas slurry compost decomposed completely.We assessed compost maturity using the following measured values:C/N,temperature,soluble sugar content,water content,and the germination index.As indicated by the germination index results,biogas slurry compost and cattle manure compost reached standard maturity within 30 d and 45 d,respectively.