Co-composting of cassava pulp with activated sludge | |
| Author | Le Minh Truong |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-12-27 |
| Subject(s) | Cassava industry--Waste disposal Sewage--Purification--Activated sludge process |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degree of Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. EV-12-27 |
| Abstract | The co-composting of cassava pulp waste with activated sludge has been investigated in aerobic composting system. In this study, three sets of experiment were conducted in order to optimize the operation of composting. The first experiment was set with 3 bioreactors at aeration rate of 0.46, 0.66, and 0.86 L/min.kg VS without adding any bulking agent. The second experiment was set with aeration rate of 0.46, 0.66, and 0.86 L/min.kg VS with addition of rice straw as a bulking agent. The last experiment was carried out to compost cassava with activated sludge with different bulking agents. Without adding bulking agent in the first experiment, the reactors faced with a possible of anaerobic condition due to the high moisture content. In the second experiment, the reactor with aeration rate of 0.66 L/min.kg VS showed the highest temperature rise during the thermophilic phase in comparison with the others. On the top of that, the highest capacity for composting of cassava pulp was obtained in the reactor with activated sludge and with rice straw as a bulking agent, as it had the highest rate of degradation of organic carbon, higher TKN content. The loss of organic matter in reactors of 0.46, 0.66 and 0.86 L/min.kg VS were 39%, 31%, and 33%, respectively. The results also showed that there was a need to add bulking agent when doing composting of cassava pulp. In the last experiment, cassava pulp composted with activated sludge with different bulking agents (rice straw, rice husk, and peanut shell). The objective of adding bulking agents proved an efficient way of aerobic degradation by increasing the porosity, water adsorption and ammonia adsorption. Temperature above 60°C lasted more than 5 days in all the reactors which assure the removal of pathogenic flora. The results also indicated that the reactor using rice husk as bulking agent had the higher degradation rate of organic matter, and the reactor with peanut shell obtained the highest amount of nitrogen content when compared with others. However, germination index-result showed that compost produced from the reactor using rice husk as bulking agent cannot be applied for agriculture practice because it showed the phytotoxicity content for plant growth. |
| Year | 2012 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Annachhatre, Ajit P.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Visvanathan, C.;Preeda Pakpian; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2012 |