Kinetics of Co-Composting of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste and Brewery Sludge

Enzyme kinetics approach using Michaelis-Menten equation is used to determine kinetic constants for evaluating the composting process.This study deals with the influence of levels of five factors namely A: the percentage of brewery sludge (20, 30), B: amendment type (cow dung, coconut pith), C: C/N ratio (15, 30), D: starting culture (without, with) and E: aeration rate (0.3 L/min/kg, 0.45 L/min/kg) at two levels and the interaction of factors, on the kinetic constants during the co-composting of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and brewery sludge (BS). Taguchi’s experimental design with an L₈ orthogonal array having 8 trials using an in-vessel batch-type composting reactor was used for conducting the experimental study. Temperature and organic matter content in the reactor were continuously monitored at regular intervals till the end of composting. The results exhibit comparable variations in the kinetic constants k_m and r_m under varying parameters during the entire composting process. S/N analysis is used for determining the relative importance of influencing factors on the reaction rate. Analysis of variance shows that the most significant factor influencing the kinetic constants is C/N ratio.