Insight into Effects of Initial Moisture Content on the Heat-Up of Sewage Sludge Composting During Mesophilic Phase

Abstract

The effects of initial moisture content (55%, 60% and 65%) on the heat-up of sewage sludge (SS) composting during the mesophilic phase were investigated. Monitoring results showed that low moisture content (55%) increased the heating rate, high initial moisture content (60% and 65%) significantly improved the activities of cellulase and peroxidase during the mesophilic phase. Furthermore, although high moisture content improved the diversity of bacteria during composting, there were no significant differences in the microbial structure during the process of succession. So, rather than inhibiting the activity of the bacterial population, the negative effect of high moisture content (60 and 65 per cent) on composting temperature heat up was attributable to the difficulty of heating produced by the specific heat capacity of water. The correlation index between initial moisture content and microorganisms was relatively low, while the temperature was the largest environmental factor affecting the bacterial community. This conclusion provided a hint to make an association between initial moisture content and composting temperature-rising stage.

Keywords

• moisture content, sewage sludge, composting, mesophilic phase