Food industry waste composting in a rotational reactor

The permanently rising costs of food industry waste management create a real necessity for searching for new economical and environmentally friendly technologies with which such waste can be utilized. The purpose of this study was an evaluation of waste composting using rotational reactor technology with further use of the resultant product as a fertilizer. In order to conduct the research, a rotational reactor was designed and constructed. For the composting process, such waste materials as meat and bone pulp, past its sell-by date dairy and bakery products, sawdust, poultry and cattle manure, were used. The composition of the composted masses was chosen so that their approximate C:N:P proportions and consistency were appropriate for the growth of biodegradating micro-organisms. The efficiency of the presented technology was evaluated based on the inactivation of selected strains of bacteria and the eggs of invasive parasites. The products obtained were tested by the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation in Puławy with regard to its possible environmental usage.