Windrow Composting of Waste Sugar Cane and Press Mud Mixtures

摘要

Compost made from mixtures of sugarcane byproducts bagasse and press mud are produced in several countries. In this work experimental results are presented for composting trials in which bagasse was substituted with waste sugarcane in the mixture with press mud. A trial was carried out in large scale windrows mechanically turned. Three mixture piles and one pile for each raw material were processed in 140 days. Substituting cane bagasse as bulking agent for waste whole sugarcane did not introduce significant changes in the composting process which proceeded smoothly. The losses in organic matter ranged from 64 to 12%. The C/N ratio of mature composts was between 10 and 20. No signs of phytotoxicity were observed with black bean seeds which germinated between 95 and 100 %. A greenhouse experiment employing tomato seeds showed that compost made from waste sugarcane could be mixed with soil up to 50-60 % where tomato plant height and weight were at their maximum value.