Characterization of carbon dioxide emissions from late stage windrow composting

Abstract

As organic waste is converted to usable amendments via composting, there are large CO2 emissions associated with the decomposition of organic matter via microorganisms. While the active composting phase produces the largest emissions over a short duration, compost can often be stored during and after the maturation phase for much longer periods of time, increasing cumulative emissions. As such, the objectives of this study were to examine the spatial and temporal variability associated with in situ emissions sampling while identifying the environmental and chemical controls on emissions in windrow composting facilities during and after the maturation phase. A total of 665 flux measurements were taken from four windrows representing different ages and compositions between June and November 2020. Factorial analysis of covariance (ANOVA) was used to determine the variability between sampling locations, while multiple linear regression was used to identify those parameters which had the most influence on CO2 flux. Emissions showed significant variability over time that were attributed to ambient temperatures. During the summer, each windrow reached peak emissions between 5.0 and 32.3 g CO2 m-2 hr-1. As temperatures cooled, the windrows saw a 62%–86% decline in emissions, generally falling below 2 g CO2 m-2 hr-1. Significant differences occurred between the top-most sampling location and all others on the windrow, emitting between 33%–100% more CO2. The environmental controls of surface temperature, moisture content, and internal temperature showed the highest influence on emissions (R2 = 0.62). Chemical properties including organic nitrogen, carbon, pH, magnesium, and nitrate also showed significant influence (R2 = 0.43). This research has shown that environmental factors including temperature and moisture show the strongest influence over emission rates in mature compost. A significant negative effect of organic nitrogen on CO2 flux was found, indicating that increased presence of organic nitrogen would aid in the retention of carbon after the maturation phase, acting to lower total emissions.