• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2014

The present study was conducted to provide basic data for environmentally friendly treatment of manure using vermicomposting. This was done by investigating the influence of physiochemical property change during the composting period on the survival of earthworms after mixing cow manure in different levels (0(CRH0), 10(CRH10), 20(CRH20), 30(CRH30), and 40%(CRH40)) with the rice hull that is generally added for composting manure. As composting proceeds, earthworms were able to survive in all conditions after 3 weeks. In terms of the C/N ratio by treatment groups, the rice hull mix treatments were significantly higher than the CRH0 treatment. Among rice hull mix treatments, the treatments with 30~40% rice hull level (CRH30 & CRH40) showed the highest ratio out of all composting periods (p<0.05). The C/N ratio in the 3rdweek when earthworms started surviving was 23.26~34.44. As composting progressed, pH and electrolytic conductivity (EC) were the highest in the CRH0 treatment (p<0.05) and tended to decrease with higher proportion of rice hull in the mix. It was found that pH and electrolytic conductivity (EC) that earthworms start to survive are 7.58~7.74 and 0.41~1.17 mS/cm, respectively. To summarize, when composing cow manure with various levels of rice hull mix, all physiochemical property changes turned out to allow the survival of earthworms, but the results suggest that efficient vermicomposting requires the tests to examine the growth and reproduction according to the rice hull mix ratio.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.19-29
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• 1994

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of composting of vegetable wastes containing high moisture. The parameters investigated were the effect of energy source addition, difference in bulking agent and recirculation of leachate produced during composting. Laboratory scale composting reactors were used in this study. Chinese cabbages were used as a vegetable waste. Dog food was added to the vegetable waste as a energy source. Wood chips and leaves of platan were used as bulking agents. There may be an appropriate amount of energy source to be added for composting high moisture content vegetable waste. In this study, the appropriate amount of energy source was 20% of the vegetable waste by weight basis. Recirculation of total amount of leachate produced each day on the same day may not be an appropriate approach due to the significant heat-quenching effect. When the total amount of leachate produced was equally devided and recirculated everyday through the whole composting period, the heat-quenching effect was comparatively less significant. There were no notable differences in the temperature profile and the $CO_2$ evoluation rate when leaves were used instead of wood chips as bulking agents. Considering waste recycling, it is desirable to use leaf waste as bulking agents if available, because the leaves are also wastes to be disposed of.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.267-273
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• 1997

Various physico-chemical and microbiological parameters of a composting system were compared with respect to their potential use for the monitoring and evaluation of composting processes for cattle manure. The temperature changed within a range of $30-65^{\circ}C$ during the whole composting process, and the period of active composting (>$40^{\circ}C$) persisted for 16 days. The concentrations of total carbon, total nitrogen, and organic matter decreased by 15% during active composting, but significant changes in C/N ratio were not observed. The decrease of temperature in the latter period of active composting caused a decrease of $NH_4^+-N$ and an increase of $NO_3^--N$ in the composting pile. When temperature exceeded $50^{\circ}C$, the population of thermophiles was higher than that of mesophiles by more than 1 or 2 orders of magnitude. Correlation analyses showed that amylase activity correlated positively with the population of mesophiles and reducing sugar content, but negatively with the population of thermophiles. Amylase activity was higher at the beginning of active composting, whereas cellulase, xylanase and ligninase activities which showed close relationship with each other, increased continually during active cornposting, suggesting the distinction of temporal niches between amylose-degrading and lignocellulose-degrading bacteria in the same habitat.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1996

The effect of seeding on the thermophilic composting of food waste was investigated with selected strains of yeast, thermophilic bacteria and the mixed strains of yeast and bacteria in the lab-scale composter at $50^{\circ}C$. The results demonstrated that in all case the growth of yeasts preceded the growth of thermophilic bacteria by one or two days. The seeding of bacteria alone was ineffective for thermophilic bacterial development and the rapid increase of total thermophilic bacterial count was obtained by mixed seeding of yeasts and bacteria. Moreover, the bacterial growth was accelerated by the addition of yeasts alone. It was revealed that the yeasts removed organic acids from the food waste at the initial period and consequently induced the growth of thermophilic bacteria. The results presented in this paper indicate the indispensable role of yeasts for thermophilic process of food waste composting.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.47-57
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• 1995

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of mechanical mixing intensity on composting. The major parameters investigated were the mixing intensity and initial moisture content. Laboratory scale composting reactors with mixing equipment were used in this study. Wastes used for the study were raw nightsoil sludge, nightsoil sludge after vacuum evaporation treatment and pig manure. When moisture contents were 60% and 63%, amount of organic material degraded in the continuous mixing reactors was higher than that in the intermittent mixing reactors. Compost produced from reactors with continuous mixing had better texture than that obtained from reactors with intermittent mixing. When moisture content was 68%, organic waste was kneaded rather than mixed in the continuous mixing reactors. Amount of organic material degraded in the continuous mixing reactors also was lower than that in the intermittent mixing reactors.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.100-108
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• 1998

Compost stability represents the state of microbiological activity and measurements of respiration either through $CO_2$ evolution or $O_2$ uptake should provide the best indication of this state. Hog manure amended with sawdust was composted in a pilot-scale reactor vessels using continuous and intermittent aeration for 3 weeks. In this study we evaluated the $CO_2$ respiration rate effect of aeration method on the reduction of $CO_2$ evolution, and investigated the stability of fresh and finished compost for plant growth. The intermittently aerated composting is a practical proposition for a very stable compost making. The $CO_2$ respiration rate in the fresh and finished compost during intermittently aerated composting was maintained from 0.3 to 1.4 and was good for use in horticulture, while the continuously aerated composting was 7 to 23 and needed more time for compost curing.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.25-36
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• 1995

It is important to separate the compostables from waste for successful operation of composting plant, since various compositions are mixed in it. For the separation of compostables, it is necessary to estimate total amounts of compostables from several sources. Based on it, required capacity and number of composting plant as well as proper waste collection and transportation system can be determined. So, amounts of garbage, major target material for composting. were estimated in this study. In survey of unit garbage generation(UGG). different estimation results would be obtained depending on the basis of its measurement. However, previous researches did not consider it. In this paper, the correlations between area and the number of user of garbage source were analyzed to find the related equations which were apllyed to estimation of total generation. Obtained results are as the following. Relative variations of measured UGG based on area and custumer are 62.5 and 52.8, respectively. In linear regression, related equation between area and custumer was Y=0.244X+59.0 (X=area, Y=custumer). The correlation factor r is 0.904. Equation Y=616.5X/(X+1215.4) was also obtained from linear regression using Monod equation (r=0.720). From the first order equation and measured data of UGG based on custumer, amounts of garbage generation from restaurant in Seoul and the whole country were calculated to 2043.9 ton/d and 9014.0 ton/d, respectively. But, the values calculated from measured data of UGG based on area were as low as 821.3 ton/d Cin Seoul) and 3821.0 ton/d(in the whole country). Consequently, the measurement of unit garbage generation based on the number of custumer was more favorable to lessen the points of survey and to guarantee the representative values. Especially, it would fit well on restaurant having statistics of area.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.73-82
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• 1999

To verify the usefulness of enzyme activity as a index for the stability or maturity of apple pomace composting. the succession of microbial populations using viable count procedure. and Vmax of ${\beta}$-glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase were measured. based on an increase in fluorescence as the nonfluorescent methylumbelliferyl substrates were enzymatically hydrolyzed, leading to the highly fluorescent methylumbelliferyl molecule 4-methylumbelliferone(MUF). The activities of these enzymes in the decomposition of carbohydrates were gradually decreased in the course of the time. Correlation between microbial population and enzyme activity was not significant with exception of fungi. and the fungi were represented in high density. This indicates that the fungi probably play a major role in composting of apple pomace.

• Journal of Korea Foresty Energy
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.7-15
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• 2002

The essential oil free needles, which were left after distillation of essential oil from various coniferous needles, were fermented with food waste organics in order to use as compost and roughage. Microorganisms for the fermentation were selected from domestic sources such as swine compost, bark compost, and kimchi, etc, and consisted of aerothermophilic bacteria and actinomycetes. The weight reduction ratio of food waste organics treated with the microorganisms was 90% after 30 days treatment, and the fermentation temperature was kept at approximately $45^{\circ}C$. The compost process was really slow due to chemical compounds derived from needles, and it finally took 60 days for complete compost. When 10% of needle compost was mixed with soil for radish growth, the growth indicators such as leaf length and root weight were increased compared with control, while root weight, root width, and root length were inhibited on the addition of 20% needle compost. The nutrient value and digestibility ratio of various essential oil free needles as roughage for ruminant animals were evaluated. The ratio of crude protein for essential oil free needles from Korean pine(Pinus koraiensis) was 10.02%, which was higher than those of rice straw(5.48%) and corn(9.00%). The digestibility ratios of essential oil free needles from Sawara cypress(Chamaecwaris pislfera), Korean pine(Pinus koraiensis), and Japanese Red Pine(Pinus densiflora) was 53%, 34%, 34%, respectively, indicating that those essential oil free needles were considered as excellent roughage.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.232-245
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• 1995

The garbage from the dwelling house was composted in two kinds of small composter in the laboratory, and the possibility of garbage composting was examined. The composters were general small. One (type 3) was constructed with the double layer walls and the other (type 4) was the same as the first except for being insulated. Because it was found that type 3 was not available for composting under our meteorological conditions through the winter experiment, only type 4 was tested in spring and summer. The experiment was performed for 8 weeks in each season. The seasonal variation of several components in the compost was evaluated and discussed. The results summarized below were those obtained at the end of the experiment, if the time was not specified. 1) The maximum temperature was $43^{\circ}C$ in winter, $55^{\circ}C$ in spring and $56^{\circ}C$ in summer. 2) The mass was reduced to an average of 63% and the volume reduction was an average of 78%. 3) The density was estimated as 1.5 kg/l in winter and 0.8 kg/l in spring and summer. 4) The water content was not much changed during the composting periods. It was 79.3% in winter, 75.0% in spring and 70.0% in summer. 5) After pH value increased during the first week, it decreased until the second week and increased again continuously thereafter. It reached pH 6.19 in winter, pH 7.59 in spring and pH 8.69 in summer. 6) The faster the organic matter was decomposed, the greater the ash content increased. The contents of cellulose and lignin increased, but that of hemicellulose decreased during the composting period. 7) Nitrogen contents were in the range of 3.3-6.8% and especially high in summer. After ammonium contents increased at the early stage of the composting period, they decreased. The maximum ammonium-nitrogen content was 2,404mg/kg after 8 weeks in winter, 12,400mg/kg after 3 weeks in spring and 20,718mg/kg after 3 weeks in summer. C/N-ratios decreased with the lapse of composting time, but they were not much changed. Nitrification occurred actively in summer. 8) The contents of volatile and higher fatty acids increased at the early stage of composting and reduced after that. The maximum content of total fatty acid was 9.7% after 6 weeks in winter, 14.8% after 6 weeks in spring and 15.8% after 2 weeks in summer. 9) The contents of inorganic components were not accumulated as composting proceeded. They were in the range of 0.9-4.4% $P_2O_5$, 1.6-2.4% $K_2O$, 2.2-5.4% CaO and 0.30-0.61% MgO. 10) CN and heavy metal contents did not show any tendency. They were in the range of 0.21-14.55mg/kg CN, 11-166mg/kg Zn, 5-65mg/kg Cu, 0.5-10.8mg/kg Cd, 6- 35mg/kg Pb, ND-33 mg/kg Cr and ND-302.04 g/kg Hg.