CULTIVATIONTIPS ADVISIE Compost needs oxygen
By Con Hermans AdVisie ‘the mushroom growing consultants’, Heythuysen
hermans@mushroomconsulting.nl
Picture: AdVisie
The process of composting has evolved tremendously over the last 50 years. From making compost outdoors with natural ventilation to the latest, advanced indoor bunkers with precision controlled ventilation and circulation. However, the more parameters that can be finetuned, the easier it is to make mistakes as you have to know what you’re doing. The first generation of composting bunkers only offered the option of blowing fresh air into the compost. An on/off ventilation system regulates how much air is used so the compost temperature rises as quickly as possible and stays above 80° C. The fresh air blown into the lower layer of the compost exits at the top and extracts moisture, heat, ammonia and other odours. The latest generation of fermentation bunkers feature recirculation systems similar to pasteurisation tunnels. The exhaust air is collected and (partly) mixed with fresh outside air blown in by a system of inlets. Working with recirculated air has many advantages: it has a higher temperature, and a higher moisture and ammonia content. This initiates the fermentation process faster, fewer days of fermentation are needed and as the temperature is more uniform throug- hout the entire mass of compost, the end result is more homogenous. The compost also acts as a biofilter. The ammonia and other odours that are normally exhausted to the outdoor environment are now recirculated and therefore absorbed better by the biomass.
This means you need less chicken manure and gives you a richer compost. But - as ever- as well as advantages, there are also some disadvantages. The graphs don’t display possible errors as clearly, so you really must be sure what you’re doing. After all, you are blowing air into the compost to provide the oxygen the composting process needs for combustion. The oxygen content of outdoor air is 21%, however, when recirculated air is mixed with fresh air, this percentage drops and is dependent on how much fresh air is added. Some compost yards use 10% recirculated air, but some use even as much as 90%. Always make sure the m3 of fresh air is sufficient per ton of compost, otherwise things may go wrong.
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