A mathematical model for reducing the composting time

Abstract

(Received: 2014/05/12 - Accepted: 2014/06/27)

The environment is still affected by the inappropriate use of organic matter waste, but a culture of recycling and reuse has been promoted in Ecuador to reduce carbon footprint. The composting, a technique to digest organic matter, which traditionally takes 16-24 weeks, is still inefficient to use. Therefore, this paper concerns the optimization of the composting process in both quality and production time. The variables studied were: type of waste (fruits and vegetables) and type of bioaccelerator (yeast and indigenous microorganisms). By using a full factorial random design 2², a quality compost was obtained in 7 weeks of processing. Quality factors as temperature, density, moisture content, pH and carbon-nitrogen ratio allowed the best conditions for composting in the San Gabriel del Baba community (Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Ecuador). As a result of this study, a mathematical surface model which explains the relationship between the temperature and the digestion time of organic matter was obtained.