Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Evaluation of the potential of applying composting/bioremediation techniques

to wastes generated within the construction industry
V. McMahon a, A. Garg b,1, D. Aldred a, G. Hobbs c, R. Smith b, I.E. Tothill a,*
a
Cranfield Health, Cranfield University, Silsoe, Bedfordshire, MK45 4DT England, United Kingdom
b
School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL England, United Kingdom
c
Building Research Establishment (BRE), Watford, England, United Kingdom

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the viability of reducing landfill requirements to satisfy
Accepted 8 February 2008 EC Landfill Directive requirements by applying composting/bioremediation techniques to the construc-
Available online 24 April 2008 tion and demolition (C&D) industry waste stream at laboratory scale. The experimental study was carried
out in nine test rigs to examine different wood mixtures; untreated timber, creosote treated timber and
chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated timber. Several experimental variables affecting the process
were characterised and optimised. These include the best nitrogen additive and optimum moisture
content required for composting. Poultry manure was found to be the best nitrogen additive. The opti-
mum moisture content was decreased after the addition of poultry manure. The composting/bioremedi-
ation process was evaluated through monitoring the microbial activity, carbon dioxide emissions and
toxicity examination of the composted product. A typical temperature profile suggested that untreated
and CCA treated mix could be classified as hot composting whereas creosote treated mix could be clas-
sified as cold composting. The paper reports on the results obtained during this investigation.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The EU Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC (EC, 1999) and the UK
Government’s Waste Strategy aim to increase the amount of
waste recycled, recovered and composted to divert it from land-
fills. In 2002/2003, the UK construction and demolition (C&D)
industry generated approximately 110 million tons of waste per
annum (DEFRA, 2005). Besides the biodegradable material, the
C&D industry wood waste contains chemicals in the form of pre-
servatives, fungicides, pesticides and insecticides. Chemical wood
preservatives are used to enhance wood durability and can in-
crease the life expectancy of wood by five to 10 times (Environ-
ment Canada, 2001). The preservatives employed may include
creosote and chromated copper arsenate (CCA) (Mueller et al.,
1989).
Wood treated with creosote is widely used in the poles for elec-
tric power or telephone lines and railway sleepers. Besides being
an excellent fungicide and insecticide, creosote increases the life-
time of the wood up to 30 years or more. However, creosote is a
toxic chemical and is considered as carcinogenic due to the pres-
ence of benzo[a] pyrene (Becker et al., 2001).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 (0) 1525 863531; fax: +44 (0) 1525 863533.
E-mail addresses: a.garg@iitb.ac.in (A. Garg), i.tothill@cranfield.ac.uk (I.E. Tothill).
1
Present Address: Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India.
CCA is also the most widely used inorganic wood preservative
for lumber and timber for decks and outdoor structures. Treating
wood with CCA increases its average service life to 20–40 years
(Clausen, 2000). It has been estimated that worldwide approxi-
mately 66% of wood (by volume) is treated using CCA (Humphrey,
2002).
The presence of toxic components makes CCA treated timber
harmful for the environment at the end of its service life. The dis-
posal practices carried out for chemically treated timbers include
burial and landfilling. However, the leaching of chemicals from
the timber can deteriorate the soil quality, groundwater quality
or surface water quality (EPA, 1999). In view of the EC landfill
directive, there is a need to reduce the quantity of biodegradable
organic matter being sent to landfills (Slater and Frederickson,
2001). Therefore, the emphasis is on the alternative aerobic and
anaerobic biological processes to treat these materials. Fricke
et al. (2005) have compared the selected aerobic and anaerobic
procedures for municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment and
emphasised the necessity of establishing treatment methods to
lessen the disposal of wood waste to landfills.
Bioremediation and composting of the wood waste may be a via-
ble alternative solution for reducing the weight and toxicity of the
waste (Borazjani et al., 1997, 2000; Vidali, 2001). Composting is an
aerobic biological process, in which biodegradable organic matter is
converted into an innocuous stable humus material by the action of
microorganisms (e.g., bacteria and fungi) (DEFRA, 2004). Recently,
Probert et al. (2005) stated that green waste composting is an easy

0956-053X/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2008.02.025
 V. McMahon et al. / Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196
solution to the problem of reducing biodegradable waste volumes,
and also part of its appeal is the potential to generate income from
sales of the compost product. The term ‘bioremediation’ has a num-
ber of definitions; one is: a process based on the use of biological
reactions to degrade organic pollutants or to bring about changes
in inorganic contaminants (e.g., sequestering of heavy metals) so
that these can more easily be dealt with. Helsen and Van der Bulck
(2005) reviewed the disposal technologies for CCA treated wood
waste and suggested the limitations and problems associated with
each option. The different technologies include recycling and recov-
ery, chemical extraction, bioremediation, electrodialytic remedia-
tion and thermal destruction.
The FIRA (2003) report presented the FERTILE composting pro-
cess for furniture wood waste and compared the quality of the
compost produced to that obtained from other waste materials
such as food, sludge, garden waste, manure and peat. The final
compost was found to have a neutral pH, balanced carbon, and
similar bulk density, as well as nitrogen and other mineral levels
as other compost products. This was found to be suitable for use
in a wide range of applications, including agriculture, land recla-
mation, top soil manufacture, horticulture and home gardening.
Several parameters such as C/N ratio, particle size, residual manu-
facturing compounds and moisture content were identified as crit-
ical factors for an efficient composting process.
Wood is relatively resistant to decomposition due to the pres-
ence of recalcitrant organic compounds such as lignin and lignocel-
lulose, which also result in a high C/N ratio. The presence of
preservatives also enhances the resistance to degradation (Recy-
cled Organics Unit, 2000). However, the composting process may
be enhanced by amending the high carbon containing wood waste
with high nitrogen feedstock. Researchers have used poultry man-
ure, cow manure, horse manure, gin trash and inorganic fertilizer
as amendments (Borazjani et al., 1997, 2000) and a study has been
conducted on the co-composting of timber residues and feedlot
manure. Manure was amended with cypress and hardwood timber
waste (DPI&F, 2004). The findings of the different studies sug-
gested the optimum values of C/N ratio between 15:1 and 30:1
and moisture content 50% (Borazjani et al., 1997, 2000; DPI&F,
2004). The best results in terms of reduction in toxicity, weight loss
and colour change were obtained with poultry manure amended
treatment (Borazjani et al., 2000).
Barker and Bryson (2002) have studied the bioremediation of
heavy metals and organic toxicants by composting and concluded
that the presence of metabolizable carbon in the compostable
feedstock enhances the microbial diversity and activity during
composting and promotes the degradation of pesticides, PAHs
and PCBs. Also, the metallic pollutants can be converted into less
bioavailable organic species. The overall conclusion drawn from
the study was that the composting process may be promising to
degrade or bind the pollutants to innocuous compounds and has
the potential to remediate the polluted materials.
Clausen and Smith (1998) studied the CCA removal from treated
wood by chemical, mechanical and microbial processing. The com-
bination of chemical (acid extraction) and microbial (exposure to a
bacterium) modifications has been found to be the most effective in
removing the metals. Oxalic extraction followed by bacterial fer-
mentation removed 90% CuO, 80% CrO3 and 100% As2O5 of the initial
concentration of metals in chipped CCA wood. The oxalic acid treat-
ment was found to be the best method among the single treatments
employed. By this method, significant quantities of metals were re-
moved from sawdust, i.e., 81% CuO, 62% CrO3 and 89% As2O5.
Potential bioremediation of chromated copper arsenate treated
wood waste with one or more metal tolerant bacteria has also been
reported by Clausen (2000). The removal of metals was achieved
by treatment with 28 bacterial isolates, obtained from eight
sample environments with elevated levels of copper, chromium
187
and arsenic. It was found that an isolate of Bacillus licheniformis re-
moved a large amount of chromium, and was able to release signif-
icant amounts of copper, chromium and arsenic from CCA-treated
wood. The experimental results revealed that soil-inhibiting bacte-
ria isolates such as Aureobacterium esterouromaticum, Klebsiella
oxytoca, and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus have the potential of
releasing up to 98% chromium (which is most difficult to remove)
from CCA-treated sawdust, while Bacillus licheniformis can remove
93% copper. Further, Bacillus licheniformis and Acinetobacter calco-
aceticus released 44–48% arsenic from the sample.
Clausen (2004a) evaluated the improved two-step oxalic acid
extraction process for the remediation of CCA treated wood. The
two steps include the oxalic acid extraction followed by bacterial
culture. Three improvements were made during oxalic acid extrac-
tion: (i) reusing commercial oxalic acid in three subsequent 24 h
extractions, (ii) varying acid and wood ratio (from 100:1 to 3.3:1
(v/w) ratio) and (iii) using Aspergillus niger for the production of
non-commercial oxalic acid. Out of these improvements, the first
was found to be the most cost-effective. With 100:1 (v/w) acid to
wood ratio, 65–68% copper, 48–51% chromium and 68–71% arsenic
were removed during subsequent extractions. Reduction in acid to
wood ratio resulted in the decrease in removal percentages of the
metals. Using non-commercial oxalic acid produced by Aspergillus
niger was also found effective in reducing the metals from treated
wood, but this method did not provide a cost-effective solution due
to the high culture medium costs. However, using this method, a
maximum of 84% reduction was observed in copper concentration
after 10 days exposure, whereas chromium and arsenic contents
were reduced by 46% and 54% after 12 days, respectively.
Clausen (2004b) also studied the capability of bacterial nutrient
sources in the removal of copper, chromium and arsenic from CCA
treated southern yellow pine (SYP) to improve the economics of
the two step remediation process. It was found that maximum
reduction in metal contents (70% to 100%) was observed when
the metal tolerant bacterium, Bacillus licheniformis, was cultured
in 1% nutrient medium and wood to nutrient medium ratio was
kept at 1:10. In case of no nutrient medium, the reduction in cop-
per, chromium and arsenic was 21%, 54% and 63%, respectively.
However, it was concluded that this process was not cost-effective.
From the above introduction, it is apparent that research is
needed to demonstrate the feasibility of using composting/bio-
remediation techniques in handling preservative treated wood
waste, as the literature is scarce in this area. Therefore, an effort
has been made to study the feasibility of using bioremediation
and composting techniques for preservative treated as well as un-
treated timber waste from the C&D industry. The preservatives
chosen in the present study include creosote and CCA.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
2.1.1. Wood materials
The initial wood samples include lapboard, I-beam, painted
door, vac–vac timber, plywood, blockboard, shed door and fence
panel supplied by the Building Research Establishment (BRE, Wat-
ford, UK). These samples of wood contained chemicals either in the
form of preservatives, paints or glues that are considered to be a
potential disposal problem. The wood samples had been shredded
using an industrial shredder.
2.1.2. Microbial supplements
Various microbial supplements were considered to provide
additional microorganisms for the composting system if required.
These include, J A Bowers Composted Bark (www.Crocus.co.uk),
188 V. McMahon et al. / Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196

J A Bowers Garotta Compost Maker (www.Crocus.co.uk), landfill The supplement used was poultry manure, and a 2:1 mix of
compost (Rainham Landfill Site, Cleanaway, Kent, England), creo- wood and manure was prepared for both wood samples.
sote contaminated soil (Calders and Grandidge, Boston, Lincon- Water activity was measured by adding water in the range of 1–
shire, England), garden compost from a local home compost 2.5 ml to 1 g samples in a Universal bottle. The samples were then
heap, and garden soil from a local home garden. allowed to equilibrate at 4 °C (to inhibit microbial activity) for a
minimum of 3 days. Sample readings were taken after 1 h at
2.1.3. Nitrogen supplements 25 °C using a Novasina TH 500 Thermoconstanter Water Activity
To balance the C/N ratio in the wood composting process, a Meter (Axair Ltd., Pfaffikon, Switzerland). All samples and readings
nitrogen source was used. Nitrogen sources can readily be obtained were in triplicate. Approximately 1 g of each sample was then
in the form of commercially available fertilisers. The types of fertil- weighed into a 5 ml beaker and dried in an oven overnight at
isers used in the present study were: J A Farm Manure (www.Cro- 105 °C. The dried samples were reweighed and the percentage
cus.co.uk), Miracle Gro Rose Fertiliser (www.Crocus.co.uk) and J A moisture content in each sample was obtained. From the water
Bowers Poultry Manure (www.Crocus.co.uk). These supplements activity and moisture content data, moisture sorption isotherms
were examined for their fungal, bacterial and actinomycete popu- were constructed for each treatment. Data was analysed using
lations, as an indication of whether the supplements could also analysis of variance (ANOVA).
serve as an inoculum source for these important microbial groups.
Table 1 represents the summary of different wood samples, nitro- 2.2.2. Microbial counts
gen supplements, microbial supplements and other materials used Microbial counts were carried out in order to find out the types
in the present study. of microorganisms present in the environmental samples (wood,
microbial supplements and nitrogen supplements), and their num-
2.1.4. Preservatives studied bers. Microbial counts were performed on the samples for fungi,
Creosote and CCA were chosen as the two wood preservatives to bacteria and actinomycetes. Commercially available agars were
be examined, since they are most likely to appear in any C&D used to culture bacteria and fungi, and a soil extract agar was used
waste. Creosote is used outdoors and CCA both indoors and out- to culture actinomycetes.
doors. The samples of the preservatives (creosote and CCA) chosen Counts were performed by taking 1 g of sample and adding it to
for the study were obtained from Calders and Grandidge, Boston, 9 ml of sterile distilled water (SDW) in a Universal bottle and then
Linconshire, England. preparing a dilution series to give 1  10 1 to 1  10 7 dilutions,
depending on the sample. The dilutions were plated out onto agar
2.2. Methods media by inoculating centrally 100 ll of the dilution onto the plate
and spreading using a sterilised glass plate spreader. The agar med-
2.2.1. Wood water relations ia used were:
The relationship between wood water activity and water con-
tent was investigated for two different mixtures of wood and sup- 1. For fungi, Malt Extract Agar (MEA), (Oxoid, UK). It was prepared
plements. The wood mixtures were: using 50 g of Malt Extract Agar made up to 1 L with de-ionised
Wood mixture 1: Treated timbers – weathered creosote and CCA water and autoclaved for 10 min at 121 °C. The agar was
treated timbers. allowed to cool to approximately 50 °C before being aseptically
Wood mixture 2: Composite timbers – plywood, blockboard and poured into sterile 90 mm diameter Petri plates. Prior to auto-
composite structural timber beam. claving, approximately 0.1 g of chlorophenicol was added to
inhibit bacterial growth.
Table 1 2. For bacteria, Tryptone Soya Agar (TSA), (Oxoid, UK). It was pre-
Summary of different wood samples, nitrogen supplements, microbial supplements pared using 40 g of Tryptone Soya Agar and made up to 1 L with
and other materials used in this study de-ionised water and autoclaved for 15 min at 121 °C. The agar
Material Comments was allowed to cool to approximately 50 °C before being asep-
Timber samples
tically poured into sterile 90 mm diameter Petri plates.
Lapboard Weathered creosote treated 3. For actinomycetes, Soil Extract Agar (SEA), prepared by mixing
I-beam Composite structural timber I-beam 500 g of garden soil with 500 ml of de-ionised water. This mix-
Painted timber Internal door – age approx. 80 years ture was shaken and then allowed to settle and the supernatant
Vac–vac timber New CCA treated timber roof battening
decanted through muslin mesh. The filtered extract (50 ml)
Plywood New timber product
Blockboard New timber product was then made up to 1 L with de-ionised water and 20 g of Oxoid
Shed door Weathered creosote treated Technical Agar No. 3 added. This was then autoclaved for 15 min
Fence panel Weathered treated with a variety of creosote and modern at 121 °C (Atlas, 1993). The agar was allowed to cool to approxi-
preservatives mately 50 °C before being aseptically poured into sterile 90 mm
Nitrogen supplements diameter Petri plates. Plates were then incubated at 25 °C.
Poultry manure Commercially available compost additive
Farm manure Commercially available compost additive
Miracle Gro Commercially available compost additive
All plates were inspected after 24 h for colony formation and
thereafter every 24 h. When colonies first appeared they were
Microbial supplements
Garden compost Domestic compost
counted with a Gollenkamp colony counter and then recounted
Compost maker Commercially available compost additive until no further colonies appeared. The number of colony forming
Bark compost Commercially available compost additive units (CFU) per gram was then calculated.
Other materials
Landfill compost Obtained from Rainham Landfill site, Cleanaway, Kent,
2.2.3. Microbial counts in creosote amended agar in two
England
Garden soil Locally available environmental microbial supplements
CCA contaminated Calders and Grandidge, Boston, Linconshire, England The presence of creosote resistant microbial populations in two
soil environmental samples, namely, ordinary garden soil and garden
Creosote Calders and Grandidge, Boston, Linconshire, England compost, was investigated. The purpose of this study was to at-
contaminated soil
tempt to isolate naturally occurring creosote tolerant microorgan-
 V. McMahon et al. / Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196 189

isms from these environments for possible use as inoculants for
composting of creosote containing wood waste. These samples
were supplied by D. Aldred, Cranfield University, England.
Creosote agar was prepared by adding 0.1 ml of creosote (Wil-
kinsons Fence Creosote, Wilkinsons, England) to a carrier solution
of 9.9 ml of acetone. This was then added to either freshly auto-
claved molten MEA or TSA (made as in Section 2.2.2.) and mixed
thoroughly, giving a final concentration of 100 ppm (100 ll l 1) of
creosote in agar. Lower concentrations had been tried earlier but
no difference between the non-amended and amended microbial
populations were observed. The prepared agar was then aseptically
poured into sterile 90 mm diameter Petri plates and centrally inoc-
ulated with a range of dilutions of either garden soil or garden
compost prepared as described in Section 2.2.2. Preservative free
MEA and TSA plates were also prepared as controls.
2.2.4. Direct plating of preservative containing wood samples
An attempt was also undertaken to directly isolate microorgan-
isms from creosote containing wood samples, for possible inocu-
lum use. These wood samples were creosote pressure treated
telegraph Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) poles (Calders and Grandidge,
Boston, Linconshire, England). For the wood type, 1 g wood was
added to 9 ml of SDW and sonicated in a water bath for 5 min. A
range of dilutions was then prepared as described in Section
2.2.2. and inoculated onto creosote malt extract agar (Section
2.2.3.), ordinary malt agar, creosote tryptone soya agar and tryp-
tone soya agar. Counts for bacteria and fungi were carried out in
the same way as described in Section 2.2.2.
Table 2
Tests performed to determine various parameters
Tests Purpose of test Samples
Wood water Determination of Wood mixture 1 – treated timbers
relations optimum
moisture content
Wood mixture 2 – composite timbers
Microbial counts 1. Fungi, bacteria All timber samples, nitrogen
and actinomycetes supplements and microbial
supplements listed in Table 1
2. Fungi and Preservative (creosote) amended agar
bacteria and non-creosote agar with compost,
soil and creosote wood sample
A summary of different parameters analysed in various wood
samples, nitrogen supplements and microbial supplements is pre-
sented in Table 2.
2.2.5. Laboratory scale rig for composting
Nine composting rigs in the form of modified Perspex aquaria
were constructed and set up to examine the following wood types:
1. Untreated timber: newly shredded Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)
(BRE, Watford, UK).
2. CCA treated timber: from 20-year-old pressure treated Scots Pine
telegraph poles (Calders and Grandidge, Boston, Linconshire,
England).
3. Creosote treated timber: from 20-year-old pressure treated Scots
Pine telegraph poles (Calders and Grandidge, Boston, Lincon-
shire, England).
Both the CCA and creosote treated timber were mixed in a ratio
with untreated timber as it was felt that the amount of wood pre-
servative present in these timber types was unrealistically high,
with respect to concentrations likely to be found in a typical demo-
lition waste ‘‘mix”. This was because the timber was from pressure
treated telegraph poles that have a long in-service life outdoors
and so may contain higher amounts of preservative.
Aquaria were chosen, as they were easy to obtain, have an opti-
mal size and allow monitoring of the composting process through
the top and sides of the tank (Wyevale Garden Centre, Flitwick,
England). The aquaria (Fig. 1) were approximately 25 L in size
and made of Perspex. They have clear Perspex lids and have false
bottoms of white perforated PVC with approximately 50% 3 mm
holes, which were created specifically for this project.
Airflow was allowed through the bottom of the aquarium via a
perforated pipe running around the base by means of a compressed
air supply at approximately 0.8 bar pressure and a flow rate of
5 L min 1. Before entering the aquaria the air was humidified by
passing it through two 1 L flasks containing 800 ml of de-ionised
water and through a 1 L flask acting as a spray trap. Humidification
of the air is important to stop the aquaria drying out.
2.2.6. Preparation of aquaria
To each aquarium approximately 1500 g of the wood type was
added. To this approximately 450 g of re-hydrated poultry manure
was added as the nitrogen source and mixed thoroughly using a
trowel. The poultry manure was re-hydrated by adding 1700 ml
of de-ionised water. The final ratio of wood to manure was kept

Thermocouple - logged
on data logger
Access hatch to allow sampling
of materials during
composting Air discharge to
sampling point

Air supply

Sample material
Drain point for leachate

Perforated base plate to allow leachate

to drain and air to pass through material
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the test tank constructed to undertake laboratory analyses based composting of a range of wood samples.
190 V. McMahon et al. / Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196

Table 3
Different wood samples and other materials prepared in the laboratory for experimental runs

Wood Samples No. of rigs or Inoculum Aquaria

aquarium
Untreated timber 3 Inoculum was made of: Total size = 25 L,
Creosote treated 3 (a) 1% compost (75% garden compost + 25% landfill Total rigs = 9
timber compost)
CCA treated timber 3 (b) 0.5% soil: Each aquarium contains: 1500 g wood type + 450 g re-hydrated
poultry manure + inoculum
(i) For untreated timber, it was garden soil
(ii) For CCA treated timber, it was CCA Wood:manure = 3:1
contaminated soil
(iii) For creosote treated timber, it was creosote
contaminated soil
(c) 0.5% degraded wood

at 3:1. The aquaria were then inoculated using an inoculum made
up of:
(a) 1% compost made up of 75% garden compost and 25% landfill
compost (from Rainham Landfill site, Cleanaway, Kent,
England).
(b) 0.5% soil, for untreated aquaria this was garden soil, for CCA
aquaria CCA contaminated soil (Calders and Grandidge, Bos-
ton, Linconshire, England) and for creosote aquaria this was
creosote contaminated soil (Calders and Grandidge, Boston,
Linconshire, England).
(c) 0.5% degraded wood (Calders and Grandidge, Boston, Linc-
onshire, England).
The aquaria were again mixed thoroughly and the lids sealed on
using a clamping system designed especially for the aquaria. The
aquaria were insulated with Kingspan Insulation and placed in a
25 °C temperature controlled room and left for 14–16 weeks.
The preparation of aquaria containing 9 rigs is presented in tab-
ular form (Table 3).
2.2.7. Parameters measured
Temperature, carbon dioxide and oxygen measurements were
taken regularly. Samples were also taken weekly for microbial
analysis and chemical analysis (from the preservative containing
treatments) so that analysis of the chemical content of the wood
over time could be examined. All measurements were made in
triplicate. A summary of the analysis of different wood samples
carried out to determine various parameters during the treatment
process is presented in the form of a flow chart (Fig. 2).
2.2.7.1. Temperature monitoring of aquaria. Temperature measure-
ments were taken via thermocouples (type K) and data loggers
(Pico Technology, UK). The thermocouples were placed in the cen-
tre of each aquarium approximately half way down. Temperature
readings were taken every 30 min by computer using Pico Recor-
der (Pico Technology, UK). Four room temperature readings from
different heights in the room were also taken as background
readings.
2.2.7.2. Gas analysis. Carbon dioxide and oxygen readings were ta-
ken by removing gas samples from the aquaria outflow pipes using
35 ml gas syringes with a 3-way tap attached. Samples were taken
in duplicate from each aquarium and analysed using gas chroma-
tography (GC 88340 with a hot wire detector linked to a DP 8000
Integrator, Carlo Erba Instruments, UK). The carrier gas used was
helium at a flow rate of 36 cm3 min 1. The oven, detector and fila-
ment were set to 70 °C, 124 °C and 180 °C, respectively. For oxygen
determination, a molecular sieve 5Å column was used having
length 2 m, OD 6 mm, ID 4 mm and mesh range 60–80, whereas
a Poropak column with the same specifications was used for car-
bon dioxide analysis. For carbon dioxide and oxygen analysis,
BOC gas (having 10.3% carbon dioxide) and air (having 21% oxygen)
were used as calibration gases.

Wood types evaluated for

composting and
bioremediation potential

Aquaria Untreated Creosote CCA treated

containing 9 timber treated timber timber
rigs of each (3 samples) (3 samples) (3 samples)
sample

Tests conducted Temperature Temperature monitoring, gas analysis,

during monitoring, microbial counts, chemical analysis for
treatment gas analysis the determination of creosote and CCA
process and microbial quantities respectively
counts

Fig. 2. Flow chart showing different wood samples and parameters analysed during composting and bioremediation.
 V. McMahon et al. / Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196
For the first 360 h of the composting, the gas samples were ta-
ken in real time, that is from the outflow pipe of each aquarium
while the aquaria were being actively aerated. After 360 h of com-
posting, the aquaria were being held for 24 h before gas samples
were taken. This involved turning the air supply to the aquaria
off and clamping both the inflow and outflow pipes so that there
was no gas loss. From this the amount of carbon dioxide evolved
and oxygen consumed over a 24 h period was measured.
2.2.7.3. Microbial population analysis. The microbial population
analysis for bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes was via the plate
count method outlined in Section 2.2.2. Samples for microbial pop-
ulation analysis were taken at time 0, 24 h and thereafter every
week. The samples were collected in a sterile plastic universal bot-
tle from different areas in the aquarium to give an average sample.
The labelled samples were then stored at 4 °C pending analysis
(within 5 days).
2.2.7.4. Chemical analysis. Chemical analysis of the CCA wood was
done via British Standard BS 5666 using Flame Atomic Absorption
Spectroscopy. For the creosote wood, European Standard EN12490
was used involving soxhlet apparatus. Samples for chemical anal-
ysis were taken at time 0 and weekly thereafter. The same samples
collected for microbial analysis as described above were used for
chemical analysis. After microbial analysis had been performed,
the samples were frozen to stop any degradation of the sample.
2.2.7.5. Assessment of removal of CCA from wood. Release of copper,
chromium and arsenic from the wood was assessed by treating
10 g ground wood samples with 100 ml of a physiological saline
solution containing 0.1% Tween 80. The wood suspension was son-
icated (Camlab T890, Camlab Ltd., Cambridge, UK) for 40 min, then
filtered through a Whatman No. 1 filter to separate wood solids
from biomass components. The two fractions: wood solids and fil-
trate were then analysed together with a sample of untreated
wood using the methods described in the chemical analysis section
to determine the distribution of the metals.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Wood water relations
Wood water relations were examined for different mixtures of
wood and supplements to help determine the optimum moisture
content needed. For the purpose of this study, this was taken to
be the moisture content at which the water activity was >0.995.
At this water activity the water content is not growth limiting, par-
ticularly for most bacterial spp., without excess water being pres-
ent. From previous nitrogen supplements examined (farm manure
and miracle gro), it was found that the farm manure contained
high water content which affected the ability to set the moisture
content accurately, while the miracle gro (dry powder) was found
to absorb any available water added and retained it, showing its
extremely hydrophilic nature. Therefore, the pelleted poultry man-
ure was found to be the best nitrogen additive as it allowed the set-
ting of the moisture content more accurately than the farm manure
or miracle gro.
Water sorption isotherms were constructed for the two wood
mixtures, and two nitrogen supplement additions. The isotherms
all showed the typical sigmoidal curves normal for these types of
plots (data not shown). Table 4 summarises the key information
obtained from these isotherms: for wood mixture 1, the water
sorption isotherm showed optimal water activity of >0.995 where
the moisture content of the wood mixture is above 45%. When
poultry manure is added to the wood mixture the moisture content
191
Table 4
The optimal moisture content for each wood mixture with or without poultry manure
to achieve an optimum water activity of >0.995
Wood type Moisture content (%)
Without poultry manure With poultry manure
Wood mixture 1 (treated) >45 >35
Wood mixture 2 (composite) >40 >38
of the wood needs to be at 35% to achieve an ideal water activity of
>0.995. It appears that adding the poultry manure to wood mixture
1 reduces the amount of water that has to be added to the wood to
get a water activity of >0.995. For wood mixture 2, the water sorp-
tion isotherm indicates that for a water activity of >0.995, the
moisture content of the wood needs to be at least at 40% and
38%, with and without the poultry manure, respectively. So in this
instance, the addition of the poultry manure has not significantly
altered the water relations of the wood mixture.
To compost wood, a nitrogen source is needed due to the low
nitrogen content of the wood (typically 200:1; carbon:nitrogen)
(Campbell and Tripepi, 1991). Therefore, different nitrogen supple-
ments were examined in this study for their effect on wood–water
relations. The results show that, for wood mixture 1, the addition
of poultry manure lowered the moisture content needed to achieve
a water activity of >0.995. This may be due to the manure helping
to retain water in the sample and keeping it moist even during ac-
tive aeration. The optimum moisture content for wood mixture 2
was found to be slightly lower than wood mixture 1. This differ-
ence may be due to the composition of the wood mixture used,
which consisted of plywood, blockboard and composite structural
timber I-beam. These are glue containing woods and therefore are
hydrophobic because of the glue.
3.2. Microbial counts
In order to assess if the naturally existing microbes in the wood
are sufficient to initiate the biodegradation process, a range of tests
were undertaken to count microbial activity in these matrices. In
addition to testing a range of wood samples, the microbial activity
of nitrogen supplements and microbial supplements suitable for
enhancing composting were also tested. Fig. 3a–c shows the colony
forming units (CFU) in a gram of sample. It can be seen from Fig. 3a
that no actinomycetes were present in the initial wood samples.
Fungi were present in all the samples with the highest counts in
the painted door, shed door, I-beam, fence panel and plywood sam-
ples (>1  104 CFU g 1). Bacteria were also found in all samples,
with significant counts appearing in lapboard, I-beam and painted
door (>1  104 CFU g 1). The number of fungi and bacteria present
in the individual samples were less than 3.5  104 CFU g 1, as may
be expected from materials of these types.
Fig. 3b shows the absence of fungi in the poultry manure and
the miracle gro nitrogen supplements and the presence in farm
manure (<4  104 CFU g 1). Bacteria appeared in the poultry and
farm manure with the highest numbers in poultry manure
(>1.3  107 CFU g 1) as may be expected. Actinomycetes showed
the highest population numbers in the farm manure at
1.31  105 CFU g 1, with low counts in the poultry manure and
none present in the miracle gro. However, the actinomycetes num-
bers were not as high as the other bacterial group bacteria, which
dominated the nitrogen supplements.
Fig. 3c shows the presence of bacteria in all the samples of
microbial supplements used. As expected, garden compost had
the highest number (>1  108 CFU g 1). Fungi and actinomycetes
were, of course, also present in the garden compost. Compost maker
was restricted entirely to bacteria with less than 3.5  102 CFU g 1
192 V. McMahon et al. / Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196

4.5 2.5
4 a
3.5 2
Fungi
3 Bacteria
CFU g-1x104

CFU g-1x 107

2.5 1.5
2
1.5 1
1
0.5
0.5
0
rd

rd

el
oo

be

oo
oo

an
ea
oa

oa
im
D

D
yw
IB

eP
pb

kb

0
ed
d

cT

Pl
La

oc
te

Compost + non- Compost + Soil + non- Soil + creosote Creosote wood + Creosote wood +

nc
Sh
in

-fa

Bl

Fe
creosote agar creosote agar creosote agar agar non-creosote creosote agar
Pa

ac

agar
V

Sample type
Wood type
Fig. 4. Number of fungi and bacteria present as CFU g 1 in the preservative and
20
non-preservative amended agar and in the directly plated creosote wood samples.
18 b
16
14 sote agar, generally indicating the high preservative efficiency of
6
CFU g x10

12 creosote in wood. With the preservative amended agar, there are

-1

10 more fungi present for the compost on non-creosote agar

8 (4.19  106 CFU g 1), than the compost on creosote agar
6 (1.22  106 CFU g 1) (Fig. 4). The same is true for the soil; there
are more fungi present on non-creosote agar, 5.07  105 CFU g 1,
4
than creosote agar, 2.38  105 CFU g 1.
2
For the bacteria, there are slightly more bacteria present for
0 compost on creosote plates (2.03  107 CFU g 1) than compost
Poultry Farm Miracle Gro
on non-creosote plates (1.78  107 CFU g 1). Statistically, there is
Nitrogen supplement little difference between the results obtained here, but it is inter-
esting to see higher numbers on creosote containing plates. This
20
may suggest that the microorganism in the compost in question
18 c have been acclimatised to creosote. If this is the case, an inoculum
16 derived from this compost may be very suitable for composting of
14 creosote containing wood. However, there are less bacteria for soil
CFU g-1x107

12
10
8 differences between the bacteria from the soil and the compost
6 on non-amended and amended agar than the fungal counts from
4
2
0
Garden compost CompostMaker
Microbial Supplement
Fungi, ; Bacteria, ; Actinomycetes,
Fig. 3. Number of microorganisms present as CFU g 1 in each (a) wood sample, (b)
nitrogen supplement sample, and (c) microbial supplement sample.
fungi present. The bark compost showed the presence of bacteria
and actinomycetes. On the basis of the above results, it can be con-
cluded that although the wood samples and nitrogen additives
demonstrated the presence of the relevant microbial groups, it is
unlikely that they would support an optimal microbial inoculum
sufficient to allow efficient and rapid composting without supple-
mentation. Not surprisingly, garden compost provided the best
source of fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes and would aid the com-
posting of timber samples when added to these samples.
3.3. Microbial counts for microorganisms in preservative amended
agar and for direct plating of preservative containing wood samples
Fig. 4 shows that there were no fungal or bacterial spp. present
from the direct plating of creosote wood samples onto non-creo-
on the creosote agar (1.23  107 CFU g 1), than the soil on the
non-creosote agar (1.99  107 CFU g 1). Overall there are smaller
the same samples. These results generally indicate the potential
for the isolation of creosote tolerant bacterial and fungal spp. from
soil and compost samples, which could be utilised in controlled
composting experiments. Debate on the use of inocula had been
Bark compost
reported in the literature, but most of this was focused on soil
bioremediation of chemical contaminants. In this case it had been
suggested that inoculation was not needed as the indigenous pop-
ulation present will multiply as it utilises the chemical compounds
(Alexander, 1999). However, microorganisms that act on certain
pollutants may be absent from certain sites or the conditions at a
site may be unfavourable for the resistant microorganisms to
degrade it (Alexander, 1999). From the microbial counts in this
study, the presence of chemicals in the wood has affected the
indigenous population present. The results show that there are
no microorganisms on the creosote wood and few were present
in the wood samples from the initial wood counts. This suggests
that the use of inoculum is required in this scenario. However, Ep-
stein (1997) in his study has concluded that there was no indica-
tion that the addition of an inoculant accelerated the composting
process and has suggested that the preparation of the feedstock
in terms of particle size, optimum moisture and optimum C:N ratio
along with proper management of the system would give the best
conditions for optimum composting. Finstein and Morris (1975)
reported that in the case of sawdust, a composting inoculum
may be useful, especially the incorporation of basidomycete rich
decayed wood with a nutrient supplement. In our study with the
 V. McMahon et al. / Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196 193

70 sufficient enough for the wood mixture to reach the higher

temperature of the untreated mixture. Since the creosote temper-
60 ature is lower than the CCA, the presence of the creosote could be
having a more detrimental effect on the microbial population than
50 the CCA. At this lower composting temperature, there tends to be
more conservation of water. This is seen in the creosote tanks as
Temperature, ºC

40 they are very moist, and water built up in the outflow pipes and
needed to be drained off before gas analysis. However, another
30 possible explanation for this could be due to the hydrophobic nat-
ure of creosote which may cause water to be driven off from the
20 wood by the aeration process.
With CCA, the composting is within the temperature region,
10
during the brief thermophilic stage that could be classed as ‘hot
composting’, but it does not reach 50 °C, which may be due to
the nature of the material. This suggests that, similar to the creo-
0
sote, the presence of CCA has an inhibitory effect on the overall
00:00:00
11:30:00
23:00:00
34:30:00
46:00:00
57:30:00
69:00:00
80:30:00
92:00:00
103:30:00
115:00:00
126:30:00
138:00:00
149:30:00
161:00:00
172:30:00
184:00:00
195:30:00
207:00:00
218:30:00
230:00:00
241:30:00
degradation rate although, based on temperature data, the effect
is less than that observed in the creosote treatments.
Time, hours The observed temperature phases in the treatments, in particu-
lar the very brief thermophilic phases, clearly reflect the degrada-
Fig. 5. The average temperatures (°C) over the first 242 h for the room, the untre-
tion processes which are occurring in the readily biodegradable
ated, the CCA and the creosote composting mixes in the lab-scale experiment
(Room, ; Untreated, ; CCA, ; Creosote, ). fractions within the treatments, such as components within the
nitrogen supplements and the inoculum additions. Degradation
of the woody material can be expected to be a more long-term pro-
cess unlikely to be associated with easily detectable temperature
nature of the material being woody and resistant to degradation fluctuations. However, the differences in temperature profiles ob-
and with the added problem of preservative chemicals, it was felt served in this early stage are useful indications of the relative tox-
that optimising the conditions alone would not be sufficient and icities of the preservatives present, particularly in relation to the
therefore the addition of inoculum would be needed to facilitate bacterial population.
the composting process.
3.4.2. Gas analysis measurements
3.4. Laboratory scale composting All the composting mixes show the same trend – a decrease in
carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption over time.
Nine lab-scale rigs using aquaria were set up for composting During the real time measurements at the 360 h point, the oxy-
using different types of untreated, CCA and creosote treated woods. gen and carbon dioxide levels approached atmospheric levels.
The experiments were set up as reported in Section 2, and the anal- For the untreated mix, the amount of oxygen in the tanks in-
ysis results are shown below. creased from 15% at 24 h to nearly 20% after 360 h, showing an
early decrease in degradation rates as the ‘readily’ degradable
3.4.1. Temperature fractions in the mixtures are exhausted. This corresponded with
Fig. 5 shows the average temperatures for the room and all nine a decrease in carbon dioxide production from under 10% to nearly
test rigs containing different types of untreated, CCA and creosote 0% over the same period. With the CCA mix over the 24 h to the
composting mixes (three replicates for each treatment). 360 h period, oxygen present went from approximately 12–20% of
The room temperature results show little change over time, atmospheric, with carbon dioxide production reducing from its
although there is evidence of a diurnal rhythm as the room cools peak at 12% to under 5%. The creosote mix over this 360 h time
down and warms up during the day. The average temperatures frame varied from nearly 17% oxygen to 20% and from 8% carbon
for the untreated, CCA and creosote composting mixes all show a dioxide to around 3%.
temperature elevation starting immediately and declining after When the tanks were held by clamping for 24 h (to allow a
34 h (for untreated) to 40 h (for treated timbers). This temperature build up of carbon dioxide when the initial rapid production of
rise is showing a brief thermophilic phase for all the treatments. carbon dioxide had ceased), differences in the carbon dioxide
The untreated mix reached the highest temperature at nearly and oxygen could again be observed; however, towards the
60 °C, followed by the CCA at approximately 47 °C and then the 1000 h point, carbon dioxide production and oxygen consump-
creosote mix at 44 °C. All the composting mixes approached room tion were again decreasing, indicating a further decline in the
temperature after 150 h, which was approximately 30 °C. degradation rates at this stage. The untreated mix again in-
The temperature profile of the composting over the first 240 h creased in oxygen from around 10% to over 15% (nearing ambient
follows a typical profile, with the mesophilic and thermophilic concentrations) with carbon dioxide production decreasing from
phases and then the cooling phase. at its peak just over 10% to around 5%. CCA treatment oxygen in-
The creosote mix barely reaches 44 °C. This suggests that the creased from over 5% to 15%, and carbon dioxide decreased from
creosote mix could be classified as being a ‘cold composting’ pro- under 10% to approximately 5%. With the creosote mix the same
cess (Anon., 2001; Poincelot, 1974). Cold composting refers to the trend was seen; oxygen varied from just under 15% to around
temperature achieved during the composting process. An obvious 18% and carbon dioxide fluctuated at around 3%. This indicates
reason for the creosote treated wood behaving in this way is that that, at this stage, all treatments were behaving in a similar
the feedstock degrades slowly due to the preservative properties way in terms of oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide release. Figs.
of the creosote (Anon., 2001). It is known that with some other 6a and b show the results obtained with the untreated compo-
hazardous materials, the composting temperature does not reach sting mix.
50 °C (Alexander, 1999). The chemicals present are likely to be Each of the gas profiles for carbon dioxide and oxygen follow an
inhibiting the degradation; therefore, the degradation rate is never established trend, that oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide
194 V. McMahon et al. / Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196
25
a preservative additions into these composting systems, which
20
15
Gas, %
10
5 9  109 to 2  109 CFU g 1. The creosote mix was similar; there
0
24 48 72 96 192 360
Time, hours
18
16 b counts by 18 days. The CCA mix started out with the highest level
14
12
Gas, %
10
8 population, which again declined to zero after 24 h. Although the
6 ‘classic’ composting process shows an early lack of fungi, which
4 is later replaced by a distinct ‘fungal phase’, it is surprising that
2
0
384 576 744 1080
Time, hours
Fig. 6. For untreated composting mix the % carbon dioxide and oxygen present in
the samples taken. (a) Real time, (b) after a 24 h hold (CO2, ; O2 , ).
evolution is greatest when the temperature is higher, especially
during the thermophilic phase (Epstein, 1997). After the thermo-
philic phase, carbon dioxide evolution and oxygen consumption
began to decline as the more readily degraded material disap-
peared from the composting process leaving the more recalcitrant
material.
There is a large variation between the different treatments.
The untreated mix oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide evo-
lution drops off after 72 h, the creosote after 96 h and the CCA
after 192 h. This drop is due to the readily biodegradable material
being decomposed (Epstein, 1997). Clearly both creosote and CCA
are preservative chemicals and can therefore be expected to inhi-
bit the degradation processes of the readily biodegradable com-
pounds, causing the differences observed in gas utilisation and
evolution patterns. CCA in particular has bacteriostatic (i.e., inhib-
iting) properties at high concentrations (Clausen, 1996), and CCA
obviously makes wood more resistant to degradation (Bardos and
Lopez-Real, 1988). Therefore, oxygen consumption and carbon
dioxide evolution were sustained for a longer period of time in
the CCA treatment compared to the untreated or creosote. How-
ever, there is no indication of the greater effect of CCA from the
temperature profile as all the treatments declined from the ther-
mophilic phase at the same time and reached room temperature
at nearly the same time. Further, the temperature profiles sug-
gested that the creosote treatment had the greatest effect on
the degradation process, in terms of the maximum temperatures
reached in the three treatments (lowest in the creosote treat-
ment). The situation with the creosote may have been exacer-
bated due to the presence of benzo (a) pyrene, a component
found in creosote, which has been reported to be more resistant
to degradation in the aged state (Eggen and Sveum, 1999). The
creosote wood used in these studies was thoroughly aged as it
was 20 years old.
Overall, these results suggest a complex relationship between
temporal temperature profiles, maximum temperatures and gas
utilisation and evolution, resulting from the presence of different
should be the subject of further research.
3.4.3. Microbial population analysis
From the bacterial population experiment over 18 days of anal-
ysis, the number of bacteria present in the untreated compost mix
was found to be relatively steady, ranging from approximately
was an increase in the bacterial population after a 24 h incubation
from 1  109 to nearly 1  1010 CFU g 1, and by 18 days it was
approximately 2  109 CFU g 1. For the CCA, the bacterial popula-
tion at 24 h was approximately 8  109 CFU g 1 and remained at
this level at 18 days. Perhaps surprisingly, the fungal population
present in each mix appeared to decline to zero (or nearly zero)
of fungi present, over 1  106 CFU g 1, which then dropped to zero
after 1 day. While the creosote mix started with 6  105 CFU g 1
fungi, it then dropped to zero towards the 12 day incubation. At
2  105 CFU g 1, the untreated mix had the lowest starting fungal
fungi appeared to be eliminated in these early stages. This is per-
haps easier to explain in the treatments that contained relatively
high levels of compounds that are primarily intended as anti-fun-
gals – creosote and CCA – but is more inexplicable in the control
treatment. The actinomycete population analysis also demon-
strated the presence of this class of bacteria in the initial mixes
(in the CCA mix, over 8  106 CFU g 1, followed by the creosote
mix, over 1  106 CFU g 1, then the untreated mix, around
5  105 CFU g 1). However, as for the fungi, actinomycete popula-
tions appeared to decline to zero in all treatments in the early
stages of the composting process. It is unclear whether this is a
peculiarity of the systems under test here.
The microbial population changes over the short period of time
that are reported here show some interesting and surprising
trends, with heterotrophic ‘total’ bacteria predominating, and a
surprising, almost complete absence of actinomycetes and fungi.
Bacteria can, of course, be expected to be the initial colonisers of
wood (Clausen, 1996) in sufficiently damp conditions as provided
in this study, with a fairly rapid succession of bacteria types includ-
ing a distinct ‘actinomycete phase’, before the fungi take their place
(Clausen, 1996). However, such a succession was not observed over
the time period reported here. The bacterial succession may be
beneficial to the subsequent decay fungi as they contribute to
the breakdown of the wood or help remove compounds that may
be toxic to the fungi (Schmidt and Liese, 1994; Golueke, 1992).
The observations described above support the concept of a micro-
bial succession in that there is a distinct dominance of fast-grow-
ing bacteria in the initial stages, together with a decline in fungal
numbers initially introduced in the inocula. Later observations, be-
yond the 16 days described here, would be expected to show
development of an ‘actinomycete phase’ followed by a ‘fungal
phase’. The latter fungal phase is expected to include basidiomy-
cete fungi, the principal wood degrading organisms.
It is worth noting that that post 18 days, there was more visible
fungal mycelium and fruiting bodies of basidiomycetes present in
the CCA mixture than the other two treatments. This is an interest-
ing observation and may reflect a general disturbance in the micro-
bial ecology and balance of the system caused by the high
concentration of the antimicrobial additive.
3.4.4. Assessment of CCA and creosote remaining in the tanks
Fig. 7a shows the average change in copper, chromium and
arsenic levels from week 0 to week 18 for CCA treated tanks. There
 V. McMahon et al. / Waste Management 29 (2009) 186–196 195

0.4 Overall there was shown to be a need for a microbial inoculum,

a as the preservative treated wood did not have adequate microbial
0.35 Time O community to support composting. For laboratory scale compo-
All tanks sting, the process followed a typical temperature profile. The un-
0.3
treated wood system could be described as a ‘hot’ composting
Metal in wood, %

0.25 process, albeit with a very short thermophilic phase, whereas the
creosote treatment in particular did not show such a pronounced
0.2 thermophilic peak. The oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide
evolution decreased after the thermophilic phase for all treat-
0.15 ments, but each showed a different temporal pattern, reflecting
the presence of the preservatives. The microbial population data
0.1
is limited, as it only considers the first 18 days, but shows a clear
0.05 dominance of bacteria, with an almost total absence of actinomy-
cetes or fungi. The bacterial activity over the first 18 days mainly
0 involved the degradation of the readily available nutrients present
in the systems such as the poultry manure and cellulose in the
lid

lid

id

te

te
at

at

at

at

ta

ra
ol
So

So
nt

ltr

nt

ltr

en

ilt
sS

wood. More ‘specialised’ degradation of the wood components

te

te
Fi

Fi

sF
Cu

Cr

et
Re

Re

sR
Cu

Cr

A
and perhaps also the preservatives may be expected to begin later
Cu

Cr

in the process, and be reflected in the development of actinomy-

0.3
cete and fungal populations. Early signs indicate that the preserva-
b tives in the form of creosote and CCA are affecting the composting
0.25 process in terms of temperature profiles and temporal gas compo-
sitions, but are not showing significant differences in total gross
bacterial numbers, which is encouraging inasmuch as it indicates
0.2 that a large viable population of bacteria is able to exist in the pres-
% Creosote in wood

ence of the preservatives at the concentrations used. This may lead

to successful composting in these treatments over a greater
0.15
timescale.
Analysis of CCA and creosote in samples taken from the compo-
0.1 sting systems did not indicate any movement of the metals into
biomass or solution over 18 weeks, or significant degradation of
creosote over 14 weeks.
0.05

5. Suggestions for future work

0
Time 0 Tank 1 Tank 2 Tank 3
Fig. 7. Analysis of (a) metals in CCA treated wood tanks, (b) creosote treated
woods.
is no statistically valid evidence to suggest that the levels have
changed through biodegradation rather than the variation in the
samples taken. The levels of copper, chromium and arsenic are
all zero for the filtrate. This indicates that the microbial biomass
has not released or sequestered the metal content of the CCA trea-
ted wood after 18 weeks of incubation.
Fig. 7b shows the average change in creosote from week 0 to
week 14 for creosote treated samples. The abiotic control is week
0 creosote treated timber that has been autoclaved to destroy
any microorganisms. There is no statistically valid evidence to sug-
gest that the levels have changed through biodegradation rather
than a variation in the sample taken. Statistical significance was
evaluated using the Anova test, resulting in a p-value of less than
0.05.
Abiotic Control
For future work, the experimental study on other types of
chemically treated wood, such as painted wood, mixed composite
panel products and plywood with concrete mould oils, should be
carried out. Future measurements to be performed on the tanks
may include the self-heating test for maturity and phytotoxicity
tests using seeds. Emissions and leachates from the bioremediation
process should be examined so that potential pollutants and envi-
ronmental impacts can be identified at an early stage.
The results achieved from this study were implemented in the
development of a large-scale composting rig (McMahon et al.,
2008).
Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge Foundation for the Built Environment
(FBE) for their financial support.
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