OPTIMIZATION OF OPERATING PARAMETERS OF WINDROW

COMPOSTING OF ANIMAL MANUERS

Bassim E. Abbassi1*, Samih Abubaker2, Ehab Al-Manaseer3, Abdallah Nassour4

Basem Dababneh5, Walid Shqairat6, Mustafa Al-Jaar
1, 2,3,5,6
Al-Balqa’ Applied University-Jordan, 4University of Rostock-Germany
*
Visiting Professor at the University of Guelph-Canada

*
Email: babbassi@uoguelp.ca

ABSTRACT

In Jordan, animal manures are usually used in agriculture without any processing causing seri-
ous environmental problems. This work aimed at determining the optimum mixing ratio of differ-
ent types of animal manures and bulking agent (plant residues) to produce safe organic fertiliz-
ers through windrow composting technique. Composting was carried out at different C/N ratios
ranging from 20 to 40. All mixture piles showed heat development (maximum temperature be-
tween 65 and 70 ºC) during the first four weeks of composting. The composting needed about
12 weeks to complete the two composting phases and produce stabilized products. Maximum
C/N ratio reduction was observed in mixtures with low initial C/N ratio. The piles with initial C/N
ratio between 25 and 35 showed optimum composting performance with relatively high matura-
tion index (Mi). Optimum composting process was found in the piles consisted of 100 % cow or
poultry manure. At the end of composting, the volumes of the piles decreased by 40 to 50 %
with about 15 % increase in the final product bulk density. It was found that there is a 1:1 ratio
between the volume of added water and the volume of final product.

Keywords: Composting; windrow; organic waste; animal manure; maturation index

INTRODUCTION sphagnum peat (Fernandes and Sartaj, 1997), spent poultry

The use of untreated organic fertilizers, such as chicken
or cow manure in agriculture is rapidly increasing in Jordan.
These practices could cause serious environmental problems
that could include an excessive input of potentially harmful
trace metals, inorganic salts and pathogens (Hutchison et al.,
2005). Recently there has been increased interest in the Jor-
danian society for local handling and use of organic residuals
that have been used as soil conditioner and plant supporter.
The efficiency of composting under different aeration
and/or mixing methods has been tested using different sorts
of organic materials such as, poultry manure amended with
litter and sawdust (Tiquia and Tam, 1998), poultry litter
(Brodie et al., 2000), vinasse and cotton gin trash (Das et al.,
2003) and beet vinasse and grape marc (Diaz et al., 2002).
The results obtained in these studies demonstrated that the
efficiency of composting (evolution of parameters such as
temperature, biodegradation of organic matter fractions, and
nitropgen loss) is quite similar.
Composting cattle manure has been shown to have a
number of agronomic benefits, including a reduction in mate-
rial mass, pathogen suppression, weed seed kill and the pro-
duction of a stabilized organic material that is easier to spread
(Eghball and Gilley, 1999; Eghball and Lessing, 2000). How-

60 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2015
ever, adverse environmental impacts can arise from the com-
posting process, such as enhanced ammonia emissions (Mar-
tins and Dewes, 1992). Composting is gaining increased at-
tention for treating food wastes with various agricultural by-
products in different systems (Das et al., 2003).
Depending upon the characteristic of the raw material,
composting can lead to a volume reduction of between one
quarter and one half, partly due to the loss of carbon dioxide
and water and partly due to reduction in the particle size
(Haug, 1993). The application of the state-of-art windrow
composting will ensure the production of environmentally
safe organic fertilizers and thus reduce the demand for chem-
ical fertilizers and eliminate harmful impact of application of
untreated animal manure in agriculture. The addition of or-
ganic matter to soil has shown to improve water holding ca-
pacity, cation exchange capacity (CEC), aggregation and bulk
density, buffers pH changes, and increase microbial diversity
and activity (Tiquia and Tam, 1998). This research work aims
at optimizing the operating parameters in windrow compost-
ing. It also aims at determining the optimum mixing ratio of
animal manure (cows, poultry, and horse manure) and bulk-
ing agent (tree leaves).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Three composting runs were carried out in an open site at
Al Qastel industrial area near Queen Alia Airport at the
southern part of Amman city. Different organic raw materials
(cows, poultry, and horse manure) are blended with each oth-
er in certain ratios with gently mix of bulking agents (sawdust
or tree leaves), After mixing, suitable conditions for starting
rapid aerobic composting (moisture and aeration) are sup-
plied directly after mixing.
Windrows were aligned in long piles by front-end loader
and turned mechanically by compost turner (BACHUS 14.28
Turing machine, Germany), according to certain turning
schedule: a. 3-4 turnings in 1st week, b. 2-3 turnings in 2nd
week, c. 2 turnings in 3rd week, d. one turning for week in 4th
and 5th weeks. From the 6th week and further, one turning
every two weeks was scheduled. The composting process was
frequently monitored by measuring temperature, moisture
content and C/N ratio.
Different types of animal manures (chicken, cow, and
horse) were used as composting input material. Plant resi-
dues, olive mill pomace, and sawdust were used as bulking
agents to attain the required C/N ratio needed for an efficient
decomposition. All materials used in the composting process-
es were analyzed for different parameters (Moisture content
MC, Ash, Total organic carbon TOC, C/N ratio, Total
Kjeldahl-N (TKN), total phosphorous TP and potassium TK)
using international standard methods for examination of wa-
ter and wastewater (APHA, 2005). The characteristics of ini-
tial raw materials used in composting experiments are pre-
sented in Table 1.
The prepared materials were well blended and aligned in
long windrows piles in dimensions of 10 m long, 2 m width
and 1 m high to ensure efficient mechanical turning. Proper
blending of carbon and nitrogen helps ensure that composting
temperatures will be high enough for the process to work
efficiently and ensures other nutrients are available for mi-
crobes in adequate supply.
The first compost run consisted of three piles. The se-
cond run consisted of five piles, while the third run consisted

TABLE 1
The characteristics of initial raw materials used in composting

Animal Manure Bulking Agents

Raw Material Type
Mixed Poultry Cow Horse Plant residue

Parameter

Bulk density Kg/m3 392.00 612.00 764.00 278.00

Moisture Content MC (%) 31.10 21.00 37.00 8.00

Dry Organic Matter (%) 66.80 77.50 82.10 91.00

Total organic Carbon (%) 37.00 43.00 45.50 50.50

Total Nitrogen (%) 2.81 2.14 1.81 0.13

C:N Ratio (w/w) 13.00 20.00 25.20 400.00

pH 8.06 8.69 9.14 5.90

EC (dS/cm) 3.67 3.17 3.74 0.42

Total P (%) 2.47 1.94 0.93 0.03

Total K (%) 1.42 2.07 1.01 0.01

OPTIMIZATION OF OPERATING PARAMETERS IN COMPOSTING OF ORGANIC WASTES 61

of six piles (Table 2). The raw materials were mixed at dif-
ferent component ratios (weight basis) depending on theoreti-
cal calculations (Amlinger et al., 2005) to adjust initial C/N
ratios between 20 and 40 using the following formula:
 (C / N1...n x t1..n )
C / NM 
 t1..n
where,
C/NM : C/N ratio of resulting mixture.
C/N1...n: C/N ratio of individual components of the mixture,
(from 1 to n).
t1...n : mass of individual components of the mixture in Ton,
(from 1 to n).
Piles were kept under moisture content of 50 - 60 %. The
temperature was maintained at 50 - 60 C° for several weeks
during the active composting phase. The temperature was
measured by three foot long temperature probe. Eventually,
the temperature was gradually dropped as the active compost-
ing stage slowed down and the curing stage began. Each pile
required a total of 12 weeks for complete composting. During
the third run, the piles three and four have the same C/N mix-
ture ratio but the last pile was top-covered with penetrating
leather to minimize water evaporation due to sunlight.
Sampling and Analytical Procedure
Direct in-situ measurements of temperature, pH, oxygen
and carbon dioxide percentage (v/v) were carried out for op-
erating parameters of composting process inside windrow
piles using Testoryt Compost Kit-Systems, BRIGON
Messtechnik GmbH. These parameters helped to schedule the
turning frequency of the piles. The ambient temperature and
temperature within each pile were measured daily by dividing
the pile into five equal sections and taking readings at five
locations for each section (at pile bottom, 0.25 cm from the
bottom, at the middle, 0.25 cm from top, and at pile surface).
The average readings were then calculated.
Representative samples were collected at three locations
in a pile (0.25 cm from bottom, at the middle, and 0.25 cm
from the top) and analyzed for moisture content (oven drying
at 105 oC for 24 hr), ash content (expressed as percentage of
residues after muffle furnace ignition at 550 oC for 6 hr),
TKN using regular Kjeldahl method by FOSS Kjeltec™ 2300
analyzer unit. The total organic carbon was estimated from
ash content according to the formula (Mercer and Rose,
1968) as:

TABLE 2
The compost runs ingredients and the time of composting

Compost Run 1 Date: 17.03.08 - 27.05.08 C/NM* Pile No.

Pile 1 25% Horse manure + 75 % Cow Manure 27 P1R1

Pile 2 75% Mixed Poultry manure** + 25% Cow Manure 35 P2R1

Pile 3 25% Mixed Poultry manure + 75% Cow Manure 29 P3R1

Compost Run 2 Date: 17.06.08 - 25.08.08

Pile 1 100% Mixed Poultry Manure 31 P1R2

Pile 2 90% Poultry Manure + 10% Str. Material (plant residues) 28 P2R2

Pile 3 70% Mixed Poultry M. + 20% Cow M. +10% Plant residues 34 P3R2

Pile 4 60% Mixed Poultry Manure + 40% Cow Manure 40 P4R2

Pile 5 80% Mixed Poultry Manure + 20% Cow Manure 38 P5R2

Compost Run 3 Date: 15.09.08 - 03.12.08

Pile 1 50% Mixed Poultry manure + 50% Cow manure 38 P1R3

Pile 2 75% Mixed Poultry manure + 25% Cow manure 40 P2R3

Pile 3 66.5% Mixed Poultry M. +33.5% Cow M. (Not Covered) 37 P3R3

Pile 4 66.5% Mixed Poultry M. +33.5% Cow M. (Covered)*** 37 P4R3

Pile 5 100% Mixed Cow manure 28 P5R3

Pile 6 100% Mixed Poultry manure 34 P6R3

62 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2015
 VS (%) 100  Ash (%) The temperatures in all piles were found to be more than 50
TOC (%)   °C for the first eight weeks of composting (active phase). The
1.8 1.8 second phase of composting (curing phase) showed an in-
where, creasing rate of temperature decrease. This is due to the fact
TOC (%): percentage of total organic carbon that the pile contained more stabilized organic matter, so that
VS (%): percentage of volatile solids the microbial activities and decomposition rate declined and
Ash (%): percentage of ash content thus the temperature gradually decreased to ambient level,
marking the end of the active phase.
The C/N ratio was calculated using the following formula:
Within the first three days during the second run (R2),
the temperature in the piles built up above 55 °C and in-
C Carbon Content (%) TOC (%) creased up to 67 °C within two weeks especially in piles
 
N Nitrogen Content (%) TKN (%) P3R2 and P5R2 (thermophilic phase). Thereafter, the temper-
ature declined slightly to around 60 °C and remained above
Total P was measured according to Olsen et al., (1954), and 50 °C between the weeks five and eight before it started fur-
total K was estimated by flame photometry (APHA, 2005). ther dropping.
All generated data were statistically analyzed by measuring In the third run (R3), all piles showed a typical compost-
the mean values and standard deviations in order to study the
significances of the operating parameters on composting effi-
ciency.
For the purpose of determining the optimum C/N ratio, a
composting maturation index (Mi) was calculated according
to the formula derived by Abbassi (2008). Mi was formulated
depending on maximum achieved temperature, percent range
reduction in C/N ratio, and other parameters as shown in the
following equation:

Tmax  Tamb t t 
Mi  a  b HCP  c LCP  d CN
Tmax tT tT FCN

where,
a, b, c, d : weighing factors
Tamb : average ambient temperature, °C.
Tmax : maximum achieved temperature, °C.
tHPC : time at which the temperature remains above the highest
control set point (60 °C), day.
tLCP : time to reach the lowest control set point (40 °C), day.
tT : total composting time, day.
CN : arithmetic difference between initial and final C/N rati-
os.
FCN : final C/N ratio.

High value of Mi indicates high efficiency of composting

process potentially due to high temperature generation, lin-
gering thermophilic condition, prolonged composting, and
high C/N reduction.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Temperature

Temperature was continually monitored on-site (Figure

1). In the first run (R1), the temperatures were rapidly in-
creased from ambient to 55 °C during the first five days of
the process especially in P2R1, P3R1. However, P1R1
showed some retardation in the biological processes probably FIGURE 1
due to the low C/N ratio (high nitrogen content) which inhib- Average temperature profiles during composting runs
its the carbonaceous degradation of raw compost material.

OPTIMIZATION OF OPERATING PARAMETERS IN COMPOSTING OF ORGANIC WASTES 63

ing temperature trend achieving thermophilic temperatures of
more than 55 °C during the first two weeks of composting,
however, thermophilic condition was maintained for approx-
imately eight weeks. P4R3 reached the thermophilic tempera-
ture faster and had a longer and higher trend than P3R3, alt-
hough the two piles had the same C/N ratio. This is attributed
to the role of moisture content, which affected the compost-
ing processes especially in the covered P4R3 pile.
All piles have an active thermophilic phase with more
than four consecutive weeks that ensure thermal destruction
of pathogens and weed seeds. The decline in the temperature
to ambient temperatures was obviously shown in the last four
weeks indicating that maturation process of organic materials
and conversion of compost material into biologically stabi-
lized products were efficiently occurred.

Moisture

Water was added whenever needed to keep the pile mois-

ture content around 50 % during the first eight weeks of
composting. During curing phase (the last four weeks), no
water was added. The final average moisture contents at all
piles (Figure 2) were found to be around 30 %. The high wa-
ter content at the pile P3R1 at the beginning of composting
was attributed to the lower pile temperature comparing to the
other piles (Rynk et al. 1992).
In general, moisture content decreased gradually during
composting causing low heat development, thus slow decom-
position of organic materials. In order to maintain optimum
microbial activity with enough oxygen supply, water was
added. High variations in moisture content during active
composting phase, especially between week two and eight,
could be attributed to thermophilic temperatures due to vig-
orous microbial activity (Das et al. 2003). In addition, exces-
sive turning frequency has reduced the existing moisture con-
tent inside the piles. As the curing phase started at the end of
the eighth week, moisture content gradually decreased to FIGURE 2
around 30 % especially in P4R2. Average moisture content during composting runs
Figure 2 shows clearly that P4R3 had relatively low fluc-
tuations in its moisture trend. This is attributed to the pile
cover used to minimize water evaporation due sunlight expo-
weeks) of composting. The C/N rate pattern was as a result of
sure. The moisture content was extremely fluctuated during
lower degradation rate in the second phase. The results of the
active composting phase due to the large amounts of heat
first run (R1) shows that the highest reduction of C/N ratio
generated by the vigorous microbial activities within the
(55 %) took place in the P1R1 pile. This is attributed to the
composting piles.
The turning frequency played a role in reduction of exist- degradation process as well as to the low starting C/N ratio.
ing moisture content inside the windrow piles. As the curing The initial C/N ratios were in the range of 30 to 35 in all
piles of the second run (R2). As composting proceeded, the
phase started, the moisture content was gradually decreased
C/N ratios of these mixtures were decreased due to the mi-
to about 30 % especially in P4R3, which was covered by the
crobial respiration and were reflected the combined dynamics
leather shelter.
of the carbon and nitrogen transformations. However, The
C/N ratio decreased rapidly during the first three weeks, then
C/N tended to become slightly stable in the following weeks, and
finally stayed at about 19:1. The results show that P1R2 had
The results of C/N ratios at different time intervals are the highest reduction in C/N ratio in the second run with
shown in Figure 3. All piles showed similar C/N ratio reduc- more than 49 % reduction. On the other hand, P2R2 and
tion profile and trend throughout the composting process. The P3R2 showed the lowest reduction of 38 %. As decomposi-
rate of C/N ratio decreased in the second phase of composting tion proceeded, the nitrogen content of the piles was general-
(after eight weeks) compared to the first phase (up to eight ly increased. In a dried compost sample from P1R2, the ni-

64 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 41, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2015
 Volume

As a result of the biological activities, organics in the

composting material (substrate) are mineralized and trans-
ferred into stable materials and carbon dioxide. The conse-
quence was a reduction in piles volume (Figure 4). These
results were found to be in agreement with the findings of
Yue et al. (2008). At the end of composting processes, the
pile volumes were decreased by about 40 %. This reduction
in the material volume was offset by an increase in the bulk
density, where about 15 % of bulk density increase was
achieved. This conclusion justifies the importance of com-
posting, where the effort needed to transport the composted
material was about 40 % less than that for non-stabilized or-
ganic material. Nevertheless, the ratio of added water volume
to the raw composting material volume is about 55 % for the
three runs.

FIGURE 3
Average C/N ratio profiles during composting runs

trogen content of the total compost material increased from

0.70 % to 1.80 % in the last week of the composting process.
In the third run (R3), the initial C/N ratios were in the
range of 30:1 to 35:1 in all piles except for P5R3 where it
was 21:1. Figure 3 shows that the C/N ratios were gradually
decreased during the active phase (the first seven weeks) and
then tended to become slightly stable in the last weeks of the
process. The final C/N ratio of P3R3 and P4R3 was 19:1 with
total reduction of 45 %. This result indicates a slight effect of
the cover on C/N ratio.
In all runs, it was obviously seen, that P5R3 has achieved
the highest reduction of C/N ratio with more than 58 % re-
duction. This is attributed to ammonia volatilizations at low
initial C/N ratio. The total C/N reduction in other piles ranged FIGURE 4
between 45 and 50 %. Pile volume and bulk density during composting runs

OPTIMIZATION OF OPERATING PARAMETERS IN COMPOSTING OF ORGANIC WASTES 65

 The volume reduction was influenced by composting
time, decomposition rate, turning frequency and bulking ma-
terials (Yue et al., 2008). After 12 weeks of composting (Fig-
ure 4), the piles volumes reduced to about 42 % comparing to
the initial volume. P1R2 showed the highest reduction of
volume in the run where more than 48 % reduction was
achieved. This is attributed to vigorous microbial activity
within the pile. This reduction in the material volume was
opposed by an increase in the bulk density, where about 15 %
of bulk density was achieved.
Water content, necessary to provide optimum moisture
inside composting piles, was influenced by internal heat gen-
eration and ambient environment. The results of water con-
sumption during composting runs are shown in Figure 5. The
volume of added water and final pile volume in P1R2 was
16.92 m3 and 18.00 m3 respectively, so that a 1:1 ratio can
be supposed. The same situation is concluded in P2R2, where
the volume ratio of added water to raw composting material
was about 48 % for the other three piles..
The volume of added water and initial pile volume for
P3R3 were 4.50 and 10.50 m3 respectively. Similarly for
P4R3, the volume of added water and initial pile volume
were 3.50 and 10.50 m3 respectively. This shows that about
one cubic meter was saved due to the cover of P4R3. The
volume ratio of added water to raw composting material was
about 42 % for the other four piles.

Maturation index

The final results of the maturation index for the entire

runs are tabulated in Table 3. It is clearly seen, that run P6R3
(100 % poultry manure) showed the highest maturation index
with Mi approached to 3. However, the lowest Mi value was
found in run P3R2 (70 % Mixed Poultry, 20 % Cow, and 10
% plant residues).

CONCLUSIONS
FIGURE 5 Composting piles with initial C/N ratios between 25 and
Pile water consumption during composting runs 35 showed the optimal composting performance with rela-
tively high maturation index (Mi) in the final products. Opti-
TABLE 3 mum composting process was found in piles consisted of 100
Maturation index (Mi) calculations of finished % cow or poultry manure. Total pile volumes were decreased
compost products in range of 40 to 50 % with about 15 % increase in bulk den-
sity at the end of the composting process.
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