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Article history: Composting animal manure with natural aeration is a low-cost and low-energy process that can improve
Received 23 January 2015 nitrogen recycling in millions of farms world-wide. Modelling can decrease the cost of choosing the best
Revised 7 July 2015 options for solid manure management in order to decrease the risk of loss of fertilizer value and ammonia
Accepted 28 July 2015
emission. Semi-empirical models are suitable, considering the scarce data available in farm situations.
Available online 26 September 2015
Eleven static piles of pig or poultry manure were monitored to identify the main processes governing
nitrogen transformations and losses. A new model was implemented to represent these processes in a
Keywords:
pile considered as homogeneous. The model is based on four modules: biodegradation, nitrogen transfor-
Composting
Livestock
mations and volatilization, thermal exchanges, and free air space evolution. When necessary, the param-
Manure eters were calibrated with the data set. The results showed that microbial growth could reduce ammonia
Nitrogen volatilization. Greatest nitrogen conservation is achieved when microbial growth was limited by nitrogen
Ammonia availability.
Nitrous oxide 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2015.07.044
0956-053X/ 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
D. Oudart et al. / Waste Management 46 (2015) 588598 589
generic parameters and models can be adapted to a range of situ- content. The mixtures were chosen to cover the conventional range
ations (Henze et al., 2000; Choubert et al., 2013). These models of variations encountered in animal manure composting.
represent the stabilization of organic matter (OM), the decrease In all experiments, the air temperature around the pile was in
in chemical oxygen demand (COD), the production and exchanges the 2025 C range in order to observe potential emissions. The
of heat, and the emission of gases. To the best of our knowledge, compost piles were naturally aerated and not turned. Each pile
such models have not previously been established for the compost- was located in one thermally insulated enclosure of 8 m3 located
ing of animal manure in static piles. The originality of this particu- in a thermally insulated building. Air humidity, temperature and
lar case lies in the high nitrogen content, the feedbacks between gas concentrations (H2O, CO2, NH3) were measured inside and out-
biomass growth, heat production, natural convection and oxygena- side the enclosure; air speed was measured at the outlet of the
tion of the pile, and the absence of measurements that can be enclosure; and temperature in the compost. The mesocosm enclo-
used as forcing variables (e.g. temperature, ventilation, pH, sure system is described in Paillat et al. (2005) and Abd El Kader
concentrations). The main challenge in designing a model suited et al. (2007) and additional details are given in Supplementary
to agriculture is to choose a representation of the processes using material. The composition of the piles after the composting com-
(i) low-cost, farm-level parameters that will describe specically pleted was analysed. These observations are not presented here
an initial pile of solid manure, (ii) parameters that can be estimated but can be downloaded from Paillat et al. (2005b). Sulphide, vola-
from national references and grey literature, such as the informa- tile fatty acids and microbial biomass were not observed because
tion used in national inventories, (iii) generic parameters that of budget restrictions. The repeatability of observations was
can be based on international peer-reviewed literature. observed in triplicate during a 20 days experiment reported in
Our objective was to develop a dynamic model suitable for details by Oudart (2013). The initial pile corresponded to an
on-farm use. It should represent nitrogen transformations, includ- average composition (C, N, H2O composition and availability, dry
ing nitrogen stabilization, ammonia and total nitrogen losses, and matter density). It showed that CO2, H2O and NH3 emissions were
should need as few parameters as possible. Therefore, the spatial repeatable within 11% and that the mass budget of C and H2O was
distribution of mass and energy within the compost was not repeatable within 5%.
described. In the following sections, the main processes to be rep- In experiment 1, a range of SN:TN was obtained by adding urea
resented from an observed dataset are discussed and then the into four mixtures with different carbon:nitrogen ratios (respec-
model is described. The calibrated parameters and the resulting tively 29.0, 24.7, 17.6, 19.0 for A, B, C and D; Fig. 1), each composed
outputs are discussed. of pig manure, pig slurry, wheat straw and water. In experiment 2, a
range of Svs:DM was obtained by adding either sugar beet molasses
2. Materials and methods or sawdust, into four mixtures with similar carbon:nitrogen ratios
(E, F, G and H; Fig. 1), each composed of wheat straw, pig slurry, urea
2.1. Experiments and water. The eight piles (A to H) had the same shape (half a
swath), mass (409 12 kg) and volume (1.37 0.04 m3) except for
Four successive experiments comprising a total of 15 treatments pile H (1.18 m3). Moisture content (W:DM = 2.36 0.15 kg kg1),
were conducted to study the specic effect of nitrogen availability dry bulk density (BDdry = 0.091 0.005 Mg m3) and free air space
(soluble to total nitrogen ratio, SN:TN), carbon biodegradability (0.73 0.02 m3 m3) were similar among the piles. In experiment
(ratio of soluble van Soest fraction to total dry matter, Svs:DM), 3, a range of BDdry from 0.203 to 0.308 Mg m3 was obtained with
water content (water to dry matter ratio, W:DM) and density of various packing levels of four piles composed of turkey manure (I,
dry matter (dry bulk density, BDdry) on the emissions of the com- J, K and L; Fig. 1; Abd El Kader et al., 2007). W:DM varied from
posting process (Fig. 1). The density of dry matter was preferred 0.78 to 2.00 kg kg1. In experiment 4, a range of water contents
to free air space because free air space also depends on water (W:DM ranged from 1.87 to 4.52 kg water kg1 dry weight; Fig. 1)
was obtained with different water additions to three mixtures (M,
N and O) made of the same components as in experiment 2, where
BDdry varied from 0.095 to 0.125 Mg m3. The seven piles (I to O)
had the same shape (half a swath) and volume (1.36 0.01 m3),
except for piles L and M (0.94 and 0.95 m3, respectively). Pile masses
varied from 348 to 1139 kg to achieve the expected range of BDdry
and W:DM. Svs:DM ratios (532 22 g Soluble Van Soest kg1
dry matter) were similar among piles I, J, K and L, but varied more
widely for piles M, N and O (403 50 g soluble Van Soest kg1
dry matter). SN:TN ratios were similar among piles I, J, K and L
(39.3 3.5% soluble nitrogen in total nitrogen) and also among piles
M, N, O (80.6 3.9% soluble nitrogen in total nitrogen).
Among the 15 treatments, 11 mixtures were chosen to develop
the model and calibrate the parameters. 4 mixtures were reserved
for further validation, when algorithms for parameter prediction
were implemented. In this paper, 3 piles that had markedly differ-
ent nitrogen availability were chosen to illustrate the results. The
dry bulk density and moisture content of these 3 piles were similar.
They were chosen bring out the contrast in interactions between
nitrogen losses and carbon biodegradability. Table 1 presents the
composition and characteristics observed for these 3 piles.
1.6
80
(a)
50 1.0
40 0.8
30 0.6
20 0.4
10 0.2
0 0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
160
1000
100 100
80
60
10
40
20
1 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
80 1,6
(e) (f)
Emission of C-CO2 (gC h-1 kg-1IOM)
70 1,4
60 1,2
Temperature (C)
50 1,0
40 0,8
30 0,6
20 0,4
10 0,2
0 0,0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
18 160
(h)
Emission of N -NH 3 (mgN h -1 kg -1IOM)
Emission of H 2O (gH 2O h -1 kg-1IOM)
16 (g) 140
14 120
12
100
10
80
8
60
6
40
4
20
2
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Days aer pile seng Days aer pile seng
Fig. 2. Observed dynamics of temperature of pile centre (a), CO2 emission (b), CO2:NH3 emission ratio (c), NH3 emission (d) and H2O emission (g); simulated dynamics of
average pile temperature (e), CO2 (f), H2O (g), and NH3 (h) emissions. Pile B (thin black line); pile F (thick black line); pile G (thick grey line); IOM = initial organic matter.
3.2. Representing the processes and interactions within the manure COD. Cell growth depends on temperature, moisture, oxygen and
pile available nitrogen. In this module, cell decay and CO2 emission
are also considered. (ii) The heat module, in which the thermal
The model is based on four modules: (i) The COD biodegrada- budget results in an average temperature. It includes natural ven-
tion module including heterotrophic cell growth on biodegradable tilation and the associated convective losses of sensible and latent
592 D. Oudart et al. / Waste Management 46 (2015) 588598
heat. Natural ventilation depends on total porosity and water con- in microbial biomass (NXh) and its accumulation as inert nitrogen
tent. (iii) The porosity module, in which free air space depends on after biomass decay are represented in a similar way to the hydrol-
total porosity and water content dynamics. Oxygen transfer ysis and biomass growth in the biodegradation module. Volatiliza-
towards the biolm is also considered. (iv) The nitrogen module, tion of NH3 decreases the stock of nitrogen available for microbial
modelling nitrogen biological transformations including N incor- growth (Nav). An autotrophic biomass (NXa) is introduced to repre-
poration into the heterotrophic and autotrophic cells, nitrication sent nitrication. Reductions of NO3 into N2O and of N2O into N2
and denitrication. These are responsible for N immobilization are represented as substrate limited reactions.
and for N emissions through NH3, N2O and N2 in the gas phase. The equations and the associated variables and parameters of
The COD biodegradation module has been described by Oudart the nitrogen module are given in Appendix A. The most important
et al. (2012). Feedbacks with heat production and dissipation or reactions of the nitrogen module are presented below.
with nitrogen mineralization and assimilation were added to this Ammonication is represented by the hydrolysis of two com-
initial module. Only a brief description is given here. Two COD partments (NXSB, NXRB) characterized by a slow and a rapid rate
compartments are hydrolysed, one at a high rate, the other at a of reaction. Their hydrolysis constants are kHS and kHR respectively.
low one, providing a substrate (soluble COD fraction) that is con- Ammonication increases the stock of nitrogen that is available for
sumed by the heterotrophic biomass for growth. Biomass decay microbial growth (Nav). The rate given in the rst lines of the
releases biodegradable and inert COD. Growth and decay lead to Petersen matrix (last column) is multiplied by the coefcient
oxygen consumption and CO2 and H2O production. Growth is rst (1: decrease in NXRB; and +1: increase in Nav), giving following
activated and then inhibited when the temperature increases. equations:
Growth is limited by the water content and the oxygen and nitro-
dNX SB
gen concentrations in the liquid in contact with the biomass. kHS NX SB 1
dt
In the heat module, it is assumed that heat is only produced by
the oxidation of organic matter leading to CO2 emission. A param-
dNX RB dNX h dNX a dNX i
eter converts the COD decrease into total heat production. The kHR NX RB 2
dt dt D dt D dt
ratio of latent heat to total heat decreases as water availability
decreases (Brutsaert, 1982). At high moisture contents, the oxygen Two biomasses grow on the available nitrogen: the heterotrophic
diffusion will be less and the heat production by biological oxida- and autotrophic biomasses. dNX h
and dNX a
are the biomass
dt dt D
tions will be proportionally reduced. The average temperature of D
decay for heterotrophic and autotrophic biomasses respectively.
the pile is deduced from the budget of sensible heat and the ther-
The nitrogen assimilated by heterotrophic biomass is proportional
mal properties of the compost. More details of the thermal and
to the growth calculated in the biodegradation module. The varia-
porosity modules are given in Oudart (2013).
tion of N content in heterotrophic biomass is given by:
Natural ventilation is calculated in the heat module, as a func-
tion of heat production and free air space. It is due to differences dNX h
in air density between inside and outside the pile. Natural ventila-
lh X h bh X h tNXh 3
dt
tion induces a negative feedback: a temperature increase induces
where the coefcient tNXh is the nitrogen content of heterotrophic
more ventilation and the resulting increase in convective losses
biomass. The growth of autotrophic biomass is independent of the
limits the temperature elevation. Most literature considers that
biodegradation module:
natural ventilation (i.e. air density difference) depends only on
the temperature difference (Emswiler, 1926; Haug, 1993; dNX a
la NX a ba NX a 4
Barrington et al., 2003). Souloumiac and Itier (1989) showed that dt
the contribution of latent heat (water evaporation) to natural ven- The mortality of biomass is represented by the constant decay rates
tilation cannot be neglected in the case of biological processes for bh and ba. The specic growth rates lh and la depend on the
three main reasons: (i) like sensible heat, an increase in water maximal specic growth rates (respectively lhmax and lamax). The
vapour decreases air density; (ii) latent heat can represent more limitation functions flim take account of the inuence of environ-
than half the total heat dissipated; (iii) when water evaporation mental conditions on the specic growth rates:
induces a decrease in air temperature, the effects of temperature
decrease and water content increase on air density are opposite.
Souloumiac and Itier (1989) proposed that temperature should
be replaced by the meteorological concept of virtual temperature
in the equations of natural ventilation in order to take sensible
and latent uxes into account simultaneously. Therefore, in our
model, the natural ventilation was assumed to be proportional to
the difference in virtual temperature between the pile and the
ambient air.
Oxygen input to the biolm and free air space are calculated in
the porosity module. Oxygen input for microbial growth is consid-
ered to be less than oxygen input by natural ventilation. A param-
eter (fraction of effective O2) represents the diffusion limitation
induced inside the aggregates of organic matter by high water con-
tent. Free air space evolution depends on water and dry matter
losses. A parameter (ratio of the decrease in volume to the decrease
in dry matter) takes account of the fact that dry matter loss can
induce either an increase in porosity (total volume is stable) or a
decrease in porosity (the pile subsides when organic particles are
hydrolysed).
Fig. 3 illustrates the processes that are represented in the nitro-
gen module. Ammonication of organic nitrogen, its assimilation Fig. 3. Compartments and ows represented in the nitrogen module.
D. Oudart et al. / Waste Management 46 (2015) 588598 593
lh lhmax f limSR f limT f limO2h f limHum f limNav 5 Among the generic parameters, 23 values are based on the liter-
la lamax f limTnit f limO2a f limHum f limNav 6 ature. The processes concerned describe biodegradation (Henze
et al., 2000) and nitrogen transformations (Sommer et al., 2006;
Nitrate production is proportional to the growth of autotrophic Hnault and Germon, 2000). Extensive studies have led to average
biomass, the yield of nitrate production (YNO3) being constant: values for the constants. For example, yields of biodegradation
reactions are constant when expressed in terms of COD
dNO3
Y NO3 la NX a 7 (Pommier et al., 2008). The values of biodegradation parameters
dt P
were chosen on the basis of previous modelling studies concerning
A part of the nitrate production (pN2Onit) is emitted as N2O. The solid mixtures (Boursier, 2003; Mason, 2006; Rosso et al., 1993;
other part increases the NO3 compartment. N2O produced by Sole-Mauri et al., 2007; Tremier et al., 2005). Parameters describing
nitrication can be further denitried, like N2O produced by nitrication and denitrication were based on the NEMIS model
denitrication. applied to soil organic matter (Hnault and Germon, 2000;
The following equation giving the variation in available nitro- Lehuger et al., 2009). Fig. 2 allows the observed and simulated
gen can be deduced from the Petersen matrix (see Appendix A): dynamics for temperature (Fig. 2a and e), CO2 (Fig. 2b and f), H2O
(Fig. 2g) and NH3 (Fig. 2d and h) to be compared for 3 piles. We
dNav consider that the simulation of these variables is acceptable
kHR NX RB kHS NX SB
dt considering the accuracy of low-cost parameters that can be
lh X h tN Xh la NX a 1 Y NO3 8 obtained at farm scale. The quality of simulations is similar for
all 11 piles. Therefore the values of the 23 parameters deduced
NH+4 is assumed to be a constant proportion of the available nitro-
from the literature, are considered to be applicable in all cases of
gen (90% of Nav). NH3 volatilization is represented in two steps by
solid manure composted in static piles.
the following equations:
Eighteen parameters are generic but are not available in the
The equilibrium between NH+4 and gaseous ammonia in the free
literature (volatilization of ammonia, natural ventilation, and
air space (NH3,g) is proportional to the concentration of Nav, to
oxygenation). They were calibrated by using the comparison
the Henry constant (KH) depending on temperature (Sommer
between observed and simulated temperature and emissions of
et al., 2006), and to a bulk parameter (pIntLG) introduced to
CO2, H2O, NH3, and N2O for the 11 piles. The parameters were esti-
describe the variability of the liquidgas interface (e.g. pH, area)
mated indirectly for each pile, using the optimization algorithm
among piles. The temperature used in the Henry constant is the
included in Vensim and based on the Powell algorithm (Powell,
outside temperature (Ts) and not the pile temperature. This
1964). In the case of simultaneous optimization of several param-
choice was made for two reasons: (i) to take account of the pro-
eters, there is a risk of bias due to overparameterization of the
cess of condensation that is observed below the pile surface
model. This risk is low for the parameters that were found to be
when the ambient temperature is much lower than the pile
constant for all piles.
temperature; (ii) because using the pile temperature degraded
The 14 parameters specic to each composting mixture were
the simulation of NH3 emission. It results in the following
either directly calculated from observed data, or indirectly esti-
equation:
mated using the optimization algorithm included in Vensim. For
pIntLG
NH3;g NH4 KH 9 those parameters, the discussion in the next paragraphs shows a
Rgp T S low risk of bias. If the model is used for process optimization,
The volatilization of NH3 as a function of NH3,g and of the natu- specic parameters are initially deduced from prediction algo-
ral convection through the pile results in the following rithms, using only initial characteristics, and not from calibration
equation: with output variables. Further improvement of model outputs
dNH3 Q air NH3;g can include recalibration procedures on the basis of comparisons
f 10 between the observed and simulated dynamics of temperature.
dt qairsec V air limHum
The net production of N2 and N2O from the NO 3 stock is repre- 3.3.2. Consistency of the model structure
sented by using the NEMIS representation (Hnault and Germon, Fig. 2f, representing CO2 emission during the rst 30 days of
2000). Denitrication is proportional to the stock of nitrates. composting, allows the main differences in CO2 emissions between
Assimilation of N2O and N2 into biomass is neglected, which is the piles to be detected: the time interval between pile settling and
equivalent to considering net uxes and not raw uxes. The rise in CO2, and the differences in peak value. These results show
temperature can limit the transformations. The temperature used that the representation of organic matter biodegradation, including
in the limitation functions of nitrication and denitrication is its limitation by temperature, nitrogen, oxygen and humidity, can
the temperature of the ambient air (Ts), as for the volatilization be considered as acceptable. Simpler models have been proposed
process. The water-lled pore space changes the proportions of to describe biodegradation, such as rst-order models
N2 and N2O in the total nitrogen denitried. Other equations are (Kirchmann and Witter, 1989; Kulcu and Yaldiz, 2004) without
given in Appendix A. biomass modelling. Pommier et al. (2008) showed that rst-order
models were not suitable to simulate differences in accelerations
3.3. Analysing model calibration and simulations of the biodegradation processes (e.g. Fig. 2b, piles B and F).
Therefore, the present model corresponds to the minimum com-
3.3.1. Generic and specic parameters plexity that is necessary to predict robust dynamics of temperature
The model has 55 parameters. Forty-one of them are generic and gaseous emissions.
and thus constant for all composting situations. They correspond Fig. 2e, representing the temperature during the rst 30 days of
to the processes that are common to all situations. The other 14 composting, allows the main differences between the piles to be
parameters are specic to each composting situation. They should detected: the time interval between pile settling and the peak of
represent the variability between the different situations that can temperature, and the differences in peak value. The time interval
be found on the farm, depending on the type of solid manure between the temperature rises of the various piles is correctly rep-
(cattle, chicken, litter, etc.) and on the way the pile is built by resented (rst pile B, then pile G, and lastly pile F). We assume
the farmer (height, width, packing, etc.). that the total heat production is correctly predicted from COD
594 D. Oudart et al. / Waste Management 46 (2015) 588598
degradation because CO2 emission is correctly estimated It was not necessary to introduce a temporal variation of the
(Fig. 2b and f) and because other heat sources are taken to be neg- parameter pIntLG. Therefore, the choice to globally represent the
ligible. The water vapour losses are also correctly predicted processes of NH3 emission by only one parameter, pIntLG, can be
(Fig. 2g). Comparison of observed and calculated temperature is considered appropriate for solid manure composting. It is recom-
biased in the present work by the fact that the observed temper- mended to assume pIntLG = 1 when no information is available
atures were monitored at the centre of the pile, while the simula- on ammonia losses but to take a lower value when very easily
tion considers the average temperature of all the pile. Therefore, biodegradable substrate will lead to acidication.
we consider that, for the case of solid manure composting on Calibrated values of initial biodegradable COD (tCODb0) were
farms, the model correctly represents the partition between consistent with pile composition in most of the cases studied.
sensible and latent heat, and the natural convection through the The calibrated value appeared inconsistent in the case of pile G.
pile with the associated sensible heat loss (convective heat losses). In piles B and F, a similar value of 60% biodegradable initial COD
Fig. 2h shows that the simulations reproduce the observed dif- was estimated while only 31% was estimated for pile G. In the lat-
ferences in peak emission of NH3 (between piles F and G: Fig. 2d ter pile, COD was made with molasses instead of sawdust (pile F).
and h) and also the time interval between the emission increases Therefore, the value of 31% of biodegradability given by the cali-
of the various piles (between piles B and G: Fig. 2d and h). bration can appear unrealistic. However, if acidication occurred
Most N2O emission was observed during the rst week after in pile G due to the presence of very easily biodegradable COD,
setting up the pile. The relative differences between total emis- VFA may have blocked the biological reactions, resulting in less
sions observed or simulated were respectively 1%, 11%, 27% for biodegradation of the substrate. This can explain why the calibra-
piles B, F and G after 40 days. The total N2O emission was around tion led to a lower fraction of biodegradable substrate when
1% of ammonia emission and less than 1% of initial nitrogen. The molasses was used. It must be underlined that the low ammonia
relative differences between observed and simulated N2O dynam- emission of pile G may also be a consequence of an acidication
ics were much higher than for CO2, H2O or NH3 emissions. of the compost due to the presence of molasses.
The 11 piles were built to represent the wide range of compost-
ing situations for solid manure on farms. The illustrations with 3
contrasted piles showed that the model represented the main fea- 3.3.4. Output of the model: importance of interactions between
tures and the main differences in emissions of CO2, H2O, and NH3 processes
and in temperature dynamics correctly. Therefore, the model Limitation functions applied to the different processes connect
structure is considered suitable to represent carbon and nitrogen the different composting mechanisms and thus the different
interactions in static piles of solid manure. modules of the model. As shown, for example, in Eqs. (5) and (6),
the higher the value of the limitation function, the lower the
limitation degree and conversely. Considering these links makes
3.3.3. Consistency of the specic parameters it possible to use the model as a tool for understanding the biologi
The values of the 10 parameters specic to each composting calphysicalchemical mechanisms that govern the composting
mixture, concerning either the biodegradation or the nitrogen process. With a few improvements in the model calibration, the
module, are given in Table 2. The parameters concerning the heat model can help to choose the best operating conditions and
and porosity modules are not discussed in this paper. The initial management practices. Some examples are described below to
heterotrophic biomass (tXh0) given by the model is higher for pile illustrate these capacities.
B than for piles F or G. This result is reasonable because there In Fig. 4 the dynamics of some various limitation functions of
was a higher fraction of pig manure in pile B (1.3% COD) than in the heterotrophic and autotrophic growth are plotted against the
piles F and G (respectively 0.1 and 0.3% COD). The ratio of COD con- composting duration. In terms of understanding, the following
tent between the rapid and the slow initial COD (rRS) was smaller main observations can be made for the piles F and G: (i) Evapora-
in pile F (with sawdust: 0.37%) than in piles B or G (with solid man- tion of pile G is much higher than that of pile F during the rst 2
ure or molasses: 100%). Knowing the nature of the substrate added, weeks (Fig. 2g). (ii) Oxygen limitation of the biomass growth is
these results are highly consistent. They also show the need to similar for piles F and G during the rst few days, then the function
include the interactions between biodegradation, moisture and is higher in the case of pile G (Fig. 4d; i.e. oxygen is less limiting for
nitrogen in a generic model for all types of solid manure. The biomass growth in pile G). (iii) Substrate is always less abundant
parameters describing the initial biomass and the initial fraction (smaller limiting factor) in the case of pile G than for pile F
of rapid COD are necessary to represent the acceleration of the (Fig. 4e). (iv) Moisture limited microbial activity more severely in
biodegradation processes after the pile has been set up. They are pile G than in pile F (Fig. 4a). (v) During the rst 3 days, tempera-
crucial for the model adaptation to specic composting situations, ture limited heterotrophic growth more markedly in the case of
considering qualitative knowledge of the piles. pile F than in the case of pile G (smaller limiting factor; Fig. 4c).
The parameter pIntLG, inuencing NH3 emission, also showed Therefore, it can be deduced that temperature limited evaporation
consistent values: it was equal to 1 for piles B and F (no restriction, in pile F during the rst few days; higher initial evaporation
as for the majority of the 11 piles) while it was equal to 0.4 for pile induced lower moisture of pile G, promoting higher oxygen avail-
G, where the biodegradation of molasses could produce acid com- ability during the next few days; and oxygen availability limited
pounds that promoted ammonia retention for further assimilation. evaporation in pile F during the second week.
Table 2
Specic parameters calibrated for the 3 piles.
1.0 1.0
0.9 0.9
0.8 0.8
0.7 0.7
Liming factor
Liming factor
0.6 0.6
0.5 0.5
0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 (a) 0.1 (b)
0.0 0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
1.0 1.0
0.9 0.9
0.8 0.8
0.7 0.7
Liming factor
Liming factor
0.6 0.6
0.5 0.5
0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 (c) 0.1 (d)
0.0 0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
1.0 1.0
0.9 0.9
0.8 0.8
0.7 0.7
Liming factor
Liming factor
0.6 0.6
0.5 0.5
0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 (e) 0.1 (f)
0.0 0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Fig. 4. Simulated dynamics of some limiting factors (1 = unlimited growth; 0 = growth stopped): limitation of heterotrophic growth by moisture (a), nitrogen (b),
temperature (c), oxygen (d), substrate (e); limitation of autotrophic growth by oxygen (f). Pile B (thin black line); pile F (thick black line); pile G (thick grey line).
NH3 volatilization of pile F was smaller than of pile G at the competition between microbial growth and ammonia emission as
beginning of composting and it became higher after 3 days organic nitrogen is mineralized.
(Fig. 2d). The higher NH3 emission of pile F can be explained by a
stronger ammonication process due to higher temperatures
(Fig. 4c) inducing an abundance of available nitrogen (nitrogen 4. Conclusions
limiting factor was close to 0.7 for piles G and F during the rst
week; Fig. 4b). After a few days, the moisture content of pile G The proposed model shows a degree of complexity sufcient for
decreased (Fig. 4a). Oxygen was more abundant in pile G (oxygen the simultaneous simulation of the physical and biochemical beha-
limiting factor was higher; Fig. 4d), inducing higher heterotrophic viour of solid manure during composting in static piles. The
growth, shown by higher CO2 emission (Fig. 2b). Both lower mois- dynamics of variables used to describe the main processes are well
ture and higher heterotrophic growth reduced the ability of pile G handled (temperature, emissions of CO2, H2O, NH3). Therefore, it
to volatilize NH3 compared to pile F. The parameter pIntLG also was possible to predict gas emissions for 11 study cases character-
contributed to little NH3 emission despite the abundance of ized by contrasting initial compositions and operating conditions.
nitrogen (higher values of the nitrogen limiting factor of pile G This model can be used to improve the understanding of interac-
compared to pile F after the rst week; Fig. 4b). tions between mechanisms occurring in composting and to help
In the case of pile B, NH3 emission was higher than in piles F and in its optimization.
G at the beginning, but then became smaller than F and G emis-
sions. Higher initial biomass (Xh0) induced higher temperatures Acknowledgements
(Figs. 4c and 2e), which explain the rapid rise in NH3 emission. It
also induced early limitation by N (nitrogen limiting factor was This work was carried out with the nancial support of the scien-
close to 0.2 after 4 days; Fig. 4b). In this case, the conservation of tic group Green Pork production (GIS Porcherie Verte), the
nitrogen was improved. The model can help to explain the rapid French National Research Agency (ANR) in project ANR-08-STRA-
rise in NH3 emission and the smaller nitrogen loss by the dynamic 15 ISARD (Intensication des Systmes de production Agricole par
596 D. Oudart et al. / Waste Management 46 (2015) 588598
le Recyclage des Dchets), Crte dOr Entreprise, and the ADEME pro- Appendix A. Modelling equations of nitrogen module
ject EMAFUM. We acknowledge Adeline Vion for her support during
the work, Sbastien Pommier for his help with the implementation Petersen matrix of nitrogen module. The Petersen matrix is a stan-
of the biodegradation module, and several colleagues who worked dard representation that indicates the stoichiometry of the reac-
on their M.Sc. or Ph.D. degrees with our team: Laure Comont, Luth, tions (the sum of the coefcients of one line equals zero; all
Nasser Abd El Kader. We nally acknowledge the technicians from uxes contributing to one compartment are given in one column;
INRA and CIRAD who helped in the experiments and sample analysis each ux equals the coefcient of one cell multiplied by the rate
and M. Corson and S. Becker for language corrections and indicated in the last column of the same line).
clarications.
Variables and parameters: the following tables describe the notations used in this paper.Generic parameters of the model.
Model variables.
Appendix A. (continued)
Appendix B. Supplementary material Mustin, M., 1987. Compost: Management of Organic Matter. Franois Dubusc, Paris
(in French).
Oudart, D., 2013. Modeling Organic Matter Stabilization and Gaseous Emissions
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in during Windrow Composting of Livestock Efuents. Ph.D. Thesis, INSA
the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2015.07. Toulouse, 336p. <http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00935691> (in French).
Oudart, D., Paul, E., Robin, P., Paillat, J.M., 2012. Modeling organic matter
044.
stabilization during windrow composting of livestock efuents. Environ.
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Paillat, J.M., Robin, P., Hassouna, M., Leterme, P., 2005. Predicting ammonia and
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