Comparison of Maturity Indices for Composting Different Organic Waste

Among several methods used to assess maturity of compost, determination of diethyl ether and choloroform extractable lipids seems to be a promising technique as lipids are an important portion of all organic wastes. The aim of this paper was to monitor maturity parameters of compost piles made from different organic sources (cow manure, poultry slaughterhouse, and dairy industry) using different methods. Diethyl ether (DEE) and chloroform (CHCl3) extractable lipids have been measured during composting and compared to other parameters commonly utilized to study compost stability and maturity (organic carbon, total and inorganic N, CO2 evolution rate, microbial biomass C, and phytotoxicity test). Results suggested none of these parameters may exhaustively describe maturity of composts studied.