Parametric study on the vermicomposting of vegetable waste using African night crawlers (Eudrilus eugeniae)

Date

4-2013

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

College

College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Casiano S. Abrigo, Jr.

Restrictions

Restricted: Not available to the general public. Access is available only after consultation with author/thesis adviser and only to those bound by the confidentiality agreement.

Abstract

This study aims to find the effect of carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N), feed particle size and initial moisture content on the vermicomposting of vegetable wastes using African Night Crawlers (Eudrilus eugeniae). In the experiment, customized rice sacks were used as composting bins for vegetable wastes obtained from Lipa City Public Market in Batangas. The resulting vermicompost, with 20% product yield, was analyzed and found to have an average final moisture content of 26.4±3.76% average % volatile solids (%VS) of 68.11±2.82% and average %VS reduction of 17.98±3.39%. Taking the % VS reduction as response, it was concluded that the suitable parameter values are the following: 32:1 C:N, 63% to 69% initial moisture level, and 1/4 inch or smaller (mesh 4 undersize) feed particle size. Moreover, feed particle size, C:N, and the interaction between feed particle size and initial moisture content were found to have significant effects on the %VS reduction of vegetable wastes. Lastly, the relationship between the three parameters and the total VS reduction can be represented as %VS reduction = 19.72 - 1.13 X_C/N - 0.11 X_FeedParticleSize - 0.54X_FeedParticleSizeX_InitialMoistureContent with R^2_adjusted equal to 0.804. The experiment was conducted from November 2012 to January 2013.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2013 E62 L38

Document Type

Thesis

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS