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Co-composting of cotton residues with olive mill wastewater: process monitoring and evaluation of the diversity of culturable microbial populations

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Abstract

With the aim to recommend an integrated alternative for the combined treatment of olive mill wastewater (OMW) and cotton residues (CR), and the production of high value and environmentally friendly products, two compost piles were set up. The first pile (control, pile 1) consisted of ginned CR, whereas the second (pile 2) was made of CR with the addition of OMW. A series of physicochemical parameters and the culturable microbial diversity in both piles were assessed. Co-composting (pile 2) displayed higher temperatures during the whole process, a prolonged second thermophilic phase and temperature values higher than 40 °C even after the thermophilic stage. Comparing the physicochemical parameters of the pile 2 with those of the pile 1, it was deduced that pH in the former was more acidic during the onset of the process; the EC values were higher throughout the process, while the levels of ammonium and nitrate nitrogen, as well as the NH4+/NO3− ratios, were lower at most of the sampling dates. By evaluating the abovementioned results, it was estimated that the co-composting process headed sooner toward stability and maturity, Isolated microorganisms from both piles were identified as members of the genera Brevibacillus, Serratia, Klebsiella, and Aspergillus, whereas active thermotolerant diazotrophs were detected in both piles at the 2nd thermophilic phase emerging a promising prospect upon further evaluation for enhancing the end-product quality. Our findings indicate that co-composting is an interesting approach for the exploitation of large quantities of agro-industrial residues with a final product suitable for improving soil fertility and health.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop Science, Laboratory of General and Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos, 11855, Athens, Greece

    Io Kefalogianni, Vasiliki Tsagou, Konstantinos Xexakis & Iordanis Chatzipavlidis

  2. Department of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering, Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos, 11855, Athens, Greece

    Vasiliki Skiada

  3. Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Aikaterini Efthymiou

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  1. Io Kefalogianni
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  2. Vasiliki Skiada
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Kefalogianni, I., Skiada, V., Tsagou, V. et al. Co-composting of cotton residues with olive mill wastewater: process monitoring and evaluation of the diversity of culturable microbial populations. Environ Monit Assess 193, 641 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09422-2

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