Abstract
The use of vacuum-type aeration (VTA) as a technique for composting was evaluated to develop a low-environmental load composting system. For this study, we designed an experimental system that was equipped with 431L (effective volume) reactor, and that was able to collect total ammonia from the exhaust gases. The VTA system produced compost of a similar quality to that produced by positive-pressure aeration (PPA), in terms of variation of temperature and degradation level of VS; however, fermentation in the VTA system took place at a slightly higher temperature than that in the PPA system. VTA could vacuum sufficient ammonia from compost so that almost no ammonia was emitted from the VTA compost surface. However, as waste fluid was generated from the compost during VTA composting, further experiments are needed to clarify the volume and appropriate treatment of the generated waste fluid.HomePageKeywords: composting, dairy cow feces, vacuum-type aeration, ammonia emission, material movement in compost, waste fluid