Fig 1.
Schematic diagram showing the constructed (a) rotating bioreactor and (b) static bioreactor systems; dimensions in cm, not to scale.
Fig 2.
Cross-sectional views of the (a) rotating bioreactor and (b) static bioreactor Showing the inlet and outlet aeration ports and the locations of thermocouple sensors.
Fig 3.
Time course of air temperatures recorded by the three sensors (Ta1, Ta2, and Ta3) fixed at three different locations inside the rotating and static bioreactors.
Fig 4.
Time course of compost temperatures recorded by the three sensors (Tc1, Tc2, and Tc3) fixed at three different locations inside the rotating and static bioreactors.
Fig 5.
Time course of compost temperatures measured in the rotating and static bioreactors (Tc) and for the ambient air (Tam) during the composting process.
Fig 6.
Increase of compost temperature and the mesophilic and thermophilic lag periods estimated for the rotating and static bioreactors.
Table 1.
Thermal kinetic parameters estimated for the rotating and static bioreactors.
Table 2.
Results of the solvita test for six samples of compost taken from the static and rotating bioreactors.
Table 3.
Dewar self-heating test results for six compost samples taken from the static and rotating bioreactors.
Fig 7.
Photos of compost material taken from the two bioreactors at days 0, 5 and 8 to show the changes in the color and material structure (visual testing).
Table 4.
Results of the color test for six compost samples taken from the static and rotating bioreactors.
Table 5.
Results of the proposed method compared to results of other composting methods.