PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF INVERTED T AND V-SHAPED PIPES WITH DIFFERENT PERFORATIONS ON COMPOSTING PROCESS

Authors

  • G. A. Ogunwande Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Author
  • J. A. Osunade Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Author
  • A. Y. Sangodoyin Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Author

Keywords:

Passive aeration composting, pipe configuration, perforation size, chicken litter, composting rate

Abstract

Inverted T (IT) and V-shaped (Vs) pipe configurations were perforated at three different sizes (15, 25 and
35 mm diameter) in a two-factor passive aeration composting experiment using chicken litter. The results
showed that thermophilic temperatures (42-69 oC) for effective composting were attained in all the piles.
However, pile with IT15 failed to meet the sanitation requirements for hygienic compost. Both pipe
configuration and perforation size had significant (p less than or equal to 0.05 ) effect on pile temperature pre-replenishment
moisture content and electrical conductivity. Pipe configuration affected (p less than or equal to 0.05) total carbon while
perforation size affected (p less than or equal to 0.05) pH and total phosphorus. Both pipe configurations were effective for
uniform composting rate, although Vs pipe was more. Summarily, the results showed that IT15 was not
promising for passive aeration composting while Vs35 was the most effective for uniform composting
rate. IT35 and Vs25 were the most suitable for minimizing total nitrogen and total phosphorus losses,
respectively.

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Published

2025-05-10

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 3 (2014): JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (JAET)

Section

Articles