Use of Blue-Green Algae to Improve the Chemical Quality of Municipal Solid Waste Compost

• Main Authors: Wang, Yujiao, Husain, Tahir
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2015
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/11582/; https://research.library.mun.ca/11582/1/Husain_Waste_12-13.pdf; https://www.mun.ca/harriscentre/media/production/memorial/administrative/the-harris-centre/media-library/reports/Husain_Waste__report-Final_12-13.pdf

Compost as a soil amendment is widely used in agriculture, improving the soil by adding more nutrients and organic matter and by adjusting its carbon to nitrogen ratio. Because of the harsh environment and barren soil conditions in Newfoundland and Labrador, the generation and application of high-quality composting products are receiving more attention. Conventional composting processes have been well developed, as they have been studied for many years. However, the use of blue-green algae in composting by mixing multiple waste sources has only recently been studied. The three waste sources utilized in this research are sludge from the municipal wastewater treatment system in St. John’s, fly ash from power plants, fish waste from local fish-processing industries, and the algae Anabaena strain 387 found in abundance in ponds in the Avalon Peninsula.