Microbial characterization of the composting process from sugar waste

Abstract

This work is to characterize the microbiological process of composting from sugar waste and to evaluate their effect on the maturation of the compost. During the composting process, it was taken composed of samples and conducted microbiological analysis: quantification of aerobic mesophilic and thermophilic heterotrophic bacteria and celuliticas bacteria and fungi as generic characterization of the fungal microbiota. Heterotrophic bacteria mesophiles and thermophilic aerobic were quantified and fungi by the method of plaque recount and the bacteria celuloticas by the most probable number method. We evaluated the quality of the compost by germination tests. The pH close to neutrality allowed that mesophilic bacteria lead the initial phase, in the thermophilic phase the thermophilic bacteria are more than mesophilic bacteria and in the stabilization phase mesophilic bacteria again lead the composting process. Cellulolytic bacteria decrease the activity as it moves down the compost, unlike fungi increase their activity at the end of the process. Among the fungi observed in the experiment the Aspergillus flavus dominated in the initial phase, A. fumigatus in the thermophilic phase, and the occasional stabilization it was observed in the presence of A. terrus, A. flavus, A. niger and other Aspergillus species. The germination percentage of vegetables in the compost material is below 80% indicating that the material is limited for use directly as a substrate for germination.