Effect of seeding on the early stage of animal waste composting

The effect of seeding on the early stage of animal waste composting was investigated. Seeding affected the initial pH and the initial number of microorganisms in the manure. Seeding low pH manure increased initial pH, which prevented the lag phase. Seeding also increased the initial number of microorganisms, inducing that the specific growth rate of microorganisms was enhanced over a wide temperature range. This increase in specific growth rate was attributed to an increased rate of heat production at 50 deg C. Although the increase in microbial number had no significant effect on the acceleration of composting reaction, the enhancement of microbial activity produced a sharp increase in temperature during the early stage of composting.