ELSEVIER Ecological Modelling 91 (1996) 25-37

Modelling composting as a microbial ecosystem: a simulation

approach
J. K a i s e r *
UFZ - Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle Ltd., Department of Ecological Modelling, P.O. Box 2, 04301 Leipzig, Germany

Received 6 February 1995; accepted 18 August 1995

Abstract

The article presents a mathematical formulation of the physical and biological laws that govern the composting process.
The model of the composting ecosystem includes mass transfer, heat transfer, and conversion of organic matter into CO 2
and humic substances. The first trophic level is described as a consumption of four substrates by a 4-component microflora,
with equations of microbial growth kinetics that consider (a) the coexistence of specialists and generalists among consumers,
and (b) specific conditions for the decay of lignin. The model can predict the composting dynamics including state variables,
microbial activity, and matter conversion progress, dependent on conditions like raw material composition, thermal
insulation, and aeration. Some simulations of composting processes are discussed, and working principles of special
applications are explained. An experimental process is contrasted with its simulation to check how realistic the model's
assumptions are, and to discuss some fields of application of the model.

Keywords: Composting; Decomposition; Growth; Heat transfer; Mass transfer; Microorganisms; Population dynamics

1. Introduction marked difference to soil processes is the course of

Composting is a semi-natural degradation process
for matter of plant origin. When we look at the
degree of human influence on process conditions,
composting is somewhere between natural degrada-
tion processes in soil, and fermentation processes in
liquid media. Composting and soil processes share a
variety of simultaneously assimilated substrates, and
organisms. However, the method of matter transfer
in composting is to achieve fast substrate degrada-
tion in an aerobic environment, and this characterizes
the process as a solid-state fermentation. The most
* Fax: (+49-341) 235-3500.
temperature: in composting, it results from mainly
biotic factors.
Composting processes occur in manifold variants
of matter and technology. In each case, there are
wide ranges both of degradable substrates and organ-
isms involved. Among the dynamics of the very
complex composting ecosystem, only a few variables
can be monitored. Thus, despite the many facts
describing the degradation of organic matter qualita-
tively, there is no standard mathematical model of
the composting process, and consequently there are
many ways in which relevant knowledge and hy-
potheses can be expressed in models. " T h e utiliza-
tion of information on decomposition has ... just
begun" (Paul, 1992).

0304-3800/96/$15.00 Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

SSDI 0 3 0 4 - 3 8 0 0 ( 9 5 ) 0 0 1 5 7 - 3
26 J. Kaiser/Ecological Modelling 91 (1996)25-37

2. T h e t h e r m o d y n a m i c s of composting 200 -
watervapour: / 400 ~"
The following equations are derived according to
is0 saturationcontents,/ 300 -~
o) and enthalp/
standard rules of modelling the thermodynamic ef- oE 100 200 -~-
fects of matter conversion processes in reactors. t-
50
/ dryair: e-
O
o lOO "~
Here, the model coincides with the composting model
of Nakasaki et al. (1987). ~ 0 o
~ .
In Fig. 1, the term "composter" only denotes the 20 40 60 80
temperature (°C)
place of the process, including experimental vessels,
compost boxes and piles. The bulking of the com- Fig. 2. Temperature-dependent properties of composting air
posting material yields, from a macroscopic point of streams: water vapour contents fsat, and enthalpy components
h watervap°ur and h dry.
view, a homogenous distribution of the phases (solid,
water, air) within the material. Air convection and
mechanical agitation (like turning) keep the material
homogeneous. Thus, the following balances of the
composting process can be derived. with mi: mass of component i (kg); Qi: bulk density
The COz balance is:
of component i (kg/m3); 1/Oi: partial volume of
component i (m3/kg).
dmco2 bin
Umco2 dVexhaus t The water balance is:
dt dt mco 2 d---~/V (I) dm hio d intake J exhaust
dmH2o H20 mH20 OmH20
with mco ~' mass of CO 2 in composting air (kg); (4)
bin dt dt dt dt
dmco /dt. evolution of bioreaction CO 2 (kg/h); V:
(free ~air) space of composting material (m3); withmH o: mass of H20 in composting material
dVexhaust/dt: flow of exhaust air (m3/h); t: time (h), (kg); dm~°o/dt: bioreaction evolution of water
thus (kg/h); dm~ta~e/dt: water intake via intake air
(kg/h); dmeHX~EoUSt/dt:water outlet via exhaust air
mco2
Cco 2 = 100% × - - (2) (kg/h); and
Üco~V
d mH20
intake dVintake
with Cco2: concentration of CO 2 in composting air d--~ = fintake d----~- (5)
(vol.-%); 0co2: density of CO 2 ( ~ 2 k g / m 3 at 1
atm, 20°C). exhaust
d mHzO dVexhaust
The free air space V results as the sum of the d--~ =f~at(T) d--~ (6)
partial volumes of the components, equating the
with f: (absolute) humidity, water vapour contents in
spaces of air and material, and assuming the bulking
air (kg/m3); fsat(T)= 100"0213T-2"19:saturation hu-
densities being constant:
midity of air (kg/m3), special approach derived
V= E -mi
- (3) from vapour pressure equations, with parameter
i = all components ~9i adaptation for the range of interest (0 < T < 80°C)
according to Campbell (1977) (see Fig. 2); T: tem-
perature of process (and exhaust air) (°C); Tintake:

/•exhaust
air: hot,
water vapour satured, temperature of intake air (°C).
rich in C02 The thermal balance is:
composting ~ transition dQ d Qbio d Qambient d Qintake d Qexhaust
material: I of heat - - -31- - -
bulking, moist I dt dt dt dt dt
composter (7)
intake air: rich in 02
with Q: heat contents of the composter (kJ);
Fig. l. Massand heatflowsof the compostingecosystem. dQhio/dt: evolution of bioreaction heat (kJ/h =
 J. Kaiser/Ecological Modelling 91 (1996) 25-37 27

kW/3600); dQambient/dt: heat flow to ambient air are equal according to the model assumption of
(via surface of the composter, M / h ) ; dQintake/dt: homogeneity. Also, intake and exhaust air flows of
heat flow via intake air (M/h); dQexhaust/dt: heat the composter are equated.
flow via exhaust air (kJ/h). The evolution of bioreaction water is directly
In detail proportional to the evolution of CO 2. According to
the oxidation equation of glucose (C6H1206 -t-602
dQambient
- - = .[r- 7ar.b,0n,] (8) 6CO 2 + 6H20), 1 tool of H 2 0 evolves per tool
dt
of CO 2, and 1 mol of 02 is consumed per mol of
dQintake dgintake CO 2 (respiration coefficient = 1). Thus, the remain-
dt hintake dt ' ing concentration of O 2 is:
dQexhaust dVexhaust Co_, = 21 - C c o , , (15)
dt hexhaust dt (9)
presuming an intake air with atmospheric oxygen
hintak e =/awatervapuur
'~intake _}_ /~dry
'~intake contents of 21%.
.dry ,a- Also, the bioreactive evolution of heat is directly
= Ffintak e -'I- Cp /intake (10)
proportional to the evolution of CO 2 (and to the
hexhaus t = hwatervapour Jr- hdry
• '~exhaust "exhaust consumption of 02). In our applications, a relation
= Ffsat(T ) -'}'-cdprYr, (11) of 14000 kJ per kg 02 was used (according to
Finstein et al., 1986). This can be compared with the
with u: overall heat transfer coefficient of the sur- oxidation heats of glucose (15 600 k J / k g O2), and of
face, at convection inside the composter ( k J / ( K h)) cellulose (about 15 000 k J / k g 02).
(without convection, the heat transfer coefficient is
significantly lower - the thermal insulation proper-
ties of standing air take effect); h: enthalpies of air
streams ( k J / m 3) (see Fig. 2); r: specific heat of 3. The kinetics of matter conversion in the com-
vapourisation of water = 2360 k J / k g (at 60°C); cp-dry'. posting ecosystem
specific heat of dry air = 0.59 k J / ( m 3 K) (at 1 atm,
18°C). For the biological details of the composting pro-
The course of the process temperature is closely cess, much more effort had to be made to find a
connected with the thermal balance: suitable compromise which would keep the model
both practicable and realistic. The first problem that
dT dQ
arises is the appropriate limitation of the number of
dt dt /(Cc°mposter-~-fmaterial q-fair)' (12)
substrate and biotic components. The components
where C denotes heat capacities (kJ/K). must be classified in a way that each substrate class
Here, the heat capacity of the composting material can be treated like a homogeneous compound and
is the sum of the heat capacities of its matter compo- each biotic class as a homogeneous population. Thus,
nents, a system of one defined substrate and one defined
consuming species can only give a very rough repre-
Cmaterial = E C,spec
i mi, (13) sentation of composting; it can not reflect the perfor-
i = all components
mance quantitatively, including the speed of start and
with c.spec
i being the specific heat of component i the duration of the process.
(kJ/(kg K)). The substrate range of composting includes com-
Unlike Ccumposte r and Cmaterial, Cair is very much ponents that vary considerably in degradability and
dependent on temperature, as caused by f,a,(T): structural properties (bulk density). By comparing
literature on composting (Finstein et al,, 1986; Bid-
( df'at(T)+ drY)W. (14) dlestone et al., 1987), and on natural degradation of
Cai r = Cp,airV = r d~ Cp
organic matter (Knapp, 1985; Begon et al., 1990;
The temperatures of the process and the exhaust air Betts et al., 1991; Paul, 1992), a natural classifica-
28 J. Kaiser/Ecological Modelling 91 (1996)25-37

tion within the substrate range of typical raw materi- lose. Thus, the bacteria utilize only sugars and
als of composting can be outlined (Fig. 3): starches, the actinomycetes hemicellulose too, the
sugars&starches - hemicellulose - cellulose brown-rot fungi utilize cellulose in addition, and the
white-rot fungi utilize the complete range including
- lignin - (humic substances). lignin.
Here sugars&starches subsume easily degradable Making partially use of standard models of micro-
substances. Humic substances are biologically stable biology, the model equations of the kinetics of mi-
final products of substrate degradation. Only in spe- crobial growth and matter conversion are:
cial cases should there be a need to add further
dx i
classes, particularly if the amount of proteins and dt [zixi (16)
fats was significant in the carbon balance.
Among the destruents of organic matter, the mi- Si
croflora organisms are the most important quantita- = tl, fjtemp -- 6 if Co~ > 0 (17)
/Zi r-max,i i Ks,i + Si
tively, both for the organismic mass, and for respira-
tion activity (Begon et al., 1990). This should allow /zi = 0 if Co2=0 (18)
the construction of a composting model which in-
cludes details of the first trophic level only, and the with
subsumation of the further levels as humification. S 1 = Sl S 2 =s I +s 2 S 3 = S 4 = s I + s 2 + s 3,
Comparing literature, a natural classification of the (19)
microflora range can be outlined too, but not as
clearly, and restricted to the main representatives of i = 1 (bacteria), 2 (actinomycetes), 3 (brown-rot
the regularly aerobic degradation of plant materials: fungi), 4 (white-rot fungi); j = 1 (sugars & starches),
bacteria (without actinomycetes) - actinomycetes 2 (hemicellulose), 3 (cellulose), 4 (lignin); xi: con-
centration of organisms i (kg/kg composting mate-
- brown-rot fungi - white-rot fungi. rial); si: concentration of substrate j (kg/kg corn-
Brown-rot fungi and white-rot fungi differ in their posting material); Si: total concentration of growth
functions to degrade cellulose and lignin, respec- defining substrates for organisms i (kg/kg compost-
tively. An assumption of this model is the analogous ing material); Ks,i: saturation constant of organisms
adaption of the bacteria to the resource of sugars i (kg/kg composting material); txi: microbial growth
and starches, and of the actinomycetes to hemicellu- rate of organisms i (h-l); ~ .... i: maximum growth

I
composting material I exhaust
air
death F ..~J humic I
of micro- I organisms of upper trophic levels substances
o a°i,ms + I
microbial
Igl_~ biomass ~ . ~
/\ /\ /\
sm
of micro-
organisms >--9 water, liquid

---> > J
lin~ mineral I
substances [
F
Fig. 3. Foodweb scheme of the composting ecosystem.
 J. Kaiser/Ecological Modelling 91 (1996)25-37 29

rate of organisms i ( h - l ) ; Ltemp: coefficient of tem- mum at about 40°C. Only some bacteria remain
perature-dependent growth of organisms i; 8: micro- active up to 80°C, other microorganisms stop grow-
bial death rate ( h - l ) ; Y: yield coefficient (kg organ- ing at about 60°C. The temperature coefficients fi temp
i s m s / k g substrate); T: temperature of the process in Eq. 17 are the corresponding expressions. The
(oc). chosen terms are the simplest way to average the
The corresponding equations of substrate degrada- diverse forms of temperature-dependent growth of
tion are: single species (Fig. 4).
ds 4 1 s4 dx 4 T(80 - T)
fltemp 0 < 80°C (25)
dt Y s l + s 2 + s 3 + s 4 dt (20) • 1600
dss 1( s3 dx3 T(60 - T)
.,F t~_..
e m p ~__
4 0 < 60°C (26)
dt sj + s 2 + s 3 dt 20(80- T)
s3 dx 4 )
+ (21) 3.2. Substrate dependence of microbial growth
sj + s2 + s3 + s 4 dt
ds 2 l[s2dx 2 s2 dx 3 The substrate dependence of growth can be ex-
pressed as a Michaelis-Menten kinetics, also known
dt s ) + s 2 dt s t + s 2 + s 3 dt
as Monod kinetics in microbiology. The term reflects
s, d x4 the fact that growth rates do not increase ad infini-
+ " ) (22)
tum at high concentrations. On the other hand, mi-
S 1 q- S 2 -1- S 3 + X4 dt
crobes can exist at any low substrate concentrations.
ds I 1 [ dx 1 sI dx 2 The substrate term offers two reductions for ex-
- - ~ I __ .dr_ _ _
dt Y dt s I + s e dt treme cases:
1. non-substrate-limited growth: I~ = const, at S >>
sI dx 3
+ K~
s I + s 2 + s 3 dt 2. growth as a first-order reaction: p. = kS at S << K~
Both reduced terms fail to describe the compost-
s1 dx 4 )
+ , (23) ing process - the real conditions seem to be between
sl + s2 + s3 + s a dt the extremes. Whang and Meenaghan (1980) give a
the evolution of CO 2 is: derivation of the Michaelis-Menten kinetics of corn-
posting from models of chemical reaction kinetics.
d bio MMco 2 A real problem is to chose an appropriate concen-
mc°-' - - ( Y - 1)
d----~ = cc MM c tration unit to characterize the state of the system. In
this model, mass concentration was chosen as the
( dsl ds2 ds3 ds4 )
common unit of composting material analysis, in-
× dt + d--~-+ d t + d---7- M (24)

with Cc: mass concentration of carbon in the sub-

strates ( ~ 0.44); MM: molecular masses of CO 2 and
17- -- ~ thermo-
C, respectively; M: mass of composting material
(kg).
•~ ~ 0.5
The details of the kinetic equations reflect the
following biological facts:
0 20 40 60 \ 80
3.1. Temperature dependence of microbial growth temperature(°C) other micro-
organisms
In composting, growth of organisms is restricted Fig. 4. Coefficients of temperature-dependent microbial growth in
to the temperature range of 0-80°C, with a maxi- composting fi temp.
30 J. Ka&er/ Ecological Modelling 91 (1996) 25-37
stead of solubility concentration (like in liquid-phase
fermentation), or volumetric concentration.
3.3. Aerobic-anaerobic alternative of the metabolic
pathway
The distinction of cases in Eqs. 17 and 18 reflects
the fact that an oxygen dependence of growth is only
found far below atmospheric concentration (21%).
At total exhaustion of oxygen (with Cco, reaching
21%), aerobic organisms stop growing. Anaerobic
cultures that develop during a few hours of an
oxygen-exhausted state do not reach a size that
affects matter conversion quantitatively. In the model,
oxygen exhaustion is answered by stopping growth.
3.4. Specialists and generalists of substrate utiliza-
tion in the microbial range
The use of si and Si in Eq. 17 reflects the nature
of substrate utilization by some generalists among
the microorganisms: actinomycetes, brown-rot fungi,
white-rot fungi. Eqs. 20-23 express a utilization of
each substrate directly proportional to its concentra-
tion, without preferences among them. A model
hypothesis.
3.5. Non-degradability of lignin as a sole carbon
source
S 4 = S 3 in Eq. 19 reflects the fact that lignin
needs co-substrates to be degradable (Kirk and Far-
rell, 1987). If the co-substrates (sugars . . . . . cellu-
lose) are exhausted, growth of lignolytic organisms
and degradation of lignin cease.
3.6. Upper trophic levels
The upper trophic levels add lesser quantities to
the balances of CO 2 and heat. Thus, the organisms
of upper trophic levels do not occur explicitly in the
model. The rate of conversion of organisms of the
first trophic level into humic substances is expressed
by the microbial death rate, 8. The model equates
lost organismic mass and mass of humic substances
won:
dmhumic
dt ~(mbacteria " k . . . -¥mwhit . . . . tfungi)"
The remaining component of the system are the
mineral substances that summarize all bioresistant
inorganic solid compounds in composting material.
Thus, the mass of the composting material, to which
all concentration variables x i, sj, and Si refer, is:
m ~ msugar s + starches + mhemicenulose -{- mcellulose -~- mlignin
d- mbacteria -q- mactinomycete s -'}-mbrown.rotfung i
+ mwhite_rotfung i + mhumi c + mminera I + mHz O.
(28)
The term (M - m , , o ) denotes the dry mass that
customary concentration units refer to, among them
are ash contents and volatile matter. Ash contents is
a rough approximation of the contents of mineral
substances, whereas its complement, volatile matter,
gives the approximate total contents of organic mat-
ter, summarizing substrates, humic substances, and
organisms. In terms of this model,
volatile matter
: 100% X (msugars&starches Jr- . . . -Jr-mwhite_rotfungi
+ mh,mic)/(dry mass),
with volatile matter + ash contents = 100%.
To characterize the composition of composting
material, concentration units ci (mass %) referring to
the total mass M should make sense, too,
c i = 100% × mi/M, (29)
especially C,,o, the water contents of the compost-
ing material.
4. Model parameters
According to this model, the first trophic level
consists of 4 parallel processes that are connected by
the substrate concentrations, and by temperature. The
parallel processes can hardly be separated experi-
mentally. To monitor the degradation of individual
matter components, non-routine methods, like tracer
techniques, must be used (Paul, 1992).
The chances of monitoring growth of individual
microbial populations are even worse. Thus, the only
chance to estimate the kinetic parameters (],l~max,i,
Ks, i, Y) is to adapt them jointly and simultaneously.
Statistical methods of parameter estimation use mod-
(27)
els with a smaller number of parameters. Thus, our
 J. Kaiser / Ecological Modelling 91 (I 996) 25-37
parameter estimation had to be done as a systematic
parameter variation in response to feedback from
simulation results. This method succeeds, because
each parameter is almost uniquely responsible for the
shape or certain parts of the curves - the parameters
can thus be almost completely separated.The criteria
of adaptation can be the time series (dynamics) of
those variables that are the subject of monitoring:
• process temperature, mass, and space of the corn-
posting material;
• concentration of CO 2 in the exhaust air;
• water contents of the composting material, volatile
matter, degree of maturity.
Time series of degree of maturity, that reflect the
progress of humification, have been used to adapt the
model parameter ~. The time series that have been
used for the complete parameter estimation result
from composting processes of diverse bases of mate-
rials and technologies. It should be noted that the
standard methods of monitoring composting pro-
cesses provide only indirect information on the
progress of matter conversion - furthermore, the
time series are overlayed by stochastic effects. Thus,
only limited precision of derivated parameters can be
achieved. The result of parameter estimation is a set
of parameters (Table 1) that is to be used for simula-
tion of a wide range of application types of compost-
ing. The success of parameter estimation may be
judged against case 4, and Fig. 7, respectively.
The estimated parameters of microbial growth
confirm the well-known phenomenon, that the poten-
tial microbial growth of solid-state fermentation is
significantly lower than in liquid-state fermentation:
the maximum growth rates of some organisms in
liquid cultures are several times higher. The esti-
mated saturation constants K s are significantly higher
than those of most organisms in liquid culture. This
Table 1
Parameters of microbial growth kinetics for the simulation of the
composting process
Microorganisms tXmax ( h - I ) K~ (mass %)
Bacteria 0.2 2
Actinornycetes 0.1 2 sen~
Brown-rot fungi 0.05 2 diagram a: physical state variables
White-rot fungi 0.03 2 T,M,V),
8=0.001h i Y=0.2kg/kg
31
might indicate an adaptation of the microflora to the
high substrate concentrations.
The estimation of parameters had to include initial
concentrations of organisms that can hardly be found
experimentally. As a result, considerable differences
between the organisms became obvious: the better
adapted organisms to sugars and starches consump-
tion pay for their faster growing with a natural
occurrence which is several times lower (initial con-
centrations, Table 3). The initial concentrations of
the composting microflora can be considered as the
thermotolerant part of a soil microflora. Our data
suggest that the biomass ratio of thermotolerant bac-
teria and thermotolerant fungi is still smaller (for an
order of magnitude) than the typical biomass ratio of
bacteria and fungi in soils.
5. Applications of the model for process simula-
tions
The complete model of Eqs. 1-29 is a system of
12 nonlinear, ordinary differential equations, with
msugars&starches, • . . , mlignin, mhumic, mbacteria, • . . ,
mwhite_rot fung i , m H 2 0 , m c o 2 , T } ,
being the (time-varying) variables, and
bio
M, V, Q, x, . . . . . x 4, s I . . . . . s 4 , dmco2/
dt, dmb~°o/dt,~_ dQbio/dt, .. . }
being dependent variables via algebraic equations.
Time-varying parameters of the system are
{Tambient, Tintake, f, dVintake/d/}, and one of the con-
stant parameters is mminera1. The system can be trans-
formed into normal form and can be solved numeri-
cally as an initial-value problem. The considerable
number of parameters and variables of the system
requires more than one diagram for the presentation
of solutions. For the presentation of our processes
(Figs. 5-7), the following subdivision has been cho-
(Tambient, Zintake,
diagram b: mass and heat transfer '~ intake-~
~-OmH 20 l o t ,
d mH~o
exhaust--
/at, d rn bio
n2o/dt, dQintake/dt,
32 J. Kaiser/Ecological Modelling 91 (1996) 25-37

dQexhaust/dt, dObio/dt, dQambient/dt, The four diagrams share the horizontal axis text
dVi,take/dt), of diagram d for their time scales. For each process,
diagram c: microbial growth and respiration the legend from Fig. 6 is valid - variables denoted
(dmbacteria/dt . . . . . dmwhite.rotfungi/dt, Cco), and by an asterisk are plotted on the scale of the right
diagram d: composition of composting material axis. In diagram b, water flow variables are repre-
(CH20, Cmineral, Csugars&starches, • . . , Cwhite-rotfungi, sented by full lines, heat flow variables by patterned
Chumic ). lines, waterintakeai r and waterexhaustair do not need

(a) physical state variables

80 200 80 I ]'~ I 200

oot ........ _ t15o 60 150"~

,o ,oog = 40 100~ E

E 20 50

0 0 0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

(b) mass and heat transfer

1
0.1 0.8 -^.15 0.8

0.4~
oo5 0.2
.E "~

0 , , , , J , i , i , , , , - 1 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

(C) microbial growth and respiration

1 Ii12~7
4
0 . 4 ~ ~ 14 0.4
0.35 12 ~, 0.35
oO2 lO
_

0.3
~0.25 o~o
" 0.2 8 E 0.2
o.15 6 8 0.15
~ 0.1 4 § ~
o
2 0.1
0.05 2 "5 o~ 0.05
0 , , J , , , , , J , J , i , , 0 0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

(d) composition of composting material

100% r 100%

.~_ 80% ..............~:~!~i~:~i~i!i~....... g_ 80% ...............~ : : : : ~ ~ ~

60°/o ~ J J H I I I I J ~ ' u~- °0%
~ 40% ~: 40%

20% . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
time (days) time (days)

Fig. 5. Simulation of the ecosystem dynamics of a composting process in a l-m 3 composter: thermal insulation moderately (left), and ideally
(right).
 J. Kaiser/Ecological Modelling 91 (1996) 25-37 33

Table 2 substrates are exhausted. The curves of mass and

Special technological parameters for the simulation of composting space show characteristic reductions. In diagram b, a
processes: l-m 3 composter
considerable flow of water vapour via hot exhaust air
Ccomp..... (kJ/K) 90 becomes evident and exceeds the evolution of biore-
u ( k J / K h) 30
action water several times. In contrast to this, the
dVintake/dt (m3/h) 1
Tambient, T,ntake (°C) 10 bioreaction heat is not completely removed via ex-
haust air - it is mainly lost to the ambient air via the
surface of the composter, accompanied by losses in
drying the material. It should be noted that the heat
loss percentage decreases with increasing process
different accentuation: the upper curve always de- scale. At diagram d, one at first sees an increasing
notes waterexhaustair. Similarly, heatintakeair and level of water content: nevertheless, looking at the
heatexhaustair c a n be represented by equally accentu- mass reduction of composting material, a consider-
ated lines. For diagram c, the form of a sum diagram able absolute loss of water results from the process.
was chosen, to avoid an extra curve for CO 2 concen- Thus, the fraction of mineral substances rises, al-
tration: dmco2/dt
bio (evolution of bioreaction CO 2) is though is not affected in absolute terms. There is a
proportional to the sum of the intensities of organis- complete decay of sugars and starches, hemicellu-
mic growth (Eq. 23). Diagram d is also a sum lose, and cellulose within 12 days, followed by a
diagram, with each substrate accentuated by the same stagnation of lignin decay. The microbial biomass
pattern as its main consumer. becomes a substantial part of the composting mate-
rial that would be visible as mycelium in a real
5.1. Case 1: simulation of a simple composting process. The evolution of humic substances is still at
process an initial stage after 14 days. Humification or matur-
ing of compost would be the task of a secondary
The purpose of this example is to demonstrate composting process. Unlike the primary composting
how the model works, and how the simulation results process simulated here, it does not need a forced
confirm well-known composting phenomena. A 1-m 3 exchange of air.
scale process has been simulated, using the parame-
ters of Tables 1-3. The chosen thermodynamic data
of the composter characterize a moderately insulated
vessel. The chosen temperatures of intake air, and of Table 3
Special material parameters for the simulation of composting
ambient air, characterize conditions inside halls.
processes: horticultural residues/straw-mixture
Composting material in Table 3 is a mixture of
Component c i (mass %) Qi (kg/ c~p¢¢
horticultural residues and straw, which meets the
cases case 4 mS) (kJ/kg K)
ideal conditions for composting, i.e. low bulking
1-3
density and high concentrations of substrates. The
chosen concentrations are arbitrary to a certain ex- Sugars&starches 5 2 10130 2.3
Hemicellulose 10 2 200 2.3
tent, as composting works at a wide range of concen- Cellulose 15 3 50 2.3
trations. A full water vapour saturation of the intake Lignin 10 6 10 2.3
air was chosen, because fintake is not a sensitive Humic substances 0 0 20 2.3
parameter at 10°C. Mineral substances 10 25 1000 0.8
The diagrams on the left of Fig. 5 give the (ash)
Bacteria 0.001 0.004 1000 4.2
resulting process dynamics. In diagram a, a rapid rise Actinomycetes 0.004 0.016 200 4.2
in the process temperature up to 70°C can be seen. Brown-rot fungi 0.02 0.08 50 4.2
The temperature curve indicates a thermophilic stage White-rot fungi 0.1 0.4 20 4.2
due to bacterial activity, followed by a mesophilic Water 50 61.5 1000 4.2
stage. Furthermore, the temperature curve indicates Total mass (kg) 100 106
the end of the process after 11 days, when the
34 J. Kaiser~Ecological Modelling 91 (1996) 25-37

How realistic are these results? The dynamics of ponents during the primary composting process is a
the physical state variables confirm the experience, quite realistic scenario. This difference may result
as do the dynamics of water and heat transfer. The from a too simple formulation of the degradation
total exhaustion of the three easily degradable corn- kinetics by equations of the Monod type. A more

(a) physical state variables

2OO - - temperatureambient air, temp.intakeair
? 60 ~"
150-~ o temperatureprocess, temp.exhaustair
40 loo ~ * maSScompostingmaterial
ao so E .............* spaCecornpostingm a t e r i a l
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

(b) water vapour transfer watenntakeair, waterexhausta i r

via exhaust air bioreaction water
0.5
~O.4j ~ * heatintakeair, heatexhaustair
~0.3
.... bioreaction heat
0.2
~0.1 .................* heat flowsurface
0
- - * air flow
0 1 2 3

(c) respiration I I growthwhite-rotfungi

g roWthbrown-rotfungi

growthactinornycetes
o
growthbacteria

0 * concentration of C02
0 1 2 3

(d) composition of composting material

humic L ~ lignin
100% substances
F- 1white-rot fungi t~cellulose
(lignolytes) k~:~ hemicellulose
6OO/o8°°/iilYi
° ~- ....... t~.:~:,~,jbrown-rot fungi
...... sugars&starches
40% k\\\\"~actinomycetes
LLLtl II mineral
bacteria (except _ _ _ substances
20% actinomycetes) , , water (degree
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 of moisture)
time (days)

Fig. 6. Simulation of the ecosystem dynamics of a composting process in a l-m 3 composter: interval aeration.
 J. Kaiser/Ecological Modelling 91 (1996) 25-37 35

likely reason is the model's assumption of a ho-
mogenous material: in fact, inhomogenities can not
be completely avoided, causing local delay of degra-
dation as a result of local exhaustion of oxygen and
nutrients.
5.2. Case 2: effects of ideal thermal insulation
The diagrams on the fight of Fig. 5 give the
dynamics of a first variant of case 1. The only varied
input parameter is the overall heat transfer coeffi-
cient of the composter: here, u = 0 was chosen.
The resulting process has a delay due to an un-
favourably high process temperature. Nevertheless, it
is much more efficient in drying the composting
material. The plotted curves stop at day 13, because
the model equations of microbial growth are not
realistic in regions of water contents below 30%. The
simulation illustrates the amount of energy of corn-

701
s-6o an

~ ao
20 . . . . . . . v ,

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

(b) air flow

2
g
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

(c) respiration

C~ 10
0 5
"6
0 ~

0 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

100%

t- 90%
O
o
80%

70%

60% i i L r i i

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
time (days)

Fig. 7. Dynamics of a composting process in experiment and simulation: 0.7-m 3 composter, interval aeration. [] : experimental data from
Kaiser and Soyez (1990).
36 J. Kaiser/ Ecological Modelling 91 (1996)25-37
posting material, and demonstrates a possible drying
out of composting material.
5.3. Case 3: effects of an interval aeration
A second variant of case 1 simulates an interval
aeration, a periodic air exchange within the com-
posting material. This principle is used, for instance,
in periodically turned compost piles, and in rotating-
drum composters. In this example, the process is
simulated assuming 3-h intervals with air flow of 2
m3/h, and 3-h intervals of standing air. If the air
flow is interrupted, the thermal insulation properties
of standing air take effect, and the transition of heat
via the surface of the composter can be neglected.
Fig. 6 gives the resulting course of the process.
Here, diagrams b and c can only show one curve,
and for a period of 3½ days only. In diagram d, a
notable decrease of the water contents can be seen.
The drying is more efficient compared to case 1 (Fig.
5, left). The slight extension in duration results from
short-term exhaustions of oxygen at no-aeration
times, indicated by CO 2 concentrations of 21% in
diagram c. It should be noted, how quickly the
oxygen reserves of a composting material can be
exhausted, if air supply is interrupted.
5.4. Case 4: an experiment and its simulation com-
pared
An experiment described earlier (Kaiser and
Soyez, 1990; Soyez and Kaiser, 1993; Kaiser, 1994)
has been reused to compare the model and reality.
The process monitored was the degradation of a
mixture of straw and horticultural residues, with an
initial mass of 106 kg, and an initial water content of
60%. The capacity of the composter was 0.7 m 3. In
the experiment, an interval aeration was chosen, with
a daily air supply period of 12 h and an air flow of 2
m 3 / h (Fig. 7b). Two variables were monitored every
2 h: process temperature, and concentration of CO 2
in the exhaust air. CO 2 measurements could only be
made during air flow periods.
The experimental data is given in Fig. 7, together
with the simulation results. The simulation again
makes use of the kinetic parameters of Table 1, the
technological parameters of Table 2, and of the
material parameters of Table 3. Only the concentra-
tions of the substrates was assumed to be lower -
obviously, the CO 2 data show a composting material
that is poorer in organic matter. To meet the fast start
of the process, higher initial concentrations of organ-
isms had to be assumed (Table 3).
What can be seen by comparing experiment and
simulation? Firstly, the extent of stochastic effects on
the process becomes obvious. The reliability of any
deterministic model of the process can be judged.
Second, a notable coincidence can be seen in the
response to air interruptions: both experiment and
simulation show that the process does not become
slower, until the oxygen is exhausted, indicated by a
CO 2 concentration of 21% in diagram c. Third,
experiment and simulation coincide in showing peri-
ods of constant high temperature at oxygen exhaus-
tion, thus confirming the assumption of ideal thermal
insulation during air flow interruption. Finally, the
case makes it obvious that a simulation provides a
lot of additional details of a monitored process - the
number of variables in simulation is larger than in
any experiment. In this case, even the progress of
matter conversion can be derived, based on two
monitored time series (diagram d).
6. Conclusions
The model succeeded in reflecting well-known
phenomena of various composting technologies. The
choice of the model elements seems to meet the key
factors of the composting process i.e. mass and heat
transfer, evaporation, microbial matter conversion
and humification. In particular, the simulation results
justified the classification of substrate range and
microbial range, as well as the model's assumptions
on substrate utilization. Thus, beyond its use for the
interpretation of the basic effects of composting, the
model can be recommended as a tool in ecotechno-
logical research to estimate effects of new ideas in
the design and control of composting processes.
Finally, the limitations of the model shall be
noted. The model is a deterministic one, and the
precision of the results is in accordance with the
stochastic fluctuations of the process. Thus, even a
model that included more details could not improve
predictions significantly. Further problems arise for
composting processes that run at conditions close to
 J. Kaiser~Ecological Modelling 91 (1996) 25-37
biodegradation processes in soil, when effects like
incomplete substrate degradation, process delay, evo-
lution of methane and CO 2 concentrations > 21%
occur. Here, additional model assumptions might
help, e.g. further substrate and biotic components, a
spatial structure of the composting ecosystem, anaer-
obic metabolism, or inhibition of microbial growth.
However, even the use of the original model could
be suggested here: any differences between observed
and simulated dynamics may represent chances of
improving the process results by intensified homoge-
nization, air exchange, or nutrient supply.
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