BIOCONVERSION OF AGRICULTURAL WASTES

INTO HIGH VALUE BIOCOMPOST: A ROUTE TO

LIVELIHOOD GENERATION FOR FARMERS
SEMINAR -1

BUSHRA BAREEN -18EV06007

PARTH RAJPUT- 18EV06006

SCHOOL OF INFRASTRUCTURE
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHUBANESWAR
1
ARGUL, JATNI -752050, ODISHA
 CONTENTS:-
• Agro wastes
• Composition of agro wastes
• Application of Agro Wastes
• Adverse Effects of Burning Agro wastes
• Methods used for Bio Composting
• Application of Bio composting in Conversion of Agro Wastes
• Materials and Methods Used
• Analysis of Bio compost
• Impact Assesment on Crops
• Conclusion
 AGRO WASTES:-
Agricultural Farm wastes produced after
harvest of every crop.
About 620 million tons amount of crop
residues are produced every year in India.
Examples:- Wood pellet, Wood Chips, Rice
Straw, Wheat Straw, Palm waste, Sugar cane,
Bio waste etc.
EXAMPLES OF AGRO WASTES:-
COMPOSITION OF AGRO WASTES:-
 Almost 50% of total agricultural residues
produced from rice, wheat and Oilseeds.
The Residues mostly consists of :-
• 0.5% Nitrogen
• 0.2% P₂O₅
• 1.5% K₂O
• This Constitutes 30% of total NPK mineral
consumption in India.
APPLICATION OF AGROWASTES:-

Paper and
Animal Roofing
leather
Feedstock Materials
Industries
Energy
Bio
Generation
Fertilizers
Biogas
 ADVERSE EFFECT OF BURNING
AGROWASTES:-
 Generates a lot of particulate matter in
environment forming Smog, Smoke that
causes Air pollution.
Disturbs Soil physical, chemical and biological
structure
Affects microbial population, Microbial flora,
microbial fauna life forms.
Emission of green house gases causing global
warming.
 ADVERSE EFFECT OF DIRECTLY
APPLYING AGRO WASTES TO CROPS:-
Direct application have negative implications
like:-
 It may improve soil health, but decreases crop
yield.
 Because of microbial infestation, production
of phytotoxins, allelochemicals.
 Immobilizations of nutrients like nitrogen.
 Direct incorporation of paddy straw causes
CH₄ emission.
Solution Of above concern:-

Agro Bio Compost

wastes Microbial Consortia and
organic materials (amino
acids, humic acid, minerals)

Generates
Economic Bio organic farms
livelihood to inputs.
rural society
 METHODS USED FOR BIO
COMPOSTING:-
Aerobic Bio-composting:-Generally used for :-
 yard wastes, separated municipal solid waste,
commingled processed municipal solid wastes, waste
water sludge.

 Windrow composting:-
Conventional windrow composting
High rate windrow composting
 METHODS USED FOR BIO
COMPOSTING:-
 Conventional windrow composting:-
• The Cross-section of the windrow used is 8-10ft height and
20-25ft width.
• It takes longer time for degradation of the wastes.
• Moisture Content of 50-60% is to be maintained along with
temperature of 55-65⁰C.
• Turning is done twice in a year
• After composting is done it enters into Curing period of 10-12
weeks is been carried out.
• During the curing period, residual decomposable organic
materials are further reduced by fungi and acitnomycetes.
 METHODS USED FOR BIO
COMPOSTING:-
 High rate windrow composting:-
• The Cross-section of the windrow used here is 6-7ft height
and 14-16ft width.
• It takes lesser time for degradation of the wastes in
comparison to conventional windrow method.
• Temperature to be maintained here is 55⁰C. Composting takes
place in 3-4 weeks.
• Turning is carried out twice per week .
• Curing period of 10-12 weeks is been carried out.
WINDROW COMPOSTING (Biological and chemical conversion
technology https://waste-management-world.com>)
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES:-
• ADVANTAGE
• Its capital costs and operating costs is very low
• High skilled labourers not required.
• DISADVANTAGE
• Climate and seasonal changes have major
effects .
• Large area requirement due to large scale
production
• Large amount of leachate is formed.
 METHODS USED FOR BIO
COMPOSTING:-
 Aerated static pile composting:-
• This method was developed by US Department of Agriculture.
Originally developed for the aerobic composting of waste-
water sludge.
• It consists of a grid of aeration static pile system over which
the processed organic fraction of MSW is placed. Typical pile
height is about 7-8ft
• A layer of screened compost is often placed on the top of the
newly formed pile for insulation and odor control.
• Each pile is usually provided with a blower for effective
aeration control, required for degradation of the wastes.
AERATED STATIC PILE COMPOSTING (Biological and chemical
conversion technology https://waste-management-world.com>)
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
• ADVANTAGES
• The methods produced compost very quickly
in 3-6 months.
• Odour control is better than Windrow
• DISADVANTAGE
• High suceptibility to climate change like
Windrow.
• Requires equipments like perforated pipes,
blowers that involves high costs and technical
assistance.
 METHODS USED FOR BIO
COMPOSTING:-
• Wood chips are provided
 IN VESSEL COMPOSTING:-
• It is accomplished inside an enclosed container or vessel.
• Different vessels (vertical towers, horizontal rectangular
and circular tanks and circular rotating tanks) have been
used. Major categories are plug flow and dynamic
(agitated bed).
• In dynamic systems, the composting material is mixed
mechanically during the processing.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
• ADVANTAGES
• The reasons for increasing popularity of in-
vessel composting are process and odor
control, faster throughout and smaller area
requirement.
• DISADVANTAGE
• Requires expensive and technical assistance to
operate properly.
 GENERAL METHODS OF BIO
COMPOSTING PRACTISED IN INDIA
On Site Composting:-
• Conducted by residents and small quantity
generators of organic wastes on their property.
• ADVANTAGES
• By composting of wastes in residents reduces the
amount of wastes to be disposed by Dustbins
• Not sensitive to seasonal variation
• Less time of 3-6 months and less equipments
required.
•DISADVANTAGES:-
• Improper management of food crops can cause
odors and might also attract the unwanted attention
of Insects.
• Compost produced cannot be used for potting soil.
Vermi composting
• Here red worms found in gardens are placed in bins
with organic matter in order to break it down to high
value compost.
• ADVANTAGE
• Decomposition of almost all types of wastes takes
place
• Produce a high quality liquid fertilisers used in house
plantings.
• It inhibits the growth of pathogenic microbes.
•DISADVANTAGES:-
• Warms are very susceptible to environment like
direct sunlight or extreme temperature.
• Optimum temp 20-30⁰C, moisture content 20-30%.
• Careful maintenance of worm bedding to be carried
out it creates habitat for warm to sustain.
• TRADITIONAL METHODS USED:-
INDORE METHOD:-
• organic wastes are spread to serve as bedding.
• Urine soaked earth along with dung is provided in
layers of 15cm thick and some portion is mixed with
water and sprinkled over the layers.
• A layer of well decomposed compost is spread over
the top layer and the heap is given turning and
reformed.
• Curing period of one month is required.
BANGLORE METHOD:-
• Here dry waste materials of 25cm thick is spread in a
pit
• a thick suspension of cow dung in water sprinkled
for moistening.
• A thin layer of dry waste is laid over the moistened
layer.
• Pit is filled alternately with dry layers and cow dung
upto 0.5m above ground level.
• Left exposed without covering for 15 days.
• Plastered with wet mud.
• Curing period of 5 days provided.
NADEP METHOD:-
• First developed by a farmer in Maharastra.
• Compost prepared by wide range of organic
materials including dead plant materials such as crop
residues, weeds, forest litter and kitchen wastes.
• Includes simple rectangular brick tank with enough
spaces maintained between the bricks for aeration.
• Recommended size:-10*5*3ft
• Constructed with mud and cement motar.
• Tatched roofs provided.
• Filled in 3 layers:-
• Plant residues, cattle dung, sieved soil .
NADEP METHOD:-
 CASE STUDY ON APPLICATION OF AGRO
WATES TO PRODUCE BIOCOMPOST:-
• Method used:- windrow composting

Mixing of different agrowastes.

40% wheat straw, 40%paddystraw and 10%
vegetable leaf are mixed to give 300kg waste
matter (dry)

Heaping + other ingredients + moisture

Piled structure of 15*15. other ingredients like
wheat husk(8kg), chokar(30kg), jaggery(8kg)
etc added for rapid composting.
 The mixing of the other ingredients
Urea ,bran, husk etc done after every
3-4days

Repiling was done

Moisturisation and routine turning was

done 6-7 times in 35 days and pile
remained untouched for 10 Weeks.

Finally a light brown color bio-compost

was prepared.
 Analysis of bio compost
Slno parameters Mean values of
biocompost
1 Bulk density (kg/m3) 342±11.9
2 pH 7.2±0.6
3 C:N ratio 13.8:1
4 Soluble 12.9±0.5
salts(mmho/cm)
5 Total solids 45.6±1.8
6 Total moisture 12.2±0.66
7 Organic matter 26.7±2.4
8 Carbon 15.3±1.3
9 Total nitrogen 1.36±0.4
10 Organic nitrogen 1.28±0.7
11 Phosphorous 0.37±0.03
12 Pottasium 1.18±0.08
 IMPACT ASSESMENT ON CROPS
Parameters Rice (cm) Wheat (cm)

Soil: Bio- Soil Soil:Bio- Soil (control)

compost (control) compost(1:1)
(1:1)
Root length 11.2 ± 1.9 8.6 ± 0.9 13.8 ± 0.5 12.3 ± 0.3
(cm)

Shoot length 35.3 ± 2.3 33.2 ± 3.1 34.2 ± 1.4 28.3 ± 1.8
(cm)
Root dry wt (g) 5.2 ± 0.7 4.7 ± 0.6 4.7 ± 0.7 3.8 ± 0.4

Shoot dry wt 3.4 ± 0.3 2.6 ± 0.5 2.9 ± 0.5 2.1 ± 0.4
(g)
 CONCLUSION:-
• This method is gaining importance now a days
since:-bioconversion in a very short span of
time leading to the production of bio compost
and its value-added enriched bio-farm input
products valuable for the farmer's fields.
• also helps in improving rural sanitation at
large scale.