Bioresource Technology 42 (1992) 103-111
Loss of Nitrogenous Compounds during Composting
of Animal Wastes
O. Martins
Holzmann Umwelttechnik GmbH, An der Gehespits, 6078 Neu-Isenburg, Germany
&
T. Dewes*
Institut fiir Mikrobiologie und Landeskultur, -Mikrobiologie-, der Justus-Liebig-Universit~it, Senckenbergstrasse 3,
6300 Giessen, Germany
(Received 10 November 1991; accepted 23 December 1991 )
Abstract
The nitrogen losses occurring during composting of
mixtures of straw and different liquid manures
(poultry, pig, cattle, and mixtures thereof) over a
period of 98 to 114 days have been determined.
During the composting period between 9"6 and
19.6% of the initial total nitrogen was lost as
leachates. Most of the leaching (> 70%) occurred
within the first 10 days of the composting period.
Consequently, large amounts of nitrogen are
carried out of the compost with the leachate over
this period largely as a result of the high nitrogen
concentrations. The greatest proportion of nitrogen
in the leachate (76.5-97.8%) was ammonium-
nitrogen.
The greatest nitrogen losses, between 46.8 and
77"4% of the initial total nitrogen content, were
caused by gaseous emissions in the form of NH3 as
well as small amounts (< 5%) of NO x. The main
factors which influenced the level of gaseous emis-
sions were the total nitrogen content at the begin-
ning of the composting period, the temperature of
the compost material and heap rotation (turning).
The greatest nitrogen losses were found in the
N-rich poultry- and pig-straw mixtures which
showed obvious temperature increases up to 40°C
during the first few days of the composting period.
A high pH value (pH> 8) promoted the gaseous
*To whom correspondence should be addressed at Macken-
ser Stral3e 36, 3354 Dassel, Germany.
103
Bioresource Technology 0960-8524/92/S05.00 © 1992 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in
Great Britain
NH 3 emission which is important from an environ-
mental perspective.
Key words: Animal wastes, decomposition, nitro-
gen emissions, nitrogen leaching.
INTRODUCTION
Losses of nitrogenous compounds during decom-
position of animal wastes occur on the one hand
through emission of gases such as N H 3 and NOx
and on the other hand as liquid in the form of
bound nitrogen, NH~- and small amounts of NO 3.
Although both are of ecological relevance, the
economics should also be taken into considera-
tion, at least when the processing of the animal
wastes occurs on the farm. In this case the farmer
should take into account the nutrients contained
within the manure when fertilizers are applied.
Loss of NH 3 starts immediately after the animal
wastes are excreted. Consequently the air within
the stall as well as the vapour plume rising from
storage, as well as from the fertilized fields, all
contain NH 3 (Kowalewsky, 1981; D6hler, 1987;
Oldenburg, 1989). The amount of NH 3 emissions
is by no means negligible. Buijsman et al. (1987)
estimated that each year in Europe 6-4 × 106 t
NH 3 are emitted, of which 81% is produced as a
result of animal husbandry. New investigations
based on updated data suggest even greater
amounts (Isermann, 1990). It is held to be almost
104 O. Martins, T. Dewes
certain that these place terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems under stress (Roelofs, 1986;
Schuurkes, 1986; Van der Eerden et al., 1990).
The most important factors which influence the
emission of NH3 from animal excrements are pH
value, NH~-/NH 3 equilibrium, mineralisations
intensity of organic N-compounds, C/N ratio,
temperature, dry matter content and wind speed.
Therefore differences can be expected in the level
of the NH 3 emissions from both solid and liquid
manure systems which are dependent on the tech-
nical system available for handling the manure as
well as on the kind of animal, feeding, etc.
In the case of liquid manure, NH 3 losses of the
order of 1.4% to 56"3% were measured during
storage (35 to 180 days) alone (Dewes et al.,
1990). Further losses occur during the spreading
of the manure. According to D/Shier (1990) these
losses amount to 3-67% of the total amount of
NHJ- applied (i.e., the amount still present at the
end of the storage period). Investigations con-
ducted by Kirchmann and Witter (1989) based on
models using solid manure showed that, depend-
ing on the addition of straw and the C/N ratio,
gaseous N-losses amounted to 9-44% of the Ntota 1
over 200 days. The degree of variation in the NH 3
emission rates for both solid and liquid manures
are unusually large. It is generally assumed, how-
ever, that losses over comparable storage times
are greater for solid than for liquid manure.
The aerobic decomposition of solid manure,
which generally aims to achieve a rapid break-
down of organic substances and a hygienic effect
from self-heating, is promoted by heap rotation
and should lead to the fastest NH 3 emission rates.
Additionally leaching always occurs, which also
carries nitrogen out of the compost. Owing to a
law passed in 1986 (Wasserhaushaltsgesetz - - a
German law for the protection of water bodies) it
is becoming increasingly common in Germany to
discuss the question of whether or not the
nitrogen content, in particular the NO 3 portion,
of manure leachate poses a danger to the ground
water supply.
From an ecological view point liquid and solid
manure must be seen in a new light. Although
basically solid manure is useful for the fertilization
of farmland it is necessary to improve estimates of
the nitrogen losses from storage and spreading of
manure.
This investigation is considered to be a step in
this direction. The NH3/NO x emission rates from
different combinations of cattle, pig and poultry
dung heaps were determined under semi-tech-
nical conditions, as well as quantifying the amount
of nitrogen lost through leaching. With these
results it is intended to produce a nitrogen
balance sheet for the aerobic decomposition of
animal excrement over a period from 98 to 114
days.
METHODS
Procedure
Two pig, three cattle and three poultry liquid
manures, with dry matter (DM) contents of 7-4 to
17.2%, as well as a mixture of all three in the ratio
of 1:1:1 (DM 12.2%) were separately placed into
a stirrer (500 litres) and mixed, together with
chopped straw (length c. 5-10 cm, 80% DM), for
8 min to produce a homogenous manure-straw
mixture. The amount of straw added depended on
the DM content of each manure slurry and
totalled 2.1-4.7% (w/w). The mixtures (CM =
cattle manure, PM= pig manure, PoM = poultry
manure, MM = mixed manure) were placed into a
composter in triangular heaps with a height of
0.6-0.8 m. Self heating then occurred in these
containers. As the heaps were placed into the
composter layers of chopped straw totaling c. 2%
(w/w) were added. The total amounts of manure
slurry and straw-DM as well as the amount of
manure-straw mixture set out as compost are
given in Table 1.
The heaps were turned between three and
seven limes during the composting period. This
occurred whenever the majority of the five
measurement sites indicated that the compost
temperature had fallen below 30°C. Samples were
taken for analysis at the beginning and end of the
composting period. In order to prevent the outer
edges of the compost from drying out and to test
the possibility of recycling leachate, the leachates
were regularly spayed back over the compost dur-
ing the composting period (Fig. 2). The applica-
tion times were dependent upon compost
temperature as well as on the water content of the
outer edges of the heap. When insufficient
leachate was available, additional dung slurries
from the same kind of animal (DM < 4.2%) were
used to irrigate the compost. For the pig, poultry
and mixture composts the first irrigation occurred
after 9 to 14 days of composting, but only after 26
to 41 days for the cattle compost. The total
amount of leached water and dung slurries used
for irrigation ranged between 193 and 507 litres/
tonne initial weight.
 Loss of N during composting of animal wastes 105

Table 1. Compositionof the manure-strawmixturesand the frequencyof turning(rotation)

Treatment Amount DM Additional straw FM of the manure-straw Number of
of of (DM) in % of mixtures at start of rotations
manure manure manure (FM) composting
(kg) (%) (kg)

PoM 1 2075 13"9 5'7 2219 6

PoM 2 1350 8"2 7'0 1468 6
PoM 6 1751 17.2 4.2 1842 7
CM 3 2041 12.3 5.2 2173 6
CM 7 1770 10.9 5.6 1894 5
CM 8 1539 8.5 6.1 1657 6
PM 4 1729 12.8 5.6 1849 4
PM 9 1205 7.4 7.8 1322 4
MM 10 1466 12.2 6.7 1588 3

DM = dry matter; FM = fresh matter; PoM = poultry manure; CM = cattle manure; PM = pig manure; MM = mixed manure.

ceiling fort
oxid fan
gaseous emissions
PVC-~entiotion pipe

If o,
- onolyzer
PE-tent temperoture meosuring points

composting basin
droin pipe

contoiner
for collecting PE - foi
leochote
Fig. 1. Experimentalset-up.

Construction of the composter and tent (Fig. 1)
The composter was constructed from crossed
wooden slats with a base area of 3.76 m × 2.40 m.
The base and sides of the composter were lined
with polyethylene plastic to prevent water
seepage. A drain pipe was built into the lowest
point so that the leachate could be collected in a
container and measured and from which samples
for analysis could be taken. In order to be able to
calculate the N-balance the compost material was
weighed at the beginning and at the end of the
composting period.
The gases released from the compost were
trapped in tents (of polyethylene plastic) erected
over the composter. With the aid of an axial fan
the air was pumped through a PVC pipe at an
initial flow rate of 174 Nm3/h at the beginning of
the composting period and later increased to 289
Nm3/h due to formation of condensation on the
inside tent walls caused by a high relative humid-
ity. Ceiling fans provided a steady air circulation
within the tent.
Measurement and analysis methods
Temperature
The heap temperature was measured at hourly
intervals at five sites using thermoelements (Fig.
1). The data were recorded on a datalogger for
later transfer to a PC.
NH3/NOx emissions
The gas emission samples from each heap were
collected by drawing samples through a small
perforated plastic tube inserted into the ventila-
tion pipe. The NH 3 and NOx content were deter-
106 O. Martins, T. Dewes

mined at least twice daily using a ,I, ¢ ¢ $ J, ¢

chemiluminescence analyser (model PN-1H, 200.

'~ '~ ' '"~LSUU ' ~' 'I 5,"
~o
IMES, Wiesloch, Germany). Background con- o

centrations which had to be taken into account 7s: 25 ~

because of the neighbouring stalls and composters
were determined inside a tent placed over an v 5o. 50 ~

empty composter. The data for each series of

$ = rotated
measurements were then corrected using these u 25-
8
background levels. odded liquid

Ii
leached liquid

Compost and leachate analysis

1500- ,ii i i L-2;- -;L;;,_:,.'
.'
The samples were deep frozen immediately after 9"
collection and transported to the laboratory in an 100 o.
300~
ice chest. Before the following analyses were car- I,
ried out the leachate samples were allowed to 200
200

melt, while the compost samples were ground in a

frozen state: 100 [ ~ ] N-oddition
I~ N -N
-- Dry matter content (DM): at 105°C to con- Z NH4-N
111111111NO3-N
0
stant weight 0 20 40 60 80 100
-- Total nitrogen (Ntotal): Kjeldahl, modified by doys

Cope (Bremner & Mulvaney, 1982)

- Ammonium-nitrogen (NH;-N): Distillation
-
into H2SO 4 and titration with NaOH
according to Bremner ( 1965).
-- Nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N): Colorimetric
determination using UV absorption as
Dewes and Schmitt (1990). Compost
samples were mixed into distilled water at a
ratio of 1:10. The organic content was pre-
cipitated out using ZnSO4 solution (7.2%)
and Na2B407"10 H=O solution (5%) and
separated using centrifugation.
-- Organic carbon compounds (Corg): Colori-
metric after wet ashing with KzCr207
(Schlichting & Blume, 1966).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
During the composting period nitrogen losses
occurred not only through leaching but also as
gaseous emissions in the form of NH3 and NOx.
Addition of nitrogen into the compost material
occurred as a result of the regular irrigation of the
heaps using leachate and dung slurries.
An array of interdependencies exist between,
firstly, the amount of leachate, its nitrogen con-
tent, and the proportions of different nitrogen
fractions and secondly, the type of material used,
the composting period, the degree of irrigation,
and the frequency of rotation. Several of these
interdependencies are illustrated using heap PoM
2 in Fig. 2 as an example. Here, as in all other
Fig. 2. Amount of leaching and nitrogen release during the
decomposition of poultry manure (PoM 2) as a function of
irrigation degree, nitrogen addition and rotation frequency.
cases investigated, most of the leaching (> 70%)
had already occurred within the first ten days,
before the start of irrigation, and is independent
of the addition of water. This agrees with our own
investigations with cattle manure heaps in the field
as well as with the experiences of K6hnlein and
Vetter (1953). With increasing length of the corn-
posting period, leaching generally only occurred
after the heap was rotated. Leachates were no
longer detectable after only 34 days (PoM 6) and
for up to 72 days (PoM 1 and PoM 2). A large
amount of nitrogen was removed due to leaching,
particularly in the first few days while the rate of
leaching was high. The highest Ntota I concentra-
tion, averaging 908-8 mg/100 ml, was measured
for poultry manure (808-1054 mg/100 ml), fol-
lowed by the poultry/pig/cattle mixture with 745
mg/100 ml, pig manure with an average of 561.2
rag/100 ml (557-565 rag/100 ml) and cattle
manure with 384"4 mg/100 ml (352-433 mg/100
ml, cf. Table 2). It is therefore apparent that the
Ntota I content in the initial material determines the
maximum NtotaI concentration of the leachate and
therefore to a large extent the amount of Ntota I it
carries with it. This varied from 741 g/t to 2815
g/t (Table 3). During a 98-114-day composting
period between 9"6% (MM 10) and 19-6% (PoM
2) of the sum of the initial nitrogen content and
 Loss o f N during cornposting o f a n i m a l wastes 107

Table 2. Amount of leachate and irrigation water and concentrations of total nitrogen, ammonia and nitrate nitrogen

Treatment Leachate Ntot, t NH~-N NO£ -N Irrigation Ntotat

(litre / tonne) ~ (mg/ l O0 ml) (mg/ l O0 ml) (mg/ l O0 ml) water (mg/ l O0 ml)

Max. Min. Max. Min. Max. Min. (litre/tonne) ~

PoM 1 292.9 863-9 155.5 772.3 70-7 7-3 0"6 292"9 824.0
PoM 2 324.9 808.3 386'2 705"5 210"9 6-2 0"8 425"7 685.2
PoM 6 278-5 1054-2 818.2 959"5 719"8 2"7 1.0 302-9 1010.9
CM 3 225.0 352"3 275.8 260"3 148"5 3"9 0-6 225"0 269"7
CM 7 278.2 433.3 267.3 369"7 121.0 6.2 0"5 192"7 398"9
CM 8 266.7 367.5 241.1 277.2 85.4 5.7 0'7 202.2 348"0
PM 4 295-3 557"4 235-3 462.1 7'97 6"6 0"9 405.6 439.5
PM 9 313.9 564.9 288.0 479.2 161"0 4.9 0-7 506'8 511.0
MM 10 165.0 744.9 450.5 649.4 191.9 7.8 0.3 352"6 664'7

"litre/tonne initial mass.

Table 3. Total nitrogen (Nt,,tal) balance

Treatment N,,,,,/ in compost Nr,,tu/ in Nt,,r,l in N~ot~1emitted Error'

(g/tonne)" leachate irrigation water (g/tonne) ~ (%)
(g/tonne)" (g/ tonne) ~
Start End Measured Calculated b

PoM 1 10 657 3452 2 354 2 508 7 371 7 359 0.2

PoM2 9272 2569 2384 2918 7587 7237 4.8
PoM6 11684 2854 2815 3062 7399 9077 18.5
CM 3 5 601 1 859 741 607 2 556 3 608 29-2
CM 7 5679 2 448 1 110 769 2 961 2 890 2.5
CM 8 5 112 1 932 928 609 2485 2 861 13.1
PM4 8038 3493 1532 1783 4263 4796 11.1
PM 9 7 663 3 570 1 679 2 590 4 163 5 004 16.8
MM 10 9 727 3033 1 155 2 344 6 509 7 883 17.4

"g/tonne initial mass.

/'NtotaI emitted = N t o t a I in compost at start + N t o t a I irrigation water - N t o t a I leachate - Ntota I in compost at the end.
'Difference Nt,,t,,i-measured and Nl,,tat-calculated in % of Nt,,arcalculated.

the amount added by irrigation was drained off as
leachate.
Initially, the composition of the nitrogen con-
tent of the leachate was similar to that of the liquid
manures used for preparing the compost mix-
tures. The largest proportion (76.5-97.8% of
Ntotal) w a s NH~--N. The maximum NH~--N con-
centration varied between 260-3 and 959"5 mg/
100 ml (Table 2) whereas poultry leachates
showed the highest NH~--N content due to the
high ammonium concentration in the initial
poultry slurries, followed in decreasing order by
the mixture, pig, and cattle leachates. The second
largest fraction was organically-bound nitrogen.
In view of the current discussion in Germany over
the risk of contamination of ground-water sup-
plies by manure leachates it is particularly note-
worthy that the NOy-N fraction of the total
nitrogen content of the leachate at any time was
extremely small (0.1-2.2%) and, independent of
the type of animal dung. This result agrees with a
similar finding by Ott et al. (1983) as well as with
our own investigations under farm conditions
(Dewes et al., 1991). The latter also showed that
with an increasing composting period the Ntota 1
content of the leachate decreased significantly. In
this study the Ntota I concentration also fell by
22-82% within 24-49 days for each treatment.
The NH~--N concentration also steadily sank, in
some cases, to 9% of the maximum concentration.
After a longer composting period the measured
nitrogen contents of the leachates showed no clear
differences between the different types of manure
regardless of the Ntota I content of the initial
material. At the same time a small, insignificant
enrichment of NO3-N in the leachate was
measured, up to a maximum of 2.2% of the Ntota 1
content (CM 7 after 22 composting days). As
could be expected, the changes in the N H ; - and
NO3-N concentrations in the leachate reflected
the corresponding values of the compost material.
With increasing duration of the composting
108 O. Martins, T. Dewes

Table 4. Dry matter (DM) content, nitrogen concentration (Ntotal, N O 3 - N , NH~-N) and C/N ratio for the manure-straw
mixtures at the start and the end of composting period

Treatment Duration of DM Ntot~I NH~-N NO~-N C/N

composting (%) (mg]l O0g FM)
period
PoM 1 0 20.5 1065.7 760.7 a 8-6
114 52.2 1493.3 298-9 43-6 9-5
PoM 2 0 17.2 927.2 672-8 --a 9.9
107 40.2 1228.5 252.3 36.9 11.1
PoM 6 0 21.5 1168.4 841.5 1.3 7.1
105 61.2 1468.5 348.1 30.6 10.6
CM 3 0 16.5 560.1 311.9 2.1 14.4
103 29.4 832.7 102.0 31.4 13.4
CM 7 0 16.1 567.9 313.9 2.3 12.9
107 33.9 914.6 177.3 29.4 12.3
CM 8 0 14.1 511.2 321.2 --" 13.2
109 31.6 842.6 124.4 29.3 14.7
PM 4 0 18.8 803.8 543.7 --" 12.2
106 34.9 1149.1 224.1 85.1 10-6
PM 9 0 16.6 766.3 524.5 --" 10.0
104 33.1 1131.7 239.4 75.9 10.9
MM 10 0 21.1 972.7 633.8 --~ 9"5
98 32.1 915.5 208.7 13.5 11.4

F M = Fresh matter.
aNot detectable.

period a decrease in the NH~--N concentration
together with an increase in the NO 3 content
could be observed (Table 4) which is an indication
of a regulated, aerobic, composting process.
Through the return of the leachates for irriga-
tion purposes it was possible to totally dispose of
all the leachate for all the manure types with the
exception of the cattle composts CM 7 and CM 8
(cf. Table 2). This practice puts less stress on the
environment and makes good use of the leachates.
In several cases (PoM 2, PoM 6, PM 4, PM 9, MM
10) insufficient leaching occurred and due to high
compost temperatures and high evaporation rates
additional slurries had to be used for irrigation to
prevent the outer edges of the heap from drying
out. For the two cases (CM 7 and CM 8) where a
complete return of all the drained leachates over
the period of the experiment was not possible the
water content at the beginning of the composting
period was already high with values of
83.9-85-9%. This decreased only slowly due to an
initially low degree of self heating and a slow rate
of dehydration. Due to these factors the heaps
were irrigated relatively late (after 28 to 40 tom-
posting days) and with only small amounts of
liquid.
The previously washed-out contents, in parti-
cular nitrogen and carbon, were returned to the
compost with the leachates. When liquid manures
were additionally used for irrigation, the amount
of nitrogen and carbon added exceeded that lost.
To this extent it could be shown that it is possible
to recycle organically-contaminated leachates,
which is a particularly interesting alternative with
no further disposal methods required. At the same
time, the return of the leachates increased the
concentration of substances within the compost.
This can be seen for nitrogen and carbon in Table
4 which fists the Ntota~contents and the C/N ratios.
A nutrient enrichment like this during decomposi-
tion of organic matter is often to be found (e.g.,
Levi-Minzi et al., 1986). However, it should not
be overlooked that this enrichment is due in parti-
cular to the loss of water during the composting
period which leads to an increase in the relative
concentrations and nutrients.
The greatest nitrogen losses are caused not
through leaching but rather through gaseous emis-
sions. From the data presented in Table 3 it can be
calculated that between 46.8% (CM 3) and 77-4%
(PoM 2) of the initial nitrogen (including that
added by irrigation during the composting period)
is emitted in the form of NH 3 and NOx and by far
the greatest amount consists of NH 3 (Fig. 3). The
gaseous nitrogen loss is therefore of the same
order as that shown by Schuchardt (1990), Vogt-
 Loss of N during composting of animal wastes 109

Heop 6, poultry manure (PoM 6) the relatively nitrogen-poor pig and cattle manures
$i / $ $ $ $ $ with Ntota I contents averaging 7851 g/t
~. ~ i! : " :: (7663-8038 g/t) and 5464 g/t (5112-5679 g/t)
~.
I I disproportionally small amounts of 4213 g/t and
~ 400- c~ 3120 g/t were emitted. However, the relative loss
|
v
30 was still very high, with average values of 53.6%
and 57.1% respectively. The difference between
I 200-
Z the nitrogen losses measured with the gas analyser
--- Tilmperoture and those estimated on the basis of chemical
NH -N
~x3-N analyses of the compost amounted to 0.2-29-2%
(Table 3). This discrepancy can be explained by

I,
dQl~
unavoidable errors occurring during the analyses,
Heop 4, pig monure (PM 4) but particularly through the difficulties of main-
taining a reliably constant flow-rate with the axial
fan. Since this fan was installed on the outside wall
• ',
'!...'
°,,,
' ' the flow rate was affected by the wind and this
"~" 400-
"" ' :'"t
v
resulted in considerable variation for which it was
only possible to make manual corrections during
~ 200- the day. It must also be borne in mind that this
Z
,I, rot~ experiment was carried out on a semi-technical
°-° T~tuce scale which creates much greater difficulties in
t--'-i NPI-N
O- i
0
i
20 40
i
60
~
80 '$00
, maintaining controlled conditions than in the
doys laboratory.
As with the nitrogen loss through leaching, the
Heop 3, cottle monure (CM 3) gaseous nitrogen emissions were also irregular
600- over time. Moreover for the nitrogen-rich poultry-
500- and pig-manures there was a clear dependence on
i ""'" I the heap temperature, which in turn was in-
400- ,°
fluenced by heap rotation (Fig. 3). The first clear
2100. :"'... : ", :'., NH3/NO x losses occurred with poultry manure
I 200, .,f°'" ,.. j
after four or five days and ran parallel to the
Z
increase in temperature which, especially in the
100.
outer edges of the heap, reached 40°C. These
- _ ~ - m m ; - .

6" ' '~' ' "4"
Fig. 3. G a s e o u s n i t r o g e n l o s s e s ( N H 3 - N , N O x - N ) d u r i n g
t h e d e c o m p o s i t i o n o f pig, p o u l t r y a n d c a t t l e m a n u r e s w i t h
dependence on time and rotation frequency.
mann and Ott (1980) as well as Baader et al.
(1976), although much higher than in the study by
Kirchmann and Witter (1989).
The most important factors which appeared to
influence gaseous nitrogen losses were the Ntota !
concentration at the start of the composting
period, the compost temperature and heap rota-
tion (Fig. 3).The poultry manures had an average
initial Ntota I content of 10538 g/t (9272-11 684
g/t), while the mixture had an average of 9727 g/t
which resulted in correspondingly high N-emis-
sion rates averaging 7452 g/t and 6509 g/t
respectively; these correspond to N-losses averag-
ing 69.2% and 59"6% respectively (Table 3). From
" '~" " '~" ' ',60' " results agree with those of Muck and Richards
doys (1983) who, through a somewhat different
approach, were able to determine that the level of
N H 3 emissions from animal excrement within the
range of 5-25°C is strongly temperature depen-
dent. After the first rotation, which occurred after
7-10 days, relatively high gaseous-N losses from
the pig manure were also detected. Rotation
caused a homogenization of the compost, but
more importantly loosened up the heap which
allowed a better aeration. This led to a stimulation
of the aerobic microorganisms which raised the
temperature at some measurement sites up to
60°C. Also the addition of unstabilized C- and
N-compounds through irrigation may have stimu-
lated the microbiological decomposition. For the
cattle manure a slow temperature increase
occurred, and only after repeated rotations did
the temperature rise sufficiently high to provide a
hygienic effect. This gradual temperature increase
was probably a result of the high initial water con-
 110 O. Martins, T. Dewes
tent (Table 4). The nitrogen emissions which did
occur, although in comparably small amounts,
were probably the result of increased gas
exchange caused by rotation.
Protein degradation also increased, presumably
as a result of microbial stimulation which
increased the NH~- concentration in the compost.
This in turn explains the high pH value which
initially was greater than pH 8.0 in all treatments
with no appreciable differences. High pH values
and high temperatures according to Loehr et al.
(1973) alter the solution equilibrium between
NH~- and NH 3 in favour of NH 3. Therefore com-
posts which are in a state of strongly aerobic
decomposition and which are very N-rich should
have high emissions in the form of NH 3. The pro-
portion of NOx remained under 5% (cfi Fig. 3)
throughout this study and is therefore relatively
unimportant.
Due to the decreasing concentration of NH~-
and an increase in nitrification with time, the
gaseous N-losses in all treatments clearly fell with
increasing composting period. In particular for
poultry and pig manure it was apparent that heap
rotation in the more advanced compost stages led
to more obvious temperature increases but only
barely increased the N-emissions. After a com-
posting period of 3 months in each treatment the
choking smell of NH3 was replaced by the typical
earthy smell of ripe compost (geosmine). However
the clumpy structure of the compost was unsatis-
factory as a result of the comparatively high water
content still present at the end of the experiment.
A somewhat weaker irrigation would probably
have had a positive effect in this respect. In total
the water content was reduced from an initial
78-5-85.9% to 38"8-70-6% (Table 4). Given that
in this experiment the leachates were returned to
the compost, water loss could only occur through
evaporation. This had a considerable effect on the
reduction in mass, which on average amounted to
79.6% (76"9-81-0%) for the poultry composts,
74.6% (70-7-77.7%) for the cattle composts, and
72.8% (72.1-73.6%) for the pig and mixed-
manure composts.
From the results presented it is obvious that
during the composting of animal excrements the
greatest amount of N is lost as NH 3 emissions
(here 46.8-77.4% of Ntota I within 98-114 days).
The N-losses occurring through leaching are of
considerably less importance (here 9.6-19.6% of
N,ot~). In addition for this source of N-losses there
is the possibility of complete recycling since it is
possible to capture the leachates and either, in the
case where the heaps are protected from rain
water, put it to use for rewetting the compost, or
alternatively, as with liquid manure and urine, it
can be used as fertilizer. Although it is possible to
treat such wastewater this is not particularly use-
ful as long as there are other more environ-
mentally-sound alternatives.
However, NH 3 emissions of the order
measured here probably have a much greater
ecological relevance. From the data it appears that
high priority should be given to the formulation of
prevention strategies. Without doubt the value of
animal wastes as fertilizers can be influenced
within limits through suitable preparation tech-
niques. Since on the farm, in particular, pos-
sibilities exist for the meaningful and also basically
ecologically acceptable use of animal wastes as
fertilizer, an appeal should be made to the legisla-
ture not to hinder the appropriate handling of
animal excrements. This in turn obliges scientists
and farmers not only to show effective pos-
sibilities for the reduction of, in particular, NH 3
emissions but also to bring them into practice. In
these must be counted, amongst others, those
preparation techniques that not so much promote
aerobic composting and humification of the
manure but, rather, work at lower temperatures.
However, the addition of natural materials with
large adsorptive surfaces (e.g., bentonite) also
appears to be useful. A suitable reduction in the
use of protein-rich animal feeds could also be
expected to lead to a reduction in the amount of
NH 3 released. When the processing of animal
wastes occurs in a central plant it is absolutely
necessary to remove the ammonia from the waste
gases in order to reduce the impact on the
environment. Physico-chemical, as well as bio-
logical methods are now available to achieve this
and these are now being tested under practical
conditions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to thank Messrs Dycker-
hoff & Widman, Munic; Preussag AG, Hannover
and Holzmann Umwelttechnik GmbH, Neu-Isen-
burg for their support and also Dr Grand, Mr
Heinl and Mr Meier.
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