Chemistry: fertilizers – Processes and products – Organic material-containing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-31
2001-05-15
Straub, Gary P. (Department: 1754)
Chemistry: fertilizers
Processes and products
Organic material-containing
C071S009000, C071S023000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06231631
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compost excellent in fertilizing activity, and to its production. The present invention can be applied for treating particularly agricultural waste, for example, organic waste rich in vegetable scrap or the like dumped from fruit and vegetable markets and for producing therefrom compost excellent in fertilizing activity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic waste such as urban rubbish (such as kitchen waste), sewage sludge, excreta from stock raising, and trash from agricultural production can be converted under appropriate conditions (for example in the presence of microorganisms) into compost which is then recycled to soil for reuse as fertilizer.
As for some organic wastes treated in compost treating equipment, although there are cases where organic wastes are masses consisting of various organic substances such as urban rubbish, there are not a few cases where composition of the wastes is comparatively homogeneous such as sewage sludge, excreta from stock raising, trash from fruit and vegetable markets, or waste from fish markets. For such waste composed of organic substances comparatively homogenous in composition to be treated to produce compost, certain appropriate conditions exist or likely exist which can be chosen according to the composition of those organic substances or the property of a resulting mass.
For example, it is a feature that agricultural waste, particularly garbage damped from fruit and vegetable markets contains a rich amount of vegetable scrap, and hence it has a high carbon
itrogen ratio (C/N ratio) and fiber content as compared with kitchen waste, sewage sludge, and excreta from stock raising, though of course not as high as those of sawdust or timber tips.
Generally, many studies have been reported heretofore as regards the methods how to treat organic wastes to produce compost. Some items such as water content, porosity, pH, and C/N ratio of a material to be turned into compost are proposed to be considered in the compost treatment. The carbon
itrogen ratio of a compost material has been known as a factor which may greatly affect the rate at which the material is converted into a finished compost, and it is generally said that, with a material having a carbon
itrogen ratio of 7-30, decomposition of organic substances takes place rapidly, and with a material having a carbon
itrogen ratio of 7-10, organic substances decompose most rapidly. Also it has been known that the carbon
itrogen ratio is 30-50 for common urban rubbish, 8-12 for sewage sludge, and about 10-20 for product compost which has received a compost treatment.
Further, according to the description of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-11895, it is described that sufficiently ripe compost can be produced in a short time when a compost material which meets the conditions such as a carbon
itrogen ratio of 12-25 and a water content of 60-85% is treated under a certain air supply condition. Furthermore, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-97181, is described a method that organic compost fermented and dried in a short period can be obtained by controlling air evacuation from a sealed type fermentation tank to which warm air is ventilated, and it is also described that a compost material should preferably have a carbon
itrogen ratio of 10-20 and a water content of 50-70%.
As described above, of compost materials and particularly compost having received a compost treatment, with a carbon
itrogen ratio of 10 or less, discussion has been seldom made with an emphasis on their quality.
According to what the present inventors have found, even if garbage dumped from fruit and vegetable markets, to be made into compost, is initially so adjusted as to have a carbon
itrogen ratio of 12-25 during a preparation stage, then receives an appropriate compost treatment, and thus obtained compost has a carbon
itrogen ratio of 10-20, the resulting compost, when applied to soil to see its fertilizing effect, will not give a result as expected. Briefly, they found that this method can not provide compost excellent in fertilizing activity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide compost excellent in fertilizing activity, and a production method thereof, particularly a method whereby organic waste rich in vegetable scrap such as garbage dumped from fruit and vegetable markets is treated so as to produce compost.
To achieve the object, the present invention provides compost which has a weight ratio (C/N) of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) of 9.5 or less on completion of a compost treatment.
Further, the present invention relates to a method for producing compost, which comprises the steps of providing a compost material having a weight ratio (C/N) of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) of 10.5 or less and carrying out a compost treatment of the compost material by maintaining a water content of the compost material substantially at 30-60%. The weight ratio (C/N) of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) of the compost material can be adjusted by adding or lessening organic waste appropriately. When necessary, prior to the compost treatment, the water content of the compost material should be adjusted by adding moisture to or drying the compost material appropriately. For uniformity of a compost material, the compost material is dried until it has a water content of 10-30%, and then its water content is adjusted.
Further, the present invention relates to a method for using compost, which comprises the step of applying the compost to soil for cultivation, wherein the compost has a weight ratio (C/N) of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) of 9.5 or less on completion of a compost treatment.
In this specification, the weight ratio (C/N) of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) (hereinafter referred to, in some cases, simply as “carbon
itrogen ratio”) refers to a ratio of carbon weight against nitrogen weight which is obtained after respective weights have been derived from a material of interest and the ratio thereof calculated. Specifically, from a material of interest is extracted a sample which is sufficient in weight to give a significant result, and the sample is submitted to a general carbon assay (as described in JIS-M-8813) and a general nitrogen assay (as described in JIS-M-8813), and the ratio in question is calculated from the measurements.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT
The compost of the present invention has a carbon
itrogen ratio of 9.5 or less after completion of a compost treatment and preferably 8.5 or less. According to what the present inventors have found, when compost has a carbon
itrogen ratio exceeding 9.5, its fertilizing activity is lowered because it, when applied to soil, deprives the soil of nitrogen content and gives adverse effects to crops cultivated there. Particularly, as is evident from the description of examples given later, when compost prepared from garbage discharged from fruit and vegetable markets has a nitrogen/carbon ratio exceeding 9.5, its fertilizing activity is greatly lowered. When the compost has a nitrogen/carbon ratio of 9.5 or less, its fertilizing activity is improved, and when the compost has a nitrogen/carbon ratio of 8.5 or less, its fertilizing activity becomes excellent.
In this specification, “a compost treatment” refers to a process wherein organic materials (particularly organic waste) are processed to compost through the action of microorganisms. For example, this treatment can be carried out by leaving organic materials (particularly organic waste) to an aerobic fermentation, while preferably subjecting them to appropriate ventilating and stirring conditions for a certain period. Here, “organic materials” mean organic compounds which are liable to chemical processing through the action of microorganisms, and preferably biodegradable organic materials, i.e. organic compounds without non-biodegradable materials such as plastics.
The compost treatment is not necessarily limited to what follows, but it generally proceeds in a fermentation ta
Frishauf, Holtz Goodman, Langer & Chick, P.C.
NKK Corporation
Straub Gary P.
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