Pre-Composting and Vermicomposting of Pineapple (Ananas Comosus) and Vegetable Waste

In the last few years, pineapple (Ananas comosus) has grown to be considered one of the most important fruits worldwide due to its high production and consumption. However, inadequate disposal of the waste it generates, which represents up to 67% of its total weight, can have environmental impacts....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied sciences 2019-09, Vol.9 (17), p.3564
Main Authors: Castillo-González, Eduardo, Giraldi-Díaz, Mario Rafael, De Medina-Salas, Lorena, Sánchez-Castillo, Marcela Patricia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
agro-industrial waste
Composting
Degradation
Fruits
Humidity
Leachates
Nitrogen
Organic carbon
Organic wastes
pineapple
Pineapples
pre-composting
Reactors
Variance analysis
Vegetables
Vermicomposting
Worms
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Summary:In the last few years, pineapple (Ananas comosus) has grown to be considered one of the most important fruits worldwide due to its high production and consumption. However, inadequate disposal of the waste it generates, which represents up to 67% of its total weight, can have environmental impacts. Therefore, this study focuses on the degradation of organic waste produced in the industrialized processing of pineapple waste (rinds, crowns and cores), which undergo a process of vermicomposting at a laboratory level. The methodology used included the pre-composting process and vermicomposting through Californian red worms using mixes tested in three different proportions of pineapple waste (PR) and load material (LM) made up of vegetable waste and eggshells. Testing revealed that the pre-composting process for this waste was feasible as a first stage of the degradation process; the characteristics of the pre-composted material allowed a favorable adaptation for both the worms and general degradation. It also showed efficiencies in the removal of organic carbon between 36.40% and 45.78%. Results also showed the total nitrogen content remained between 1.2% and 2.2% and the carbon/nitrogen relation (C/N) had values under 20 as required for high-quality vermicompost.
ISSN:2076-3417
2076-3417
DOI:10.3390/app9173564