Effects of microbial culture and chicken manure biochar on compost maturity and greenhouse gas emissions during chicken manure composting

The effects of chicken manure biochar (CMB) and chicken manure integrated microbial consortium (CMMC) as co-amendments were assessed on compost maturity and reduction of greenhouse gases and ammonia (NH3) emissions during chicken manure composting. Composting was conducted using six combinations of CMB and CMCC (0 % CMB + 0 % CMMC, 0 % CMB + 10 % CMMC, 2 % CMB + 10 % CMMC, 4 % CMB + 10 % CMMC, 6 % CMB + 10 % CMMC, 10 % CMB + 10 % CMMC added on a dry weight basis) in six polyvinyl chloride composting reactors for 42 days under an aerobic environment. Co-amendment of CMB and CMMC extended the thermophilic stage and promoted compost maturity. The release of greenhouse gases [nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4)] and NH3 from treatments co-amended by CMB and CMMC were reduced by 19.0-27.4 %, 9.3-55.9 % and 24.2-56.9 %, respectively, compared with the control. In addition, a redundancy analysis showed that the C/N ratio and temperature had a significant relationship with greenhouse gases and NH3 emissions among all physiochemical characteristics.