Release of isoprene and monoterpenes during the aerobic decomposition of orange wastes from laboratory incubation experiments

The release of isoprene and 12 monoterpenes during the decomposition of orange wastes was studied under controlled aerobic conditions in laboratory for a period of 2 months. Monoterpenes (mainly limonene, beta-myrcene, sabinene, and alpha-pinene) dominated among the released volatile organic compounds, but isoprene was only a very minor constituent. Two time windows with peak microbial activity were indicated by CO2 emission fluxes and waste temperature, both of which reached their maximums 3-4 days and 15-20 days after the incubation, respectively. Although isoprene had only one emission peak synchronizing with the first peak microbial activity, monoterpenes had relatively high emission rates, but they decreased at the beginning without correlation to the first peak of microbial activity, due largely to direct volatilization of these monoterpenes primarily present in orange substrates as inherited constituents. However, after the initial decrease the emission rates of monoterpenes rose again in conjunction with the second peak of microbial activity, indicating secondary production of these monoterpenes through microbial activity. On the basis of monitored emission fluxes, the amounts of secondarily formed monoterpenes from microbial activity well surpassed those inherited in the orange wastes. Production of total terpenes reached 1.10 x 10(4) mg kg(-1) (dry weight), of which limonene alone was 63%. For either limonene or total terpenes, about 95% of their emission occurred in the first 30 days, implying that organic wastes might give off considerable amount of terpenes during early disposal under aerobic conditions before the conventional anaerobic landfilling, and emission measurements just in landfills might underestimate the waste-related emissions of reactive organic gases.