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Sustainability
Volume 18
Issue 1
10.3390/su18010169
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Enhancing Humification and Shortening Composting Time of Food Waste Digestate with Mature Compost Addition: A Pilot-Scale Study

by
Feiran Wang
1,
Xingfeng Yang
1,
Xiang Huang
1,
Chuang Ouyang
2,
Lin Lin
1,
Yuliang Chen
1,
Yue Chen
1,
Zhigang Liu
3,
Deli Wu
3,
Seinn Lei Aye
4 and
Xiaowei Li
1,*
1
School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering, Ministry of Education, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
2
Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Engineering Design Institute Company Limited, Shanghai 200232, China
3
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, National Engineering Research Center for Urban Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
4
Department of Industrial Chemistry, University of Yangon, Yangon 11000, Myanmar
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2026, 18(1), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010169 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 20 November 2025 / Revised: 19 December 2025 / Accepted: 20 December 2025 / Published: 23 December 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

Direct agricultural use of digestate from food waste is hindered by its high phytotoxicity, and the addition of common auxiliary materials during composting increases the project cost. In this study, mature compost (MC) was used to replace part of mushroom residue as auxiliary materials for controlled experiments at a pilot-scale horizontal double-layer mechanical composting device. The results showed that the MC addition heated up more rapidly than the control group (NC), peaking at 72 °C on day 5. The moisture content was reduced from 47.17% to 25.36%, which was lower than the final value of 28.48% in the NC. The final humic acid (HA) content in the MC group (60.88 g/kg) was higher than that in the NC (44.82 g/kg). The seed germination index (GI) for both groups exceeded 70%, meeting the national standard. The MC group achieved a final GI of 119.37%, which was significantly higher than that of the NC (81.29%). The phylum Firmicutes became the dominant group in the MC group during the thermophilic phase, demonstrating strong thermotolerance and a high capacity for degrading recalcitrant organic compounds such as cellulose. At the genus level, Bacillus demonstrated a relatively high abundance during the thermophilic phase. These findings imply that the MC addition improves the composting property, enhances the degree of humification, and shortens the composting time, providing technical support for the improvement of aerobic composting of food waste digestate, thus contributing to more sustainable waste management by promoting a circular economy and reducing reliance on external inputs.
Keywords: aerobic composting; digestate; mature compost addition; pilot-scale mechanical horizontal reactor; resource recovery aerobic composting; digestate; mature compost addition; pilot-scale mechanical horizontal reactor; resource recovery

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Wang, F.; Yang, X.; Huang, X.; Ouyang, C.; Lin, L.; Chen, Y.; Chen, Y.; Liu, Z.; Wu, D.; Aye, S.L.; et al. Enhancing Humification and Shortening Composting Time of Food Waste Digestate with Mature Compost Addition: A Pilot-Scale Study. Sustainability 2026, 18, 169. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010169

AMA Style

Wang F, Yang X, Huang X, Ouyang C, Lin L, Chen Y, Chen Y, Liu Z, Wu D, Aye SL, et al. Enhancing Humification and Shortening Composting Time of Food Waste Digestate with Mature Compost Addition: A Pilot-Scale Study. Sustainability. 2026; 18(1):169. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010169

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Feiran, Xingfeng Yang, Xiang Huang, Chuang Ouyang, Lin Lin, Yuliang Chen, Yue Chen, Zhigang Liu, Deli Wu, Seinn Lei Aye, and et al. 2026. "Enhancing Humification and Shortening Composting Time of Food Waste Digestate with Mature Compost Addition: A Pilot-Scale Study" Sustainability 18, no. 1: 169. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010169

APA Style

Wang, F., Yang, X., Huang, X., Ouyang, C., Lin, L., Chen, Y., Chen, Y., Liu, Z., Wu, D., Aye, S. L., & Li, X. (2026). Enhancing Humification and Shortening Composting Time of Food Waste Digestate with Mature Compost Addition: A Pilot-Scale Study. Sustainability, 18(1), 169. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010169

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