Speaker
Description
Morocco is one of the countries that is currently living with the dilemma of a high consumption rate alongside another problem, which is waste management. This problem has been known a significant rise in Morocco with approximately 18000 t/day, characterized by a high rate of organic waste (approximately 80%). Morocco’s multiple trials to treat these problems politically and financially seemed to be cost and time-inefficient leading to environmental, economic, and socially negative impacts. Ergo, thinking of other potential substitutes became the trend throughout the country. The present study highlighted the substantial potential of vermicomposting on different types of materials. The vermicomposting experiment along with the analysis of the initial and final feedstock took place in both INRA Agadir and BioMAgE laboratory at FSSM Marrakech. After one month of vermicomposting, the main chemical parameters indicating the biotransformation of substrates such as pH, EC, OM, TOC, HS, C/N, HN4+/NO3-… showed a significant variation.
The final vermicomposts exhibited a pH that was stabilized around neutrality, a C/N ratio that showed a significant decrease in comparison to the initial product with a value between 20 and 30. The degree of humification was evaluated by humic substance content which was in
the range of 0,71 and 3,02 g/Kg. The spectroscopy analysis UV-vis has shown that Q4/Q6 ratio articulated between a value of 8,74 and 12,48, as well as IR spectra evolved in favor of the humification process that occurred during the vermicomposting process, while SEM micrographs showed the fragmentation of the waste samples’ surfaces.
The GI increased with a maximum percentage of 99% in CD and a minimum increase of 10% in SS for the Turnip grains after vermicomposting. Together with a decrease in physicochemical, and spectroscopy analysis, as well as SEM micrographs, confirm that vermicomposting is a suitable bioprocess to reduce the organic waste impact on the environment.
Keywords: vermicomposting, organic waste, Morocco, Eisenia fetida, humification, maturity, sewage sludge, cow dung, phytotoxicity, SEM, UV-vis, FT-IR
