Degradation of Total Carbohydrate

during the composting of model

kitchen waste inoculated with tempe
and tapai
By: MOHD SYAHLAN BIN MOHD SYUKRI

INTRODUCTION

Background of
Study
Composting
is a natural way to

recycling organic matter by the

process of decomposing the organic
matter using microorganisms in the
presence of oxygen
Microbes from fermented food can be
used in order to solve the problems
as it will increase the microbial
population and enhance the
biodegradable process during the
composting (Koji Takakura,2010)

Problem Statement
Improper management
of waste and lack of
consideration to the
environment

Slow degradation and

produce foul odor

No previous research
conducted to determine
the degradation rate for
total carbohydrate and
enzymatic activity
(amylase and cellulase)
for the compost that is
inoculated with the local
fermented food

Objective
The objective of this study is
to study the degradation rate
of total carbohydrate during
the composting of kitchen
waste inoculated with tempe
and tapai.

Scopes
The scopes of the study are as follow:i) To develop the degradation model for the
degradation of total carbohydrate during the
composting inoculated with different formula of tempe
and tapai
ii) To investigate the performance of enzymatic
activities including amylase and cellulase during the
composting of model kitchen waste.
iii) To study the parameter of compost including pH,
temperature, conductivity, moisture content, organic
matter and carbon to nitrogen ratio

LITERATURE REVIEW

Composting
Technology
VERMIWINDROW
COMPOSTING COMPOSTING

COMPOSTI
NG
TECHNOLO
GY
IN-VESSEL
COMPOSTING

AERATED
STATIC PILE

Local Fermented
Food

Rhizopus Oligosporus
Tempe

Saccharomyces
cerevisiae
Tapai

Source:
https://littlemicrobes.wordpress.co
m/

Degradation of
carbohydrate
Carbohydrate
is a biological molecule

consists of carbon, hydrogen and

oxygen atom.[eg : starch (rice) and
cellulose (vegetables and fruits)]
Degradation of total carbohydrate
involves the ability of the
microorganism to degrade
carbohydrates and adapt to the
environmental condition.
Microbes require carbon source for

Enzymatic assay
Enzymatic activities is a useful
indicators of biological activity and it
provide the information about the
maturity of the composted product
(Nannipieri et al. (1990)

 Amylase activity at its maximum at

the early stage of composting (Raut
et al. 2008)
Cellulase activity during the
composting process is dependent on
the types of cellulolytic
microorganisms that develop on the
organic waste (Goyal et al., 2005)

Composting
parameter
A) Temperature

Three phase of composting based on

temperature of pile.

 To compost quicker and more

complete composting, maintaining
the optimum temperature in the
thermophilic range may be
prerequisite. (Lin (2008) and Kumar
et al. (2010))
The indigenous microorganisms
could easily utilize the organic
materials in the food waste at >50oC
(Yu and Huang 2009)
Beneficial microbial populations
might be killed and inhibited as the
compost temperature goes above 60-

 B) pH value

pH variation during composting

process

 Most of the mature compost has a pH

value between 6 and 8. However, it
depends on the basic of the products
from. For instance, compost made up
from wood residuals or peat moss
has pH values as low as 4.5 while
manures are frequently alkaline
around pH value 8 to 8.5 (William
Darlington,2001)

 C) C/N ratio
Low C/N ratios is needed for composting
(Adhikari et al., 2008; Chang and Hsu,
2008; Chang and Chen, 2010)
Ideal C/N ratio is around 30 because
higher ratio will cause the degradation
process slowly as the nitrogen supply
not sufficient (Mitchel et al., 1996)

 D) Moisture Content
Researcher

Optimum moisture
content (%)

Iqbal et al. (2010)

50 - 70

Liang et al. (2003)

60 - 70

Tiquia et al. (1998)

50 - 60

 E) Organic matter
High quality compost usually contain
min 50% OM based on dry weight
(William Darlington)

F) Conductivity
Most compost have conductivity 1.0
10.0 dS/m (US composting council,2001)

METHODOLOGY

Experimental Flow
Chart

Compostin
g of the
model
Preparatio kitchen
n of the
waste
model
treated
kitchen
with tempe
Preparatio waste
and tapai
n of
solution

tempe
and tapai
solution

Studying
the
composting
parameter

Studying
the
degradatio
n profile of
carbohydr
ate and
the
enzymatic
activities
of the
composts

Degradation
DAY

MICROBIAL
INOCULANT
TEMPE
TAPAI

1,3,5,7 week 2,3

50 %TEMPE +
50%TAPAI
WATER
EFFECTIVE MICROBES

CONCENTRATION
OF CARBOHYDRATE

DAY

Composting
parameter
MICROBIAL
TEMPERAT pH
INOCULANT

TEMPE
TAPAI

50% TEMPE +
50% TAPAI
WATER
EFFECTIVE
MICROBES

URE (C)

VALUE

CONDUCTI
VITY
(dS/m)

MOISTU
RE
CONTEN
T (%)

Week

OM

% ash

%C

%N

C/N

Week
1

Amylase
(U/g)

Cellulase
(U/g)

EXPECTED RESULT

 Total carbohydrate decrease upon

compost maturity
Enzymatic activity
(amylase,cellulase) increase at the
thermophilic stage of composting

Parameter
Temperature

Expected value
upon maturity
30-40oC

pH value

6-8

Moisture

50 % - 60 %

Organic matter

50%

Carbon to Nitrogen
ratio
Conductivity

15
1.0-10.0 dS/m