Transformation of agro-industrial organic wastes into vermicompost presents double interest: The waste is converted into value added product, and at the same time the vermicomposting is an environmentally friendly alternative to increased generation of waste in the world. It is very important to consider the complexity of the transformations occurring during the humification process as to know precisely the reactions and the characteristics of the produced humus. This paper reports the feasibility of utilization of vermicomposting technology for otimization of fertility parameters of some organic wastes and presents the dynamics humification study of humic acids extracted from agro-industrial organic wastes in vermicomposting process by 13C NMR. A total of nine vermireactors using Eisenia foetida earthworms having different composted wastes mixtures were established and monitored: cattle manure + orange peel (OP); cattle manure + filter cake (FC) and cattle manure (CM). The process was monitored for 135 days with daily measurements of temperature, weekly moisture control and bi-weekly collection of samples for humic acid (HA) extraction and chemical analyses. The 13C NMR spectra indicated the decomposition of carbohydrate type structures, polysaccharides and alkyl groups and the increase in aromatic structures during vermicomposting process. For the HA extracted from OP and CM an increase in aromaticity degree was observed, while for the HA from FC was not. After 135 days of vermicomposting the aromaticity degree was: 31, 30 and 30 for OP, FC and CM, respectively. Earlier studies in the literature described lower aromaticity degrees for orange peel, filter cake and cattle manure composts, such as 24, 30 and 25, respectively, after 210 days of conventional composting. The results indicated that these organic wastes could be converted into good quality humus by vermicomposting.

Study of dynamics humification of humic acids extracted from agro-industrial organic wastes in vermicomposting process by <sup>13</sup>C � nuclear magnetic resonance (<sup>13</sup>C NMR)

248th National Meeting (2014)

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Study of dynamics humification of humic acids extracted from agro-industrial organic wastes in vermicomposting process by 13C � nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR)

Study of dynamics humification of humic acids extracted from agro-industrial organic wastes in vermicomposting process by ¹³C � nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C NMR)