Soils bioremediation of hydrocarbons and green waste elimination through composting process

The aim of this work was to study the mineralization of hydrocarbons during composting. For this purpose, soil/green waste mixtures were prepared at three different ratios (S/GW= 60/40, 70/30, 80/20) composted for 90 days. An unamended polluted soil (100% soil) was used as the control. The results indicate that the composting process greatly increased the overall rate of hydrocarbon mineralization. The greatest loss of hydrocarbons was obtained in the first compost with the most green waste (96%), followed by the second where losses were still high (78%). In the compost with the least green waste, the hydrocarbon concentration decreased by only 64%. The hydrocarbon level in the control system remained practically unchanged. In addition, mineralization time increased with increasing green waste ratios, the composting process played a considerable role in the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons and minimized the green waste produced by restaurants and cafeterias. The data obtained will be useful for solid waste management policy making.