Effect of different bulking agents on the quality, microbial community structure and metabolic functions during human feces composting in foam composting device
Aerobic composting represents an efficacious strategy for the disposal of human feces, yet investigations into the effects of different bulking agents on this process remain limited. This study investigated the effects of composting human feces with four types of bulking agents—wheat straw, corn str...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1556537/full |
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| author | Tianyang Ning Tianyang Ning Xiangqun Zheng Xiangqun Zheng Jiayin Liang Jiayin Liang Weihan Wang Weihan Wang Guowei Zhang Xiaocheng Wei Xiaocheng Wei Lu Tan Lu Tan |
| author_facet | Tianyang Ning Tianyang Ning Xiangqun Zheng Xiangqun Zheng Jiayin Liang Jiayin Liang Weihan Wang Weihan Wang Guowei Zhang Xiaocheng Wei Xiaocheng Wei Lu Tan Lu Tan |
| author_sort | Tianyang Ning |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aerobic composting represents an efficacious strategy for the disposal of human feces, yet investigations into the effects of different bulking agents on this process remain limited. This study investigated the effects of composting human feces with four types of bulking agents—wheat straw, corn straw, millet straw, and sawdust—in a foam composting device, as well as the impacts of the process on the microbial community structure and metabolic functions adopting sequencing data analysis and metagenomic analysis. The results demonstrate that aerobic composting can safely treat human feces, resulting in a mature compost product. Comparative assessments of compost quality and microbial profiles with various bulking agents indicated superior performance of corn straw compost, surpassing those produced with wheat straw, millet straw, and sawdust in terms of humification level (HA/FA = 2.9), peak temperature reached (71.2°C), composting duration (20 days), and nutrient composition (TN 42.87 g/kg). Additionally, the diversity and dominance of certain microbial colonies (Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidota) were significantly higher in composts formulated with corn straw. The metagenomic data analysis reveals significant differences in the abundance of “carbon metabolism” and “microbial metabolism” among different groups, further indicating that the addition of different bulking agents affects the utilization of metabolic products, amino acids, and carbohydrates as carbon sources by microbes in human feces compost. Consequently, leveraging corn straw as a bulking agent, given its abundant availability, could potentially improve the efficiency and outcome of the human feces composting process. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8c8bddfa712a4d75a66b97fc955288cd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-8c8bddfa712a4d75a66b97fc955288cd2025-08-20T02:33:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-06-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.15565371556537Effect of different bulking agents on the quality, microbial community structure and metabolic functions during human feces composting in foam composting deviceTianyang Ning0Tianyang Ning1Xiangqun Zheng2Xiangqun Zheng3Jiayin Liang4Jiayin Liang5Weihan Wang6Weihan Wang7Guowei Zhang8Xiaocheng Wei9Xiaocheng Wei10Lu Tan11Lu Tan12Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Rural Toilet and Sewage Treatment Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Rural Toilet and Sewage Treatment Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Rural Toilet and Sewage Treatment Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Rural Toilet and Sewage Treatment Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaTianjin Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Tianjin, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Rural Toilet and Sewage Treatment Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Rural Toilet and Sewage Treatment Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin, ChinaAerobic composting represents an efficacious strategy for the disposal of human feces, yet investigations into the effects of different bulking agents on this process remain limited. This study investigated the effects of composting human feces with four types of bulking agents—wheat straw, corn straw, millet straw, and sawdust—in a foam composting device, as well as the impacts of the process on the microbial community structure and metabolic functions adopting sequencing data analysis and metagenomic analysis. The results demonstrate that aerobic composting can safely treat human feces, resulting in a mature compost product. Comparative assessments of compost quality and microbial profiles with various bulking agents indicated superior performance of corn straw compost, surpassing those produced with wheat straw, millet straw, and sawdust in terms of humification level (HA/FA = 2.9), peak temperature reached (71.2°C), composting duration (20 days), and nutrient composition (TN 42.87 g/kg). Additionally, the diversity and dominance of certain microbial colonies (Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidota) were significantly higher in composts formulated with corn straw. The metagenomic data analysis reveals significant differences in the abundance of “carbon metabolism” and “microbial metabolism” among different groups, further indicating that the addition of different bulking agents affects the utilization of metabolic products, amino acids, and carbohydrates as carbon sources by microbes in human feces compost. Consequently, leveraging corn straw as a bulking agent, given its abundant availability, could potentially improve the efficiency and outcome of the human feces composting process.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1556537/fullhuman fecesbulking agentcompost qualitymicrobial community structuremetabolic functions |
| spellingShingle | Tianyang Ning Tianyang Ning Xiangqun Zheng Xiangqun Zheng Jiayin Liang Jiayin Liang Weihan Wang Weihan Wang Guowei Zhang Xiaocheng Wei Xiaocheng Wei Lu Tan Lu Tan Effect of different bulking agents on the quality, microbial community structure and metabolic functions during human feces composting in foam composting device Frontiers in Microbiology human feces bulking agent compost quality microbial community structure metabolic functions |
| title | Effect of different bulking agents on the quality, microbial community structure and metabolic functions during human feces composting in foam composting device |
| title_full | Effect of different bulking agents on the quality, microbial community structure and metabolic functions during human feces composting in foam composting device |
| title_fullStr | Effect of different bulking agents on the quality, microbial community structure and metabolic functions during human feces composting in foam composting device |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of different bulking agents on the quality, microbial community structure and metabolic functions during human feces composting in foam composting device |
| title_short | Effect of different bulking agents on the quality, microbial community structure and metabolic functions during human feces composting in foam composting device |
| title_sort | effect of different bulking agents on the quality microbial community structure and metabolic functions during human feces composting in foam composting device |
| topic | human feces bulking agent compost quality microbial community structure metabolic functions |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1556537/full |
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