Evaluation of Physicochemical Properties and Nutrient Composition of Chicken Feather Vermicompost for Sustainable Waste Management System

• Published in: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
• Main Author: Shahiful Hizam N.S.; Omar N.F.; Sabri N.F.; Samsuddin N.Z.; Zainol Abidin M.A.
• Format: Conference paper
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Physics 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85214820577&doi=10.1088%2f1755-1315%2f1426%2f1%2f012014&partnerID=40&md5=b6d5d39ea8ff84f28b36dc24ca6ab1a4

Recently, chicken consumption per capita in Malaysia is over 48 kg/year generating a significant number of wastes, especially chicken feathers and leading to pollution if left untreated. About 90% of keratin in chicken feathers is difficult to degrade. The purpose of this study is to accelerate the decomposition of chicken waste and determine the effect of different rates of substrate and composting agents on physicochemical properties and nutrients availability of vermicompost. Hence, this study is conducted to decompose the feathers through vermicomposting with the combination of earthworm and feather degrading bacteria. A total of 8 formulated chicken feather vermicompost with different rates of substrate (chicken feathers, chicken dung, mushroom media residue, and banana trunk) and single or combination presence of composting agent (earthworm and bacteria) were prepared. The physicochemical properties (electrical conductivity and pH value), biodegradability coefficient, and nutrient content of chicken feather vermicompost were collected on the final day of composting. The physicochemical properties result shows a constant optimal value for decomposing and microbial growth. The results show that different rate of substrate affects the nutrient content of the vermicompost after complete composting. The overall finding shows that T3 (MMR:BT:CD:CF=6:1:1.5:1.5), which had a lower rate of chicken feather with the presence of both composting agent has the highest percentage of nutrient content. © 2024 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.