Simulation of organic matter and pollutant evolution during composting : the COP-compost model

Gwenaëlle Lashermes (1, 2) , Yuan Y. Zhang (2) , Sabine S. Houot (2) , Enrique Barriuso (2) , Jean-Philippe J.-P. Steyer (3) , Dominique Steyer Patureau (3) , Patricia P. Garnier (2)

1 FARE - Fractionnement des AgroRessources et Environnement
2 EGC - Environnement et Grandes Cultures
3 LBE - Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l'Environnement [Narbonne]

Organic pollutants (OPs) are potentially present in composts and the assessment of their content and bioaccessibility in these composts is of paramount importance. In this work, we proposed a model to simulate the behavior of OPs and the dynamic of organic C during composting. This model, named COP-Compost, includes two modules. An existing organic C module is based on the biochemical composition of the initial waste mixture and simulates the organic matter transformation during composting. An additional OP module simulates OP mineralization and the evolution of its bioaccessibility. Coupling hypotheses were proposed to describe the interactions between organic C and OP modules. The organic C module, evaluated using experimental data obtained from 4 L composting pilots, was independently tested. The COP-Compost model was evaluated via composting experiments containing four OPs representative of the major pollutants detected in compost and targeted by current and future regulations. These OPs included a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (fluoranthene), two surfactants (4-n-nonylphenol - NP, and a linear alkylbenzene sulfonate - LAS) and an herbicide (glyphosate). Residues of 14C-labeled OP with different bioaccessibility were characterized by sequential extraction and quantified as soluble, sorbed and non-extractable fractions. The model was calibrated and coupling the organic C and OP modules improved the simulation of the OP behavior and bioaccessibility during composting.

Mots clés: Compost; Modeling; Organic matter; Contaminant; Organic pollutant; Pesticide; Soil

Domaines: Environnement et Société

Gwenaëlle Lashermes, Yuan Y. Zhang, Sabine S. Houot, Enrique Barriuso, Jean-Philippe J.-P. Steyer, et al.. Simulation of organic matter and pollutant evolution during composting : the COP-compost model. Journal of Environmental Quality, 2013, 42, pp.361-372. ⟨10.2134/jeq2012.0141⟩. ⟨hal-00939618⟩