Results showed that the addition of inoculating material at different
time exhibited various effects not only on the degradation rate of total organics, but also on the performance
of water removal and water content reduction. The beginning of aerobic stage (day 5) was suggested
to be the optimal time for inoculation. Under this operational condition, 815 g/kg-W0
(W0 = initial water content) was removed and the water content reduced from the initial 72.0% to
48.5%. Adding inoculating material at the start of hydrolytic stage (day 0) reduced water removal and
water content reduction rates. The addition of inoculating material at day 7 or 9 could not improve
the bio-drying performance significantly. Additionally, the inoculation at days 0, 5, 7 and 9 enhanced
lignocelluloses degradation rate by 3.8%, 11.6%, 7.9% and 7.7%, respectively.
2008 Elsevier.