3.4. Effect of additives on TOC, TN, and C/N ratio
The effect of additives on total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen
(TN) and C/N ratio is presented in Fig. 6. Among the treatments,
maximum reduction of TOC was observed in phosphogypsum
(20.22) followed by fly ash (19.41). All other treatments (lime, polyethylene
glycol and jaggery) showed more or less same rate of TOC
reduction in the range between 14 and 16 percentages. Conversely,
an increase in total nitrogen content was observed in jaggery and
polyethylene glycol treatments, which indicates faster rate of organic
matter degradation. As a result, C/N ratio of finished compost in
these cases showed significant reduction. The reduction in C/N ratio
in jaggery treatment is almost 8% as compared to other treatments