Evaluation of total greenhouse gas emissions during sewage sludge composting by the different dicyandiamide added forms: Mixing, surface broadcasting, and their combination

The aim of this work was to compare the impact of different adding forms of dicyandiamide (DCD) on NH3 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during sewage sludge (SS) composting. Four treatments were set up using SS mixed with sawdust, to which DCD was then added by mixing (M), surface broadcasting (B), and a combination of the two (M+B). The treatment without DCD applied was used as the control. The results indicate that the addition of DCD slightly inhibited the organic matter (OM) degradation, but that it had no significant effect on CO2 emission. The surface mulching of DCD has no significant effect on NH3, N2O, and CH4 emissions. The mixing addition of DCD significantly increased the NH3 emission by 32.5% compared to that of the control. The N2O emission for the M and M+B treatments significantly decreased by 35.1% and 51.8%, respectively. The CH4 emission for the M and M+B treatments decreased by 33.9% and 31.8%, respectively. In addition, the total GHG emissions for the M and M+B treatments were significantly reduced by 16.7-25.7% (P < 0.05) compared to those of the control. Therefore, to reduce the total GHG emissions of the SS composting process, the addition of DCD by a combination of mixing and surface mulching is strongly recommended as a highly efficient solution.