Properties of Agave angustifolia Haw. bagasse before and after its composting

Abstract

The industry of mezcal (Agave spp.) in Oaxaca, Mexico annually generates more than one hundred thousand tons of bagasse. With the aim of using this by-product as an alternative organic substrate, the physical, physicochemical and chemical properties of samples of A. angustifolia Haw bagasse were analyzed before and after composting. The analysis was carried out as a function of aging time, using 0, 90 and 180 days of aging. Before composting, all the physicochemical properties were different for each of the aging periods except for humidity and dry matter. During the composting process the temperature of the three materials was superior to 50 °C, and after 105 days mature compost, free of feces was obtained. The physicochemical and chemical properties of the three composts were different for each of the aging periods and most of them were not between the reference intervals, except in the C/N relation. This is in contrast to most of the other physical properties.