In-vessel Composting
of Hog Manure

Following is a brief overview of our initial hog manure composting efforts. Hog manure was collected from a facility which scraped waste products from the feeding floor. The manure was high moisture (80-90%) and wood chips were used to improve porosity.

 The waste was loaded into a prototype in-vessel, mechanical composter following pre-mixing with the wood chips at the rate of one part hog manure to three parts wood chips (by volume).

 The vessel was rotated at 3 revolutions per hour. The composting mass heated rapidly and finished the composting process in about five days (see temperature graph).

 Utilization of this process for decomposition of carcasses may be feasible due to the high temperatures generated.

Links to other TAMU-C composting pages:
  • In-vessel composting of dairy cattle solid waste.
  • Co-composting of poultry litter and poultry carcasses.
  • In-vessel composting of institutional food service waste.
  • Demonstration of In-vessel Composting of Food Residuals at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

    • Dr. Don Cawthon
    Department of Agricultural Sciences
    Texas A&M University - Commerce