Resumen
Composting can be used to reduce the cost of disposing of organic by-product, as well as providing income, since compost retain the physical-chemical properties that can be used as a soil improver. This research was conducted to produce compost by using a fed-batch reactor and utilising the food wastes from Faculty of Engineering UMS cafeteria as the composting materials. The characteristics of food waste compost produced were investigated in terms of its temperature, odour and mass reduction. The fed-batch composting reactor consists of 3 different compartments which are compartment A, compartment B and compartment C respectively. To facilitate natural aeration and measurement of temperature, 15 holes with a diameter of 21.33 mm were installed in each compartments. The composting process took place in compartments A and B which are called as active zone and the end product is stored in compartment C. Dry leave (DL) were also added to the feed as a bulking agent (FW: DL = 1: 1 by weight). Temperature of the compost material were recorded each day for 55 days using a thermometer. Odour is identified using a scale from 1 to 6 which are from odourless until extremely unpleasant. After 55 days, total mass of the compost material was weighted to measure the quantity of mass reduction and 43.6% mass reduction was identified. The compost material reach thermophilic phase during week 4 with a maximum temperature of 57? and odour data scale showed that the odour around the fed-batch reactor is not disturbing for human. This research is significantly relevant as a baseline data to improve composting technique in order to manage the municipal solid waste (MSW).