Field examination of temperature and oxygen relationships in mushroom composting stacks dash consideration of stack oxygenation based on utilisation and supply

Abstract

Temperature and oxygen concentration in Phase I composting stacks were investigated in the field. that both determine and are consequences of biological Investigations focused on various physical factors activity. Data indicate that oxygen concentrations in Phase I stacks are affected by convection, gaseous diffusion and utilisation rates, but that these rates vary significantly spatially and temporally. When stack temperatures exceed 60°C, biological rates of activity, and therefore oxygen uptake, decrease, allowing oxygen to penetrate well into the centres of stacks. While natural convection is commonly used to explain stack oxygenation, this is an over simplification that does not adequately describe stack oxygen concentrations.