An Alternative to Vermiculite: Composting on Tropical Islands Using Coral Sand to Enhance Nitrogen Retention during Ventilation

Reducing nitrogen loss during composting with forced ventilation was comprehensively investigated in this study. Coral sand was tailored in the co-composting in the co-composting of sludge and litters. The physicochemical results revealed that forced ventilation prolonged the thermophilic phase and accelerated the substrate decomposition. With the addition of 10% native coral sand, the amount of nitrogen loss decreased by 9.2% compared with the original group. The microbial community evaluation revealed that the effect of forced ventilation on colony abundance was significantly greater than that of adding coral sand. This study demonstrated that when composting on a tropical island, adding coral sand under forced ventilation was a viable solution for realizing sustainable development.