Y.B.

PATIL POLYTECHNIC
SECTOR NO. 29, AKURDI, PUNE -411044, INDIA

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that

Y -3015 Raj Bhosale

Y -3021 Jitesh Chaurasiya

Y -3007 Atharva Takalkar

As satisfactorily carried out and completed the micro project work entitled.

VERMICOMPOSTING

This work is being submitted for the award of Diploma in civil engineering partial fulfilment of
prescribed syllabus of M.S.B.T.E Mumbai for Academic Year 2024-25.

GUIDE HOD OF DEPARTMENT PRINCIPAL

Mrs. Sheetal Nalbilwar Mr. A. H. Patil Dr. A. S. Kondekar

Annexure – 1

MICROPROJECT: - Vermicomposting

1. Course outcomes addressed:

• Get to know about various biomedical waste treatment disposal, segregation, storage treatment
precaution and government rule.

2. Action plan:

Planned start Planned Finished Name of responsible

Sr. Details of Activity Date Date Team Members
No.
1) Collection of Information 11/02/2025 14/02/2025 Atharva Takalkar
Jitesh Chaurasiya
Raj Bhosale

2) Working of Microsoft Word 11/02/2025 14/02/2025 Atharva Takalkar

Jitesh Chaurasiya
Raj Bhosale

Name of team members with roll No.

Sr. No. Name Roll No

1) Atharva Takalkar 3007

2) Jitesh Chaurasiya 3021

3) Raj Bhosale 3015

 1. Resource required:

Sr. No Name of Resource Specification Qty Remark

1. Internet & Collect 1 -

Reference Books Information

2. Laptop Working on 1 -
Microsoft

Word

Annexure – 4

Micro project Evolution sheet

Names of group members with enrollment no.

Sr. No. Name Enrollment No
1) 3007 2201340009

2) 3015 2201340042

3) 3021 2201340057

Name of Program: T.Y.C.E

Semester: 6𝑡ℎ

Course title: Civil Engineering Diploma

Title of Micro project: Vermicomposting

Sr. No Characteristics to be Poor Average Good Excellent Sub
assured (Marks1-3) (Marks 4-5) (Marks 6-8) (Marks 9-8) Total

(A) Process and product assessment (Convert above total marks out of 6)

1. Relevance to the
course
2. Literature review

3. Completion of the
target as per project
proposal
4. Analysis of data &
representation
5. Quality of pro
type/model report
presentation
6. Report presentation

(B) individual presentation /viva (Convert above marks out of 4)

7. presentation

8. Viva
 Sr. No. Roll No of Student Process and Individuals Total Marks
Product Presentation/Viva
Assessment (4 Marks)
(6 Marks)
1) 3009

2) 3015

3) 3021

Comments:

Name of the Teacher:

Dated Signature:

Actual resource required: -

Sr. No. Name of Resource Specifications Remark

1 Computer MS Word -

2 Notes Given by Guide -

Output of the Micro Project: Vermicomposting

Conclusion: In this micro project we learn about various biomedical waste treatment disposal, segregation,
storage treatment precaution and government rule

(1) Books
(2) Notes
(3) www.google.com
 VERMICOMPOSTING

• Vermicomposting
Vermicomposting is a process in which the earthworms convert the organic waste into
manure rich in high nutritional content. Vermicomposting is the scientific method of making compost,
by using earthworms. They are commonly found living in soil, feeding on biomass and excreting it in
a digested form.

Vermiculture means “worm-farming”. Earthworms feed on the organic waste materials and give out
excreta in the form of “vermicasts” that are rich in nitrates and minerals such as phosphorus,
magnesium, calcium and potassium. These are used as fertilizers and enhance soil quality.

❖ Vermicomposting comprises two methods:

1) Bed Method: This is an easy method in which beds of organic matter are prepared.

2) Pit Method: In this method, the organic matter is collected in cemented pits. However, this method
is not prominent as it involves problems of poor aeration and waterlogging.

❖ Process of Vermicomposting:

The entire process of vermicomposting is mentioned below:

❖ Aim:
To prepare vermicompost using earthworms and other biodegradable wastes.
❖ Principle

This process is mainly required to add nutrients to the soil. Compost is a natural fertilizer that allows
an easy flow of water to the growing plants. The earthworms are mainly used in this process as they
eat the organic matter and produce castings through their digestive systems.

The nutrients profile of vermicompost’s are:

• 1.6 per cent of Nitrogen.

• 0.7 per cent of Phosphorus.
• 0.8 per cent of Potassium.
• 0.5 per cent of Calcium.
• 0.2 per cent of Magnesium.
• 175 ppm of Iron.
• 96.5 ppm of Manganese.
• 24.5 ppm of Zinc.

❖ Materials Required

• Water.
• Cow dung.
• Thatch Roof.
• Soil or Sand.
• Gunny bags.
• Earthworms.
• Weed biomass
• A large bin (plastic or cemented tank).
• Dry straw and leaves collected from paddy fields.
• Biodegradable wastes collected from fields and kitchen.

❖ Procedure

1. To prepare compost, either a plastic or a concrete tank can be used. The size of the tank depends upon
the availability of raw materials.
2. Collect the biomass and place it under the sun for about 8-12 days. Now chop it to the required size
using the cutter.
3. Prepare a cow dung slurry and sprinkle it on the heap for quick decomposition.
4. Add a layer (2 – 3 inch) of soil or sand at the bottom of the tank.
5. Now prepare fine bedding by adding partially decomposed cow dung, dried leaves and other
biodegradable wastes collected from fields and kitchen. Distribute them evenly on the sand layer.
6. Continue adding both the chopped bio-waste and partially decomposed cow dung layer-wise into the
tank up to a depth of 0.5-1.0 ft.
7. After adding all the bio-wastes, release the earthworm species over the mixture and cover the compost
mixture with dry straw or gunny bags.
8. Sprinkle water on a regular basis to maintain the moisture content of the compost.
9. Cover the tank with a thatch roof to prevent the entry of ants, lizards, mouse, snakes, etc. and protect
the compost from rainwater and direct sunshine.
10. Have a frequent check to avoid the compost from overheating. Maintain proper moisture and
temperature.

❖ Result

After the 24th day, around 4000 to 5000 new worms are introduced and the entire raw material is
turned into the vermicompost.

❖ Advantages Of Vermicomposting

The major benefits of vermicomposting are:

1. Develops roots of the plants.

2. Improves the physical structure of the soil.
3. Vermicomposting increases the fertility and water-resistance of the soil.
4. Helps in germination, plant growth, and crop yield.
5. Nurtures soil with plant growth hormones such as auxins, gibberellic acid, etc.

❖ Disadvantages of Vermicomposting

Following are the important disadvantages of vermicomposting:

1. It is a time-consuming process and takes as long as six months to convert the organic matter into usable
forms.
2. It releases a very foul odour.
3. Vermicomposting is high maintenance. The feed has to be added periodically and care should be taken
that the worms are not flooded with too much to eat.
4. The bin should not be too dry or too wet. The moisture levels need to be monitored periodically.
5. They nurture the growth of pests and pathogens such as fruit flies, centipede and flies.

Vermicomposting turns the kitchen waste and other green waste into dark, nutrient-rich soil. Due to
the presence of microorganisms, it maintains healthy soil.

Vermicomposting is an eco-friendly process that recycles organic waste into compost and produces
valuable nutrients.

❖ Collection and separation

This phase involves the collection of wastes from various sources. Before taking it to vermicomposting,
a minimum preprocessing is required. It includes mechanical separation of the metal, glass and
ceramics, segregation, storage of organic wastes. The separated organic wastes can be used as such or
shredded. Shredding increases the surface area and fasten up the decomposition process.
❖ Significance of vermicomposting

• The balanced physical, chemical, and microbiological characteristics make Vermi castings an excellent
natural plant fertilizer since it is good for improving soil structure, moisture retention, and nutrient
content.
• Vermicomposting promotes Organic farming in gardening and sustainable agriculture.
• It is an ideal replacement for chemical pesticides and insecticides.
• Vermicomposting leads to the highest crop yields when the plants grow, crops require a balanced
amount of critical macronutrients and micronutrients through their growth cycle terminal for the
highest yields, thus the nutrients present assure it.
• It is free-flowing and easy to apply on the field thus, the farmers or the users can handle it easily
without any fiasco.
• It has also a growing emphasis on environmental conservation and waste recycling, so it is
environmentally friendly.
• It can be done in domestic households on a small scale as it does not require fancy setups, a person
can easily convert their house’s organic waste into valuable compost, which generates a positive
outlook for a source of income.
• Now globally food security has been pushed or encouraged, so that the compost is free of toxins when
used in the agriculture field gives toxin and chemical-free vegetable and fruit items.

❖ Benefits
i. It improves the physical structure of the soil.
ii. It improves the biological properties of the soil enrichment of micro-organisms, addition of
plant hormones such as Auxins and Gibberellic acid, and addition of enzymes, such as
phosphates, cellulase, etc.
iii. It attracts deep-burrowing earthworms already present in the soil.

❖ Problems In Vermicomposting
i. Odours Putting overabundance of "greens" in the bin, which is actually too much nitrogen
combining with hydrogen and forms the ammonia? To neutralize the odours, add some sources
of carbon like, paper and dried leaves etc.
ii. Pests Bad odour can attract pests such as rodents and flies. Fix plastic nets around the bins.
iii. Environment Eisenia foetida worms can attack native worms in natural areas. Don’t allow to
go out natural places. Potash 1.5 – 2.4 Calcium 0.5 – 1.0 Magnesium 0.2 – 0.3 Sulphur 0.4 –
0.5 Iron 0.8 – 1.5 Copper (ppm) 22 - 36 Zinc 500-1000 ppm Manganese 1000-2000 ppm
Vermicomposting & vermiculture Page 5 4. Climate Rain and bright light is drastically effect
to the worms

❖ Types of composting

1) Backyard Composting

Heaps of kitchen scraps and old leaves are often what comes to mind when people think
of composting in general. And while you can certainly go that route, you can also create
smaller piles that can fit into a bucket.
 ❖ Location

Pick a spot in your yard with good drainage. Avoid starting your compost up against your fence
or anywhere it’d be difficult to access regularly. Having a watering source nearby is a plus

2) Commercial composting
Collectively, businesses and ordinary citizens can make a major impact on the future of our environment by
attempting to reduce our carbon footprint, improve our air quality, and reduce waste in the landfill.
Popular methods used by the zero waste community to reduce waste and preserve natural resources include
recycling, going vegan, using solar energy and recycled materials, driving an electric car, shopping second
hand, and composting organic material so it doesn't wind up in the landfill. In this lens, organic waste refers
to food waste, yard waste, and even certain compostable plastics.
In this blog, you'll learn more about commercial composting for individuals and businesses and how the
composting process can help reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions in the environment.
 Disposal of Organic Waste

❖ Organic wastes are materials from living sources like plants, animals, and microorganisms that
ssare biodegradable and can be broken down into simpler organic molecules.

• Organic wastes produced in nature by various means can exist either in a solid-state or liquid state.
• Solid organic waste is primarily understood as organic-biodegradable waste, and it contains about 80-
85% moisture content.
• The most common sources of organic wastes include agriculture, household activities, and industrial
products.
• Green waste like food wastes, food-soiled paper, non-hazardous wood waste, landscape waste, and
pruning wastes are some of the examples of biodegradable or organic wastes.
• Even though most of the organic wastes in the soil add up nutrients and minerals for soil fertility and
plant growth, inappropriate disposal practices might cause severe damage to the environment.
• Recently, however, the concept of organic waste management and recycling has been introduced and
implemented.

❖ Organic wastes have been an important source of pollution in the environment. Some of the
common types of organic wastes usually found in nature include the following:
1. Municipal solid wastes
• Municipal solid wastes include the more common wastes that are generated in our daily life in the
form of product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps, appliances, paint,
newspapers, and batteries.
• These wastes are generated from residential areas, schools, hospitals, and businesses.

2. Cattle wastes
• Cattle wastes are animal wastes that are of animal origin and act as good resources of organic matter.
• Cattle waste is also an important soil fertilizer that provides a high concentration of micro and
macronutrients for crop growth and soil fertility.
• Cattle manure and fodder constitute organic wastes in the form of cattle wastes. Besides, poultry
wastes and piggery wastes also add the number of organic wastes from animal origin.

3. Food wastes
• Food wastes account for about 30% of total organic waste in nature via natural and artificial means.
• Some of the examples of food wastes include peelings, cores, leaves, fruits, twigs, outer skins, and
sludges.
• Fruit and vegetable canning industries, frozen vegetable industries, and fruit drying industries, along
with residential areas and hotels or restaurants are the major producers of food wastes.

❖ Methods of organic waste recycling

There are different methods of organic waste recycling, each of which can be used for a particular
group of waste to produce some form of useful organic matter. Some of the common methods are
described below:
1. Animal feed
• One of the most common and efficient ways of recycling organic waste is by giving agricultural and
food waste to cattle and other animals as food.
• Feeding organic waste to animals is a simple and easy method of waste recycling.
• People can contact some farmers and donate their kitchen wastes so that the animals can take them
up.
• However, the direct feeding of organic waste to animals might result in some health issues in such
animals.
• Therefore, different countries like the US have made regulations on the extent of food and type of
food given to the animals.
• Recycling of food through animal feed has many advantages like reduced pressure on landfills,
reduced methane productions from fruits and vegetables, and the lack of need to convert organic waste
into some other forms.
• This also helps the farmers as they do not have to buy extra animal feed and eventually, helps the
economy.

2. Composting
• Composting is the process of decomposition of organic material where the organic material is acted
on by soil organisms resulting in the recycling of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other soil
nutrients into humus-rich components.
• Composting is an aerobic process that takes place under correct conditions of moisture and biological
heat production.
• Even though all organic matter can be composted, some materials like woodchips and paper take much
longer to compost than food and agricultural wastes.
• However, some amount of woodchips is essential to increase aeration in the composting process.
• The overall process of composting includes both the composting time followed by a period of
stabilization to produce a final stable product that can then be applied to the land.
• There are different composting systems ranging from simple, low-cost bin composting to highly
technical high-cost reactor systems.
• Compost bins are most suitable for use in houses to compost simple kitchen waste and garden cuttings.
One of the major issues with compost bins is the time taken for the completion of the process.
• Large scale composting is conducted in large reactors with an automated supply of oxygen and
moisture to generate large tons of compost for industrial applications.

3. Anaerobic digestion
• Due to the negative impacts of landfilling and incineration, anaerobic digestion has been proposed
due to the cost-effective technology for renewable energy production and treatment of high moisture
and energy-rich material.
• During the anaerobic digestion process, anaerobic microorganisms convert different types of biomass
and other organic wastes into biogas and nutrient-rich residue that can be used for lap applications.
• The biogas produced by anaerobic digestion includes gases like methane, carbon dioxide, and a trace
amount of hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide.
• When compared to other methods, this method can utilize a much wider range of substrates, even
those with high moisture content and impurities.
• Some of the commonly used substrates for anaerobic digestion include wastewater, sewage sludge,
and animal manure.
4. Rendering
• Rendering is the process of conversion of waste animal tissues into stable and usable forms like feed
protein.
• During the rendering process, fatty tissues, bones, and animal carcass are exposed to a high
temperature of about 130°C and then pressurized to destroy pathogens.
• Rendering can be carried out on both the kitchen and industrial scale.
• Some cases of non-animal products can also be rendered down to form pulps.
• The products of rendering can be applied in different forms where the solid particles are used in pet
food products, and the fat is added to soap making operations.
• Rendering, however, has some disadvantages like it cannot completely degrade waste products like
blood.

5. Rapid thermophilic digestion

• Rapid thermophilic digestion is the process of rapid fermentation of organic wastes by activating
fermenting microorganisms at high temperatures.
• A rapid thermophilic digester works six to ten times faster than a normal biodigester.
• In a thermophilic digester, the feedstock is fed into the digester with air forced through the material
to support the growth of aerobic microbes.
• The process of thermophilic digestion is an exothermic process that maintains a thermophilic
condition at 55-65°C.
• The product of rapid thermophilic digestion is a biofertilizer that can be used on the soil to increase
soil fertility.
• The most common application of thermophilic aerobic digestion is in the wastewater industry for the
treatment of sewage sludges.

6. Immobilized enzyme reaction

• The use of enzymes over chemical catalysts in the treatment of wastewater and other similar waste
products reduces the formation of by-products and significant energy inputs.
• However, some challenges like maintaining the stability and performance of enzymes require the
development of stabilized energy systems.
• The use of immobilized enzymes during organic waste recycling allows the degradation activity even
under non-ideal environments.
• Immobilization of enzymes also supports the reuse of biocatalysts for multiple processes which then
reduces the cost of chemical and enzymatic processes.
• Immobilization techniques like adsorption, entrapment, and encapsulation can be applied.
• The use of enzymes for the conversion of organic waste into reusable forms allows important
modifications like oxidation, hydrolysis, acylation, and phosphorylation.
• Enzymes like esterase’s can be used to esterify oils to form biodiesel. Similarly, sugars can also be
esterified to use as surfactants.
• All of these processes allow for a more economical and efficient way of waste management.
❖ Process (General Steps / Mechanism) of organic waste recycling
The overall process of organic waste recycling begins with the collection of waste materials which
are then passed through various steps to obtain a usable form of organic matter. The general steps/
mechanism of organic waste recycling can be explained as below

1. Collection
• The first step in the organic waste management of recycling is the collection of waste materials
which can either be on a small scale in a kitchen or on a large scale in industries.
• A sufficient amount of waste matter needs to be collected in appropriate bags so that they can be
moved to the site of recycling.
• In the case of composting, the organic waste is collected in a pit, whereas that in a digester is
collected in the digester.

2. Decontamination
• An important step in organic waste recycling is the decontamination of waste in order to avoid its
harmful effects.
• This step is particularly important while dealing with organic waste from industries.
• Besides, any non-biodegradable substance like glass, plastic, and bricks, if present, should be
removed during this step.

3. Preparation
• Before the organic waste is added to a recycling system, it should be prepared.
• The method of preparation employed depends on the type of recycling method chose. For, e.g.,
composting requires shredding and stacking of organic waste, whereas an immobilized enzyme
system requires immobilized enzymes.
• Some methods might even require a period of stabilization prior to recycling, in which case, the time
should be designated.

4. Recycling process
• Depending on the nature of the organic waste and desired end products, an appropriate method of
recycling should be adopted.
• Human wastes like sewage and fecal wastes should be recycled via anaerobic digestion whereas
sewages can be treated with thermophilic digesters.

5. Screening and grading

• The obtained residues or compost are then screened into different sizes to be used for different
purposes.
• Depending on the application of the end products, grading and screening are essential.