Assessment of Gardening Wastes as a Co-Substrate for Diapers Degradation by the Fungus Pleurotus ostreatus

Rosa María Espinosa-Valdemar, Alethia Vázquez-Morillas, Sara Ojeda-Benítez, Gabriela Arango-Escorcia, Sonia Cabrera-Elizalde, Xochitl Quecholac-Piña, Maribel Velasco-Pérez and Perla X. Sotelo-Navarro
Additional contact information
Rosa María Espinosa-Valdemar: Departamento de Energía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Azcapotzalco, Avenida San Pablo No 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Delegación Azcapotzalco, Distrito Federal C.P. 02200, Mexico
Alethia Vázquez-Morillas: Departamento de Energía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Azcapotzalco, Avenida San Pablo No 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Delegación Azcapotzalco, Distrito Federal C.P. 02200, Mexico
Sara Ojeda-Benítez: Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Campus Mexicali, Calle de la normal s/n y Boulevard Benito Juárez, Col. Insurgentes Este, Mexicali, Baja California C.P. 21280, Mexico
Gabriela Arango-Escorcia: Departamento de Energía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Azcapotzalco, Avenida San Pablo No 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Delegación Azcapotzalco, Distrito Federal C.P. 02200, Mexico
Sonia Cabrera-Elizalde: Departamento de Energía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Azcapotzalco, Avenida San Pablo No 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Delegación Azcapotzalco, Distrito Federal C.P. 02200, Mexico
Xochitl Quecholac-Piña: Departamento de Energía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Azcapotzalco, Avenida San Pablo No 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Delegación Azcapotzalco, Distrito Federal C.P. 02200, Mexico
Maribel Velasco-Pérez: Departamento de Energía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Azcapotzalco, Avenida San Pablo No 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Delegación Azcapotzalco, Distrito Federal C.P. 02200, Mexico
Perla X. Sotelo-Navarro: Departamento de Energía, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Azcapotzalco, Avenida San Pablo No 180, Col. Reynosa Tamaulipas, Delegación Azcapotzalco, Distrito Federal C.P. 02200, Mexico

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: Waste with high biomass content generated in cities in developing countries is sent to landfills or open dumps. This research aims to degrade biomass content in urban waste through cultivation, at pilot scale, of the edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus . First, the number of diapers used by one baby per week was measured with a survey in day care facilities. Then, cellulose content of diapers was assessed. Finally, cultivation of P. ostreatus was carried out using as substrate a mixture of diapers with gardening waste, a co-substrate readily available at urban settings. The factors assessed were strain of P. ostreatus (grey BPR-81, white BPR-5), conditioning of the substrate (diapers with and without plastic) and co-substrate (wheat straw, grass, and withered leaves). Results show that diapers are a valuable source of biomass, as generation of diapers with urine is 15.3 kg/child/month and they contain 50.2% by weight of cellulose. The highest reductions in dry weight and volume (>64%) of substrates was achieved with the substrate diaper without plastic and co-substrate wheat straw. Although diapers with plastic and grass and leaves showed lower degradation, they achieved efficiencies that make them suitable as a co-substrate (>40%), considering that their biomass is currently confined in landfills.

Keywords: biomass; biodegradation; cellulose; biological efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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