Interesting Research Reports re Composting from the New Alchemy Institute
(Online)

THE COMPOSTING GREENHOUSE AT NEW
ALCHEMY INSTITUTE: 

A REPORT ON TWO YEARS OF OPERATION AND MONITORING 

MARCH 1984 - JANUARY 1986
Abstract

This research report summarizes more than two years' research on the design,
construction and testing of an experimental composting greenhouse developed by
the Biothermal Energy Center and the New Alchemy Institute in early 1983. A
joint research project at the Institute's 12-acre research and education farm on
Cape Cod, Massachusetts combines modern composting and horticultural practices
in the same structure. Compost is enclosed in an insulated chamber within the
greenhouse. Heat and carbon dioxide liberated by bacteria during composting are
used to enhance the production of greenhouse crops and eliminate fuel costs
normally associated with running greenhouses, and offset costs of running this
moderately-sized composting operation. The 576-square-foot test composting
greenhouse produced more than 100 tons of compost and tens of thousands of
seedlings in its first full year of operation. Research is continuing to improve
the materials handling system, study the nitrogen dynamics and adapt the
prototype to practical applications on several different scales.

http://www.fuzzylu.com/greencenter/rr/rr003.htm
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BIOTHERMAL ENERGY: COGENERANTS OF THERMOPHYLIC COMPOSTING AND THEIR INTEGRATION
WITHIN FOOD PRODUCING AND WASTE RECYCLING SYSTEMS

Bruce Fulford 

INTRODUCTION 

Our prevailing methods of waste disposal, resource management, and agriculture
are ecologically unsustainable. The soil is being drained of its fertility and
eroded at unprecedented rates while an abundance of nutrients are allowed to
leach from organic waste products and contaminate precious water resources.
Unless profitable means of conserving topsoil nutrients are developed, standard
waste management practices will continue to sacrifice the inherent value of
these renewable assets. The composting greenhouse is a physical shell and
economic mechanism through which the symbiotic technologies of thermophylic
composting and greenhouse horticulture are united. Composting within commercial
greenhouses can increase plant yields and reduce production costs by
capitalizing on the thermal and gaseous cogenerants of the composting process.
This provides an economic incentive to recycle underutilized and problematic
organic recources. In the past, biothermal energy has made major contributions
to the agricultural self-sufficiency of population centers in cold and temperate
climates, and holds the potential to do so again. Several recently constructed
composting greenhouses have proven to be technically and economically feasible.
This promising biotechnology will require expanded research and development for
it to root in its crucial niche, and can benefit from the contributions of a
diverse and sophisticated composting industry. The successful evolution of the
concept could markedly affect the implementation of sustainable methods of
agriculture and waste treatment. 

http://www.fuzzylu.com/greencenter/rr/rr001.htm