Composting is a controlled biological process in which organic materials are converted by microorganisms into innocuous, stabilized by-products. The process of composting reduces organic matter into carbon dioxide, water, heat, and humus. Composting techniques in agriculture date back to the 12th century, with major scientific enhancements developed in the early 1900’s. The composting process is also, by definition, a ‘self heating’ process, whereby the decomposition process releases energy in the form of heat.

In the past 15 years, composting technology has developed as an excellent remediation and land reclamation tool. Composting systems have demonstrated effective remediation of biodegradable organic compounds, including but not limited to petroleum and non-petroleum hydrocarbons, explosives (TNT, RDX, HMX), ammonium picrate and organic pesticides. Petroleum hydrocarbons including diesel, gasoline, crude, kerosene, and mineral oils are biodegradable utilizing composting techniques.

However, there are no established methods for studying the toxicity of composted materials. Since luminescent bacteria are widely used for measuring the acute toxicity of water-soluble compounds, the research institute VTT developed a method for screening compost toxicity.

By comparing the luminescence level obtained immediately after addition of the Vibrio fischeri suspension and the luminescence value after 30 s exposure, one can detect very low concentrations of a broad range of toxicants. For this kind of luminescence detection all Berthold Technologies luminometers can be used, especially those with injectors like Lumat LB 9507.

For temperature-controlled applications and higher throughput the tube luminometer AutoLumat LB 953 is most suitable. For direct measurements outdoors the portable tube luminometer Junior LB 9509 has been developed. If microplate format is preferred the Centro LB 960 is the instrument of choice.