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[1999 report links did not work for me]

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

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

Several reports here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=COMPOSTING+GREENHOUSE&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a