Abstract: Mismanagement of the composting process can result in emissions of CH₄, N₂O, and NH₃, which have caused severe environmental problems. This study was aimed at determining whether CH₄, N₂O, and NH₃ emissions from composting are affected by bulking agents during rapid composting of pig manure from the Chinese Ganqinfen system. Three bulking agents, corn stalks, spent mushroom compost, and sawdust, were used in composting with pig manure in 60 L reactors with forced aeration for more than a month. Gas emissions were measured continuously, and detailed gas emission patterns were obtained. Concentrations of NH₃ and N₂O from the composting pig manure mixed with corn stalks or sawdust were higher than those from the spent mushroom compost treatment, especially the sawdust treatment, which had the highest total nitrogen loss among the three runs. Most of the nitrogen was lost in the form of NH₃, which accounts for 11.16% to 35.69% of the initial nitrogen. One-way analysis of variance for NH₃ emission showed no significant differences between the corn stalk and sawdust treatments, but a significant difference was noted between the spent mushroom compost and sawdust treatments. The introduction of sawdust reduced CH₄ emission more than the corn stalks and spent mushroom compost. However, there were no significant differences among the three runs for total carbon loss. All treatments were matured after 30 d.

Key words: Organic waste, Composting, Bulking agent, Gaseous emission, Pig manure

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