Anaerobic fermenting

For over a thousand years, in China, farmers have used a process of composting called, "oufei" or water-logged composting.  They gathered debris from their canals,  added some other organic wastes and allowed it to sit in a puddle for a year before adding it to their rice paddies.  Apparently this worked extremely well until commercial fertilizers became widely available and the manual labor involved became comparatively expensive.

Currently, there is much activity in rural areas of China involving anaerobic composting of sewage, both from animals and humans, to produce methane gas for energy usage in homes. 

My interest is primarily in the safe processing of food wastes for feeding to worms, still it is very interesting to see how much sewage is being used in China to produce energy.  I'm wondering how much energy could be produced if similar, larger types of facilities were making use of the same types of waste here in America.

After reading several articles on anaerobic composting, it sounds like there is very little information in common usage related to inoculating compost with specific bacterias to facilitate more precise decomposition during the anaerobic process, unless you take into account the research and life work of Dr. Teruo Higa, the originator of the EM1 line of products and the effective microorganisms philosophy.

He promotes a process called bokashi composting, which is essentially anaerobic composting using a dry inoculant of lactic bacteria and some other microorganisms.  My interest began when I noticed how similar bokashi is to the process of producing silage for livestock, which has used lactic bacterias for centuries to increase digestibility and reduce spoilage and other pathogenic types of bacterial activity.

As far as fermenting worm food, prior to feeding, someone is already doing it with some success, mixing the fermented mush with grass clippings and composting aerobically for two weeks before feeding.  We will try doing it that way as well as adjusting the ph with oyster shell, draining and then feeding directly.

Fermenting softens the food wastes, making it easier for worms to eat everything, including rinds, peels and seeds.  It also eliminates unwanted bacteria, mold and fungus, which often cause unpleasant odors.  In the oxygen starved environment of the fermenter, insects and their eggs are also killed, leaving only delicious food stuffs for the worms.  Some fruits and plants also contain organic compounds which can have a negative effect on worms and which are diluted and broken down during fermenting.  It is our belief that all those types of organic wastes which you're "not supposed to feed worms", are all acceptable in moderation with just a little anaerobic fermenting (two weeks).

References:

• anaerobic composting - planet natural
• EM-1 in anaerobic composting processes - the natural gardener
• anaerobic composting - compost junkie
• oufei - agroecology
• biogas in rural China - city farmer
• bokashi and worm farming - worm farming secrets
• bokashi vermicomposting - red worm composting
• bokashi worm bin - bokashi composting hq