Measurement of lipid content of compost fermentation using near-infrared spectroscopy

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was applied to determination of the lipid content of the compost during the compost fermentation of tofu (soybean0curd) refuse. The absorption of lipid observed at 5 wavelengths, 1208, 1712, 1772, 2312 and 2352 nm on the second derivative spectra. To formulated a calibration equation, a multiple linear regression analysis was carried out between the near-infrared spectral data and on the lipid content in the calibration sample set (sample number, n=60) obtained using Soxhlet extraction method. The value of the multiple correlation coefficient (R) was 0.975 when using the wavelengths of 1208 and 1712 nm were used in the calibration equation. To validate the calibration equation obtained, the lipid content in the validation sample set (n=35) not used for formulating the calibration equation was calculated using the calibration equation, and compared with the value obtained using the Soxhlet extraction method. Good agreement was observed between the results of the Soxhlet extraction method and those values of the NIRS method. The simple correlation coefficient (r) and standard error of prediction (SEP) were 0.964 and 0.815 %, respectively. suitability of the lipid content as an indicator of the compost fermentation of tofu refuse was also studied. The decrease of the lipid content in the compost corresponded to the decrease of the total dry weight of the compost in the composter. The lipid content was a significant indicator of the compost fermentation. The NIRS method was applied to measure the time course of the lipid content in the compost fermentation and good results were obtained. The study indicates that NIRS is a useful method for process management of the compost fermentation of tofu refuse.