Abstract: Municipal sewage sludge was composted for 53 days with Chinese medical herb residues as bulking agent through forced aerated static pile model. The temperature of the pile could quickly rise to more than55℃ after the second day after composting. Furthermore, the temperature of more than 55℃ maintained as long as 8 days, which was helpful in inactivation of pathogens in compost. The cress seed germination index (GI) and the ratio of wa-ter-soluble organic carbon to organic nitrogen (soluble C/N-organic), used as indicators of phytotoxicity and maturation of compost, exhibited that the sludge compost was almost stabilized and matured near the 40^th day of composting, when 80% of GI and 6.4 of soluble C/N-organic were obtained. The content of total N, P, Cu, Zn and Cd in compost increased as the composting time elapsed, while volatile solids, solid and water soluble organic carbons, pH, and NH₄⁺-Ndecreased. F. coli, as a common indicator of pathogens in sludge, was reduced greatly from 1.41×10⁵ to 2.32×10¹ in the final examination of the compost.

Key words: Sewage sludge, Forced aeration, Compost, Characterization, adversity resistance index, wheat (Triticum aestivum), principal component analysis, seed vigor