In this study, the behavior of dominant microbial communities was investigated in the treatment of porcine carcasses using an anaerobic high temperature burial composting method. The correlation between odor emission and bacterial community structure was analyzed through principal component analysis and extended local similarity analysis. In the burial layer of porcine carcass, the dominant bacteria were Bacillaceae (46%), Thermoactinomycetaceae (15%) and Lactobacillaceae (4%) in the early stage and Bacillaceae (46%), Thermoactinomycetaceae (15%), Lactobacillaceae (4%) in the end. Clostridiaceae (CH3SH), Bacillacea ((CH3)2S2), Clostridium ((CH3)2S2), Clostridial (H2S), Oceanobacillus (H2S), and Thermoanaerobacteraceae (H2S) were closely related to the sulfurous odorants, which are the highest odor contributions. The emission of sulfurous odor substances such as H2S, CH3SH, (CH3)2S, and (CH3)2S2 showed a positive correlation with each other, but showed a negative correlation with nitrogenous odorants (NH3 and TMA), aldehydes, organic acids, and VOCs. The results of this correlation analysis can provide useful information that enables us to understand the characteristics of microbial communities and odor generation during the degradation of carcasses and to manage odors and burial sites in the treatment of carcass.

It is very important to treat infected livestock carcasses safely and quickly. In this study, the degradation characteristics and odor generation characteristics of carcasses were investigated during the treatment of swine carcasses using the anaerobic burial composting method. While the carcasses were decomposed, the temperature remained high, at 40~55°C on average, and most of the carcasses were decomposed rapidly. The major odorcontributing substances in the buried composting method are sulfuric odor substances such as H2S, CH3SH, dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), and the odor contribution of these substances is 93~99%. Among them, CH3SH, which accounts for about 56~89% of odor contribution, was the most representative indicator substance. Despite the anaerobic digestion process, the methane concentration in the digestion process was as low as 0.5~0.8% at the burial point of the carcass. The odor and methane produced during the decomposition of the carcasses decreased considerably during the discharge to the surface layer through the buried layer consisting of compost. These results suggest that anaerobic high temperature burial composting is one of the most useful methods to treat carcasses of infected livestock.