Low-intensity alternating ventilation achieves effective humification during food waste composting by enhancing the intensity of microbial interaction and carbon metabolism.

Vertical static composting is an efficient and convenient technology for the treatment of food waste. Exploring the impact of oxygen concentration levels on microbial community structure and functional stability is crucial for optimizing ventilation technology. This study set three experimental groups with varying ventilation intensities based on self-made alternating ventilation composting reactor (AL2: 0.2 L kg DM·min; AL4: 0.4 L kg DM·min; AL6: 0.6 L kg DM·min) to explore the optimal alternating ventilation rate. The results showed that the cumulative ammonia emission of AL2 group reduced by 25.13% and 12.59% compared to the AL4 and AL6 groups. The humification degree of the product was 1.18 times and 1.25 times higher than the other two groups. AL2 increased the relative abundance of the core species Saccharomonospora, thereby strengthening microbial interaction. Low-intensity alternating ventilation increased the carbon metabolism levels, especially aerobic_chemoheterotrophy, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. However, it simultaneously reduced nitrogen metabolism. Structural equation model analysis demonstrated that alternating low-intensity ventilation effectively regulated both microbial diversity (0.81, p < 0.001) and metabolism (0.81, p < 0.001) by shaping the composting environment. This study optimized the intensity of alternating ventilation and revealed the regulatory mechanism of community structure and metabolism. This study provides guidance for achieving efficient and low-consumption composting.