## 3 Results  
### Changes in Temperature and Bacterial Growth  
The temperature changes and the bacterial concentration recorded throughout the composing process using different inoculum concentrations and their consortium are shown in Figure 1a-f. The changes in bacteria throughout the bioaugmentation process are illustrated in Figure 1a-c. It should be noted that for all strains and their consortium, a remarkable increase was recorded. Furthermore, the strongest growth was recorded with S1, S2 and the consortium at a concentration of 8% within 6 weeks, and the weakest with S3. The bacteria-free negative test (T) showed no bacterial development. Microbial growth using the strains isolated in this study was significantly stronger than that achieved previously [16]. The increase in microbial growth in pots inoculated with S2 and the consortium might be ascribed to the greater content of lignocellulosic compounds in the waste used, as well as to the ability of this strain to assimilate recalcitrant molecules through their enzymatic system [20]. The lower microbial growth recorded with S3 could be attributed to the fact that these strains require a longer time to produce the necessary enzymes to degrade recalcitrant molecules [16]. Temperature provides information about the rate of organic matter decomposition, which is directly correlated with the microbial metabolic activity that occurs through the competing process. In this study, the pots were maintained at room temperature to ensure that the increase in temperature was due to the strain's metabolism, and therefore to the strain's efficiency, and not to the artificial heating. In this regard, Figure 1d-f reveals a relatively low conversion of microbial energy in S3, compared with S1, S2 and the consortium, which is confirmed by the temperature value recorded throughout this study. Indeed, pots with a high concentration of inoculum (8%) reach higher temperatures earlier (from the 4 th week) than those with a low concentration of inoculum (4%), as well as ambient temperature (AT). The highest temperature was recorded with S2 (57.86 \({}^{\circ}\)C) and the consortium (59.12 \({}^{\circ}\)C), both at a concentration of 8% within week 8, and the lowest was achieved with S3 (39.22 \({}^{\circ}\)C). These results are considerably more impressive than those previously reported with three other strains (_Streptomyces cellulose,_ 33.26 \({}^{\circ}\)C; _Achromobacter xylosoxidans_, 40.23 \({}^{\circ}\)C; and _Serratia liquefaciens_, 42.56 \({}^{\circ}\)C; and their consortium, 54.17 \({}^{\circ}\)C) employed in previous studies [16]. Table 2 proves that the strains used in the current studies are considerably more effective at degrading recalcitrant compounds than those deployed previously. These results are even significantly greater than those obtained by [PERSON] et al. [4], who worked with several exogenous strains, including Bacillus species, but used thermostats to maintain the temperature above 50 \({}^{\circ}\)C, and [PERSON] et al. [21], who worked with several exogenous species from _Paenibacillus_, confirming the effectiveness of the endogenous strains employed in this study in degrading organic matter. It is noteworthy that the thermophilic phase is crucial for preventing pathogenic micro-organisms that are dangerous to humans and the environment [21]. In this regard, the longer the thermophilisation process (in our case, around 2 weeks), the greater the quality of the compost, as it is rendered increasingly sterile. Throughout this phase, thermophilic micro-organisms with strong lignocellulosic evolatility can significantly accelerate the process of composting, which in itself may boost the rate of degradation of recalcitrant matter [7; 16; 21], which is the case in the current study. Ultimately, the highest temperature achieved with both the S2 strain and the consortium demonstrates that the final compost produced using this strain can be used safely as a soil amendment without any adverse effects on either plant or human health [4].