Abstract: The effective treatment of rural human feces would improve the recycling of organic wastes in rural area and promote the construction of beautiful countryside. In this study, the effects of water bath temperatures（20 ℃ and 50 ℃）of the composting reactors on the physicochemical indexes of simulated human feces compost were investigated under the low-temperature environment. Results showed that the composting temperature increased to about 27 ℃ and 40 ℃ due to the heating effects of the water bath under the temperatures of 20 ℃ and 50 ℃, respectively. The serious acidification was found in the initial period of human feces composting without water bath, and the pH was higher in the middle and latter periods of composting with water bath temperature of 20 ℃ than those with water bath temperature of 50 ℃. The compost with the water bath temperature of 50 ℃ obtained lower water content under higher external water dosage compared to the compost with water bath temperature of 20 ℃, indicating higher water loss for the compost with water bath temperature of 50 ℃. The electrical conductivities of the compost with water bath temperature of 50 ℃ was higher in the initial period of composting process but lower in the other periods of composting process than those with water bath temperature of 20 ℃. The organic removal efficiencies were similar, and the respective values were 31.8% and 32.1% for the compost with water bath temperatures of 20 ℃ and 50 ℃. The seed germination indexes（GI）were 68.7% and 72.8% for the compost with water bath temperatures of 20 ℃ and 50 ℃, but only the latter one achieved the maturity standard（GI≥70%）for fertilizer products.

Key words: bath temperature, simulated human feces, composting, physicochemical indexes