Determining the thermal mode of bio-based raw materials composting process in a rotary-type chamber

Abstract

One of the promising methods to dispose of agricultural bio-based raw materials is to produce compost by aerobic fermentation in rotary chambers. High efficiency of the composting process is achieved when a proper temperature mode is maintained at each phase of the process. Changes in temperature are directly related to the effective transformation of organic substrates by microorganisms and are the reason for the low quality of produced compost in terms of its agrochemical and microbiological parameters. It was established that a high-temperature regime is achieved on the condition that the amount of heat released during the biodegradation of raw materials by microorganisms is greater than the heat loss associated with the substrate aeration and surface cooling. Therefore, the time during which the fermented mass remains warm depends entirely on the substrate’s physical-chemical characteristics, the parameters of the equipment, and the modes of its operation. To describe the established conditions, based on the equation of thermal balance, a mathematical model has been built. The model relates the thermal costs necessary to maintain the optimal temperature regime of the process to the substrate’s moisture content and specific active heat generation, as well as to such an important thermal physical parameter of the chamber as the coefficient of heat transfer of the wall material. A rotary chamber was manufactured to investigate the thermal mode of the bio-based raw materials composting process. It has been experimentally established that the chamber walls’ heat transfer coefficient of 1.6 W/(m2·°C), a value of the substrate’s specific active heat generation of 9.2 W/kg, and a moisture content of 58 % provide for the thermal needs for the process with the release of 140 MJ of excess heat. The reported study could be the basis for the modernized methodology of thermal calculations of the bio-based raw materials composting process in closed fermentation chambers .