SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY GENERATING ORGANIC COMPOST FROM WASTE
Various embodiments are described herein for an apparatus that implements one or methods for producing compost. The method may include receiving waste in a composting apparatus, the waste having a first moisture content; pre-treating the waste to produce pre-treated waste; storing the pre-treated waste into a storage chamber for a pretreatment time period to produce stored waste; and composting the stored waste in a compost chamber to produce a batch of output compost having a second moisture content, wherein the second moisture content is less than the first moisture content.
1 . A composting apparatus comprising:
a main device body;
control and power electronics including a processor and memory;
a first compost chamber cavity located within the main device body;
a first compost chamber for performing composting of waste, the first compost chamber being located in the first compost chamber cavity,
a second compost chamber cavity located within the main device body, adjacent to the first compost chamber cavity;
a second compost chamber for performing composting of waste, the second compost chamber being located in the second compost chamber cavity; and
a solid diversion assembly for diverting solids between the first compost chamber and the second compost chamber;
wherein the processor is configured to perform a method of producing compost when software instructions stored in the memory are executed by the processor.
2 . The composting apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a crushing assembly, the crushing assembly comprising:
a hopper having a first opening for receiving input organic waste, and a second opening opposite the first opening for expunging output waste;
a set of choppers located within the hopper for chopping the input organic waste into size-reduced particles; and
a bottom plate placed to seal the second opening of the hopper, and leaving a gap that allows smaller particles that are smaller than the gap to be expunged, while preventing larger particles that are larger than the gap from being expunged, thereby re-circulating the larger particles into the hopper for further chopping and size reduction.
3 . The composting apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a dewatering assembly, the dewatering assembly comprising a filter mesh assembly and a mesh wiper assembly for reducing the water content of the particles.
4 . The composting apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the filter mesh assembly rotates at a first angular velocity and the mesh wiper assembly rotates at a second angular velocity.
5 . The composting apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first angular velocity is equal to the second angular velocity during a dewatering stage of the composting.
6 . The composting apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the first angular velocity is not equal to the second angular velocity during a cleaning phase of the composting.
7 . The composting apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a liquid diversion assembly configured to collect liquid obtained during the dewatering stage of the composting, and divert the liquid towards a liquid tank.
8 . The composting apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the solid diversion assembly comprises a dam moveable between a first position and a second position;
wherein the first position of the dam covers the second compost chamber, and the second position of the dam covers the first compost chamber.
9 . The composting apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an air filtering assembly that comprises a plurality of ultraviolet light sources for destruction of odors and control of undesired organisms.
10 . The composting apparatus of claim 9 , wherein at least a first light source of the plurality of ultraviolet light sources is configured to operate at between about 100 nm and about 240 nm wavelength for generating ozone for destruction of odors.
11 . The composting apparatus of claim 9 , wherein at least a second light source of the plurality of ultraviolet light sources is configured to operate between about 240 nm and about 315 nm wavelength to destroy ozone.
12 . The composting apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the generated ozone is delivered to the first and second compost chambers for reducing odors in the first and second compost chambers by exposing the odors to the generated ozone.
13 . The composting apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the generated ozone is delivered to the liquid chamber for reducing odors in the liquid chamber by exposing the odors to the generated ozone.
14 . The composting apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the composting apparatus further comprises an active carbon filter for filtering volatile compounds and gases left from the destruction of the ozone.
15 . The composting apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the composting apparatus is further configured to provide a positive airflow through the waste in the compost chamber for preventing odors from escaping outside of the composting apparatus.
16 . The composting apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured for performing a sterilization sequence.
17 . The composting apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the waste by-passes the crushing assembly.
18 . The composting apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the hopper comprises an opening at a first corner of the hopper, and a rotating wiper for pushing crushed bits out from the opening.
19 . A mixer for a compost chamber that is used in a composting apparatus, wherein the mixer is a ribbon impeller comprising:
a first helical fin configuration; and
a second helical fin configuration;
wherein the first and second helical fin configurations are at opposing angular directions; and;
wherein the first and second helical fin configurations are mirror images with respect to a central slicing plane.
20 . The mixer of claim 19 , wherein the first and second helical fins comprise continuous helices.
21 . The mixer of claim 19 , wherein the first and second helical fins comprise discrete segments of helices.
22 . The mixer of claim 19 , wherein the impeller is configured operate by rotating the first and second helical fin configurations in opposite direction to produce a homogenous mixture of solid compost particles with a range of particle sizes between about 0.5 mm to about 20 mm.
23 . A composting apparatus comprising:
a main device body;
control and power electronics including a processor and memory;
a compost chamber cavity located within the main device body;
a plurality of adaptors disposed at one end of the compost chamber cavity; and
a compost chamber for performing composting of waste, the compost chamber being located in the compost chamber, the compost chamber including a plurality of couplers for releasably inserting the compost chamber in the compost chamber cavity by releasably coupling the plurality of couplers with the plurality of adaptors.
24 . The composting apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the plurality of couplers include mechanical couplers.
25 . The composting apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the plurality of couplers further includes fluidic couplers, and/or electronic couplers.
26 . The composting apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the composing apparatus further comprises at least one sensor coupled to the compost chamber for obtaining sensor data for one more parameters inside the compost chamber, the at least one sensor being communicatively coupled to the processor.