Photocatalytic tunnel composting process and controlled release BIO-NPK-C formulations

Tunnel composting is biological treatment of bio-waste materials in an enclosed, aerated, sloping reactor equipped with a soaking and a leachate collection system. All the operations are automatically controlled. The polluted air must be deodorized and purified before it is released to the atmosphere. The leachate is recycled in the reactor after purification and pasteurization. The compost must pass E. Coli and Salmonella test that we should be sure that it is hygienic for use as fertilizer or fertilizer component.
In the tunnel composting reactor the biological decomposition process generate heat that increases the temperature of the organic material to about 60 oC. The efficiency of sanitization may determine the productivity of the composting reactor. The objectives of the proposed project is to enhance the productivity of tunneling composting by
(i) integrate UV sanitization concerning the treatment of the emitted air, the leachate and the product compost,
(ii) provide energy for UV illumination by photovoltaic solar energy,
(iii) enhancing the decomposition of hard-to-decompose lignocellulosic components by adding photocatalyst to the organic waste. This objective requires development of photocatalyst particles that can be magnetically recovered from the compost and recycled,
(iv) developing controlled release BIO-NPK-C formulations
(v) developing automatic control system,
(vi) building an up scalable pilot unit for studying the system and demonstrating its efficiency.
The expected result of the project is a process for
- the preparation of safe and high quality, homogeneous compost product,
- compost with controlled nutrient and microbiological composition,
- a process of enhanced productivity (faster composting using less energy)
- lower carbon loss,
- environment-friendly technical solutions.