Indoor Composter Shredding and Aeration for Odor Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current municipal solid waste management systems face challenges in efficiently handling and composting organic waste, particularly due to issues with odor, health concerns, inefficiencies in collection and transport, and the production of low-quality compost, which limits the effectiveness of domestic composting and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular, indoor composting appliance that connects to an external vertical composter, capable of shredding, mixing, and pasteurizing organic waste, while maintaining optimal conditions for bio-oxidative stabilization, allowing for continuous composting without additional costs and reducing environmental impacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If centralized composting plants are constructed, then large quantities of organic waste can be processed, but significant initial investment costs (500-1000 € per ton of material per year) and environmental impacts (odors, aerosols, land occupation) occur
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the centralized composting system into distributed household-scale units. Each household composter independently processes its own organic waste, eliminating the need for large centralized facilities and their associated environmental problems while maintaining effective waste processing at a local level.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the composting function from centralized facilities and places it directly in household kitchens. By integrating a compact composting system into the household environment, the patent eliminates the need for transport to centralized plants and removes the source of odors and aerosols from residential areas.
2Reliability
If door-to-door separate collection is implemented, then organic waste separation is improved, but collection costs increase due to higher frequencies and more personnel required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables households to perform composting themselves without requiring municipal collection services. By providing automatic composting systems that operate independently in households, the patent eliminates the need for door-to-door collection, transport, and processing infrastructure while maintaining high separation quality through source sorting.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If community electromechanical composters are installed, then organic waste can be composted locally, but logistical difficulties arise requiring citizens to transfer waste multiple times per week
Solution Approach 1:
The invention provides automatic composting systems that require minimal user intervention. The system automatically mixes, aerates, and processes organic waste without requiring citizens to manually transfer waste to community facilities, thereby maintaining local processing benefits while eliminating the logistical burden on users.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention implements continuous automatic composting operation within the household, eliminating the intermittent manual transfer process. The system continuously processes waste as it is deposited, maintaining uninterrupted composting action without requiring periodic user visits to community facilities.
4Reliability
If manual waste checking and emptying by collection workers is performed, then waste quality control is maintained, but operational inefficiency and unhealthy working conditions result
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables the composting system to automatically monitor and manage its own operation. Sensors detect waste levels and composition, and the system automatically adjusts processing parameters, eliminating the need for manual quality control while maintaining high standards through consistent automated operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The appliance enables efficient, continuous composting of organic waste within residential settings, producing high-quality compost and reducing waste management burdens, costs, and environmental impacts, while promoting a more sustainable waste cycle.
Implementation Method 1
a shredder for cutting the organic waste
Implementation Method 2
mixing means for homogenizing the shredded organic matter with a structuring agent
Implementation Method 3
a heating system for raising the temperature of the organic waste to values optimal for the development of microorganisms and for eliminating pathogens
Implementation Method 4
an aeration system for supplying oxygen to the organic waste, preventing odors
Implementation Method 5
a condenser for capturing water vapor from the air in the composter and condensing the same
Implementation Method 6
a filter for eliminating particles from the air exiting the composter
Implementation Method 7
a pump for transferring the treated organic material from the composter to an external vertical composter
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2d
Figure 3
AI summary
Apparatus for domestic composting of organic material, including: - external fairing equipped with upper openings for the introduction of the organic material; - internal framework comprising: a trituration tank comprising means for grinding the organic material; a mixing tank for collecting the shredded organic material, comprising first means for moving the organic material; an emptying system of the organic material comprising a surface for the drainage of the leachate of the organic material, connected to a circuit equipped with means for conveying the leachate to a sewer pipe of the house; a fermentation tank connected to the mixing tank, comprising second means for moving the organic material; a stabilization-maturation chamber connected to said fermentation tank; wherein said trituration, mixing and fermentation tanks comprise respective means for delivering air or water vapor, heating/cooling means configured to maintain the organic material at optimal conditions of oxygenation, temperature and humidity for the acceleration of biological degradation processes and sensors to detect temperature, humidity and PH of the organic material; - a hydraulic unit for the operation of said first and second means for moving; - a composting air circuit comprising: connection means to a suction hood or to an oven present in the kitchen, in which said connection means face said trituration, mixing and fermentation tanks, and an exhaust duct outside the house for the removal of odors; and - an integrative artificial heating/cooling system of the organic material.