Composting facility
AssigneeInternational Process Systems
InventorsPaul C. Sellew, Geoff Kuter
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A composting facility comprising an elongated composting bay, a compost handling machine, and a ventilation system. The composting bay holds organic waste material while that material composts; and the compost handling machine is adapted to agitate the compost in, and to move the compost along, the bay. The ventilation system selectively conducts air into the compost, and this system includes a sensor, recessed in the bay, to actuate the ventilation system when the temperature of the compost rises above a preset value. Preferably, the temperature of the compost varies along the length of the bay, and the ventilation system includes a multitude of sensors to actuate the ventilation system to conduct air selectively into different sections of the bay to maintain a desired compost temperature profile.
Claims13
A composting facility comprising:
- an elongated composting bay to receive organic waste material and to hold the material while it composts, the bay including a frame defining an interior of the bay;
- a compost handling machine adapted to move along the frame and to extend into the composting bay to agitate the compost in, and to move the compost along, the bay;
- and
- a ventilation system in communication with the interior of the bay to selectively conduct air into the compost to ventilate the compost and to help control the temperature thereof, the ventilation system including
- (i) a sensor located in the bay to sense the temperature of the compost and to generate a signal in response to said temperature, and
- (ii) control means connected to the sensor to receive said signal therefrom and to actuate the ventilation system to conduct air into the compost when the temperature thereof rises above a preset value;
- wherein the frame of the bay defines a recess extending outward from the interior of the bay, the sensor is located in the recess, and the composting bay further includes a cover plate releasably connected to the frame, and covering the recess to hold the sensor therein and to keep the compost out of the recess.
A composting facility comprising:
- an elongated composting bay to receive organic waste material and to hold the material while it composts, and including a plurality of sections;
- a compost handling machine adapted to move along the composting bay to agitate the compost in, and to move the compost along, the bay;
- and
- a ventilation system in communication with the compost in the bay to selectively conduct air thereinto to ventilate the compost and to help control the temperature thereof, the ventilation system including
- (i) a multitude of sensors, each sensor being in thermal communication with a respective one of the sections of the composting bay to generate a signal in response to the temperature of the compost in said one section, and
- (ii) a multitude of control means, each control means being connected to a respective one of the sensors to receive said signal therefrom and to actuate the ventilation system to conduct air into the compost in a respective one section when the temperature of the compost therein rises above a preset value, wherein the ventilation system maintains a desired compost temperature profile in the bay;
- wherein the frame of the bay includes a floor and side walls, the side walls forms a multitude of recesses, and the sensors are located in said recesses.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.