Chain Compost Turning Machine
This equipment adopts a continuous conveying compost turning design, which can realize continuous fermentation operations of large-scale materials. Compared with traditional trough-type compost turning machines, its operating range is more flexible and is not restricted by fixed fermentation tanks. It can perform strip-type fermentation in open areas and is suitable for large-scale organic fertilizer production bases or organic waste treatment centers.
What raw materials can be fermented by the chain-type compost turning machine?
The chain-type compost turning machine has strong adaptability to various organic materials and can efficiently ferment a variety of raw materials, as follows:
Livestock and poultry manure
This includes high-density organic materials such as chicken manure, pig manure, cow manure, and sheep manure. The powerful turning of the chain-type compost turner can break up the compacted state of the manure. Through ventilation and temperature increase during the turning process, it effectively kills pathogens, parasite eggs, and weed seeds in the manure, while reducing the emission of harmful gases such as ammonia and eliminating the stench of manure.
Crop straw
Such crude fiber materials as corn straw, wheat straw, rice straw, etc. The chain-type compost turner's teeth can tear and stir the bundled or segmented straw, making it evenly mixed with other organic materials, accelerating the degradation and composting of the straw, and converting it into organic matter and humus in organic fertilizer.
Industrial organic waste
These materials include wine lees, vinegar lees, furfural residue, Chinese medicine residue, and slaughterhouse waste. These materials have high moisture content and are easily corrupted. The chain-type compost turner can reduce the moisture content of the materials through continuous turning, promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms, and achieve harmless treatment and resource utilization of waste residues.
Municipal organic waste
Such as kitchen waste, landscaping waste (dead branches and leaves, weeds, etc.). The chain-type compost turning machine can centrally process these scattered wastes, converting them into high-quality organic fertilizer raw materials through physical crushing and biological fermentation during the turning process, thereby reducing the amount of urban waste landfilled.
Sludge
This includes sludge from municipal sewage treatment plants and industrial wastewater treatment plants. After strict testing for heavy metal content and ensuring compliance, the chain-type compost turning machine reduces the sludge's moisture content (from approximately 80% to below 60%) by turning it, stabilizing its properties and eliminating odor and pathogens, making it a safe organic fertilizer raw material.
Equipment composition of chain plate compost turner
The chain-type compost turner is composed of multiple core components that work together to ensure efficient material transportation, turning and fermentation. The specific components are as follows:
Rack structure
Constructed from high-strength welded steel, it consists of a main frame and a traveling frame, ensuring sufficient load-bearing capacity and stability. The main frame is used to mount the chain conveyor mechanism, tipping device, and power system, while the traveling frame is equipped with wheels and guides to support the movement of the equipment within the fermentation site.
Chain conveyor mechanism
The conveyor chain consists of a drive sprocket, a driven sprocket, a chain, and chain plates. The chain utilizes a high-strength roller chain, while the chain plates are stamped from wear-resistant steel with welded teeth or scrapers. The drive sprocket is driven by a motor through a reducer, driving the chain and chain plates in a circular motion to convey and flip materials. Chain plate width varies depending on the machine model, typically ranging from 1.5 to 4 meters. The conveying speed is adjustable via a variable frequency motor within a range of 0.5 to 2 meters per minute.
Flipping device
Integrated into the chain mechanism, it consists of a sling, scraper, and breaker blades. The sling, arranged in a spiral pattern on the chain and ranging in length from 20 to 50 cm, is used to flip and break up the material. The scraper blades are installed at an angle on both sides of the chain to prevent material spillage. The breaker blades are used to process large or tough materials (such as straw and branches) and improve material uniformity.
Powertrain
The machine consists of a travel motor, a chain drive motor, and a hydraulic motor. The travel motor uses a crawler or tire drive system and has a power of 15-45kW, ensuring smooth movement on muddy or uneven fermentation sites. The chain drive motor has a power of 22-75kW and provides power for the chain and flipping mechanism. The hydraulic motor controls the chain's lift and flipping angles to accommodate different material thicknesses and fermentation stages.
Electronic control system
The machine consists of a PLC control cabinet, touch screen, sensors, and actuators. The operator uses the touch screen to set parameters such as travel speed, chain speed, and flipping depth. Sensors monitor material temperature and equipment operating status (such as motor current and chain tension) in real time. Abnormal parameters trigger an automatic alarm and shutdown, ensuring safe operation.
Assistive devices
The system includes a sprinkler system, guide wheels, and lighting. The sprinkler system is installed above the chain plate and automatically sprays clean water or a microbial solution based on the moisture content of the material. The guide wheels are used to control the direction of the equipment when driving in a straight line or turning. The lighting facilitates nighttime operation and increases the flexibility of the equipment's operating hours.
How does a chain-type compost turning machine compost organic fertilizer raw materials?
The process of composting organic fertilizer raw materials with a chain-type compost turner is a continuous biological fermentation process. Scientific operating steps are required to ensure that the materials are mature. The details are as follows:
Raw material pretreatment
Collected organic materials are sorted and processed: livestock and poultry manure is air-dried to a moisture content below 65%; straw is pulverized to 5-10 cm in length; and industrial waste is freed of metal, plastic, and other impurities. The various raw materials are then mixed in appropriate proportions, adjusting the carbon-nitrogen ratio to 20-30:1 and controlling the moisture content to 55%-60% (ideally, the material should form a ball when held in the hand, with water visible between fingers without dripping).
Stacking
At the fermentation site, the pre-treated raw materials are piled into windrows with a width of 2-5 meters and a height of 1-1.5 meters. The length depends on the site and production volume (generally 10-100 meters). A 1-2 meter passage is reserved between the windrows to facilitate the movement of the chain-type compost turner and ventilation.
Compost turning operations
Start the chain-type compost turner, adjust the chain height so that it is flush with the top of the windrow, and then move it along the length of the windrow. As the chain moves forward, the teeth toss the material from the bottom upward, turning the bottom layer of material to the surface. The surface material mixes with the middle layer, and the material is simultaneously broken up and stirred. During the turning process, if the moisture content of the material is too high, add microbial agents or clean water through the sprinkler system; if the moisture content is too low, add wet material to adjust it.
Fermentation cycle control
Control the frequency of compost turning based on the type of material: During the initial stage (1-3 days), the material temperature rises to 50-60°C, and the compost is turned daily. During the high-temperature stage (4-10 days), the temperature is maintained at 60-70°C, and the compost is turned every two days to kill pathogens. During the cooling stage (11-20 days), the temperature drops to 40-50°C, and the compost is turned every three days to promote humus formation. The entire fermentation cycle lasts 15-25 days, adjusted based on ambient temperature and material maturity.
Maturity judgment and discharge
Fermentation is complete when the material temperature drops to near ambient temperature (±5°C), the color turns dark brown, the texture becomes loose, and there is no noticeable odor but a fresh earthy fragrance. The chain-type compost turner pushes the composted material to a designated area for subsequent screening, crushing, and granulation.
How to use chain plate compost turner in fertilizer production line?
The chain-type compost turner is a key equipment in the early fermentation stage of the organic fertilizer production line. Its application runs through the entire process from raw material processing to composting and fermentation. The details are as follows:
Connecting raw material pretreatment and fermentation processes
In the fertilizer production line, pre-processed raw materials (crushing, mixing, and adjusting the carbon-nitrogen ratio) are transported via conveyor to the fermentation area. A chain-type compost turner stacks the raw materials into windrows and performs the initial turning, initiating the fermentation process. The equipment's continuous operation capacity matches the production capacity of upstream pre-processing equipment (such as crushers and mixers), ensuring seamless raw material transfer and fermentation start-up.
Achieve large-scale continuous fermentation
For large-scale fertilizer production lines, chain-type compost turners can simultaneously process multiple parallel windrows. By setting the turning sequence and frequency, different windrows are kept at different stages of fermentation (new material loading, high-temperature composting, and cooling aging), forming a continuous "loading - turning - discharge" production line. For example, a production line with an annual output of 100,000 tons of organic fertilizer can be equipped with two to three chain-type compost turners to meet fermentation needs and achieve a material processing capacity of 300 tons per day.
Provide high-quality raw materials for subsequent processing
The fermented material produced by the chain-type compost turner is highly mature and uniform, with a stable moisture content of 30%-40%. It can be directly crushed and screened without additional drying. Compared to under-fermented material, the pellet formation rate in the subsequent granulation process can be increased by over 20%, reducing return material and lowering the overall energy consumption of the production line.
Linked with intelligent control system
In automated fertilizer production lines, the electronic control system of a chain-type compost turner can be connected to a central control system, uploading real-time data such as fermentation temperature, compost turning frequency, and material location. Based on this data, the central control system automatically adjusts turning parameters or remotely controls equipment operation, enabling intelligent management of the fermentation process and reducing quality fluctuations caused by human intervention.
