Information about the Bench Scale Composter- Brochure

“others see a waste we see a resource”Testing the Compostabilityof Commercial Feedstocks on a Bench ScaleEnvar and Gicom Composting Systems b.v has developed a bench scale composter that replicates the operating conditions of commercial scale Gicom In-vessel composting tunnels by using sophisticated environmental control software. Using the same software and principles as the commercial scale system allows us to derive accurate test data on a variety of feedstocks, prior to potential full scale application.Operation of the Bench Scale ComposterThe schematic diagram below shows the design of the bench scale composter. The central part of the composting unit is a stainless steel chamber of 30-litre capacity that holds the composting material. The chamber has a lid that can be screwed on tightly to provide an air-tight seal. The chamber sits within a heated control box that supplies the air movement and temperature control hardware. The composting chamber is linked to the control box by means of a number of ports:• Air inlet• Air return• Air inlet temperature• Compost temperature• Air return temperatureApplications to Date under the DEFRA CBRN ProgrammeThe unit was commissioned in early 2010 and used initially to undertake composting trials for the Home Office under the CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear) Resilience Programme.Further work has been completed to compost digestate from wet and dry Anaerobic Digestion (AD) processes with the findings presented at an international conference in Des Moines, in October 2010.Current trials for a commercial food sector client are focussing on the blending of vegetable based digestate with other feedstocks such as wood shavings and finished green waste compost to produce a nutrient rich product with an increased percentage of dry solids. What Envar Can OfferThe bench scale composter is situated at Envar’s Composting Facility in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, where our technical team are also based. Envar offer a service to the industry that strives for knowledge transfer and sustainable processing solutions.Envar offers a service to the industry that covers all aspects of compost feedstock testing and trials. This includes: • Designing trials specific to a certain feedstock.• Carrying out tests & trials (providing confidentiality where required).• Providing laboratory analysis.• Reporting back to the customer.• Providing commercial scale application advice.• Providing FACTS accredited advice for any eventual product application to land.