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Enclosed Composting Facilities

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Enclosed Composting Facilities PLANNING YOUR SCHEME – FACTSHEET – 5 UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESSING OPTIONS operations, which is not the case for dry and Understanding the woody material. A wide variety of materials can be composted, although not always on their own. processing options The ability to blend dry and moist, carbon-rich and nutrient-rich materials, makes composting a very There were more than 187 organics processing versatile processing option. facilities in Australia in 2009–10, handling over 5.8 million tonnes of organic residues between them. The choice of processing technology is primarily The feedstock to these facilities included 1.58 governed by: million tonnes of garden organics and 211,000 What outcomes council and the community tonnes of food organics (not including food expect to achieve residues in MSW). Location and size of proposed site and NSW and Victoria recycled the bulk of source associated environmental constraints separated food organics, accounting for 100,000 Type and quantity of expected feedstock and 84,000 tonnes respectively. While many Investment and operating costs facilities were originally designed to process Type of products to be manufactured garden organics, most have been modified to Sustainability issues (such as measured enable them to handle other putrescible feedstock through LCA or carbon footprinting). such as mixed garden and food organics (as well as other putrescible organic residues), without A critical aspect of choosing an appropriate causing environmental nuisance or harm. processing technology is site location. Even fully enclosed composting facilities can result in odour There are three general treatment options for complaints when poorly operated and located organic residues: combustion (including close to residential areas. Negative headlines (for gasification); composting; and anaerobic example caused by odour emissions, biosecurity, digestion. The most suitable method of treatment contamination in output, water contamination, fire for a given application will depend largely on the or technical problems) can be detrimental to chemical and physical properties of the materials community engagement efforts. being processed (see table below). A general rule of thumb is that the more material that is processed at a site and the higher the Combustion Composting Anaerobic Digestion proportion of putrescible residues (for example Wood food organics, biosolids, food processing residues Tree & Shrub Prunings Land Clearing or liquids), the higher the risk for nuisance and Vegetation Management environmental problems to occur. Park & Garden Residues (winter - summer) In some jurisdictions licensing requirements will Mixed Garden & Food Organics dictate the design of an organics processing (rural - urban) system and may, for example, preclude the use of Commercial Organics open, uncovered windrow composting for the co- Kitchen Organics composting of food organics. Food Scraps Increasing Moisture Content Technologies for Increasing Porosity and Structural Stability processing organics Simple pile composting has been modified and Different processing options are better suited for developed over the last sixty years into various different types of organics mechanised and sophisticated composting technologies. Over the years, many different As a general rule, organic residues with high composting systems were developed and offered carbon density and low moisture content (such as in the market place, some of which have endured, wood) are better suited to combustion whereas while many others vanished. Nevertheless, the putrescible residues with high moisture content basic principles of composting remain unchanged, (such as food) are better suited for anaerobic as the process is governed by the fundamentals digestion. These types of putrescible materials are of biological and biochemical processes. also suitable for processing in vermiculture 1 PLANNING YOUR SCHEME – FACTSHEET – 5 UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESSING OPTIONS In the Practical Handbook of Compost The composting process can be divided into a Engineering, composting is defined as the first, high-rate phase, and a second, curing phase. biological decomposition and stabilisation of Many composting systems are organised along organic substrates under aerobic and thermophilic this divide. The first stage is characterised by high (>45°C) conditions to produce a product that is oxygen uptake rates, elevated temperatures, high stable, free of pathogens and plant seeds, and consumption of easily degradable components, can be beneficially applied to land. There are and high odour emission potential. seven general types of processing technologies for organics, as outlined below and further The second stage is characterised by lower temperatures, reduced oxygen demand and lower explained on the following pages. odour potential. Traditionally, the intensive 1 Vermicomposting composting phase has been more engineered and controlled due to the need to reduce odours, 2 Open windrow composting supply high aeration rates and maintain process 3 Aerated static pile composting (with or without control. The curing phase is usually less covers) engineered and less process control is applied. 4 In-vessel composting (tunnel, box, vertical Post-processing in a composting facility can silo, drum) include screening and air-sifting, blending, adding 5 Fully enclosed composting (agitated bed, performance enhancing components (nutrients, agitated pile) microorganisms), or pelletising. 6 Anaerobic digestion (wet, dry) Comparison of composting 7 Combustion (including pyrolysis and technologies gasification). There are a number of factors councils need to Most organics processing facilities can be consider when choosing a composting compartmentalised into pre-processing, technology. A primary consideration will be processing and post-processing operations. In the investment and operating costs, and budgetary case of composting facilities, pre-processing constraints. Other factors include the type and includes segregation of physical contaminants, quantity of feedstock, site location and size, size reduction of bulky materials, blending of regulatory requirements, and anticipated product different feedstock, and addition of water, use. These considerations will vary according to microbial inoculants or other additives that are the circumstances of a specific project and designed to improve the composting process or council. A brief comparison between different the finished product. composting technologies is provided in the table below. Technology Aeration Air purification Investment cost Land area required Vermi-composting Passive No, but possible Low to medium Large to medium Windrowing Turning, passive No Low Very large aeration Aerated static pile Positive/negative No, but possible Medium Medium forced aeration In-vessel Agitation, mechanical Yes, but exceptions Large Medium to small composting turning, forced aeration Fully enclosed Agitation, mechanical Yes Very large Medium to small composting turning, forced aeration 2 PLANNING YOUR SCHEME – FACTSHEET – 5 UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESSING OPTIONS The following aspects need to be considered As in many other manufacturing processes, the when assessing and comparing different raw materials used in organics processing processing technologies: operations largely determine the quality of the Investment costs ($ / tonne throughput) finished product. Recycled organic products Operating costs ($ / tonne throughput) manufactured from source separated organics Operational experience have shown low levels of physical and chemical Options for process management contamination. These products therefore have Options for achieving desired product wide potential application and the chance of quality being accepted in a wide variety of markets. Risk of emitting odour / bio-aerosols and The use of recycled organic products with low releasing leachate contaminant levels is central to developing Ability to process different feedstock agricultural and horticultural markets, and also Options for expanding processing capacity for minimising soil contamination. Footprint (tonne annual throughput per square meter) 1 Vermicomposting Energy and water use. Large-scale vermicomposting is practised in Investment and operating costs various countries, and has been explored in Australia. At the turn of the century, there were Although investment and operating costs are four or five large vermicomposting operations usually among the most important factors in processing municipal organics (biosolids, deciding for or against a certain processing garden and food organics) and animal technology, this information is rarely available in manures. However, today we understand there the public domain. Processing costs and gate- is only one such operation left in Australia, in fees for composting are commercially sensitive, Broken Hill. Fundamentally, vermicomposting and therefore not publicly divulged. requires a higher level of management and is Costs for composting vary greatly, depending less forgiving than windrow composting. on the type of materials processed, annual There are two main methods of large-scale throughput, the type of technology employed, vermicomposting: In the extending windrow and the kind of products generated. Data system, small piles of organic material are suggest that costs for composting range provided for worms. More organic material is between $25 and $130 per tonne (note that added to the pile continuously (see diagram). processing
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