Development and Fabrication of A Portable Shredding Machine for Rapid Composting of Organic Waste

Abstract

Solid waste management is found to be a matter of great concern all over the world. As the population grows, the volume of food waste also increases. Vegetable waste discarded from markets, waste discarded from slaughterhouses, and food waste left out after large social gatherings are becoming unmanageable heaps of organic waste. Composting is an effective process that can be used for the biodegradation of solid waste. Researchers have studied the influence of many parameters to accelerate the composting process such as adjusting the C/N ratio, pH, temperature, and moisture content. Reducing the size of larger pieces into small particles is found to accelerate the microbial activity and hence composting. This paper discusses the development and fabrication of a shredding machine used for cutting large volumes of vegetable waste. As per the studies conducted, the shredding machine can cut down 360 kg of vegetable waste into shredded waste within one hour. The quantity of petrol required for operating the engine for one hour was observed as one liter. Hence the fabricated shredding machine is found as cost-effective. The portable unit can be taken to various locations where solid organic waste has to be shredded and hence there is no need to transport waste which is a cumbersome task that consumes more energy.