Bio-Digesters, Dehydrators, and Liquid Food Composters 101
Food composting is becoming increasingly popular with both home and commercial establishments alike. While composting can be a great way to reduce your environmental footprint, it can also lead to some confusion when it comes to choosing the right equipment for your needs. This guide will provide an overview of the three best types of composting equipment we carry—bio-digesters, dehydrators, and liquid food composters.
Dehydrators
A dehydrator can be thought of as a food waste dryer. It works by extracting moisture from organic materials, like kitchen scraps and lawn clippings, to reduce their volume. This makes them ideal for composting large amounts of waste in a relatively short amount of time. While traditional compost piles can take up to two months or more to break down, dehydrators are able to reduce food waste in just a few hours. Dehydrators are also relatively low maintenance and require minimal energy, making them a great option for both home and commercial composting operations.
Gaia Dehydrators
Our Gaia Dryers are simple, automated systems that use heat and mechanical mixing to dry food and other organic waste. These systems can reduce the weight of organic waste by up to 90%.
The bulk of organic and food waste is water – up to 98% of it. By evaporating this water, the weight and volume reduction leaves the operator with a sterile, stabilized end product that doesn’t smell and can be stored for an extended period without degrading.
The Gaia dryers come in various sizes; some that can process as little as 30kgs of waste a day up to those large enough for 200 tons per day. They’re perfect for smaller places that have constraints on space, like city center hotels, catering operations, shopping centers, food processors, and manufacturers.
Gaia dryers are especially good at drying packaged wastes. Non-organic packaging, like plastic and foil, is broken down during the drying process. This allows organic waste to be dried with the packaging remaining available for recovery through screening. The resulting organic waste powder has caloric value as biomass fuel or quality feedstock for anaerobic digestion systems.
Benefits At-A-Glance
- Reduces 95% of the volume and weight of organic waste
- Can process from 30kg up to 200 tons per day
- The end product has caloric value as biomass fuel or quality feedstock for anaerobic digestion systems.
- Accepts many non-organic, contaminated, and packaged food waste
- Reduce waste disposal and transportation frequency and costs
Liquid Food Composters
Liquid food composters are ideal for restaurants and other commercial establishments that produce large amounts of wet food waste. This type of composting uses water to break down the organic matter, significantly reducing both its volume and weight.
The process is relatively simple; First, the food waste is ground up into small pieces and then mixed with water in the composter. Next, the mixture is heated up to a high temperature. This causes the organic matter to break down and separate from the water.
The end result is a liquid compost that can be used for plant fertilizer or as anaerobic digester feedstock for renewable energy production. Liquid food composters are perfect for establishments that have limited outdoor space for composting and require a quick, low-maintenance solution for food waste disposal.
Power Knot Liquid Food Composter
The LFC from Power Knot is a fully enclosed automatic composting machine that breaks down food waste into compost within 24 hours. Once installed, you can add waste food at any time, and only composted food is discharged into the wastewater.
The water maintains a balance for the microorganisms to break down the food quickly and also washes away any composted material. There is a rotating arm inside that slowly churns all of the waste food together so it will decompose more efficiently.
You can think of the machine as a bio-digester where tiny organisms are breaking down the organic matter.
Benefits At-A-Glance
- Composts food waste quickly in 24 hours
- Reduces the volume and weight of food waste by up to 90%
- No mess or odor during composting
- Automated operation with minimal maintenance
- The end product can be used as fertilizer or anaerobic digester feedstock
Dry Bio-Digesters
Dry bio-digesters are an efficient solution for transforming organic waste into renewable energy. This type of digester uses heat, pressure, and mechanical mixing to break down food and other organic materials. The process results in biogas and a nutrient-rich digestate that can be used as fertilizer.
Dry bio-digesters are suitable for businesses that generate large amounts of organic waste and want to produce renewable energy. They can process both wet and dry materials, making them ideal for those who have limited space or need a flexible solution.
The Harp CX5 Bio Digester
With the ability to digest up to 500 liters a week, the Harp CX5 is a compact, efficient solution for transforming organic waste into renewable energy. The system utilizes both dry and wet digestion processes to break down the organic material and produce biogas.
Benefits At-A-Glance
- Produces renewable energy from organic waste
- Compact, efficient design with minimal maintenance
- Suitable for both wet and dry materials
- Biogas can be used as fuel to generate electricity or heat
- Digestate can be used as fertilizer or soil amendment
These are just a few of the many types of anaerobic digestion systems available today. Depending on your needs, you can choose from a variety of solutions to help reduce food waste and generate renewable energy. With the right system in place, you can make sure your business is doing its part to create a more sustainable future.
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Our goal is to give our clients the best tools and advice possible so they can reduce waste while also making a profit. We love creating opportunities that benefit both businesses and the environment. Our approach is both sustainable and practical, reducing negative impacts on the environment while also improving our clients’ operations and profitability. We promise to stand behind every installation and program we develop, providing professional maintenance, training, and problem-solving with a focus on both our customers and the planet.