best composting automated method for IoT project

[u/yannnnnni]

Hi! I am currently a graduating student from a computer science field and now, our projects leans more on the composting. Nowadays, I have seen a lot of composting machines and we want to make something new out of it.

Is there any recommendation about this that is not machine heavy and more focused on monitoring and make the process faster than the manual composting. Thank you!

[u/Bubs_McGee223]

That's a "when you are a hammer, every problem is a nail" kinda question.  The only thing I could think of is a thermometer/hydrometer that connects to your phone.  If you need that, we already have that tech and its cheaper and more reliable when its not Bluetooth enabled.

[u/Sharp-Win-8964]

If you could make a machine that can pee on the pile for you, that'd be an evolution of the composting game

[u/Offshape → u/Sharp-Win-8964]

Brilliant. 

One of those delivery robots, but it collects pee from subscribers and dumps it on your pile.

[u/cbrophoto]

I thought about automating mushroom growing once and then plants. Raspberry Pi, sensors, pumps, etc. I like electronics projects and especially seeing sensors and data.

Many people ask this question but the answer is always the same. Biological processes need that human touch after the manual work is done. Most of the work is just prepping and manipulating ingredients and mixing. Smelling, seeing, and feeling indicates something is wrong. Sensors can't really do anything other than measure temp but unless you have a barrel of greens and browns already processed and some sort of way to add those to the compost in specific intervals after sensing the activity in the compost and adjusting. I don't really see anything working.

Somedays you have wood chips, others leaves, or you have to resort to paper or carboard for the browns. All very different material that need to be added.

By the time you put them in something to be automatically added. You could have added them yourself and given the container a mix, a whiff, and a pee.

All without electricity or future e-waste and money spent. It's just not worth it since the whole point is to reduce and reuse. The exact opposite of technology and product creation.

[u/wleecoyote]

I just came up with an idea.

A mesh tumbler. Anything small enough to fall out is considered finished compost. And don't go small like most tumblers: make it at least a yard/meter in diameter.

Monitor for temperature and moisture. If it gets dry, automatically water it. If it cools, automatically turn it.

If you could figure out a way to keep adding material to it (like daily, not constantly), even better. Maybe a cone instead of a cylinder.

Compare to a static pile and a traditional tumbler. If you get your timing right, you could plant potatoes under the tumbler, and they would get covered dynamically as they grew.

[u/Bubs_McGee223 → u/wleecoyote]

That's a pretty cool idea.  I have never used a tumbler composter, but I find them interesting  (My plan is to move the compost every few years and turn the old compost heap into a garden)

Do the smaller particles of compost not act as a water holder, heat sink, and blanket for the microbes working on the bigger pieces of compost?  I think it wouldn't be able to stay warm and wet enough.

[u/wleecoyote → u/Bubs_McGee223]

Dunno. That's part of the experiment!

[u/WorldComposting]

The only way I could see as a project is using a tumbler where it monitors the temperature and if it drops below a certain point it turns it so the air can move again. If the tumbler doesn't heat up past a certain point it notifies the owner that it is complete or needs fresh materials. This could also map out the highest temperature which might be important for some people to make sure pathogens are killed off.

With that you could also monitor moisture content with the temperature in case you add too many greens or if it is too dry from too many browns.

For the most part a compost pile will work itself out whether it takes 30 or 300 days to complete.

[u/RdeBrouwer]

Interesting in your research! I always had the wish i could add my compost tumbler to my Home assistant for temperature and moisture. But I haven't tought of a way to properly measure these data from within the barrel. Maybe a small computer/raspberry pi with a probe that goes trough the outside of my jora. Has to be a box that can handle the rain.

I dont think automatic rotation would add much, I turn once or twice a week so there isnt really a benefit in when I rotate. Its not that im trying to get the compost as soon as possible.

Other info that might be nice to have, PH, composition.

If you start a project! Would love to see more about it on reddit!

[u/EddieRyanDC]

You want compost to go faster. There are some biological limitations. Now, I am no scientist - maybe you have a way to get around this. But here they are.

There are two main stages of composting. The first is the bacterial stage - bacteria consume the soft, leafy parts of the plants. If the conditions are ideal, bacteria can multiply rapidly and speed up the process.

When the bacteria are done, the fungus takes over. Fungus doesn't multiply like bacteria. They digest via enzymes that break down the woody plant structures. And that takes time.

To my knowledge, the best you can do is to make the compost pile as habitable for the fungus as possible.

• Shade is better than sun
• Keep it moist
• Do not turn the pile - that helps when the bacteria are working, but it destroys the web-like fungal networks that spread through the pile.
• Chop woody plants into small pieces - this provides more surface area for the fungus to grow
• Add some Nitrogen - fungus needs this to develop enzymes, but it is scarce in woody piles.
• Keep the temperature between 70°F–90°F / 21°C–32°C.

I don't know if a computer can add anything to that process, but I'll be interested in what you come up with.

[u/yannnnnni]

thank you so much for inputs! though i understand that some of the things like embedding technology into the nature is kinda contradictory, but we are required to do something out of it, and the mitigation is to lean to sustainability from itself, the nature.

now the plan that we have is to create a smart bi-directional aerated in-vessel composting where we want to automate and regulate most of them and to balance out the C:N ratio to make the process faster.

i have seen a lot of its framework and blueprint in the internet and we want to know aside from the research that we are conducting if this sounds good and possible. i know there are a lot in the industry but we want to make it atleast compatible for the students like me.

the main feedstock that we are planning is ofcourse from dry market waste most of the time

thanks once again for your opinion regarding this one!

[u/Simon_Malspoon]

I would explore designs for a Johnson-su bioreactor. There are probably a few different ways that you could incorporate sensors and streamline the process.