Performance Analysis of a Solar-Powered Rotary Drum Composter for Optimized Food Waste Management

Abstract

The annual value of food waste generated worldwide has already reached a staggering $1 trillion. This amounts to 1.3-1.4 billion tons, or one-third of the food produced for human consumption, that goes to waste each year. The Food Center at Don Honorio Ventura State University faces a similar issue, with a weekly production of 21.5 kg of food waste. To address this increasingly concerning issue, a solar-powered rotary drum composter driven by a DC motor was developed. This composter is designed to accommodate up to 20 kg of food waste. Analysis of the composter’s motor performance reveals significant relationships between voltage, current, speed, torque, efficiency, and load. The voltage exhibits an inversely proportional relationship with the load, steadily decreasing from 24.8 V to 23.3 V as the load increases, while the current shows a directly proportional relationship, consistently rising from 4.1 A to 9.84 A with the increased load. Further examination of torque and speed in relation to load indicates a directly proportional and inversely proportional relationship, respectively. Torque increases from 6.68 Nm to 27.23 Nm with increasing load, while speed decreases from 72.74 rpm to 55.16 rpm. As for efficiency, it was found that the composter operates most efficiently when the drum is loaded with 12 kg, beyond which efficiency gradually declines with increasing load up to 20 kg. This decline signifies the diminishing returns associated with higher loads, highlighting the importance of load optimization for sustained efficiency in composter operation.