Abstract
Experiments were carried out to evaluate the performance of two compost turning machines for producing organic fertilizer by recycling agricultural wastes. To fulfill the objective of this research work, some operating parameters affecting the performance of the two compost turning machines were taken into consideration: Three different types of field crop residues of rice straw, cotton stalks and corn stalks, four different machine forward speeds of 1.0, 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6 km/h, four different turning drum speeds of 150, 200, 250, and 300 rpm and four turning times of 1, 2, 3 and 4 times/month were considered. Evaluation of the compost turning machines was carried out taking into consideration compost density, period to compost maturity, machine productivity, energy requirements and final compost quality. The obtained data revealed that the compost density, the period to compost maturity, the machine productivity, energy requirements and final compost quality were in the optimum range with the use of the self-propelled compost turning machine under conditions of 1.4 km/h forward speed, 250 rpm turning drum speed and three turning times/month. Results also revealed that corn stalks required the least period for maturity of 8 weeks, followed by rice straw of 12 weeks while cotton stalks required the longest period for maturity of16 weeks.
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