AU747290B2 - Method for manufacturing fertilizer utilizing waste material - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 DAE-YOUN YANG

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: Method for manufacturing fertilizer utilizing waste material The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:- Sr Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing fertiliser using waste material, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a fertiliser using waste material in which plant wastes such as grain waste, vegetable waste or forestry/garden wastes are processed to form a fertilising material by fermentation using beans or fermented grains, or (ii) poisonous organic wastes such as human excrement, livestock excrement, food wastes, fish wastes or slaughtered animal wastes are processed using unslaked lime such that microbial/viral contamination and odour are eliminated, and at the same time the processed products are fortified with calcium, resulting in a fertilising material. The fertilising materials and (ii) may be used separately or together to produce a fertiliser.

Our living environment is overflowing with agricultural wastes, forestry/garden wastes and marine wastes as well as further poisonous wastes such as livestock excrement, human excrement, food residues or slaughtered animal waste by-products, etc, which are endlessly produced, and these pollute the environment and pose a risk to human health. Although the government or local self-governing bodies invest significant funds in an effort to dispose of 20 them, these efforts are insignificant relative to the problem.

In the light of the above the applicant has carried out research to identify a method for solving the problem of pollution and as a result, has devised a •method which does not pollute air and water quality, and does not have adverse effects on the living environment, having no adverse effects when used 25 on agricultural products or forestry products, being capable of making the soil rich, and being capable of making not only a fertiliser derived from agricultural :'".:products but also a composite fertiliser. As a result, the problem of waste material is safely solved, the waste material becoming a raw material of a fertiliser so as to be a resource capable of contributing to the development of national industry.

Detailed Description of the Invention A. Raw Material for Fertiliser i. Beans.

The term "beans" as used throughout the specification means low quality bean products which are not edible, and although typically ground bean powder is used, bean-curd dregs remaining after the preparation of bean-curd may also be used.

2. Plant Waste.

Plant wastes suitable for use according to the invention include any agricultural waste products such as waste products from the cultivation of the following, rice, wheat, tomato, water melon, melon, radish, cabbage, red pepper, garlic, medicinal herbs, flowers and the like; and forestry/garden waste products such as grass and other plants.

3. Excrement.

All human excrement and livestock excrement are suitable.

4. Food Waste.

This includes food waste produced at home and in restaurants and subsidiary food waste.

Fish Waste.

This includes processed meat waste products produced at fish markets, etc.

6. Slaughtered Livestock Waste Products.

S• Waste products produced at abattoirs.

Unslaked Lime (ie caustic lime) 8. Fermentation Agents.

Suitable fermentation agents are those used to ferment organic materials and fermented products such feed stuffs made by fermenting grain.

9. Others.

Yellow earth soil, Kaolinite, agalmatolite, geolite, sawdust, urea, etc.

B. Manufacturing Method 1. Processing of Plant Waste Material.

The waste materials (rice, wheat, tomato, water melon, melon, radish, cabbage, red pepper, garlic, medicinal herbs, flowers, grass, etc.) are reprocessed and ground. The moisture content is then suitably adjusted to match the fermentation conditions and then either bean powder or bean-curd dregs are added to from typically about 30-50% of the total amount of ground material mixed. Alternatively fermented grain is used in stead of bean powder Z bean-curd dregs and are mixed in to form typically about 30% of the total amount of ground material. The mixture is then placed in a fermenting room and fermented for about 3-8 days using known methods, dried to about 13% moisture content and then finely ground.

Example 1.1 Fermentation of strawberry waste material.

Strawberry waste material and strawberry leaves and stem, etc, are mixed and ground and the moisture content is adjusted to less that 50%. A mixture of bean powder and bean-curd dregs are then mixed in to form about 30% of the total mix, fermented grain is also mixed in to form about 20% of the total mix.

The mixture is than placed in a fermenting room, fermented for 7 days at 0 C, dried to about 10-13% moisture content and ground.

Example 1.2 Fermentation of Red Pepper Waste Material.

Red pepper waste, the red pepper trees and red pepper leaves are ground 15 and the moisture content adjusted to less than 50%. Then a mixture of bean o powder and bean-curd dregs and fermented grain are added to a final amount of about 30% and 20%, respectively, and mixed in. The mixture is then placed in oo...i a fermenting room, fermented for 7 days at 35-400C, dried to about •*oo moisture content and ground.

Example 1.3 Fermentation of Rice Waste Material.

Ground rice leaves and stems are adjusted to less than 50% moisture content. Then, a mixture of bean powder and bean-curd dregs and (ii) fermented grain are added to a final amount of about 40% and 25 respectively, and mixed in. The mixture is then placed in a fermenting room, fermented for 8 days at 35-50 0 C, dried to about 10% moisture content and ground.

Example 1.4 Fermentation of Grass Waste Material.

Cut grasses are finely ground and mixed to 50:50 with bean powder and bean-curd dregs and adjusted to less than 50% moisture content. A fermenting micro-organism is added and the mixture is then placed in a fermenting room, fermented for 7-8 days at 35-500C, dried to about 10% moisture content and ground.

The fermentation-processed plant material processed as in the above examples is a suitable fertiliser for the manufacture of corresponding products.

2. Processing or Poisonous Organic Waste Material.

Example 2.1 Processing of Excrement (human and livestock).

Excrement is collected and put into the processing tank and stirred for 2-3 days. Foreign materials such as metal substances or synthetic resins, etc, are removed, salinity is eliminated and the excrement processed to result in a moisture content of about 50%. It is then heated to above ambient temperature, placed in a processing tank provided with a mixing device, and reacted with lime in an amount of about 30-50% of the total quantity of excrement. It is then left for 2-3 days and then ground by a grinder and naturally fermented by mixing saw-dust and urea (but not yellow earth soil, Kaolinite, agalmatolite, geolite or ligrin) then dried to less than 13% moisture content and ground into small particles.

*0 o0 Example 2.2 Processing of Slaughtered Livestock Waste Material.

The slaughtered livestock waste material produced from slaughtering of livestock is collected into a processing tank, impurities and salinity eliminated and the material finely cut and then processed to have a moisture content of *about 50%. It is then heated to greater than ambient temperature and reacted with lime in an amount of about 30% of the amount of waste material. It is oeo.. then left for 2-3 days and thereafter solids are separated out and ground by a 25 grinder and the filtered liquid is separately processed.

Example 2.3 Processing of Fish Waste Material.

The waste material (including also waste produced by processing the internal organs of various clams) produced from processing is deposited in a water tank, impurities and salinity eliminated and cleaned and finely ground by a machine device. It is then processed to a moisture content of about heated to greater than ambient temperature and then reacted with lime in an amount of about 30-50% relative to the amount of product to be processed. It is then left for 2-3 days, solids separated out and ground by a grinder and then dried to a moisture content of less than 13%.

Example 2.4 Processing of Food Residue.

The food wastes left over after eating at home or in restaurants are collected and put into a water tank. Foreign material is isolated out, salinity is eliminated. The food waste is then cleaned, finely ground and the moisture content adjusted to less than 50%. It is then put into the processing tank, heated to above ambient temperature, mixed with lime in an amount corresponding to about 50% of the processed waste products and reacted for about 24 hours. It is then left for 2-3 days and ground by a grinder. Then a filling material such as yellow earth soil is mixed in and the mixture re-ground and dried to about 13% moisture content.

3. Manufacture of Fertiliser 3.1 The fermented product fertiliser which is fermented by mixing plant wastes with beans or malted grain may be packaged independently.

o 3.2 The lime product fertiliser produced from poisonous organic wastes S may also be packaged independently.

.oooo: ws3.3 Fertiliser may also be manufactured by mixing the processed plant waste product fertiliser and the process poisonous organic waste product fertiliser in a ratio of, for example, from 2.8 to 4. It may also be desirable to mix in filler materials such as yellow earth soil or saw-dust to the processed plant waste fertiliser and the lime processed poisonous organic waste fertiliser.

5. It may also be desirable to collect separately the filtered liquid 25 produced by the lime treatment process to use as a liquid fertiliser or to purify water.

The fertiliser of the present invention manufactured by fermentation processing plant wastes using beans or fermented grain is not only rich in protein, fat, hydrocarbon and various enzymes (alpha-amylase, beta-amylase, protease, lipase, urea, etc) but is also rich in plant fibre. Also, if plant materials corresponding to the agricultural product which is intended to be fertilised are used to make the fertiliser the fertiliser will have no ill effects genetically and thus it can be importantly used as a fertiliser for a particular farm product.

Furthermore, the processed fertiliser which is produced by reacting poisonous organic wastes with lime contains not only nutritive elements derived from 6 organic product and nitrogen, phosphor, calcium but also micro-nutrients.

Thus essential elements required for the farm product can be supplied in sufficient quantities. It can therefore be used as a fertiliser for various products and for soil improvement, increasing the harvest yields of the product. Further, the product produced using this fertiliser is rich in nutrients and therefore the fertiliser is useful in providing vegetable foods of good quality. Also, since the fertility of the soil can be increased by generating micro-organisms within the soil, it has the advantage capable of improving the soil quality. This allows not only repeated cultivation but also reduces the harmful effects of blight and insects. Further previously wasted resources can be used to make a fertiliser by processing without environmental pollution. This is advantageous in terms of efficient utilisation of resources.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such Sas "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

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Claims (15)

1. A method for manufacturing a fertiliser using waster materials which method comprises heating poisonous organic waste materials to above ambient temperature; (ii) contacting the waste materials with unslaked lime; and (iii) mixing the resulting waste materials with a filling material.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the poisonous organic waste materials are selected from excrement, slaughtered livestock wastes, fish waste and food waste.

3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the filling material is selected from saw dust, urea, yellow earth soil, kaolinite, agalmatolite and geolite.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the unslaked S• lime is added in an amount corresponding to from about 30 to 50% of the waste materials.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the waste materials are contacted with unslaked lime for a period of from about 2 to 3 days. 0* 6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein prior to step the waste materials are desalted, ground and the moisture content adjusted to about

7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein after step (ii), solids are separated from liquids.

8. A method according to claim 7 wherein the solids are then dried to a moisture content of about 10% and ground.

9. A method according to any one of the preceding claims which method further comprises: grinding plant waste materials; adjusting the moisture content of the ground materials to 50% or less; and fermenting the materials with one or more fermentation agents selected from bean powder, bean curd dregs and fermented grain; and mixing the resulting fertiliser with the fertiliser produced in steps (i) to (iii). A method according to claim 9 wherein the amount of fermentation agent corresponds to about 30 to 50% of the ground materials.

11. A method according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the fermentation agent comprises bean powder and bean-curd dregs and the method further comprises adding a fermentation microorganism prior to fermentation in step

12. A method according to any one of claims 9 to 11 which further comprises after step o drying the fermented materials to a moisture content of about :to 13% and, optionally; grinding the dried fermented materials.

13. A method according to any one of claims 9 to 12 wherein the plant waste materials are selected from rice, wheat, tomatoes, water melons, melons, radishes, cabbages, strawberries, red peppers, garlic, medicinal herbs, flowers and grass.

14. A method according to any one of claims 9 to 13 wherein the fertiliser produced in steps to or to is mixed with the fertiliser produced in steps to (iii) in a ratio of from 2:8 to A method for manufacturing a fertiliser using waste materials which method comprises (a) grinding plant waste materials; (ii) adjusting the moisture content of the ground materials to 50% or less; and (iii) fermenting the materials with one or more fermentation agents selected from bean powder, bean curd dregs and fermented grain to produce a first fertiliser; and (b) heating poisonous organic waster materials to above ambient temperature; (ii) contacting the waste materials with unslaked lime; and (iii) mixing and resulting waste materials with a filling material to produce a second fertiliser material; and mixing the first fertiliser material and the second fertiliser material.

16. A method according to claim 15 wherein the first fertiliser material and the second fertiliser material are mixed in a ratio of from 2:8 to

17. A method for manufacturing a fertiliser according to claim 1 substantially as described with reference to the foregoing examples.

18. A method for manufacturing a fertiliser according to claim 9 substantially as described with reference to the foregoing examples. :Dated this twenty-fifth day of February 2002 DAE-YOUN YANG Patent Attorneys for the Applicant. F B RICE CO