FR2507294A1 - Solar heating enclosure for fermentation of compost etc. - to eliminate use of internal pipe work - Google Patents

Abstract

An enclosure for maturing compost etc. comprises a bell-shaped casing of metal painted black externally and with a reflective inner surface. The enclosure captures external heat and contains it to keep the contents hot enough for aerobic fermentation throughout, i.e. above 60 deg.C. Simpler and more reliable than use of internal serpentine fluid heat transfer piping. Pref. the enclosure stands on a grid or mesh to allow ventilation from below through biomass within to a vent at the top of the enclosure. During cool weather or seasons, the heat input may be supplemented by introducing warmed air from below. A nitrogeneous soap may periodically be circulated from a sump beneath the enclosure to an overhead nozzle to keep the fermenting mass moist. Opt. the outer surface of the enclosure is protected by transparent coatings, opt. microblister film.

Description

DESCRIPTIC> I
BIO-SOLAR BOILER
The invention relates, on the one hand to the devices for manufacturing vegetable compost with heat recovery and on the other hand to thermal solar energy sensors, hot air generators.

 The known systems of aerobic fermentation of plant biomass with heat recovery use a coil acting as a heat exchanger wound in the pile of plants put in fermentation.

 The disadvantages of this system are numerous - delicate and costly implementation of the arrangement of pipes, recovery of compost and pipes difficult and difficult to mechanize.

- low energy efficiency (around 20%) due on the one hand to the poor quality of the exchanger and on the other hand to a large surface area which is not insulated in the open air.

- thermal shocks possible during rain or a very low outside temperature, disturbing for a sometimes important time the functioning of the system.

- partial composting, only at the heart of the pile, a large volume of biomass that cannot undergo fermentation, which leads to manipulation of the heap (mushroom growers) - obligation to pasteurize the compost obtained because some of it has not fermented at a temperature above 60 ".

 The invention provides solutions to these problems: it is a cylindrical tank surmounted by a dome open on a chimney, hence its name boiler. This metal tank (aluminum, stainless steel etc ...) is painted black on the outside and has a reflective side towards the inside - The black paint used must have a good solar absorption coefficient -. The whole is covered with a material transparent to solar radiation and if possible multi-layer To ensure adequate thermal insulation (for example bubble wrap film).

 The assembly described then plays the role of a solar collector generating hot air, which by its symmetry of revolution is always in the maximum conditions of sunshine.

 The role of this sensor tank is: on the one hand to ensure the dynamic insulation of the plant biomass by compensating for losses on the edges by a solar contribution, on the other hand to ensure the thermal insulation of the whole (the metallized internal face reflects thermal radiation towards 21iQdt ur; the multilayer coating prevents conduction from the inside to the outside).

Finally, on certain days, this sensor tank may provide an energy supplement to fermentation.

 The plant biomass placed inside the tank is placed on a grating or a grid or any other perforated floor system so that the heat supplied by the fermentation and by the sensor creates convection currents expelling hot air from the top of the chimney and drawing cold air from the bottom of the boiler. The regulation of this air flow necessary for aerobic fermentation can be ensured by an extractor system, for example a fan controlled by a thermal probe.

 It is also necessary to maintain the water saturation of the biomass in fermentation. To this end, the assembly described will be placed on a tank allowing the watering and flow liquid rich in bacteria and various materials, in particular nitrogenous materials, to be collected. This water will be periodically reinjected from the top of the boiler. using a pump, either stationary or independent.

 The entire system described therefore maintains on the one hand a homogeneous and high temperature (75) in the stack as well as its water saturation, the bacteria then working throughout the mass and in the best conditions. The temperature reached and maintained ensures self-pasteurization of the entire compost.

 A first variant consists of a reflective panel placed north of the boiler improving the collection.

 According to a second variant, this device can be used continuously, the loading being done from the top of the tank and the unloading by a door which can be fitted at the bottom of the boiler using for example a conveyor belt, '' where easy mechanization of operations.

 The accompanying drawings show the device seen from above and the device in section. In these drawings, a distinction is made between: the metal tank (1), the transparent mono or multilayer casing (2) the perforated floor (3), the sealed tank (4) for the coolant (5), the pump d sprinkler (6), the chimney (7), the plant biomass (8), the reflective panel (9) according to the first variant.

Claims (4)

1) BIO-SOLAR BOILER characterized by a metallic tank (1) of cylindrical shape surmounted by a dome, the whole painted on the outside with a black paint having a good absorption coefficient for solar radiation, presenting the inside a reflecting face and provided with a chimney (7) in its upper part. 2) BIO-SOLAR BOILER according to claim 1, characterized in that the tank (1) is covered with one or more layers (2) of a material trans parent to solar radiation. 3) BIOSOLAR BOILER according to claim 1, characterized in that the tank is placed on a grid (3) of wood or other material whose holes are calculated so as not to let the plant biomass through. 4) BIO-SOLAR BOILER according to claim 1, characterized in that the tank (1) is placed on a basin (4) intended to receive the liquid (5) for flow and sprinkling of the device.