Equipment Introduction
The Chain Plate Compost Turning Machine, also known as a chain plate turner or chain plate composting turner, is a core piece of equipment in organic fertilizer production and aerobic fermentation treatment of organic solid waste. It employs continuous aerobic fermentation technology in a tank (trough) manner, using a chain-driven, rolling-supported chain plate turning mechanism to throw, aerate, and mix the compost material in the fermentation tank.
The chain plate compost turner features a reasonable design, high efficiency, low energy consumption, high degree of automation, ease of use, and low cost. It can turn the compost to a depth of 1.5-2 meters, making it a highly efficient machine that is well-received by users. The machine uses a variable frequency speed control system, which adapts well to changes in workload and allows for flexible adjustment of the walking speed based on material resistance, giving the equipment greater adaptability and flexibility. Centralized control cabinet control allows for both manual and automatic control functions, and limit switches provide safety and limit functions. An optional transfer vehicle can be installed to enable the sharing of multiple tanks. If the equipment capacity allows, the production scale can be expanded simply by adding fermentation tanks, which greatly improves the value of the equipment.
Equipment Structure and Composition
The chain plate compost turner consists of six core systems:
1. Turning Power Transmission Device
Comprising a motor, reducer, sprockets, bearing seats, and main shaft, this is the crucial device providing power to the turning chain plates.
2. Traveling Device
Comprising a traveling motor, reducer, drive shaft, traveling wheels, and bearings, this device utilizes frequency conversion speed regulation for smooth operation.
3. Hydraulic Lifting Device
Comprising a hydraulic pump station, solenoid valve body, hydraulic oil pipes, hydraulic cylinder column, and shaft seats, this device controls the lifting and lowering of the chain plate working components, ensuring flexible, safe, and efficient operation.
4. Turning Device
Comprising a supporting beam frame, motor, reducer, main shaft, driven shaft, sprockets, chain, and turning chain plates. The turning pallets are equipped with replaceable wear-resistant curved toothed blades, providing strong crushing capacity and excellent oxygenation of the material pile. The turning pallets are equipped with a flexible tensioning and elastic damping system to protect the transmission system and working components, ensuring efficient operation.
5. Transfer Vehicle (Transfer Machine)
Composed of a walking motor, transmission gears, drive shaft, and wheels, it provides a temporary transport tool for the turning machine when changing troughs.
6. Electrical Control System
Utilizes a PLC control cabinet for centralized control, enabling manual or automatic control functions. It can also remotely control the machine’s forward movement, lateral movement, turning, and rapid reversal, improving the operating environment.
Applications of the Equipment
Chain plate compost turner is widely used in the following fields:
1. Livestock and poultry manure treatment: Harmless treatment and resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure such as pig manure, chicken manure, cow manure, and sheep manure.
2. Agricultural waste treatment: Crop straw, rice husks, edible mushroom residue, sugarcane bagasse, lees, sawdust, etc.
3. Sludge treatment: Sludge from urban sewage treatment plants, filter mud from sugar mills, and paper mill sludge.
4. Municipal solid waste treatment: Composting of organic municipal solid waste and kitchen waste.
5. Industrial organic waste: Food processing waste, pharmaceutical residues, brewing waste, distiller’s grains, medicinal residues, and biogas residue.
6. Landscaping: Composting and fermentation of garden pruning waste and fallen leaves.
Applicable scenarios: Fermentation, composting, and moisture removal operations in organic fertilizer plants, compound fertilizer plants, sludge and waste treatment plants, horticultural farms, orchards, and button mushroom cultivation plants, etc. Suitable for aerobic fermentation and can be used in conjunction with solar fermentation chambers, fermentation tanks, and transfer vehicles. When used with a transfer cart, it can achieve the function of one machine serving multiple slots.
Raw Material Requirements for the Equipment
The chain plate turning machine can handle a wide range of raw materials, mainly including:
| Raw Material Category | Specific Materials | Pretreatment Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Livestock & Poultry Manure | Chicken manure, duck manure, cow manure, sheep manure, pig manure | Moisture content 50%–65%; needs to be mixed with auxiliary materials |
| Agricultural Crop Straw | Corn straw, wheat straw, rice straw, sorghum straw | Crush to ≤10cm |
| Agricultural By-products | Rice husk, peanut shell, cottonseed hull, mushroom residue, vinegar residue, sugarcane filter mud | Used as auxiliary materials to adjust C/N ratio |
| Sludge Type | Municipal sludge, sewage plant sludge, paper mill sludge | Needs to be mixed with dry materials to adjust moisture content |
| Other Categories | Garden waste, branches, leaves, bark | Needs to be crushed to remove non-decomposable impurities |
| Special Raw Materials | Biogas residue, wine lees, Chinese medicine residue, guar residue | Treated according to material characteristics |
Raw Material Proportioning Requirements:
1. Carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C/N) adjusted to approximately 25:1
2. Moisture content controlled at 50%–65%
3. pH value controlled at 6–9
4. Materials pre-piled in the fermentation tank, with the pile height not exceeding the turning depth.
Working Principle of the Equipment
The chain plate compost turner adopts a combined process of “heavy-duty chain plate turning + walking conveyor”:
1. Basic Working Process
The electric motor directly transmits power to the reducer, driving the main shaft. The main shaft drives the chain, and the turning chain plates mounted on the chain move in a cyclic motion under the drive of the main shaft. The equipment moves at a constant speed along the tracks laid on both sides of the fermentation tank. The wear-resistant shovels on the chain plates penetrate deep into the material layer (up to 0.8-1.5 meters).
2. Turning and Oxygen Supply Process
The chain plates transport the material at the bottom of the tank to a higher position and scatter it down, moving the material 3-4 meters backward. The chain plates have staggered manganese steel blades that can crush clumps of material. During turning, the material stays on the pallet for a long time, is scattered at a high level, and has a large contact area with air, making it easier to reduce moisture.
3. No Additional Aeration System Required
The chain plate compost turner does not require a high-pressure forced oxygen supply aeration system. Oxygen is evenly supplied to the material during the turning process, resulting in strong oxygen penetration into the material layer and uniform aerobic fermentation. The material has ample contact with oxygen in the air during the conveying and descent process, resulting in better fermentation.
4. Deep Turning Effect: Turning operations can be performed at any position within the tank through lateral and longitudinal displacement, offering great flexibility. The lifting and lowering of the turning components are controlled by a hydraulic system, allowing for a turning depth of 1.8-2.0 meters. The vertical lifting height of the material can reach 2 meters, resulting in a long residence time in the air and eliminating the need for aeration.
Equipment Application in the Production Line
1. Position in the Organic Fertilizer Production Line
The chain plate turner is the core equipment in the fermentation section of the organic fertilizer production line. It undertakes the core process of material composting and fermentation, directly determining the fermentation quality, production efficiency, and finished product quality of the organic fertilizer. It plays a crucial role in the entire production line, acting as a bridge between upstream and downstream processes. The equipment adopts a deep-layer fermentation process using a ground-level tank, receiving materials from the upstream batching and feeding process, completing the turning, oxygenation, mixing, and composting operations, providing qualified composted raw materials for downstream deep processing.
The complete organic fertilizer production process embedded with the equipment is as follows: Raw material pretreatment → Batching and mixing → Fermentation tank feeding → Chain plate turner turning and fermentation → Discharge → Crushing → Screening → Granulation → Drying → Cooling → Secondary screening → Finished product packaging. In the entire process, turning and fermentation is the core link in the harmless and resource-based treatment of raw materials, and a key process to ensure that organic fertilizer meets production standards.
2. Production Line Supporting Equipment and Functions The chain plate compost turner needs to be used in conjunction with a complete set of organic fertilizer production equipment. Each supporting device has a clearly defined function, working together to automate the entire organic fertilizer production process from raw material processing to finished product packaging. Specific supporting equipment and functions are as follows:
Loader/Loader Loader: Primarily used for transferring and stacking raw materials, and feeding materials into fermentation tanks, continuously supplying materials to the fermentation section to ensure the continuous and stable operation of the production line.
Ingredient Mixing System: Precisely proportions main ingredients and various auxiliary materials according to organic fertilizer production process standards, adjusting core parameters such as carbon-nitrogen ratio and moisture content to provide excellent basic conditions for efficient fermentation.
Transfer Cart/Tanker Cart: Used in conjunction with the chain plate compost turner, enabling a single turner to operate across multiple fermentation tanks, completing the turning and composting of materials in multiple tanks, achieving a multi-tank production mode.
Crusher: Used for fine crushing of the fermented and composted materials. The chain plate compost turner has a built-in material crushing function, effectively breaking up lumpy materials, simplifying subsequent crushing processes, and reducing the crusher’s workload.
Screening machine: Screens and sieves the fermented and pulverized materials, effectively removing large pieces of incompletely fermented material and impurities, ensuring uniform particle size to meet the production requirements of subsequent granulation processes.
Pelletizer: Processes the screened, well-rotted powdered organic fertilizer into regular granular fertilizer, improving the ease of application, fertility stability, and product appearance of the organic fertilizer.
Common Equipment Problems and Solutions
| Fault Category | Fault Phenomenon | Possible Causes | Standard Solutions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compost Turning System Fault | Difficult compost turning | 1. Material layer exceeds rated thickness 2. Severe deformation of chain plate & shaft, or foreign objects wrapped around 3. Foreign objects stuck in transmission gear or gear damage | 1. Remove excess fertilizer material 2. Repair deformed chain plate/shaft, clear wrapped foreign objects 3. Clear stuck foreign objects or replace transmission gears |
| Uneven compost turning | 1. Improper chain plate rotation speed 2. Mismatched traveling speed 3. Worn chain plates | Adjust chain plate speed and traveling speed to matching state; replace worn chain plates | |
| Chain plate scraping ground | 1. Too low ground clearance of chain plate 2. Uneven ground surface | Lift up the compost turner timely; inspect and level the ground surface | |
| Materials wrapped around chain plate | 1. Overlong raw materials 2. Excessive weeds | Sieve and cut long materials before turning; clean weeds on operation site | |
| Insufficient turning distance | 1. Insufficient chain plate tension 2. Worn cutting blades | Adjust chain plate tension; replace worn cutting blades in groups | |
| Traveling System Fault | Unstable traveling operation | 1. Foreign objects on traveling wheels or tracks 2. Bent transmission shaft | Clear foreign objects on traveling wheels and tracks; calibrate or replace deformed transmission shaft |
| Abnormal noise or overheating of reducer | 1. Insufficient lubricating oil 2. Worn bearings 3. Stuck foreign objects | Fill lubricating oil; inspect bearing wear, replace damaged bearings | |
| Track abrasion | 1. Long-term continuous operation 2. Uneven track installation | Grind and repair tracks regularly; re-level track base | |
| Electrical System Fault | Difficult or failed motor startup with buzzing noise | 1. Excessively worn or damaged motor bearings 2. Bent & deformed reduction shaft 3. Too high or too low supply voltage | 1. Replace motor bearings 2. Calibrate or replace deformed reduction shaft 3. Restart machine after voltage returns to normal rated value |
| Electric control system malfunction | 1. Damaged contactor 2. Circuit short circuit 3. Faulty limit switch | Replace damaged contactors; overhaul circuit lines; replace faulty limit switches | |
| Soft starter malfunction | 1. Improper parameter setting 2. Excessive operation load | Reset soft starter parameters; inspect and reduce equipment operation load | |
| Hydraulic System Fault | Inflexible lifting & lowering of chain plate | 1. Insufficient hydraulic oil 2. Faulty solenoid valve 3. Aging oil cylinder sealing parts | Refill hydraulic oil; overhaul solenoid valve; replace oil cylinder sealing components |
| Loud noise of hydraulic pump station | 1. Clogged oil suction filter screen 2. Worn hydraulic oil pump 3. Air mixed into hydraulic pipeline | Clean oil suction filter screen; overhaul or replace hydraulic oil pump; exhaust air inside pipelines | |
| Slow lifting & lowering speed | 1. Deteriorated hydraulic oil 2. Internal leakage inside oil cylinder | Replace deteriorated hydraulic oil; overhaul internal sealing structure of oil cylinder | |
| Automatic descent after full lifting | Worn piston sealing ring of oil cylinder | Replace piston sealing ring of oil cylinder | |
| Comprehensive Preventive Maintenance Plan | High long-term failure rate, frequent damage of wearing parts | 1. No monitoring for vulnerable parts 2. Excessive sundries on operation site 3. Poor pretreatment of raw materials 4. No fault record ledger | 1. Key component monitoring: Take chain plates, transmission chains, bearings and other wearing parts as key monitoring objects, establish component replacement records 2. Site & environment management: Keep operation site clean, remove hard objects such as stones and metal scraps; optimize raw material pretreatment to control moisture content 3. Intelligent technical upgrade: Install real-time monitoring sensors for temperature, vibration and other parameters to realize early fault warning 4. Establish complete fault file: Record fault occurrence time, root cause and disposal method for every breakdown, analyze the source of common faults |
Equipment Operation Method
1. Start-up Procedure
Pre-start inspection → Start the turning equipment → Move the machine.
2. Pre-start Inspection
Check that all fasteners are secure and that the bearing clearances of the transmission components are appropriate—too loose will cause slippage, too tight will cause excessive rotational resistance.
Check that the reducer and all lubrication points are adequately lubricated.
Check the power supply voltage; the rated voltage is 380V, and the voltage drop should not be less than 10% (i.e., 342V) or more than 10% (i.e., 418V). Do not start the machine if it exceeds this range.
Check that the connections of the motor and electrical components are secure, and ground the motor with a wire for safety.
Check that all connections and bolts are secure; tighten or weld any loose connections.
3. No-load Test Run
First, run the turning equipment. If the rotation direction is reversed, stop immediately and change the three-phase circuit connection to change the rotation direction. While the equipment is running, listen for any abnormal noises from the reducer, check that the temperature of each bearing is within the normal range, and observe whether the rotating chain plate rubs against the ground.
4. Load Test Run
First, activate the hydraulic lifting device to lower the chain plate to the bottom of the trough, then start the main unit. Depending on the ground level, if the overall level error of the same area is less than 15 mm, the chain plate of the turner can be controlled at approximately 30-100 mm off the ground; if this level is not achieved, the chain plate should only be controlled at approximately 100 mm off the ground.
After adjusting the chain plate position off the trough, set the equipment to its working travel speed for turning. During the turning process, observe carefully. If the chain plate hits the ground, immediately raise the main frame of the turner to prevent damage to the equipment.
5. Shutdown Operation
The machine should only be stopped after all material has been discharged. In case of a sudden power outage and residual material inside the machine, manually move the V-belt to clear the material.
6. Safety Precautions
No one may pass in front of or behind the turning machine during production. Before starting the machine, the alarm bell should be sounded, and personnel should stay away from the machine to prevent accidents.
No maintenance or lubrication should be performed during production.
The machine must be moved at the specified speed during turning; exceeding the speed limit is prohibited.
No one other than the machine operator may operate the machine.
The turning shaft must not rotate if the two ends are uneven when it is being raised or lowered.
Fermentation Process of the Equipment
The chain plate turner is the core equipment for achieving aerobic composting fermentation:
1. Aerobic Fermentation Principle
It adopts continuous aerobic fermentation technology in a pool, utilizing beneficial microorganisms to promote the rapid maturation of organic waste such as livestock and poultry manure. Through chain plate turning, the organic waste is rapidly maturated, dehydrated, sterilized, and deodorized, achieving the goals of harmlessness, resource recovery, and volume reduction.
2. Intelligent Fermentation Control
The intelligent automatic control of the turning process of the fermentation materials causes a certain displacement of the fermentation materials within the pool. The materials move backward in a regular and continuous manner within the pool, thus forming a continuous aerobic fermentation process.
3. Oxygen Supply and Moisture Control
During the turning process, the materials remain on the pallets for a long time and are scattered at a high level, ensuring sufficient contact with air and easy moisture reduction. There is no need to configure a high-pressure forced oxygen supply aeration system; oxygen is evenly supplied to the materials during the turning process, and the oxygen penetration of the material layer is strong.
4. Fermentation Effect
Through deep turning and turning, the materials in the pile are fully replaced, and the oxygen-deficient materials at the bottom are brought to the surface.
The pile temperature is stably maintained at 55-65℃, and complete decomposition is achieved in 7-15 days.
Insect eggs, pathogens, and weed seeds in the materials are thoroughly killed.
The fermentation cycle is short (7-8 days), far superior to traditional processes.
5. Fermentation Tank Configuration
Construct two fermentation tanks, 1.5-1.8 meters high, 60-80 meters long, and 3-10 meters apart, with lightweight tracks installed on the walls. The tanks are as low as 2 meters above the ground, reaching up to 12 meters, resulting in a shorter fermentation cycle and higher daily and annual production capacity. Fixed copper sliding angle cables can be installed on the sides of the fermentation tanks, ensuring safety, reliability, durability, and easy maintenance.
Summary of Equipment Advantages
Compared to other types of compost turners, the chain plate compost turner has the following significant advantages:
1. Thorough Turning: The chain plates can penetrate deep into the bottom layer of the material (up to 1.8-2.0 meters), ensuring thorough turning without dead corners and solving the problems of poor composting and slow fermentation at the bottom.
2. Enhanced Crushing Efficiency: The chain plate shovel teeth have a built-in crushing function, directly breaking up large pieces of straw and clumps of manure, eliminating the need for a pre-crushing process.
3. No Aeration Required: The material is lifted vertically to a height of up to 2 meters, allowing for a long residence time in the air, eliminating the need for a high-pressure forced oxygen supply aeration system.
4. Energy Saving and High Efficiency: The chain drive and rolling support structure result in low turning resistance and saves energy. Energy Saving
5. Continuous Operation: The equipment moves continuously along the track, turning and dumping waste, supporting 24-hour uninterrupted operation. Its efficiency is dozens of times that of manual turning.
6. One Machine, Multiple Tanks: Equipped with a transfer machine, one turning machine can operate in multiple tanks, saving investment.
7. Intelligent Control: Equipped with a PLC control cabinet or remote control, supporting one-button start/stop and automatic movement.
8. Robust and Durable: The core chain plate and shovel plate are made of high-strength manganese steel (Mn13), wear-resistant, impact-resistant, and with a long service life.
9. Automatic Discharge: Utilizing the deep tank design, automatic discharge is achieved, enabling large-scale harmless treatment of organic waste within limited ground area.
As a core piece of equipment in the fermentation section of medium-to-large-scale organic fertilizer production lines, the chain plate compost turner has become one of the preferred fermentation equipment for organic fertilizer plants, compound fertilizer plants, sludge and waste treatment plants, and button mushroom cultivation plants due to its technological advantages such as deep-trough operation, low resistance during back-throwing, uniform material mixing, sufficient oxygen supply from high-level spreading, and strong crushing capacity. Its ground-trough aerobic fermentation technology can convert organic raw materials such as livestock and poultry manure and agricultural waste into high-quality organic fertilizer within 15-25 days, achieving the dual goals of resource utilization and environmental protection.
The chain plate compost turner adopts a chain-driven and rolling support chain plate mechanism, resulting in low resistance during back-throwing, energy saving, and suitability for deep-trough operation. During back-throwing, the material stays on the pallet for a long time, is spread at a high level, and has sufficient contact with air, making it easy to reduce moisture. The chain plate has staggered manganese steel blades that can crush clumps of material. This equipment does not require high-pressure aeration equipment; it provides oxygen to the material evenly and without dead zones during the turning process, ensuring strong aeration penetration into the material layer and uniform aerobic fermentation.
Whether you need a compost turning machine or plan an entire fertilizer production line—from fermentation and turning, crushing and mixing, to granulation, drying and cooling, screening and packaging—we can provide you with a one-stop solution.
