UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
FEB 540: ENGINEERING PROJECT .

DESIGN OF A VERMIREACTOR FOR TANA KITCHEN IN UON UPPER KABETE

CAMPUS.

OMUFISI O MILDRED
F21/1104/2010
SUPERVISOR: MR. INIMA
 INTRODUCTION

• Bio-degradable and non bio-degradable.

• The bio-degradable- agricultural produce wastes, household wastes, food processing plants
wastes
WASTES • Food wastes

• Food wastes disposal to open dumping sites and or landfills.

• Landfills are diminishing and in poor conditions.
• They decompose, produce bad smells, attract vermin, poor conditions for waste collectors
WASTE and pickers.
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS • Broadly- emission of green house gases and leachate seepage to underground water.

• Anaerobic digestion, composting, vermicomposting

RECYCLING A • Vermicomposting is a better recycling option for food wastes generated from the campuses.
BETTER
OPTION
 INTRODUCTION CONT’

Food /organic waste is the highest amount of solid waste produced in Kenya.
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
• The disposal method of food wastes from the Tana kitchen is not effective.
• Pollution to environment, nuisance, quality of life, diseases.

• The state of the dumping site behind Wakulima hostel

 OBJECTIVES
OVERALL OBJECTIVE
• To design a vermireactor that
will be used in Upper Kabete
Campus of the University of
Nairobi for appropriate disposal
of food wastes from Tana C
Kitchen.
Specific objectives
• Assess current waste
management methods of the
food wastes generated form the
Tana C kitchen.
• To determine the amount of food
wastes generated in the Tana C
kitchen of the Upper Kabete
Campus.
• To identify and collect pertinent
environmental design data.
• To design the vermireactor using
the identified parameters.
SITE ANALYSIS

• Temperature ranges of
12C - 26C

• Relative humidity range

of 40%-90%

• Average rainfall –
101kg/𝑚2
 LITERATURE REVIEW
• Vermicomposting is
a bioconversion
process.
• Requires a
vermireactor,
bedding material,
earthworms, feed,
and controlled
conditions.

• Vermiculture-worm
rearing.
 LITERATURE REVIEW CONT’D

Epigeic

Earthworm
• Epigeic worms- surface dwellers
and litter feeders

• High metabolic activity Endogeic Anecic

 VERMIREACTORS

Windrow system

Tray or stacking units

 VERMIREACTORS CONT’D

Batch/boxing unit
Continuous flow through system
 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
• Vermireactors • Bioreactor principle

• Directs the activity of a biological

catalyst to achieve a desired
chemical transformation.

1
q  V    C 
Ykcal
q :heat production rate, kcal/ls
V: reactor liquid volume, l
: specific growth rate, s-1
C: biomass concentration (g/l)
Ykcal: a yield coefficient given as grams of cells
formed per kcal energy released, g cells/kcal
 CSTR BIOREACTOR

• A continuous stirred-tank reactor

(CSTR) is an ideal reactor which is
based on the assumption that the
reactants are well mixed

• Mass balance of substrate:

Input - Output  Consumption  Accumulation

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK CONT'

• Earthworm growth rates

• Earthworm reproduction rates

 VERMIRACTOR OPTIMAL CONDITIONS

• Temperature: 10-15C
• Moisture content: 70-80%
• Bedding material: good bulking potential, good
absorbency, high C:N ratio
• Aeration: aerobic
• pH: 5 -9
• Salt content: less than 0.5%
• Stocking density of 5-10 kg/𝑚2
GENERATION OF CONCEPT DESIGN
Assessment of
current food
waste disposal
situation

Fabrication of
model Data acquisition
vermireactor

Sizing of the
Desk study
vermireactor
 PRODUCT DESIGN
• RESULTS
AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE
DATA
AVERAGE
AVERAGE RH RAINFALL DATA
MAX MIN 0600Z 1200Z
January 16.33333 13.06667
71.43333 50.8 25.1
February 25.66667 13.76667
73.23333 47.63333 54.16667
March 25.33333 14.36667
76.7 47.33333 111.6333
April 23.66667 14.7
85.66667 61.9 314.3667
May 23.26667 14.26667
83.2 60.9 129.4
June 24.6 15.13333
87.46667 67.26667 53.9
July 21.86667 11.8 83.7 61.6 12.93333
August 14.5 12
84.66667 59.03333 41
September 23.8 12.2
79.96667 52.3 19.56667
October 16.73333 14
77.76667 49 128.4333
November 15.63333 14.33333
85.36667 58.76667 161.9
December 15.23333 14
82.93333 60 165.5
PRODUCT DESIGN CONT’D
 PRODUCT DESIGN CONT’D
• VERMIREACTOR DIMENSIONS CALCULATIONS
 PRODUCT DESIGN. CONT’D

• Structure- two chambers. dimensions are 3m by 1m by 1.1m.

• top chamber- houses the worm activity
• bottom chamber -collection chamber of the vermicast and
vermiwash.

• Collection chamber - drawer system - vermicast

- mesh system – vermiwash

• Harvester bar –

• Wire system-enable flow through system.

 PRODUCT DESIGN CONT’D
• Bedding material

• High C:N ratio

• corrugated cardboard and newspapers

• Good absorbency

• Good bulking potential

FABRICATING THE MODEL
 CONCLUSIONS

• The overall objective of this design project was

achieved.
• Food wastes generated, worm characteristics,
temperature, RH rainfall data was collected and
used.
• The vermireactor was designed.
DESIGN DRAWINGS
DESIGN DRAWINGS CONT’D
DESIGN DRAWINGS CONT’D
 RECOMMENDATIONS

• Utilization of different designs used in the place

of wire system to enable the vermireactor to be a
continuous flow system.
• Design of a different system to enable the
collection of the vermiwash produced.
• Incorporation of pre-conditioning and
preprocessing of the food/organic wastes.
 REFERENCES

• M. M. Manyuchi., T. Chitambwe., P, Muredzi and Kanhukamwe Q (2013).

Continuous flow-through vermireactor for medium scale vermicomposting, Asian
Journal of Engineering and Technology, 1 (1), pp. 44-48.

• T. Abbasi, S. Gajalakshmi and S. A. Abbasi (2008), “Towards modelling and design

of vermicomposting systems: Mechanisms of composting/vermicomposting and
their implications”, Indian Journal of Biotechnology, 8, pp.177-182.

• G. Munroe, “Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture”, Organic

Agriculture Centre of Canada, pp. 1-56.

• Redmond OR (2014). HDG FT Worm Composting Bin (motion picture). United

States of America. An HDG Production.

• Beetz A, (1999) Worms for Composting (Vermicomposting). ATTRA-National

Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, Livestock Technical Note.
 Thank you

Any questions?