CIRCULAR TURNED AERATED PILE

In an ongoing effort to provide more composting on less foot print, GMT has developed the patent pending Circular Turned Aerated Pile or cTAP. The idea of the cTAP is simple and elegant. Make the longest continuous row you can on a square site, which is a circle. Place your grinding, receiving and first aeration zone in the outer circle, and turn the rows inward with your side turn composting equipment.

With the substantially longer piles, the turning frequency is reduced to once a week for a total of 5 turns over 42 days. The turner circles directly to the beginning of the next row, reducing reset time to zero between passes. This slowly concentrates the footprint of the pile with each turn. The volume reduction during composting now becomes an advantage and maximizes your throughput.

This 7-acre circular arrangement provides 30% more capacity than a rectangular 7-acre TAP system, which requires 11 turns over the same 42 days. Here it is the same process control, less work, more capacity while maintaining the same durability. It is time to seriously discuss this system for your next facility.

The cTAP system uses a tried and true aeration floor design using high-velocity air nozzles embedded in a concrete floor to reduce clogging and provide high rate aeration. Pipes distributing air under the cTAP system are below the concrete working surface. This allows the turner to have free movement across the whole pad without moving or cleaning aeration pipes. GMT below grade aeration systems have been in service for over 25 years without replacing pipes, nozzles or dampers.

The key to rapid decomposition is automated moisture and temperature control. Without an automatic temperature feedback system, it is almost impossible to keep up with the rapidly changing conditions in a composting pile. The WebMACS control system uses temperature probes to indicate the amount of air required to cool and oxygenate the compost. WebMACS is web-enabled and can be accessed from any computer or smartphone device. GMT manufactures wired and wireless temperature probes and state of the art controllers to accurately control and record compost pile temperatures.

Storm Water Management The cTAP system is designed to minimize runoff by keeping paved surfaces covered in compost. Water is an essential ingredient for the composting process and managing water can be difficult for an outdoor site due to sediment, condensate and runoff from storms. The pipes in the cTAP system all drain back to a catchment tank and aeration pond to prevent off-site pollution. Then process water is reused to rewet the compost as it dries. The cTAP system is designed to be a zero discharge facility with no net losses except through evaporation.