Swayam Khaad

The proposal presents a cost-effective design and strategy of a waste container for household and industrial purposes. This device is based on the heat-assisted catalytic transformation of food waste into soil matrix and liquid fertiliser in a period of 10–18 hours. The system will be equipped with a stainless-steel body, a heating mantle, a mixer and grinder, a stainless-steel filter, and a collection tray. The decomposed material, both solid and liquid fertiliser, will have a shelf life of approx. 18 months without any noxious smell. The methodology includes: drying the food waste; pulverisation; addition of adsorbent and catalyst; followed by catalytic transformation into the final product. In the first step, organic waste is dried and pulverised to ensure an exposed surface area. This step will be repeated a couple of times to make sure the waste is broken into uniformly small pieces. Thereafter, a mixture of additives (catalyst and adsorbent) will be added to the mixture to start the catalytic transformation of the particles obtained from the prior steps in the presence of optimal temperature and pressure. The use of a meticulously designed catalyst for the rapid decomposition of food waste into soil matrix and liquid fertiliser is a critical step in this process. As per our initial screening and hypothesis, the decomposition process will take 6–12 hours, which is much faster than any other decomposition method available on the market. During the catalytic transformation, additional reagents might be required to improve the concentration of the major elements (N, O, P, S) in the decomposed waste. The properties of the material as a soil fertiliser will be determined after biochemical and chemical transformations.