Composter Design Model

Learning Targets:
We can analyze the changes in matter and energy that occur when organic matter is decomposed.
We can apply models to predict relationships between variables using sophisticated scientific terminology, and
demonstrating an advanced understanding of the scientific ideas, principles and theories used.
Team Members: Keiry
Part 1: FORMING YOUR TEAM
Describe the problem you will be trying to solve. What resources will you be trying to recover? How will you do it?
The model is going to show that you can compost anywhere without using up a lot space or if you don't have enough
materials to make a composter. This small and efficient composting design can create a good amount of compost if
you plan to use it for small things like plants in pots. This design can also be good for someone who has never
composted and wants to try it out by starting small since it'll be easier to handle. The compost will be going into a 2-3
liter water bottle which can be found anywhere, so you won't need to go out and buy materials. Since the compost is
going into a small container you are able to keep it by the windowsill if you live in a crowded city or you don't have
space.
Composting will allow people to reduce the amount of organic material they are putting in the landfill. It will also
reduce methane as a greenhouse gas since it won't be going into the landfill. Composting repurposes food scraps and
other waste and turns it into something that can give nutrients to your plans and in the future even earn you money.

What are the project requirements?

It has to efficiently break down organic material and create compost that's full of nutrition. It has to also be
something realistic that other people can use or do to no matter where they are. It has to be a model that won't
disturb people with smell or space, also it needs to have a good Ph and be nutrient packed.
PART 2: EVALUATING THE PROBLEM/CHALLENGE
What constraints have been placed on your team?
Creating a simple model that anyone can build using household items. Also deciding what organic matter to put in
and how much, also making sure to had a 50/50 ration. The model had to make nutrient filled soil quickly, also
making sure all the variables are correct and managed properly like moisture.

Chemical Variable
Needing Control

How and why it needs to be controlled

Design Choice

Size of container

Size of the container matters because that means

you have to put in more or less materials into and
itll be harder to manage the bigger it is. Also
depending on how much space for it you need to
have a container that'll work for you.

We are going to use a 2 liter water

bottle because It's not too smalls and
will make a good amount of soil, but
also won' take up much space and
will be easy to manage.

Moisture

The compost can't be too dry because then the

microorganisms won't be able to break down the
material, but if it's too moist the it'll smell and rot.

There has to be some moisture or

the material will not be able to break
down.

Heat

Heat allows the microbes to work efficiently and also

allows the material to decompose. If there's not heat
or energy then it won't break down. If there's too
much heat then it'll smell.

Heat is needed to speed up the

process because it creates energy.

Oxygen

Oxygen is needed to speed up the process and so it

won't rot. Also the microorganisms need oxygen.

Ogyen balances out the moisture and

smells and also keeps the organisms
alive

Worms

The worms will help break down the material by

eating it and then digesting it.

Worms will break down the material

Carbon to nitrogen
ratio

There has to be a balance so that the soil is rich and

it doesn't rot or smell or have a high PH balance.

It will give the soil a good PH and it

won't smell back

Final list the materials you will use...

-

Soil
Worms
Food scraps
Newspaper
Yard waste
2 Litter bottle
Water

Materials you still need..

-

Drill

Management Plan :
- Every other class the compost is going to be stirred to distribute the heat.
- Compost will be slightly moistened as needed.
- Organic matter will be added as needed.
- Carbons such as leaves will be added as needed.

Design Description
KeiryHiraldo
Mr.Haggerty
Chemistry
April2016

Composting:Mechanicsoflife
Thereisaworldwideproblemweareallfacingthataffectsusallnomatterwhereyoulive.Allhumans
producewastewhichisn'tabadthing,butmostpeopledon'tknowtoproperlytakecareoftheirwaste.Everyday
peoplecookandendupthrowingawaytheirfoodscrapsintothegarbagewhichwilleventuallyendupinthelandfill.
Therearemanyproblemswithpeoplesendingawaytheirfoodscrapstothelandfill,suchasittakingup
unnecessaryspace.Forexample,50percentofthewasteintheJohnstonlandfillinRhodeislandcouldofbeen
composted.Ifofthatwastewascompostedthelandfillwouldofbeenmuchsmaller,andwastethatactuallycan'tbe
recycledorcompostedcouldofgonethere.Organicmaterialscreatemethane,sotherewouldn'thavebeenasmuch
methanewhichisagreenhousegasinthelandfill.AlthoughMethaneisagreenhousegas,Itcanbeusedtoproduce
energy,theleachatethatcomeoutofthecompostcontainsMethane.Theleachatecanbesoldtocompanieslikes
nationalgridtoproduceenergywhichcanpotentiallyallowyoutoearnmoney.Notonlywouldthemunicipalities
havesavedmoneyfromnotsendingthatwasteinto,butalsothepeoplebecausecompostingcreateandsaves
money.ThisnotonlyisaprobleminRhodeIsland,butineverystate,countryandcontinent.Weallproducetrash,
toomuchofittobeexact,soonerorlaterwearegoingtorunoutofspacetoputitin.Whymakeorganicmattertake
upspaceinthelandfillwhenitcanbecompostedandusedforgreaterthings.
Compostingissomethingthateveryoneshouldbedoing.Thereisnoreasonfororganicmaterialwhichcan
berepurposedtonourishthesoil,tobesenttoalandfilltotakeupmorespace.Manypeopleseecompostingas
grossorhardtodowhenit'sactuallynot.Ourmodelshowshoweasycompostingcanbenomatterwhereyouare,it
alsoshowshowyoucankeepyourcompostundercontroltogetagoodoutcome.Somepeopledon'tcompost
becauseoflimitedspace,theythinkyouneedahugebinbutyoudon't.Ourcomposterismadeofa2litersoda
bottle,notonlyisitsmallportablecontainer,butyourealsoreusingandsavingmoney.Thesmallsizemakesthe
modeleasiertomanagealso,forthosewhodon'thavealotofexperiencewithcomposing.Wemadethemodel

simpleandusedhouseholditems,toshowthatyoudon'tneedafancycomposterandbuymaterialsforittowork
completelyfine.Forthecomposterallthatwasneededtobuilditis,asmentionbefore,the2litersodabottle,a
plasticcontainerforcatchtheleachate,aplasticspoontostirthecompostandatooltodrillinholes.Theholesin
thebottleallowthecomposttogetairwhichcontainsoxygen,alsosotheleachatecanleakout,thissolvesthe
problemwiththecompostsmellingbadsinceitisstabilizingit.WealsodecidedtomakethisanAerobiccomposter
becauseoxygenisneededtoproperlybreakdowntheorganicmatter.Whentheorganicmatterisexposedtoairthe
bacteriaandorganismsstayalive,thetemperatureisregulatedandthecompostwilldegradequicker.The
temperaturehastostayatacertaindegreesotheorganismsarestayingalive,andsothatpathogensdonotform.
Gettingairandallowingtheleachatetogetoutpreventsthecompostfromgettingtoowetandgettingmoldy.The
plasticspooninthemodelservestostirthecomposttodistributetheheatthatisusuallyandthemiddlelayerandto
mixupthematerialsoitcanallbeevenedout.Anotheressentialparttocompostingishavingtherightamountof
differentorganicmaterialssothecompostcanhaveabalancedPHandbenutrientfull.Inourcomposterwemade
suretomakeita50/50carbontonitrogenratio,ThisbalancesoutthePHandmakessurethecompostdoesn't
smell.Weusedpaper,leavesandtwigstogetthecarbon,wealsopreciselyplacescarbonmaterialatthetopto
serveasaninsulator.Sincethemodelissmallyouwon'tneedtocontinuouslyaddinmaterialsandbemorecautious
abouttheamountofmaterialyouputin.Inthemodelwealsoaddedinaninchorsooutdoorsoiltogetthe
compostinggoingandtogetmicroorganismfromthesoilinthecomposter.Themicroorganismsarewhatbreakup
thematerials,andyoudon'tevenneedtogooutinandbuyorganisms,sincetheyarelocatedinthesoilfrom
outside.Wealsoaddedinredwigglerwormswhichwillfurtherbreakdownthematerialsandspeedthingsupabit.
Energyisalsoproducedinthisprocess,whentheorganicmatterisbreakingdown,andwhenorganismsinitdie
CO2isreleased.Withoutoxygenthentherewon'tbeanyenergysinceoxygenisneededtocreateCO2.Another
reasonwhyoxygenisimportantisthatitcontainsNitrogen.Nitrogenplaysabigroleincompostingbecauseitbuild
cellstructure,withoutitcomponentslikeaminoacids,proteinsandenzymeswon'tbeavailable,whichareneeded
forthegrowthandfunctionofcells.Compostingisn'thard,themoreyoudoitthebetteryougetatitandthemore
youcanproduce.What'sabetteroutcomethancreatingnutrientpackedsoilforyourgardenoreventosellit.
Sendingittothelandfillisawastefortheamazingoutcomesithas,it'sbasicallythrowingawaymoney.

Project
Assessment

ProjectComponents:

IndividualDesignDescription
Includes
Two sections, The Problem and The Design Description
Physicalmodel
createdeitherbygrouporindividual.Imageanddesignisuploadedinto
individualreport
ConceptualFlowDiagramModel
grouporindividualimageuploadedintoreport
ManagementPlan

OrganicChemistryContentChecklist:
Part 1: The
Problem includes in your own words
the food waste problem in your own words
Explain the relevance of space, methane as a GHG the the potential value
How your system is going to recover value and why.
Why did you select a composting/anaerobic digestion system vs. a
composting/anaerobic digestion system?
Part 2: The Design Description includes
An explanation of the specific design choices that were made to control
each
chemical variable in the system
For example:We decided to .so that our system would.
The design description predicts the types of chemical reactions that will occur
(anaerobic vs aerobic)

StandardsRubric

Exemplary

Meeting

Developing

Beginning

Organic
Chemist
ry
Content

Containsallofthecriteria
describedinthechecklist,
addressingevery
variablesinthesystem

Containsallbuttwoof
thecriteriadescribedin
thechecklist.Maybe
missingoneimportant
variables.

Ismissingmorethan
twoofthecriteria
describedinthe
checklist.Ismissing
moremorethanone

Haslessthan
halfofthe
criteriadescribed
ontheorganic
chemistry

organicchemistry

consentchecklist
above.

variable.

consentchecklist
above.

Developi
ngand
using
models
to
understa
ndand
solve
problem
s

Studentscandevelopor
applymodelstopredict
relationshipsbetween
variablesusing
sophisticatedscientific
terminology.

Theexplanation
demonstratesanadvanced
understandingofthe
scientificideas,principles
andtheoriesused.

Studentscandevelop
orapplymodelsto
predictrelationships
betweenvariables
usingcorrectand
appropriatescientific
terminology.The
explanation
demonstratesan
understandingofthe
scientificideas,
principlesand
theoriesused.

Studentsattemptto
developorapply
modelstopredict
relationships
betweenvariables.
Theexplanation
demonstratesa
basicunderstanding
ofthescientific
ideas,principles
andtheoriesused.

Studentsattempt
todevelopor
applymodelsto
predictandshow
relationships
betweenwith
limitedsuccess.

Scientifi
c
commun
icat
ionand
Writing

Communicationis
clearlyfocusedleading
toawelldefinedgoal
orpurpose.Scientific
communication
supportsthepurpose
withconcise,logical
detailsthatmeetthe
readersneeds,thatis
arrangedinaformat
thatiseffectivewith
textand/orgraphics
thatareappropriate.

Communicationis
focusedleadingtoa
definedgoalor
purpose.
Communication
supportsthepurpose
withlogicaldetails
thatmeetthereaders
needs.
Communicationis
arrangedinaformat
thatiseffective,with
textand/orgraphics
thatareappropriate.

Communication
leadstoagoal.
Communication
supportsthe
purposewith
details.
Communicationis
arrangedwithtext
and/orgraphics.
Somewords
conveythe
intendedmessage.

Studentattempts
tocommunicate
isfocused
leadingtoa
definedgoalor
purposewith
littletono
evidence.