Agitator Granulator (new type organic fertilizer granulator)

The new organic fertilizer granulator serves as the core granulation equipment in complete organic fertilizer production lines. Utilizing an innovative continuous wet-process ram-extrusion granulation technique, it not only granulates a wide variety of organic materials but also overcomes the challenges conventional equipment faces when processing materials with high coarse-fiber content. This equipment is widely used in livestock farming and agricultural waste treatment.

This new granulator revolutionizes traditional organic granulation processes; it eliminates the need for pre-drying or pulverizing raw materials, allowing spherical granules to be produced directly from the mixed ingredients and resulting in significant energy savings. It enables the production of granules with up to 100% organic content. The process relies on the ability of organic particles to interlock and grow under applied force, requiring no added binders. The resulting granules are robust and can be screened immediately after formation, thereby reducing energy consumption during the drying stage.

The machine is particularly well-suited for granulating lightweight, fine-powder materials. The finer the base particles, the higher the sphericity and quality of the resulting granules. The equipment achieves a qualified granulation rate of over 80%–90% and accommodates various formulations; granule size uniformity can be adjusted to meet user requirements via a variable-speed control function.

Structural Composition

The structural design of the new organic fertilizer granulator fully accounts for the requirements of continuous production line operations:

Machine Body: Serving as the main framework, the body is manufactured using an integrated welding process. The interior houses the granulation chamber, where the material undergoes the complete transformation from powder to granules. The structural design ensures stability and effective sealing during continuous, high-intensity production.

Granulation Rotor: This is the core working component, equipped with specially designed stirring teeth. Rotating at high speeds, the rotor vigorously stirs, propels, and compresses the material, facilitating continuous mixing, granulation, spheronization, and densification. The stirring teeth are made of wear-resistant alloy and can be replaced individually based on wear.

Drive System: Comprising a motor, a gearbox, and the transmission assembly, this system provides stable and reliable power to the granulation rotor. Both the drive system and the machine body are mounted on a unified frame, resulting in a robust structure and smooth operation.

Additionally, the equipment features interfaces for feeding and discharge systems, enabling seamless integration with other production line components such as conveyors, batching equipment, and screening machinery.

Application location on the production line

In a typical complete organic fertilizer production line, the new organic fertilizer granulator serves as the core component of the process flow: fermentation, crushing, batching, granulation, drying, cooling, screening, and packaging. The specific production process is as follows:

Fermentation Stage: A compost turner (such as a trough-type wheel turner or chain-plate turner) is used to perform aerobic composting fermentation on the raw materials, promoting the decomposition of organic matter. The fermentation system consists of an inlet conveyor, a mixer, a specialized compost turner, an oxygen supply system, and an automatic control system. Fermentation temperatures are generally maintained in the high range of 55–65°C to effectively degrade harmful substances.

Pre-treatment Stage: The fermented material undergoes fine crushing in a crusher and is then screened to ensure the particle size meets granulation requirements (typically requiring a fineness of less than 200 mesh). Subsequently, the material enters the batching and mixing system, where auxiliary ingredients are added according to the formula.

Granulation Stage: The batched material enters the new organic fertilizer granulator. Material enters through the inlet at one end of the machine; a granulation rotor continuously pushes the material, creating mechanical interaction with the machine casing to form granules. The finished granules are discharged from the outlet at the opposite end. This is the core step of organic fertilizer production, and the selection of granulation equipment directly impacts the quality of the finished granules and production efficiency.

Post-treatment Stage: The granules enter a dryer for moisture removal, followed by a cooler to lower the temperature, and then a rotary screen for classification. Granules meeting specifications enter a coating system for optional coating treatment, and finally, the finished product is packaged via an automatic packaging system.

Synergy with the fermentation process

The new organic fertilizer granulator is highly compatible with the fermentation process. Fermented organic materials do not require drying; raw materials with a moisture content of 20%–40% can be fed directly into the granulator. This equipment is ideally suited for direct granulation following fermentation, eliminating the drying stage and significantly reducing production costs.

Fermentation is the core step in organic fertilizer production. Raw materials must undergo thorough fermentation prior to granulation to increase the organic matter content of the fertilizer. During fermentation, microorganisms break down large-molecule organic compounds into smaller molecules while simultaneously eliminating pathogens and parasite eggs. Thoroughly fermented material exhibits good plasticity and cohesiveness, which facilitates the granulation process.

The new organic fertilizer granulator operates by leveraging the tendency of organic particles to interlock and grow larger under applied force. This mechanism necessitates thorough pre-fermentation to ensure the organic particles achieve the optimal physicochemical state. Insufficiently fermented materials lack the necessary surface activity for effective interlocking, which can compromise both the granulation rate and the strength of the resulting granules.

Optimization of process parameters for different raw materials

Raw materials vary significantly in terms of viscosity, moisture content, and decomposition characteristics, requiring process parameters to be adjusted accordingly during granulation. While modern organic fertilizer granulators are highly adaptable to various raw materials, proper parameter settings are crucial for ensuring granulation quality.

Livestock and poultry manure (chicken, pig, and cattle manure): These materials have high moisture content (remaining at 35%–45% even after decomposition) and uneven viscosity, making them prone to clumping during feeding and resulting in loose granules. The solution involves adjusting the moisture content of the decomposed material to 30%–35%, adding 2%–4% bentonite as a binder, and controlling the particle size to ≤4 mm during the crushing stage.

Crop stalks (corn and wheat stalks): These materials have high fiber content and very low viscosity, leading to low pelletization rates and loose granules. The solution is to crush the stalks and mix them with livestock manure at a 1:2 ratio for composting, utilizing the manure's viscosity to compensate for the stalks' lack thereof; additionally, 4%–5% binder is added, and the moisture content is adjusted to 32%–38%.

Municipal sludge: Modern organic fertilizer granulators also perform excellently with materials such as humic acid and municipal sludge. Through a specially designed stirring-tooth structure, high-moisture municipal sludge can be mixed with biochar at a specific ratio, allowing for simultaneous processing during granulation.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) residues: Rich in active ingredients, these residues are hard in texture and have uneven viscosity, making the resulting granules prone to cracking. The solution involves a two-stage crushing process to ensure a particle size of ≤3 mm and the addition of 2%–3% binder; after granulation, low-temperature drying (≤60°C) is used to prevent high temperatures from damaging the active ingredients.

The core of organic fertilizer granulation lies in "adapting to raw material characteristics"; differences in viscosity, moisture content, and composition dictate the specific granulation processes and parameters required.

Intelligent control and energy-saving, eco-friendly characteristics

Intelligent Control System: The new organic fertilizer granulator features a PLC-based intelligent control system and a color touchscreen interface. It comes with preset standardized production modes for various raw materials; operators simply tap the corresponding icon to automatically adjust key parameters such as rotation speed and feed rate. The equipment displays real-time operational status and issues immediate audio-visual alarms—along with suggested solutions—in the event of anomalies, significantly lowering the operational skill requirement. It achieves a pellet formation rate exceeding 96%, producing granules that are round, uniform, and high-strength. Additionally, it supports the storage of multiple parameter sets, enabling rapid switching between different formulas.

Energy-Saving Advantages: Unlike conventional organic granulation methods, this process eliminates the need for pre-drying or pulverizing raw materials; spherical granules can be produced directly from the blended ingredients, resulting in substantial energy savings. The equipment is suitable for processing organic fertilizer derived from municipal solid waste; by bypassing the drying stage, it reduces manufacturing costs and aligns with energy conservation and emission reduction policies. The unit operates with low energy consumption and noise levels, and generates no waste emissions during the granulation process.