Smart Waste Incinerator with TEG-Based Energy Recovery and Active Airflow Control

Abstract

The agricultural sector consistently produces large quantities of post harvest biomass waste, such as straw, rice husks and maize cobs. To date, the majority of this waste is still managed through open burning. This method not only causes air pollution that has a detrimental impact on the environment, but also wastes a considerable amount of potential thermal energy. Consequently, there is an urgent need for innovative waste treatment technologies capable of reducing exhaust gas emissions whilst simultaneously capturing waste heat for conversion into decentralised electrical energy for farming communities. The main challenges in implementing small-scale biomass incineration technology are extreme fluctuations in combustion temperature and an inconsistent oxygen supply, which ultimately result in very low thermal conversion efficiency. Given these conditions, the problem statement for this concept centres on how to precisely control the stability of the combustion chamber temperature when agricultural waste with varying moisture content is incinerated, and how to integrate a Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) module to achieve the maximum temperature gradient (ΔT) between the hot and cold sides for optimal electrical power generation. To address these issues, this article proposes the concept of a “Smart Incinerator Based on a Thermoelectric Generator with an Active Airflow Control System”. The primary objective of this innovation is to design an incineration system capable of automatically regulating the oxygen supply (closed-loop control) based on real-time temperature readings, thereby ensuring more complete and consistent combustion of agricultural waste. This thermal stability is specifically designed to maintain the optimal performance of the TEG module array, thereby ultimately generating maximum electrical energy output that is environmentally friendly and can be directly utilised to meet farmers’ operational needs.