EEW Energy from Waste GmbH stores the energy source waste in its thermal residual waste treatment and energy generation plant TREA in a bunker of impressive dimensions: With a length of 42 meters, a width of 14 meters, and a depth of 33 meters, up to 10,000 m³ of material can be stored before it is energetically utilized in the boiler. To ensure optimal loading of the facility and material dispatch as required, the production department has to know how much waste is in the bunker. Monitoring waste volume with lidar ensures that enough material is available to run the plant efficiently.
From Blickfeld.
Blickfeld LiDAR sensors have replaced previous measurements and continuously record the volume of stored waste. 3D data generated in real-time thus helps to optimize the plant operation economically.
Challenge
Previously, the stored material was recorded manually once a day. For this purpose, the height position of the waste gripper was measured at various points in the waste bunker, and the stored volume was determined from this.
In addition, the input and output were also recorded via scales. However, since only the weight, i.e., the mass of the waste, was recorded, the energy content of the waste could not be reliably estimated. The energy content is derived from the mass and volume since both values combined provide information about the density and, subsequently, about the thermal value of the material.
To ensure efficient and environmentally friendly operation of the plant, it was also essential to have access to reliable data even on weekends or holidays and to adjust the throughput according to the material available.
Solution
Three Blickfeld Cube 1 LiDAR sensors are installed to survey the entire bunker. They record the material’s surface in detail in a 3D point cloud. Based on this data, the corresponding perception software calculates the volume in the bunker. In combination with the mass data recorded via material input and output, the energy content of the waste can thus be determined approximately. All the data is made available in a specially developed mobile app, which can be used to control the waste flows as required.
For the complete article on monitoring waste volume CLICK HERE.
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