Automatic Waste Segregator
Automatic Waste Segregator
Automatic Waste Segregator
Amrutha Chandramohan, Joyal Mendonca, Nikhil Ravi Shankar, Nikhil U Baheti, Nitin Kumar Krishnan*
Suma M S
Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering (R.V.C.E.)
nitin.nkkns@gmail.com
I.
metal
INTRODUCTION
A. Technical Background
The mixed waste is sorted based on the following
methods at the industrial level[5]. Larger items are removed by
manual sorting. Then the refuse is sorted based on its size by
using large rotating drums which is perforated with holes of a
certain size. Materials smaller than the diameter of the holes
will be able to drop through, but larger particles will remain in
the drum.
For metallic objects electromagnets or eddy current
based separators can be used. Near infrared scanners are used to
differentiate between various types of plastics based on the
ability of the material to reflect light. X-rays can also be used to
segregate materials based on their density.
The methodology adopted in this paper to resolve the
issue of waste segregation is by making the entire process
automated and to the reduce cost such that it could be adapted
in a household level.
B. Proposed Solution
Waste is pushed through a flap into the proposed
system. An IR proximity sensor detects this and starts the entire
system. Waste then falls on the metal detection system. This
system is used to detect metallic waste. After this the object
falls into the capacitive sensing module. This module
distinguishes between wet and dry waste. After the
identification of waste, a circular base which holds containers
for dry, wet and metallic waste is rotated. The collapsible flap
is lowered once the container corresponding to the type of
garbage is positioned under it. The waste falls into the container
and the flap is raised. The waste in the containers now can be
collected separately and sent for further processing.
C. Organization of the Paper
The paper is organized as follows: Section II
encompasses the design methodology of the AWS, which has a
detailed description of the implementation of each block.
Section III contains the results of the experiments performed to
show the performance of the various blocks of the AWS.
Section IV has the concluding remarks of the project.
II. IMPLEMENTATION
D. Segregation Module
To achieve the segregation, two DC geared motors are
used. They are cheaper as compared to the stepper motor and
provide a solution suitable for this application. The containers
are placed on a circular base which is mounted on the axle of a
DC geared motor. The circular base rotates as the axle of the DC
geared motor rotates. If the container corresponding to the type
of garbage is not under the flap then the motor is rotated
clockwise or anticlockwise according to the Table 1. An IR
sensor module is positioned under the circular base such that it
generates an interrupt when the required container positions
itself under the flap. This interrupt is used to stop the motor by
the microcontroller. To avoid overshooting of the container due
to the momentum of the base, the DC motor is rotated at lower
speeds by using pulse width modulation (PWM) which is
generated from the microcontrollers timer.
Once the required container is positioned under the
flap, a second DC geared motor lowers the collapsible flap by
rotating the motor clockwise by 45 it then waits for 2 seconds
to ensure that the waste falls down and finally raises the flap
back to the initial position by rotating the motor anti clockwise
by 45. PWM is used to rotate the motor. Thus the segregation is
complete and the detected garbage type is stored to determine
the direction of rotation for the next iteration. After this the
microcontroller is put to low power mode until the entry of the
next waste material into the system.
III. RESULTS
The reading for change in the capacitive count value
for different non-metallic objects is shown in Table 3. The
experiment has been conducted for large volume of the dry
waste objects, and a minimum quantity of one object each for
wet waste objects. This is done to consider the worst case
scenario. The change of capacitive count value is greater for wet
waste. The threshold is set at 30 for the smallest plates as the
change in count value for dry waste fall well beneath this value.
The change observed in the capacitive count value for onion
peel is low as it has low relative dielectric constant. However, a
piece of onion gives a significant change. The system is
designed to detect both. The change for potato peel and carrot
peel is very high. The dielectric constant of these objects is
amongst the lowest in kitchen waste[9]. Ceramic is detected as
wet waste because of a higher relative dielectric constant. It is
also the highest among dry waste[8:22]. However, ceramic
waste is very rarely generated at home. Other objects like glass
and wood have intermediate relative dielectric constant and thus
are detected as dry waste. Figure 5 shows the plot of change in
the capacitive count value for various objects. Plate1 represents
the smallest pair of plates which is positioned at the apex of the
structure. Plate2 represents the intermediate pair of plates.
Paper, dry cloth and plastic bags are objects that belong to dry
waste. Onion peel and dried lemon are wet waste.
The reading for Change in proximity count for
Aluminium balls of different diameters is shown in Table 4.A
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
IV. CONCLUSIONS
Automated Waste Segregator has been successfully
implemented for the segregation of waste into metallic, dry and
wet waste at a domestic level. However, it cannot segregate
ceramic into dry waste because of its higher relative dielectric
constant when compared to other dry wastes. Noise can be
eliminated in the sensing module to increase accuracy and
overall efficiency. The system can segregate only one type of
waste at a time with an assigned priority for metal, wet and dry
waste. Thus, improvements can be made to segregate mixed
type of waste by the use of buffer spaces. Since, the time for
sensing metal objects is low the entire sensing module can be
placed along a single platform where the object is stable to
ensure better result.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Prof. Uttara Kumari, Head of Electronics and Communication
Engineering Department, RVCE was very supportive. She
provided us with facilities of the college to help make the
project a success.
Mr. Ravi Shankar Holla, Assistant Professor, Electronics and
Communication Engineering, has been very helpful in the
design and construction of the capacitor plates, and always
offered guidance when we faced dead ends.
Mr. Ramesh K Baheti, has been a pillar of support,
encouraging and motivating us throughout the development of
this project, and has provided valuable insight into the design
and construction of the actuator mechanism.
Mr. Sharad Mundara has been very helpful in soldering of
the integrated circuits onto the printed circuit board.
REFERENCES
[1] Daniel Hoornweg et al., WHAT A WASTE A Global Review of
Solid Waste Management, Urban Development & Local
Government Unit World Bank, Washington, DC., No.15, Mar.
2012.
[2] Nishigandha Kothari ,Waste to Wealth, NSWAI, New Delhi,
Jul. 2013
[3] Claudine Capel, INNOVATIONS IN WASTE, Wastemanagement-world, Volume 11, Issue 2, Mar 2010.
[4] J.S. Bajaj, Urban Solid Waste management in India, Planning
Commission Government of India, NEW DELHI,1995
[5] Claudine Capel, WASTE SORTING - A LOOK AT THE
SEPARATION AND SORTING TECHNIQUES IN TODAYS
APPENDIX
Flap
Waste
Top
Incline
IR sensor
module
Inductance
Coil
Capacitive
Plates
Flap
Control
Motor
Collapsible
Flap
Dry Wet Metal
IR Sensor
Module
Base Control
Motor
LDO
VDD
M
S
P
4
3
0
DGND
MOSI
MISO
SCLK
P2.5
P1.1
SMCLK
VIO
SDI
SDO
SCLK
CSB
INTB
TBCLK
VDD
L
D
C
1
0
0
0
INB
INA
CFB
CFA
DAP
GND
DGND CLDO
Sensor
Start
C
No
Has flap
been
pushed?
No
Yes
IR proximity sensor
sends interrupt to
microcontroller
Is the Required
container
under the
collapsible
flap?
Microcontroller exits
low power mode
Yes
IR proximity sensor sends
interrupt to
microcontroller
Initialize sensor
modules by
establishing a base
count
Does the
change in
capacitive
count value
exceed
threshold?
No
No
Does
proximity
value of
LDC1000
exceed
threshold?
Yes
Yes
Are15
samples of
capacitive
count taken?
No
A
Status = type of garbage
VCC
GND
MUX
SCHMITT
TRIGGER
ACLK
TIMER A
775
648
Plate2
Dried Lemon
Onion Peel
plastic bag
Dry cloth
Paper
60
54
50
40
31
30
22 20 23
15 12
20
6
5
4
10
0
Objects
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Type of
Waste
Status of
bin
Direction of
Rotation of motor
Dry
Dry
No rotation
Dry
Wet
Clockwise
Dry
Metal
Anticlockwise
Wet
Dry
Anticlockwise
Wet
Wet
No rotation
Wet
Metal
Clockwise
Metal
Dry
Clockwise
Metal
Wet
Anticlockwise
Metal
Metal
No Rotation
15 16 17 20 22 24 25 26 28 30 32
Size (mm)
Metallic
Object
Metal
Dimensions
(cm)
Foil
Plates
Staple
Pins
Paper
clips
Aluminium
Copper
Stainless
Steel
Iron
1.7
2*3
5*1
Chang
e in
count
804
797
775
3*2
648
Iron Clips
Steel pins
Plate1
797
Delta
count
804
Cu plates
WDT
0.5 SECOND INTERVAL
TIMER
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Al foil
Dry Waste
Wet waste
Object
Paper
Polythene
bag
Plastic bottle
Plastic box
Plastic lid
Dry cloth
Ceramic
plate
Wood
Onion
Onion peel
Banana peel
Carrot peel
Potato peel
Dry lemon
Dimensions
(cm)
8
7.5
Plate1
(smallest
plate)
22
23
Plate2
(intermediate
plate)
6
4
Plate3
(largest
plate)
0
0
5*14
12*6.5*2.5
11*2.5
20*20
20
23
22
20
2
35
5
7
5
4
30
0
0
1
2
1
8*8*2
Piece of onion
From an onion
From a banana
From a carrot
From a potato
Half a lemon
piece
28
180
38
1189
327
189
54
9
45
15
810
368
219
12
1
2
0
1
1
1
1
Change in Proximity
count
746
851
967
1218
1244
1562
25
26
28
30
32
1638
1751
1876
2512
3507