AI is finding application in making waste incineration more energy efficient in China.

Massive garbage landfills are being tackled in China through incineration, and one in ten of incinerators are now using AI, such as Alibaba Cloud, to help conserve energy and to minimise the release of toxins from the burning process. (3BL CSR Wire)

Alibaba Cloud

Alibaba Cloud is helping optimize the hitherto highly labor intensive process of incinerating garbage. Operators needed to be present round the clock and monitor the process for temperature, air pressure and emissions from the furnace.

Fluctuations in furnace temperatures could result in incomplete burning and release of pollutants.

Using AI, Alibaba Cloud automates the monitoring process so that the burning is more efficient, free from human control errors, and at stable temperatures.

“Artificial intelligence is a great assistant,” said Wang Zonglin, general manager of a waste incinerator in southern China’s Jiangxi province. “It frees laborers from an overwhelming workload and helps stabilize production.”

It is also a boon when skilled workers are in short supply.

How it works

Cameras capture images of flames inside the furnace and using image recognition, the AI assesses the combustion levels.

The AI can identify if combustion is incomplete, and automatically adjust key furnace metrics such as temperature, oxygen, and steam levels.

The incinerator, therefore, runs at optimal efficiency, emissions are reduced and minimize energy consumption.

Measurable results

Jang’s incinerator could, through the use of Alibaba Cloud to maintain stable temperatures, increase its per capita electricity generation efficiency by around 3% at Wang’s incinerator. This translates into a daily increase of 16,200 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

On the national level, the installation of the AI platform led to 360 million more kilowatt-hours of electricity produced in a year.

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