Waste treatment system, waste treatment method, waste treatment program, and waste treatment plant

Abstract

The object is to provide a waste treatment system, a waste treatment method, a waste treatment program, a waste treatment plant, etc., that enable stable generation of biogas from collected waste. [Solution] The waste treatment system includes an acquisition means for acquiring an image including an image of waste inside a waste receiving and storage facility captured by an imaging device, a determination means for classifying the captured image into a plurality of areas and determining the proportion of the waste composition corresponding to each area, and an estimation means for estimating the amount of biogas generated based on the proportion of each waste composition and the amount of biogas generated from each waste composition.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a waste treatment system, a waste treatment method, a waste treatment program, and a waste treatment plant. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in waste treatment plants, it is necessary to grasp the condition of collected waste in order to perform appropriate waste treatment. In such waste treatment plants, it is known that a technique for grasping the condition of the waste before and / or during the waste treatment is used.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for a waste treatment plant having a function for determining the combustion state during the incineration process in waste treatment. In the waste treatment plant disclosed in Patent Document 1, an imaging device such as an infrared imaging device or a visible light imaging device is installed in the incinerator, and the combustion state of the waste is evaluated based on the imaging data from the imaging device. Then, measures are taken to stabilize the combustion of the waste based on the evaluation of the combustion state of the waste. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7390581 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The waste treatment plant disclosed in Patent Document 1 employs technology specialized in evaluating the state of combustion of waste. Therefore, this waste treatment plant does not determine the composition of collected waste and does not control the amount of gas (biogas, etc.) generated from the waste.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a waste treatment system, a waste treatment method, a waste treatment program, and a waste treatment plant that enable stable generation of gas from collected waste. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The disclosed waste treatment system includes an acquisition means for acquiring an image including an image of waste in a waste receiving and storing facility captured by an imaging device, a determination means for classifying the captured image into a plurality of regions and determining the proportion of the waste composition corresponding to each region, and a proportion of each waste composition. Total weight of garbage Based on The carbon and nitrogen content of each piece of garbage was estimated, Based on the carbon and nitrogen content of each waste composition, and an estimation means for estimating the amount of biogas generated. If the image region includes an area corresponding to a bag of garbage, the determination means uses the proportion of each garbage composition in the bag to apportion the proportion of the bag, and adds the apportioned proportion of the garbage composition to each garbage composition.

[0008] In addition, in the disclosed waste treatment system, the estimation means Each waste composition The carbon and nitrogen component ratios contained in the Carbon and Nitrogen A means for determining measures for the amount of biogas generated according to the component ratio. The preparation and measures are at least one of the first and second measures, The first measure is to disperse waste in order to reduce the amount of biogas generated from waste. or one or both of the measures to suppress agitation of the digestive fluid in the methane fermentation tank, The second measure is to increase the amount of waste input in order to increase the amount of biogas generated from waste. Or, it is either or both of the measures of adding at least one of cornstarch and breadcrumbs. It is preferable that:

[0010] Furthermore, in the disclosed waste disposal system, in classifying the areas, it is preferable that the determination means classifies the image of garbage contained in the captured image into multiple areas by inputting the captured image to a trained model, and that the trained model is a model trained using teacher captured images previously captured by the imaging device, including images of other garbage, as input data, and label information of each area associated with a specified area contained in the teacher captured image as output data.

[0011] In the disclosed waste treatment system, it is preferable that the determining means determines the proportion of each waste composition corresponding to each region based on the area of ​​each region.

[0012] In the disclosed waste treatment system, the acquisition means acquires information indicating an absorption spectrum of the waste in the waste receiving and storing facility measured by the spectroscopic analysis means, and the estimation means estimates the component ratio of carbon and nitrogen contained in the waste based on the acquired information indicating the absorption spectrum, The countermeasure is determined using the captured image and the information indicating the absorption spectrum of the dust. It is preferable that:

[0013] In addition, in the disclosed waste treatment system, it is preferable that the spectroscopic analysis means is positioned at a position where it can measure the vicinity of the outlet of a crushing and sorting device for crushing and converting the waste in the receiving and storage facility into slurry, or at a position where it can measure the waste dropped into the receiving and storage facility.

[0016] The disclosed waste treatment method includes an acquisition step in which an information processing device acquires an image including an image of waste in a waste receiving and storing facility captured by an imaging device, a determination step in which the captured image is classified into a plurality of regions and a proportion of the waste composition corresponding to each region is determined, and the proportion of each waste composition. Total weight of garbage Based on The carbon and nitrogen content of each piece of garbage was estimated, Based on the carbon and nitrogen content of each waste composition, an estimation step of estimating the amount of biogas generated; an adding step of, if there is an area in the image corresponding to a bag of garbage, using the ratio of each garbage composition in the bag to apportion the ratio of the bag, and adding the proportion of the apportioned garbage composition to each garbage composition; Execute.

[0017] The disclosed waste treatment program includes, in an information processing device, an acquisition step of acquiring a captured image including an image of waste in a waste receiving and storing facility captured by an imaging device, a determination step of classifying the captured image into a plurality of regions and determining the proportion of the waste composition corresponding to each region, and a determination step of the proportion of each waste composition. Total weight of garbage Based on The carbon and nitrogen content of each piece of garbage was estimated, Based on the carbon and nitrogen content of each waste composition, an estimation step of estimating the amount of biogas generated; an adding step of, if there is an area in the image corresponding to a bag of garbage, using the ratio of each garbage composition in the bag to apportion the ratio of the bag, and adding the proportion of the apportioned garbage composition to each garbage composition; Execute the command.

[0018] The disclosed waste treatment plant is a waste treatment plant equipped with a waste receiving and storing facility, and includes an acquisition means for acquiring an image including an image of waste in the receiving and storing facility captured by an imaging device, a determination means for classifying the captured image into a plurality of regions and determining the proportion of the waste composition corresponding to each region, and a proportion of each waste composition. Total weight of garbage Based on The carbon and nitrogen content of each piece of garbage was estimated, Based on the carbon and nitrogen content of each waste composition, A means for estimating the amount of biogas generated, picture, If the image region includes an area corresponding to a bag of garbage, the determination means uses the proportion of each garbage composition in the bag to apportion the proportion of the bag and adds the apportioned proportion of the garbage composition to each garbage composition. Effect of the Invention

[0019] The waste treatment system, waste treatment method, waste treatment program, and waste treatment plant disclosed herein make it possible to stably generate gas from collected waste. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a waste treatment plant. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram for explaining the arrangement of the imaging device, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of a captured image of waste in a receiving and storing facility. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 4] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram for explaining a determination process using a trained model, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of a determination result obtained by the determination process. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a component table. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the arrangement of a spectroscopic analysis means. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement result obtained by a spectroscopic analysis means. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operational flow of a first estimation process. [Figure 9]FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operational flow of a second estimation process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Various embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, it should be noted that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but extends to the inventions described in the claims and their equivalents.

[0022] (Outline of Waste Treatment Plant 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of a waste treatment plant 1. The waste treatment plant 1 is a plant that has a function of treating waste. For example, the waste treatment plant 1 is a biogas plant. The waste treatment plant 1 may also be a municipal waste incineration plant or an industrial waste treatment plant.

[0023] When the waste treatment plant 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a biogas plant, the waste treatment plant 1 is provided with at least, for example, a food waste receiving hopper 2, a crushing and sorting device 3, a mixing tank 4, an acid fermentation tank 5, and a methane fermentation tank 6. Here, in this embodiment, the acid fermentation tank 5 is provided, but it may not be provided. In addition to the facilities and devices shown in FIG. 1, the waste treatment plant 1 is provided with a sewage sludge adjustment tank, a digestion liquid storage tank, etc. (these are not shown). As described later, the food waste 11 input into the food waste receiving hopper 2 is digested in the methane fermentation tank 6 to become digestion liquid 11E, which generates biogas 11D. The digestion liquid storage tank is a facility installed downstream of the methane fermentation tank 6 for the purpose of storing the digestion liquid 11E after generating the biogas 11D.

[0024] The food waste receiving hopper 2 is a receiving and storing facility that receives and stores food waste 11 and the like collected by the garbage compactor G. Hereinafter, the food waste 11 and the like dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2 may be simply referred to as "garbage." The garbage compactor G is also called a packer truck or garbage collection truck, and is a vehicle that collects and transports various types of garbage generated from homes, businesses, etc.

[0025] The food waste receiving hopper 2 temporarily stores the food waste 11 dropped from the garbage truck G, and then sends it to the next process. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the food waste 11 temporarily stored in the food waste receiving hopper 2 is sent to a crushing and sorting device 3. If the next process is an incineration process using an incinerator, the temporarily stored food waste 11 is continuously sent into the incinerator.

[0026] The crushing and sorting device 3 is a device that crushes the garbage 11 sent from the food waste receiving hopper 2, removes inappropriate materials, and then slurries the garbage (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "food waste slurry 11A"). The food waste slurry 11A is transferred to the mixing tank 4 by a food waste slurry transfer pump (not shown). The mixing tank 4 is a facility that mixes (agitates) the food waste slurry 11A and sludge 11B from a sewage sludge adjustment tank (not shown) and sends them to the acid fermentation tank 5. The sewage sludge adjustment tank is a facility that dilutes or concentrates at least one type of sludge from collected paper, sewage sludge, and waste edible oil to adjust the sludge concentration. Hereinafter, the mixture of the food waste slurry 11A and sludge 11B mixed in the mixing tank 4 may be referred to as "organic waste 11C". The organic waste 11C is transferred from the mixing tank 4 to the acid fermentation tank 5, and may be transferred using a transfer pump (not shown).

[0027] The acid fermentation tank 5 is a fermentation apparatus that stores the organic waste 11C while maintaining the temperature at, for example, 35 to 38°C or 50 to 56°C and the pH value at, for example, pH 5 to 7. The storage time of the organic waste 11C in the acid fermentation tank 5 is, for example, about 1 to 2 days. The organic waste 11C is transferred from the acid fermentation tank 5 to the methane fermentation tank 6, and may be transferred using a transfer pump (not shown).

[0028] The methane fermentation tank 6 is a fermentation device that retains the acid fermented organic waste 11C at a temperature of, for example, 35 to 38°C or 50 to 56°C and at a pH value of 6.5 to 8.5. The organic waste 11C is digested in the methane fermentation tank 6 to become a digested liquid 11E. The retention time of the digested liquid 11E in the methane fermentation tank 6 is, for example, about 5 to 30 days, but is not limited thereto. The acid fermented organic waste 11C is fermented in the methane fermentation tank 6 to become a digested liquid 11E, and a biogas 11D is generated from the digested liquid 11E. The biogas 11D mainly contains methane gas (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), and may be referred to as a digestion gas. The biogas 11D is, for example, collected by a gas collection device (not shown) and supplied to a gas holder (not shown) or the like.

[0029] Incidentally, by installing an anaerobic digester instead of the acid fermenter 5 and the methane fermenter 6, acid fermentation and methane fermentation may be carried out simultaneously in parallel in a single anaerobic digester.

[0030] Generally, waste collected from households and the like is of such a wide variety that it is difficult to predict in advance the amount of biogas 11D that will be generated from the waste. Depending on the composition of the waste dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2 provided in the waste treatment plant 1 (biogas plant) shown in Figure 1, the amount of biogas 11D generated may not be appropriate. For this reason, the waste dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2 in the waste treatment plant 1 must be monitored, and measures must be taken based on the monitoring results to ensure that the amount of biogas 11D generated is appropriate.

[0031] (Imaging device 7) 2(a) is a schematic diagram for explaining the arrangement of an imaging device 7 that captures an image of waste 11 in a food waste receiving hopper 2 (receiving and storing facility). The image of the waste 11 captured by the imaging device 7 is used to determine the composition of the waste in the food waste receiving hopper 2.

[0032] The imaging device 7 is a camera having an imaging optical system, an imaging element, an image processing unit, and the like. The imaging optical system is, for example, an optical lens, and forms an image of a light beam from a subject on the imaging surface of the imaging element. The imaging element is, for example, a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and outputs an image of the subject image formed on the imaging surface. The image processing unit creates moving image data in a predetermined file format from images continuously generated by the imaging element at predetermined intervals, and outputs the moving image data as imaging data. Alternatively, the image processing unit creates still image data in a predetermined file format from images generated by the imaging element, and outputs the moving image data as imaging data.

[0033] The imaging device 7 is disposed in a position where it can capture an image of the waste in the food waste receiving hopper 2. In the example shown in Fig. 2(a), the imaging device 7 is disposed in a predetermined position above the inlet 21 of the food waste receiving hopper 2. Fig. 2(b) is a diagram showing an example of a captured image including an image of waste 11 in the receiving and storage facility captured by the imaging device 7. Information on the captured image (CI) captured by the imaging device 7 is transferred to the information processing device 8 by wireless or wired communication, or via a storage medium.

[0034] (Information processing device 8) 3 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the information processing device 8. The information processing device 8 has a function of executing a process of determining the waste composition and estimating the amount of generated biogas 11D based on an image captured by the imaging device 7. To realize such a function, the information processing device 8 includes a communication unit 81, a storage unit 82, a display unit 83, an input unit 84, and a processing unit 85.

[0035] The communication unit 81 is hardware, communication software such as a TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) driver, or a combination of these. The information processing device 8 can receive data from the imaging device 7 via the communication unit 81. The communication unit 81 may include a network controller for interfacing with a communication network. The network controller may be compliant with wireless communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Near Field Communication (NFC), or infrared. Instead of or together with the communication unit 81, a storage medium receiving unit may be provided.

[0036] The storage unit 82 is, for example, a semiconductor memory device such as a Read Only Memory (ROM) or a Random Access Memory (RAM). The storage unit 82 stores an operating system program, a driver program, a control program, data, and the like used for processing in the processing unit 85. The driver programs stored in the storage unit 82 are, for example, an output device driver program that controls the display unit 83, and an input device driver program that controls the input unit 84. The control program stored in the storage unit 82 is, for example, an application program for determining the waste composition and estimating the amount of biogas 11D generated. In addition, the data stored in the storage unit 82 may include a trained model M, which will be described later.

[0037] The display unit 83 is a liquid crystal display. The display unit 83 may be an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, etc. The display unit 83 displays, on a display screen, moving images corresponding to the moving image data and / or still images corresponding to the still image data supplied from the processing unit 85.

[0038] The input unit 84 is an input key or the like. Using the input unit 84, the user can input letters, numbers, and symbols, or positions on the display screen of the display unit 83, and the like. The input unit 84 may also be a pointing device such as a touch panel. When the input unit 84 is operated by the user, it generates a signal corresponding to the operation. Then, the input unit 84 supplies the generated signal to the processing unit 85 as an instruction from the user.

[0039] The processing unit 85 is a processor that loads the operating system program, the driver program, and the control program stored in the storage unit 82 into memory and executes instructions included in the loaded programs. The processing unit 85 is, for example, an electronic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Although the processing unit 85 is illustrated as a single component in FIG. 2, the processing unit 85 may be a collection of multiple physically separate processors. For example, multiple processors that operate cooperatively in parallel to execute instructions may be implemented.

[0040] The processing unit 85 executes instructions included in the control program to function as an acquisition unit 851, a judgment unit 852, an estimation unit 853, and a determination unit 854. The functions of the acquisition unit 851, the judgment unit 852, the estimation unit 853, and the determination unit 854 will be described in detail later.

[0041] The acquisition unit 851 acquires a captured image (FIG. 2(b)) captured by the imaging device 7, and stores the acquired captured image in the storage unit .

[0042] The determination unit 852 has a function of classifying the captured image acquired by the acquisition unit 851 into a plurality of regions and determining the ratio of the garbage composition corresponding to each region. The process of classifying the captured image into a plurality of regions is a process in which the captured image (D1) is input to the trained model M, and the image of garbage included in the captured image is classified (D2) into a plurality of regions.

[0043] 4(a) is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a determination process by the trained model M. For example, the trained model M is a learning model related to semantic segmentation that identifies an object for each pixel constituting image information, and is a deep learning model based on a Fully Convolutional Network (FCN) or the like.

[0044] In the semantic segmentation, feature information is output in pixel units in response to input of the captured image D1 stored in the storage unit 82 to the trained model M. The output feature information is an example of segment information. Note that the segment information may be label information based on the output feature information.

[0045] The label information is numerical information corresponding to each waste composition. For example, if the waste composition category is "meat", the pixel corresponding to "meat" is given information indicating "1", and if the waste composition category is "seafood", the pixel corresponding to "seafood" is given information indicating "2". If the waste composition category is "unknown", the pixel corresponding to "unknown" is given information indicating "0". Note that "staple foods" (rice, rice crackers, etc.), "prepared dishes", "vegetables", "fruit", etc. may also be used as waste composition categories.

[0046] In addition, sub-categories of the above-mentioned categories may be used as categories of waste composition corresponding to the label information. For example, categories such as "udon", "bread", "instant noodles", "Chinese noodles (fresh)", "rice (rice balls)", "rice (mochi)", and "rice crackers" may be used as sub-categories of "staple food".

[0047] Other categories that may be used as sub-categories of "meat" include "beef shoulder roast (raw)" and "pork shoulder roast (raw)". Also, categories that may be used as sub-categories of "seafood" include "boiled clams", "scallops (raw)", "Atka mackerel (raw)", "sockeye salmon (raw)", "octopus (raw)", "boiled wakame seaweed", and "boiled kombu seaweed".

[0048] Returning to the explanation of the trained model M, in semantic segmentation, other methods such as U-Net (Convolutional Networks for Biomedical Image Segmentation) may be used instead of FCN. Note that the trained model M is not limited to a learning model related to semantic segmentation, and may be, for example, a discrimination model for object recognition based on CNN such as YOLO (You Only Look Once) and SSD (Single Shot MultiBox Detector).

[0049] The trained model M based on the FCN is generated or updated by executing well-known deep learning by a computing device having a learning function, etc. In addition, when the information processing device 8 has a learning function, the information processing device 8 may execute well-known deep learning to generate or update the trained model M based on the FCN.

[0050] The learning function realizes the learning process of the trained model M using teacher images including images of other garbage previously captured by the imaging device 7, and teacher data including label information of each area associated with a specified area contained in the teacher images.

[0051] In this learning process, the teacher captured image is used as input data, and the label information of each region is used as output data to execute well-known deep learning (for example, Fujiyoshi Hironobu, “Evolution of Image Recognition Technology Due to Advances in Machine Learning (Part 1),” Measurement and Control, Vol. 58, No. 4, April 2019, pp. 291-297, etc.), thereby generating or updating a learned model M.

[0052] Fig. 4(b) is a diagram showing an example of the determination result by the determination process. In the example shown in Fig. 4(b), the image of the garbage 11 included in the captured image is classified into four types of regions. The four types of regions correspond to the garbage composition categories of "meat 11a", "seafood 11b", "vegetables 11c", and "unknown 11d", respectively.

[0053] The determination unit 852 classifies the captured image and determines the percentage of the garbage composition corresponding to each region based on the area of ​​each region. For example, in the example shown in Fig. 4(b), the garbage composition of "meat 11a" is 35%, the garbage composition of "seafood 11b" is 30%, the garbage composition of "vegetables 11c" is 10%, and the garbage composition of "unknown 11d" is 25%.

[0054] In addition, garbage is often disposed of in bags, and when the bag is dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2, the garbage inside the bag may not be visible to the imaging device 7. In addition to the garbage composition, the determination unit 852 may determine the proportion of "bags" whose contents are not visible. In this case, the label information of the training data for training the trained model M includes information indicating "bags." The determination unit 852 determines the garbage composition from images of garbage excluding "bags."

[0055] Furthermore, if the captured image includes an area corresponding to a "bag," the percentage of each garbage composition in the "bag" measured in advance by the operator of the garbage treatment plant 1 may be used to apportion the percentage of the "bag" and add it to each garbage composition. For example, a case will be described in which the percentage of each category corresponding to each area is 30wt% (hereinafter simply referred to as "%) for the "bag," 20% for the "meat" garbage composition, 10% for the "seafood" garbage composition, 10% for the "vegetables" garbage composition, and 30% for the "unknown" garbage composition. In this case, the breakdown of the garbage composition in the "bag" is 30% for the "meat" garbage composition, 30% for the "seafood" garbage composition, 20% for the "vegetables" garbage composition, and 20% for the "unknown" garbage composition.

[0056] Under the above conditions, the breakdown of the 30% of the "bag" ratio is 9% for "meat", 9% for "seafood", 6% for "vegetables", and 6% for "unknown", so the ratio of the waste compositions in the food waste receiving hopper 2 is estimated to be 29% (20% + 9%) for "meat", 19% (10% + 9%) for "seafood", 16% (10% + 6%) for "vegetables", and 36% (30% + 6%) for "unknown". The breakdown of the waste composition in the "bag" may be the survey value for the same month of the previous year, or the survey value for the most recent month. The breakdown of the waste composition in the "bag" may also be the average survey value for the previous year, or the actual value of a nearby waste treatment plant.

[0057] Based on the proportion of each waste composition and the amount of biogas 11D (gas containing methane gas and carbon dioxide) derived from each waste composition, the estimation unit 853 estimates the amount of biogas 11D generated from all of the waste in the food waste receiving hopper 2. Then, based on the amount of nitrogen and the amount of carbon contained in each piece of waste, the estimation unit 853 calculates (estimates) the component ratio of carbon and nitrogen (so-called C / N ratio) in the food waste receiving hopper 2.

[0058] For example, 100g of meat, fish, and vegetables contain 12g, 18g, and 1.6g of protein, respectively. And since 16% of the mass of protein is nitrogen, the nitrogen content of 100g of meat, fish, and vegetables is 1.92g, 2.88g, and 0.256g, respectively. Thus, 1.92% of fish, 2.88% of meat, and 0.25% of vegetables are nitrogen.

[0059] In the above example (29% of the waste is "meat", 19% is "seafood", and 16% is "vegetables"), the nitrogen content of the waste in the food waste receiving hopper 2 is 1.14% (29 x 0.0192 + 19 x 0.0288 + 16 x 0.00256). Therefore, if the total weight of the waste in the food waste receiving hopper 2 is 800 kg, the nitrogen content is estimated to be 9.16 kg (800 x 0.0114). The total weight of the waste is the weight measured at the weighing station before it is dumped into the food waste receiving hopper 2. As with nitrogen, the weight per 100 g of meat, fish, and vegetables is known, so the amount of methane gas (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) generated from the waste in the food waste receiving hopper 2 is calculated based on the total weight of the waste, the waste composition, and the amount of carbon per 100 g.

[0060] In this way, the estimation unit 853 has a function of estimating the carbon and nitrogen component ratio (C / N ratio) in the food waste receiving hopper 2 and the carbon and nitrogen contents of the food waste in the food waste receiving hopper 2 based on the ratio of each waste composition determined by the determination unit 852 and the total weight of the food waste in the food waste receiving hopper 2, by referring to the component table shown in Fig. 5. The estimation unit 853 has a function of estimating the amount of biogas generated, which is composed of methane gas (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), etc., based on the carbon and nitrogen contents. Note that Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the component table. The component table is data stored in the storage unit 82. The amount of biogas generated may also be estimated based on the calories of each category, such as "meat" and "seafood."

[0061] The determination unit 854 can stabilize the amount of biogas generated from the waste by determining measures according to the component ratio (C / N ratio) estimated by the estimation means. The measures are a first measure related to work to reduce the amount of methane gas generated from the waste, and a second measure related to work to increase the amount of methane gas generated from the waste.

[0062] For example, when the C / N ratio estimated by the estimation unit 853 is within a target range, the determination unit 854 determines that the amount of gas generated is appropriate, and operates to maintain the amount within the target range. The target range for the C / N ratio is, for example, "10 to 45", and preferably "20 to 40".

[0063] If the C / N ratio estimated by the estimation unit 853 is higher than the target range, it is assumed that the digestive liquid 11E in the methane fermentation tank 6 contains a large amount of carbon and a small amount of nitrogen, and the determination unit 854 determines that the estimated amount of biogas generated is excessive.

[0064] On the other hand, if the C / N ratio estimated by the estimation unit 853 is lower than the target range, it is assumed that the digestive liquid 11E in the methane fermentation tank 6 has a low carbon content and a high nitrogen content. In this case, not only will the amounts of methane gas (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) generated in the biogas be low, but the large amount of nitrogen will generate ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) in the digestive liquid 11E, inhibiting the generation of methane gas (CH4), and the determination unit 854 will determine that the estimated value of the amount of biogas generated is too low.

[0065] The first countermeasure is to carry out an operation to reduce the amount of biogas generated so that the C / N ratio is within a range of, for example, "10 to 45", preferably "20 to 40", when the estimated value of the amount of biogas generated is determined to be excessive. For example, this can include reducing the amount of garbage input, reducing raw materials with a high C / N ratio, inputting garbage in a dispersed manner rather than all at once, suppressing agitation of the digested liquid 11E in the methane fermentation tank 6, and the like. These countermeasures may be carried out automatically in response to a decision made by the decision unit 854.

[0066] The second countermeasure is to carry out an operation to increase the amount of biogas generated so that the C / N ratio is within a range of, for example, "10 to 45", preferably "20 to 40", when the estimated value of the amount of biogas generated is judged to be too low. For example, the countermeasure may include increasing the input amount of garbage, increasing raw materials with a high C / N ratio, adding additional raw materials with a high carbon content (e.g., cornstarch, bread crumbs, etc.) stored separately to adjust the C / N ratio to, for example, "10 to 45", preferably "20 to 40", increasing the frequency of stirring the digested liquid 11E in the methane fermentation tank 6, instructing to increase the number of stirring revolutions, etc. These countermeasures may be carried out automatically in response to a decision made by the decision unit 854.

[0067] (Spectroscopy means 9) In order to monitor the waste dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2, a spectroscopic analysis means 9 may be used in place of the imaging device 7 shown in Fig. 2(a) or in addition to the imaging device 7. The spectroscopic analysis means 9 is a measuring instrument for measuring information indicating the absorption spectrum of the sample and analyzing the structure at the molecular level using the principle of near-infrared spectroscopy, which measures the light absorbed by the sample when light of a certain wavelength is irradiated onto the sample. The spectroscopic analysis means 9 may be a measuring instrument that uses the principle of Raman or infrared spectroscopy.

[0068] Fig. 6(a) is a schematic diagram for explaining a first arrangement of the spectroscopic analysis means 9 for monitoring waste dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2. As shown in Fig. 6(a), the spectroscopic analysis means 9 is arranged in a position where it is possible to measure the waste dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2. For example, the spectroscopic analysis means 9 is arranged in a predetermined position above the inlet 21 of the food waste receiving hopper 2.

[0069] FIG. 6(b) is a schematic diagram for explaining a second arrangement of the spectroscopic analysis means 9. As shown in FIG. 6(b), the spectroscopic analysis means 9 may be arranged at a position where it can measure the vicinity of the discharge outlet 31 of the crushing and sorting device 3 for crushing and slurrying the garbage dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2, and measure the slurried garbage (11A). In addition, when the food waste slurry 11A discharged from the discharge outlet 31 is temporarily stored in a pit (not shown), the spectroscopic analysis means 9 may be arranged on the side or top of the pit, and the slurried garbage (11A) may be measured through a window installed on the side of the pit or a window or manhole installed on the top of the pit. Note that two spectroscopic analysis means 9 may be arranged at the first arrangement position and the second arrangement position, respectively.

[0070] The information indicating the absorption spectrum measured by the spectroscopic analysis means 9 is transferred to the information processing device 8 by wireless or wired communication, or via a storage medium. Then, the acquisition unit 851 of the information processing device 8 acquires the information indicating the absorption spectrum measured by the spectroscopic analysis means 9.

[0071] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the measurement results obtained by the spectroscopic analysis means 9. In Fig. 7, a first peak to a seventh peak are shown from the left. The first peak corresponds to OH, the second peak to CH, the third peak to OH, the fourth peak to CH, the fifth peak to NH, the sixth peak to OH, and the seventh peak to CH+NH.

[0072] Next, the estimation unit 853 of the information processing device 8 estimates the component ratio (C / N ratio) of carbon and nitrogen contained in the waste based on the information indicating the acquired absorption spectrum. For example, the estimation unit 853 uses a calibration curve prepared in advance using a substance whose carbon and nitrogen concentrations are known. The estimation unit 853 substitutes the peak top intensity or peak area in FIG. 7 into the calibration curve prepared in advance to estimate the respective contents of carbon and nitrogen. Note that the peak top intensity or peak area is that of a peak arbitrarily selected from at least one of the first to sixth peaks in FIG. 7. Then, the estimation unit 853 estimates the component ratio (C / N ratio) of carbon and nitrogen based on the respective estimated contents of carbon and nitrogen.

[0073] Then, the determination unit 854 determines a measure to be taken against the dust depending on the component ratio (C / N ratio) estimated by the estimation means.

[0074] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operational flow of the first estimation process.

[0075] First, the garbage truck G collects garbage (S101). Next, the total weight of the collected garbage is measured at a weighing station (S102). Next, the garbage is dumped into a receiving and storing facility (food waste receiving hopper 2) (S103).

[0076] Next, the imaging device 7 captures an image including an image of the waste in the food waste receiving hopper 2 (receiving and storing facility) (S104). Next, the acquisition unit 851 of the information processing device 8 acquires the image (FIG. 2(b)) captured by the imaging device 7, and stores the acquired image in the storage unit 82.

[0077] Next, the determination unit 852 of the information processing device 8 classifies the captured image acquired by the acquisition unit 851 into a plurality of regions and determines the category (meat, seafood, etc.) corresponding to each region (S105). Next, the estimation unit 853 of the information processing device 8 compares the determined category with the ingredient table shown in FIG. 5 (S106).

[0078] Next, the estimation unit 853 calculates the component ratio (nitrogen content ratio, etc.) of the determined category (S107). Next, the estimation unit 853 calculates the C / N ratio (S108). Next, the determination unit 854 of the information processing device 8 determines whether the amount of gas generated is appropriate or not based on the component ratio estimated by the estimation means (S109).

[0079] When it is determined that the amount of generated gas is appropriate (S109-Yes), the determination unit 854 outputs appropriateness information indicating that the amount is appropriate (S110), and the first estimation process ends.

[0080] When it is determined that the amount of gas generated is not appropriate (S109-No), the determination unit 854 determines whether the amount of gas generated is large or not (S111).

[0081] If it is determined that the amount of gas generated is large (S111-Yes), information indicating a first countermeasure is output (S112), and the first estimation process ends. If it is determined that the amount of gas generated is small (S111-No), information indicating a second countermeasure is output (S113), and the first estimation process ends.

[0082] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operational flow of the second estimation process.

[0083] First, the garbage truck G collects garbage (S201). Next, the total weight of the collected garbage is measured at a weighing station (S202). Next, the garbage is dumped into a receiving and storing facility (food waste receiving hopper 2) (S203).

[0084] Next, the crushing and sorting device 3 crushes the waste sent from the food waste receiving hopper 2 (S204), removes inappropriate materials (S205), and converts the waste into a slurry (S206). The spectroscopic analysis means 9 measures the waste dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2 (S207) and detects the absorption spectrum (S208).

[0085] Next, the estimation unit 853 calculates the component ratio (nitrogen content ratio, etc.) of the waste dropped into the food waste receiving hopper 2 based on the absorption spectrum (S209). Next, the estimation unit 853 calculates the C / N ratio (S210). Next, the determination unit 854 of the information processing device 8 determines whether the amount of gas generated is appropriate or not based on the component ratio estimated by the estimation means (S211).

[0086] When it is determined that the amount of gas generated is appropriate (S211-Yes), the determination unit 854 outputs appropriateness information indicating that the amount is appropriate (S212), and the second estimation process ends.

[0087] When it is determined that the amount of gas generated is not appropriate (S211-No), the determination unit 854 determines whether the amount of gas generated is large or not (S213).

[0088] If it is determined that the amount of gas generated is large (S213-Yes), information indicating a first countermeasure is output (S214), and the second estimation process ends. If it is determined that the amount of gas generated is small (S213-No), information indicating a second countermeasure is output (S215), and the second estimation process ends.

[0089] In the process steps shown in Figures 8 to 9, it is possible to omit some of the steps constituting the process steps, add steps not explicitly stated as steps constituting the process steps, and / or change the order of the steps. Such omitted, added, or changed order steps in the process steps shown in Figures 8 to 9 are also included in the scope of the present invention as long as they do not deviate from the spirit of the present invention. In addition to the above process steps, it is possible to omit some of the steps in each step of the present disclosure, add steps not explicitly stated in the present disclosure, and / or change the order of each step. Such omitted, added, or changed order steps and processes are also included in the scope of the present invention as long as they do not deviate from the spirit of the present invention.

[0090] As described above in detail, the information processing device 8 and the waste treatment plant 1 of this embodiment measure the component ratio of collected waste and enable stable generation of gas from the waste.

[0091] (Variation 1) The present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the first estimation process and the second estimation process may be executed in parallel or in sequence. In this case, when it is determined that the amount of gas generated is appropriate in both the first estimation process and the second estimation process, appropriateness information may be output. Also, when it is determined that the amount of gas generated is large in both the first estimation process and the second estimation process, information indicating the first measure may be output. Also, when it is determined that the amount of gas generated is small in both the first estimation process and the second estimation process, information indicating the second measure may be output.

[0092] In the above description of the embodiment, the "first" estimation process and the "second" estimation process are described with respect to the "estimation process", but the terms "first" and "second" do not indicate an order. The "first" estimation process described in the description of the embodiment may be referred to by other names in the claims (e.g., "second" estimation process, "second" process, etc.). Similarly, the "second" estimation process described in the description of the embodiment may be referred to by other names in the claims (e.g., "first" estimation process, "first" process, etc.). In this way, the "first" estimation process, etc. described in the claims should not be interpreted as being limited to the "first" estimation process in the description of the embodiment, but should be understood by reasonably interpreting the claims, the specification, and the drawings. Similarly, the "second" estimation process, etc. described in the claims should not be interpreted as being limited to the "second" estimation process in the description of the embodiment, but should be understood by reasonably interpreting the claims, the specification, and the drawings.

[0093] Similarly, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. described elsewhere in the claims do not indicate any order. The term "first" described in the embodiments may be referred to by other names (e.g., "second," "third," etc.) in the claims. The term "second" described in the embodiments may be referred to by other names (e.g., "first," "third," etc.) in the claims. The terms "third," "fourth," etc. described in the embodiments may also be referred to by other names in the claims.

[0094] Although the present embodiment and its modified examples have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment. Furthermore, various changes, substitutions, and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 1. Waste treatment plant 2 Food waste receiving hopper 3 Crushing and sorting equipment 4 Mixing tank 5. Acid Fermentation Tank 6. Methane fermentation tank 7. Imaging device 8. Information processing equipment 81 Communications Department 82 Memory section 83 Display section 84 Input section 85 Processing section 851 Acquisition Department 852 Judgment section 853 Guessing Department 854 Decision Section 9 Spectroscopic analyzer 11. Garbage 11A Food waste slurry 11B Sludge 11C Organic waste 11D Biogas 11E Digestive juice

Claims

1. An acquisition means for acquiring an image including an image of waste in a waste reception and storage facility captured by an imaging device; A determination means for classifying the captured image into a plurality of regions and determining a ratio of a waste composition corresponding to each of the regions; Estimating the carbon and nitrogen contents of each of the wastes based on the proportion of each of the waste components and the total weight of the wastes; and an estimation means for estimating the amount of biogas generated based on the carbon and nitrogen contents contained in each of the waste compositions, If the area of ​​the image includes an area corresponding to a bag of garbage, the determining means uses the ratio of each garbage composition in the bag to apportion the ratio of the bag, and adds the proportion of the apportioned garbage composition to each of the garbage compositions. A waste disposal system comprising:

2. The estimation means estimates the component ratios of carbon and nitrogen contained in each of the waste compositions, A determination means for determining a measure for the amount of generated biogas according to the component ratio of carbon and nitrogen estimated by the estimation means, The measure is at least one of a first measure and a second measure, The first measure is a measure to disperse waste in order to reduce the amount of biogas generated from the waste; or one or both of the measures to suppress agitation of the digestive fluid in the methane fermentation tank, The second measure is a measure to increase the amount of garbage input in order to increase the amount of biogas generated from the garbage; Or, it is either one or both of measures to add at least one of cornstarch and bread crumbs, 2. A waste treatment system according to claim 1.

3. In classifying the regions, the determination means inputs the captured image into a trained model to classify the image of the dust included in the captured image into a plurality of the regions; The waste treatment system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the trained model is a model trained using teacher images, including images of other garbage, previously captured by the imaging device as input data, and label information of each of the areas associated with a specific area included in the teacher images as output data.

4. 3. The waste treatment system according to claim 1, wherein the determining means determines the proportion of each of the waste compositions corresponding to each of the regions based on an area of ​​each of the regions.

5. The acquisition means acquires information indicating an absorption spectrum of the waste in the waste reception and storage facility measured by a spectroscopic analysis means, The estimation means further estimates a component ratio of carbon and nitrogen contained in the waste based on the acquired information indicating the absorption spectrum, The waste treatment system according to claim 2 , wherein the countermeasure is determined using the captured image and information indicating an absorption spectrum of the waste.

6. The waste treatment system according to claim 5, wherein the spectroscopic analysis means is positioned at a location where it can measure the vicinity of the outlet of a crushing and sorting device for crushing the waste in the receiving and storage facility to produce slurry, or at a location where it can measure the waste dropped into the receiving and storage facility.

7. An information processing device, An acquisition step of acquiring an image including an image of waste in a waste reception and storage facility captured by an imaging device; A determination step of classifying the captured image into a plurality of regions and determining a ratio of the waste composition corresponding to each of the regions; Estimating the carbon and nitrogen contents of each of the wastes based on the proportion of each of the waste components and the total weight of the wastes; A prediction step of estimating the amount of biogas generated based on the carbon and nitrogen contents contained in each of the waste compositions; an adding step of, if the area of ​​the image corresponds to a bag of garbage, apportioning the proportion of the bag using the proportion of each garbage composition in the bag, and adding the proportion of the apportioned garbage composition to each of the garbage compositions; A method for treating garbage, comprising the steps of:

8. In the information processing device, An acquisition step of acquiring an image including an image of waste in a waste reception and storage facility captured by an imaging device; A determination step of classifying the captured image into a plurality of regions and determining a ratio of the waste composition corresponding to each of the regions; Estimating the carbon and nitrogen contents of each of the wastes based on the proportion of each of the waste components and the total weight of the wastes; A prediction step of estimating the amount of biogas generated based on the carbon and nitrogen contents contained in each of the waste compositions; an adding step of, if the area of ​​the image corresponds to a bag of garbage, apportioning the proportion of the bag using the proportion of each garbage composition in the bag, and adding the proportion of the apportioned garbage composition to each of the garbage compositions; A garbage disposal program to carry out the process.

9. A waste treatment plant having a waste receiving and storing facility, An acquisition means for acquiring an image including an image of the waste in the receiving and storing facility captured by an imaging device; A determination means for classifying the captured image into a plurality of regions and determining a ratio of a waste composition corresponding to each of the regions; Estimating the carbon and nitrogen contents of each of the wastes based on the proportion of each of the waste components and the total weight of the wastes; and an estimation means for estimating the amount of biogas generated based on the carbon and nitrogen contents contained in each of the waste compositions, If the area of ​​the image includes an area corresponding to a bag of garbage, the determining means uses the ratio of each garbage composition in the bag to apportion the ratio of the bag, and adds the proportion of the apportioned garbage composition to each of the garbage compositions. A waste treatment plant comprising:

Images