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Development of a Low-Cost Incinerator in Chembe, Malawi
Cape Maclear and the village of Chembe, located on the southern shores of Lake Malawi, has transformed over the past two decades from a quiet fishing village, to one of Malawi’s most popular tourism destinations. However, a lack of solid waste management services, habits, and practices has contributed to an environment that has begun to threaten the health and safety of residents as well as the area’s appeal as a premier tourism destination. Sustainable Cape Maclear, a coalition of local businesses working to address waste management gaps, has made initial efforts towards collection, including sourcing a trash-collection vehicle from JICA. However, without a strategy to operate and optimize the use of the truck, separate and reclaim valuable waste, or the willingness of residents and lodge owners to contribute, the potential benefits of collection will go unrealised.
Keywords: Hazerdous waste, incinerator, Malawi
Sustainable Cape Maclear has reached out to Global Health Engineering (GHE) to help co-develop a solid waste management strategy for the village. To develop this strategy, we are leading a blended learning programme, in which five separate, but interrelated projects that will be executed simultaneously by ETH MSc thesis-level students in partnership with Malawian student researchers and community members during Fall Semester 2023. These student projects will speak to the multi-faceted dimensions of sustainable waste management within the community, from a multi-disciplinary perspective, and will contribute to the development of a coherent waste management strategy for Sustainable Cape Maclear. To this end, the GHE group is looking for an MSc thesis student with experience/interest in waste management to form a part of this research team. The student would work with local researchers and community members to develop, build, and test a low-cost incinerator for managing hazardous waste within the village. The student would begin by monitoring a small, existing incinerator that is used for medical waste, identify shortcomings, and design and commission an improved model. This work will result in a safer and more robust incinerator with the capacity to incinerate all hazardous waste produced in Chembe.
Sustainable Cape Maclear has reached out to Global Health Engineering (GHE) to help co-develop a solid waste management strategy for the village. To develop this strategy, we are leading a blended learning programme, in which five separate, but interrelated projects that will be executed simultaneously by ETH MSc thesis-level students in partnership with Malawian student researchers and community members during Fall Semester 2023. These student projects will speak to the multi-faceted dimensions of sustainable waste management within the community, from a multi-disciplinary perspective, and will contribute to the development of a coherent waste management strategy for Sustainable Cape Maclear. To this end, the GHE group is looking for an MSc thesis student with experience/interest in waste management to form a part of this research team. The student would work with local researchers and community members to develop, build, and test a low-cost incinerator for managing hazardous waste within the village. The student would begin by monitoring a small, existing incinerator that is used for medical waste, identify shortcomings, and design and commission an improved model. This work will result in a safer and more robust incinerator with the capacity to incinerate all hazardous waste produced in Chembe.
In the course of the project, the student will be responsible for:
- Quantifying and characterizing hazardous waste produced within the village.
- Evaluating the existing incinerator design and measuring combustion efficiency and heat distribution.
- Monitoring air quality with low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors.
- Designing an improved incinerator.
- Supervise the construction and commissioning of the new incinerator using local available materials.
- Evaluating the new design based on efficiency and air quality impact.
- Modelling its capacity and proposing an efficient incineration schedule.
The project would involve two to three months of fieldwork on-site in Chembe. Interested and qualified students are invited to apply.
In the course of the project, the student will be responsible for:
- Quantifying and characterizing hazardous waste produced within the village.
- Evaluating the existing incinerator design and measuring combustion efficiency and heat distribution.
- Monitoring air quality with low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors.
- Designing an improved incinerator.
- Supervise the construction and commissioning of the new incinerator using local available materials.
- Evaluating the new design based on efficiency and air quality impact.
- Modelling its capacity and proposing an efficient incineration schedule.
The project would involve two to three months of fieldwork on-site in Chembe. Interested and qualified students are invited to apply.
For more information please contact: Dr. Marc Kalina (ETHZ), mkalina@ethz.ch
For more information please contact: Dr. Marc Kalina (ETHZ), mkalina@ethz.ch
2023_mt-projectcall_chembe_04_incinerator.docx
