Claims:
1. A device for handling crop residue, said device comprising:
an electric vehicle operatively coupled with a sucker to suck the crop residue from ground;
a microwave operatively coupled with the electric vehicle so as to receive and dry the sucked crop residue from the sucker, said sucked crop residue being dried based on moisture content in the sucked crop residue; and
a combustion chamber operatively coupled with the microwave and configured to receive and combust at least a part of the dried crop residue in a controlled environment so as to yield Carbon-black.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein after drying and before combustion, the dried crop residue is grinded and sieved so as to separate fine powder such that the combustion is performed only on the left over from the sieving step, and wherein the fine powder is not combusted.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein the fine powder, owing to its highly compressible property, is used in any or a combination of brick manufacturing, and paint industry.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the dried crop residue is combusted in a manner so as to eliminate release of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
5. The device of claim 1, wherein the microwave is operated on the sucked crop residue for a defined period of time based on percentage of moisture in the sucked crop residue, said percentage and/or said defined period of time being determined using an artificial intelligence (AI) engine configured in the microwave.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein said device further comprises a conveyer belt to transport the dried crop residue from the microwave to the combustion chamber.
7. A method for handling crop residue, said method comprising the steps of:
sucking, using an electric vehicle that is operatively coupled with a sucker, the crop residue from ground;
drying, using a microwave that is operatively coupled with the electric vehicle, the sucked crop residue from the sucker, said sucked crop residue being dried based on moisture content in the sucked crop residue; and
combusting, using a combustion chamber that is operatively coupled with the microwave, at least a part of the dried crop residue in a controlled environment so as to yield Carbon-black.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
grinding the dried crop residue;
sieving the grinded dried waste to separate fine powder such that the step of combusting is performed on the left over from the sieving step, and wherein the fine powder is not combusted.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the fine powder, owing to its highly compressible property, is used in any or a combination of brick manufacturing, and paint industry.
10. The method of claim 6, wherein the microwave is operated on the sucked crop residue for a defined period of time based on percentage of moisture in the sucked crop residue, said percentage and/or said defined period of time being determined using an artificial intelligence (AI) engine configured in the microwave.
11. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises the step of transporting, using a conveyer belt, the dried crop residue from the microwave to the combustion chamber.
, Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present disclosure relates to the field of treating biomass (interchangeably referred to as crop residue hereinafter), and more particularly for converting the crop residue into usable carbonaceous material using an automated device (also interchangeably referred to as vehicle hereinafter).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[003] In recent years, our society and the world in general has become increasingly energy dependent. The resulting rise in energy demands have coupled with rising costs for petroleum based fuels to kindle an increased interest in alternative fuels that once may have been considered too costly to produce. Of particular interest are fuel sources that are considered to be ‘renewable.’ One of these renewable and alternative energy sources is commonly referred to as biomass.
[004] Biomass generally includes living and recently dead biological material which can be used as fuel for industrial production. Most commonly, biomass refers to plant matter grown for use as bio fuel, but it also includes plant or animal matter used for production of fibers, chemicals or heat. Biomass may also include biodegradable wastes that can be burned as fuel, but it excludes organic material which has been transformed by geological processes into substances known as fossil fuels such as coal or petroleum.
[005] Typical sources of biomass include agricultural crop residue that remains after harvesting and processing of crop. There are two types of agricultural crop residues such as field residues and process residues. An enormous quantity of agricultural residues or plant biomass or crop residue is produced as by-products of agricultural processing. Some of these products include paddy residue, flax shives, wheat straw, barley straw, corn stover, stalks, stubble, seed pods, husk, bagasse etc. The particular plant used is usually not very important to the end products, but it does affect the processing of the raw material. Production of biomass is a growing industry as interest in sustainable fuel sources is growing. While the term biomass is also useful to identify plants where some of the plant's internal structures may not always be considered living tissue, such as the wood of a tree, and even though this biomass was produced from plants that convert sunlight into plant material through photosynthesis, the use of the term ‘biomass’ herein is by definition limited to agricultural plant growth that is harvested on a regular and periodic basis as part of an agricultural enterprise. These organic material, have high ignition loss, high heat capacity and low density characteristics.
[006] In countries like India, usually three agricultural crops are grown in a year. Between two crops, very less time or no time is available to the farmers for preparation of their field for next crop. Farmers are not willing to invest time and cost to pick the crop residue due to low calorific value and money consumed in transporting these bundles to warehouse or energy producing source. Moreover no economical technologies are available for collecting of left over agricultural residues from the field.
[007] Generally, farmers adopt the easiest and fastest to deal with the biomass by leaving the biomass in fields for few days for sun-dry and then burningin the open field. Leaving biomass increases the farmer’s turnaround time from harvesting the crop to sowing next crop. Burning the biomass causes loss of vital components such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and potassium from the topsoil layer, making the land less fertile and unviable for agriculture in the long run. The reduced productivity cannot be overcome with increased additions of mineral fertilizers.
[008] One of the major problems by burning of biomass is emission of gases like SO2, NO2, CO2, N2O, CH4 etc. These gases increase the atmospheric temperature which affects the worldwide environment. Not only this, crop residue burning (CRB) has been identified as a major regional source of pollution and a major health hazard. It causes exposure to extremely high levels of particulate matter concentration to people in the immediate vicinity. Thus, government has banned such biomass also known as crop residue burning to cop up with environmental problems caused due to crop residue burning. Therefore, the collection, storage, and transportation of biomass are the key and bottleneck restricting the current development of biomass energy
[009] The existing technology suggests using straw baler in which crop residue is rolled up inside the baler using rubberized belts, fixed rollers or a combination of the two. When the bale reaches a predetermined size, either of the two or twine is wrapped around it to hold its shape. The back of the baler swings open, and the bale is discharged. These types of machines are powered by IC engines or are used as attachment with traditional tractors which cause pollution by burning fossil fuels. Moreover the transportation cost, labour cost and low calorific value of residuals for picking the bundles makes it a dull choice.
[0010] Another existing technology provides the machine for chopping and burying the crop residue. In this case, the crop residue is chopped into smaller pieces and then mixed with soil to decompose. But residue takes too much time to decompose, thus affecting the sowing of next crop. As farmers have very less time or no time is to prepare the fields for next crop, they are not willing to waste time till the crop residue decomposes.
[0011] In another available technique, with the help of rotating farming equipment like Rotavator, slurry of crop residue and water is made which is then left for natural drying process. Once again, the process is time consuming and affects the next crop cycle.
[0012] There is therefore a need in the art for an improved mechanical for handling crop residue that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0013] It is a general object of the present disclosure to provide a method and device to remove unwanted crop residue from agricultural fields.
[0014] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a method and device to formulate the crop residue that generates a further usable product.
[0015] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a method and device to formulate the crop residue in fields in an economical way.
[0016] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a method and device to formulate the crop residue in a short time.
[0017] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a method and device to formulate the crop residue in environment friendly way.
[0018] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a method and device to formulate the crop residue from agricultural fields without decreasing the nutritious value of soil.
SUMMARY
[0019] The present disclosure relates to the field of treating biomass (interchangeably referred to as crop residue hereinafter), and more particularly for converting the crop residue into usable carbonaceous material using an automated device (also interchangeably referred to as vehicle hereinafter).
[0020] In an aspect, the present disclosure relates to a device for handling crop residue, said device comprising: an electric vehicle operatively coupled with a sucker to suck the crop residue from ground; a microwave operatively coupled with the electric vehicle so as to receive and dry the sucked crop residue from the sucker, said sucked crop residue being dried based on moisture content in the sucked crop residue; and a combustion chamber operatively coupled with the microwave and configured to receive and combust the dried crop residue in a controlled environment so as to yield -.
[0021] In an aspect, the dried crop residue can be grinded into powder form before being released into the combustion chamber.
[0022] In another aspect, the dried crop residue can be combusted in a manner so as to eliminate release of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
[0023] In yet another aspect, the microwave can be operated on the sucked crop residue for a defined period of time based on percentage of moisture in the sucked crop residue, wherein the percentage and/or said defined period of time can be determined using an artificial intelligence (AI) engine configured in the microwave.
[0024] In an aspect, the proposed device can further include a conveyer belt to transport the dried crop residue from the microwave to the combustion chamber.
[0025] In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for handling crop residue, said method comprising the steps of: sucking, using an electric vehicle that is operatively coupled with a sucker, the crop residue from ground; drying, using a microwave that is operatively coupled with the electric vehicle, the sucked crop residue from the sucker, said sucked crop residue being dried based on moisture content in the sucked crop residue; and combusting, using a combustion chamber that is operatively coupled with the microwave, the dried crop residue in a controlled environment so as to yield Carbon-black.
[0026] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of converting crop residue to carbonaceous material. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a self controlled vehicle capable of removing the crop residue from agricultural fields, process it and produce further usable product.
[0027] In an aspect, the self controlled vehicle for processing the crop residue comprises: a driving unit; a power backup unit; a sucker unit; a transportation unit; a microwave drying unit; a mixing grinding unit; a combustion unit; a collector; one or more sensors; a furnace; a memory, an interface and a processor.
[0028] In another aspect, the self-controlled vehicle can be controlled with help of assembly of sensors, processor, memory and interface that process instructions to automate the vehicle.
[0029] In another aspect, the driving unit can include one or more independent wheels coupled to one or more DC motors with suspension mechanism, varying track width and wheelbase control to steer the vehicle in desired direction and to reduce the turnaround radius in required area for moving the self controlled vehicle easily.
[0030] In another aspect, the one or more navigation sensors detect obstacles in the path of movement of the vehicle.
[0031] In particular, the present disclosure relates to fast, efficient, economical, self powered and eco-friendly technique of removing the crop residue by an automatic self powered, self driven and self controlled vehicle capable of collecting, drying, disintegrating, combusting the crop residue without releasing much harmful gasses to atmosphere and the final product obtained may further earn profits for farmers.
[0032] In an exemplary implementation, crop residue in fields can be initially cut into smaller pieces, which can be sucked by means of a sucker that is mounted on the front end of the automatic self controlled electric vehicle that withdraws the crop residue from fields and a conveyor belt conveys the residue for microwave drying. In an instance, a muffle furnace dries the residue to eliminate the moisture content by sensing the amount of moisture present in crop residue, processing to find the time for which microwave drying is needed and exposing the residue to microwave drying to eliminate moisture content. The dried residual can be fed into mixer and grinder to convert it into fine powder which is then fed into a combustion chamber for combustion in a controlled environmental condition to produce Carbon-black. The produced Carbon-black can then be used to produce ink for printers and pens.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary representations of the proposed device from different views in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0034] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram showing drying step of the present invention in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0035] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of the present disclosure in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0036] The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such details as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0037] Embodiments described herein generally relates to removing the crop residue from agricultural fields. In particular, the present disclosure relates to fast, efficient, economical and eco-friendly technique of removing the crop residue by an automatic self controlled vehicle capable of collecting, drying, disintegrating, combusting the crop residue without releasing large amount of harmful gasses to atmosphere.
[0038] The present disclosure relates to the field of treating biomass (interchangeably referred to as crop residue hereinafter), and more particularly for converting the crop residue into usable carbonaceous material using an automated device (also interchangeably referred to as vehicle hereinafter).
[0039] In an aspect, the present disclosure relates to a device for handling crop residue, said device comprising: an electric vehicle operatively coupled with a sucker to suck the crop residue from ground; a microwave operatively coupled with the electric vehicle so as to receive and dry the sucked crop residue from the sucker, said sucked crop residue being dried based on moisture content in the sucked crop residue; and a combustion chamber operatively coupled with the microwave and configured to receive and combust the dried crop residue in a controlled environment so as to yield Carbon-black.
[0040] In an aspect, the dried crop residue can be grinded into powder form before being released into the combustion chamber.
[0041] In another aspect, after drying and before combustion, the dried crop residue can be grinded and sieved so as to separate fine powder such that the combustion is performed only on the left over from the sieving step, and wherein the fine powder is not combusted. Furthermore, the fine powder, owing to its highly compressible property, is used in any or a combination of brick manufacturing, and paint industry.
[0042] In another aspect, the dried crop residue can be combusted in a manner so as to eliminate release of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
[0043] In yet another aspect, the microwave can be operated on the sucked crop residue for a defined period of time based on percentage of moisture in the sucked crop residue, wherein the percentage and/or said defined period of time can be determined using an artificial intelligence (AI) engine configured in the microwave.
[0044] In an aspect, the proposed device can further include a conveyer belt to transport the dried crop residue from the microwave to the combustion chamber.
[0045] In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for handling crop residue, said method comprising the steps of: sucking, using an electric vehicle that is operatively coupled with a sucker, the crop residue from ground; drying, using a microwave that is operatively coupled with the electric vehicle, the sucked crop residue from the sucker, said sucked crop residue being dried based on moisture content in the sucked crop residue; and combusting, using a combustion chamber that is operatively coupled with the microwave, the dried crop residue in a controlled environment so as to yield Carbon-black.
[0046] FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary representations of the proposed device from different views in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0047] As shown, the proposed device 100 can be configured to handle crop residue, wherein the device can include or pertain to an electric vehicle that can be operatively coupled with a sucker 102 to suck the crop residue from ground, a microwave 104 operatively coupled with the electric vehicle so as to receive and dry the sucked crop residue from the sucker 102, wherein the sucked crop residue can be dried based on moisture content in the sucked crop residue. The proposed device 100 can further include a combustion chamber operatively coupled with the microwave 104 and configured to receive and combust the dried crop residue in a controlled environment so as to yield Carbon-black.
[0048] In an aspect, the dried crop residue can be grinded into powder form before being released into the combustion chamber. The dried crop residue can be combusted in a manner so as to eliminate release of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
[0049] In another aspect, the microwave can be operated on the sucked crop residue for a defined period of time based on percentage of moisture in the sucked crop residue, wherein the percentage and/or the defined period of time can be determined using an artificial intelligence (AI) engine configured in the microwave 104.
[0050] In addition, the proposed device can further include a conveyer belt to transport the dried crop residue from the microwave 104 to the combustion chamber.
[0051] In an exemplary aspect, the proposed moving electric vehicle can be mounted on a 4-wheeled vehicle, wherein each wheel can be powered by an electric motor 108 and the motors can be powered by batteries 110, making them clean. Furthermore, the proposed EV (electric vehicle) can include a 4 wheel steering system 106, wherein the wheels can be steered in a desired direction to reduce the turning radius in fields. The EV can further include a battery pack 110 that can help power the motors and other accessories, and can also, in an exemplary implementation, be recharged again through a quick charger. In an aspect, Chassis/frame of the proposed EV can be made up of steel and sheet-metal through welding and riveting process, accommodating the mechanisms for suspension and varying track width and wheelbase.
[0052] As mentioned above, sucker 102 can be configured suck the crop residual from ground and feed it into the system for further processing, based on which the microwave 104 (for instance a 2KW microwave) dries the residual for a calculated period of time based on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) depending on the percentage of moisture in the residual. The proposed system/apparatus/device can further include a conveyor belt that can, in an exemplary implementation, be made up of rubber and configured to convey the dried residual to mixer and grinder, wherein the mixer and grinder crushes the dried residual into fine powder which is ready for combustion. Combustion chamber can be configured to combust the dried fine powder in a controlled environment without eliminating any harmful VOCs in to environment. Furthermore, the proposed device can include or be operatively coupled to a collector 112that can collect the fine Carbon-black formed after complete combustion of fine powder.
[0053] In an aspect, controlled combustion may be achieved by carefully controlling the temperature and composition of the reactants, thereby tailoring the rate at which fuel and oxygen react. This type of combustion, where the reaction rate is dominated by elementary reaction steps as opposed to heat or mass transport, may be achieved by a combination of waste heat recovery and exhaust gas recirculation. In addition to the improved thermal efficiency, this process decreases the peak flame temperature which can decrease NOx emissions by orders of magnitude. The reduction in peak temperature may also help reduce heat losses in combustion devices, further improving efficiency. While various forms of controlled combustion have been investigated, commercial application has been limited to industrial furnaces. Controlled combustion, which occurs at conditions of high preheat and low O2 concentration, is the result of chemical processes which are fundamentally different from conventional combustion processes. Detailed kinetic models, which are currently optimized for conventional combustion, are needed to model implementation of controlled combustion in low-irreversibility engines. Development of an engine that utilizes controlled combustion will rely heavily on detailed kinetic models developed and validated specifically for these conditions. Since the engine combustion process would occur at elevated pressure, the influence of pressure on the reaction kinetics should also be investigated. The influence of product species, especially CO2, on reaction rates as well as the formation of intermediate species also are of interest.
[0054] In an aspect, the proposed device can include a suspension system 106 that pertains to a system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers, and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension system 106 can be configured to support both road-holding/handling and ride quality. The tuning of suspensions involves finding the right compromise. It is important for the suspension to keep the road wheel in contact with the road surface as much as possible, because all the road or ground forces acting on the vehicle do so through the contact patches of the tires. The suspension also protects the vehicle itself and any cargo or luggage from damage and wear. The design of front and rear suspension of a car may be different.
[0055] As would be appreciated, carbon materials are, in general, very good absorbents of microwaves, i.e., they are easily heated by microwave radiation. This characteristic allows them to be transformed by microwave heating, giving rise to new carbons with tailored properties, to be used as microwave receptors, in order to heat other materials indirectly, or to act as a catalyst and microwave receptor in different heterogeneous reactions. In recent years, the number of processes that combine the use of carbons and microwave heating instead of other methods based on conventional heating has increased. In this paper some of the microwave-assisted processes in which carbon materials are produced, transformed or used in thermal treatments (generally, as microwave absorbers and catalysts) are reviewed and the main achievements of this technique are compared with those obtained by means of conventional (non microwave-assisted) methods in similar conditions.
[0056] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram 200 showing drying step of the present invention in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an aspect, at block 202, moisture content in collected crop residue can be measured, based on which, at block 204, time required to dry the collected crop residue can be calculated, post which, at block 206, microwave 104 can be switched on for the calculated time so as to efficiently dry the collected crop residue, and then passed onto the combustion chamber.
[0057] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram 300 of the present disclosure in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. At step 302, the proposed method can include the step of sucking, using an electric vehicle that is operatively coupled with a sucker, the crop residue from ground; whereas step 304 includes drying, using a microwave that is operatively coupled with the electric vehicle, the sucked crop residue from the sucker, said sucked crop residue being dried based on moisture content in the sucked crop residue; and step 306 includes combusting, using a combustion chamber that is operatively coupled with the microwave, the dried crop residue in a controlled environment so as to yield Carbon-black. As mentioned above, in an exemplary implementation, the proposed method can further include the steps of grinding the dried crop residue; and sieving the grinded dried waste to separate fine powder such that the step of combusting is performed on the left over from the sieving step, wherein the fine powder is not combusted. The fine powder, owing to its highly compressible property, can be used in any or a combination of brick manufacturing, and paint industry. Any other use of the sieved fine powder is well within the scope of the present disclosure.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
[0058] The present disclosure provides a method and device to remove unwanted crop residue from agricultural fields.
[0059] The present disclosure provides a method and device to formulate the crop residue that generates a further usable product.
[0060] The present disclosure provides a method and device to formulate the crop residue in fields in an economical way.
[0061] The present disclosure provides a method and device to formulate the crop residue in a short time.
[0062] The present disclosure provides a method and device to formulate the crop residue in environment friendly way.
[0063] The present disclosure provides a method and device to formulate the crop residue from agricultural fields without decreasing the nutritious value of soil.