US 2026/0243431 A1 · BIOMASS HEATER SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract

A biomass heater system and method, in particular, an intelligent biomass heater utilizing a minimal set of measurement sensors and a control strategy to actively modulate incoming air, enhancing stove combustion performance, and thereby eliminating user-error as a factor for emissions production. The heater implements methods to estimate critical performance metrics such as the heat release rate, instantaneous stove efficiency, combustion stoichiometry and biomass fuel moisture content using combinations of sensor reading such as the heater temperature, weight and airflow rates. These parameters are used in a feedback control algorithm to optimize the variable application of combustion air and reduce the burden on the operator by providing recommendations for refueling and replacement of components through automated, intelligent decision-making. The applied approach uses a combination of deep learning Neural Networks, Classification Models, and Reinforcement Learning to allow for a continuous prediction of emissions and operation mode and provide appropriate actuator adjustment.

Claims25

Dependent claims

An apparatus for controlling a biomass combustion appliance, the apparatus comprising:

one or more sensor devices associated with the biomass combustion appliance, said one or more sensor devices placed at predetermined locations on the biomass combustion appliance for sensing real-time biomass conversion operating conditions and generating corresponding sensor signals;
a hardware processor configured to receive said real-time sensor signals associated with said real-time biomass fuel conversion operating conditions, predict the trajectory of one or more real-time sensor signals and derive performance characteristic parameters associated with a current biomass fuel combustion operating condition based on said real-time sensor signals, and
the hardware processor further configured to generate, based on the derived performance characteristic parameters and predicted trajectory of the one or more real-time sensor signals, a predictive-based control signal for modifying an amount of combustion air introduced for biomass combustion at said biomass combustion appliance, said amount of combustion air modified in a manner to achieve a desired combustion operation.

A method for controlling a biomass combustion appliance, the method comprising:

sensing, using one or more sensor devices placed at predetermined locations on a biomass combustion appliance, real-time biomass combustion operating conditions and generating corresponding sensor signals;
receiving, at a hardware processor, said real-time sensor signals associated with said real-time biomass combustion operating conditions;
predicting, by the hardware processor, the trajectory of one or more real-time sensor signals;
deriving, by said hardware processor, performance characteristic parameters associated with a current biomass combustion operating condition based on said real-time sensor signals, and
generating, based on the derived performance characteristic parameters and predicted trajectory of the one or more real-time sensor signals, a control signal for modifying an amount of combustion air introduced for wood combustion or other critical combustion operational parameter(s) at said biomass combustion appliance;
and
modifying, responsive to said generated control signal, said amount of combustion air or other critical combustion operational parameter(s) in a manner to achieve a desired combustion operation.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Biomass heater system and method

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Biomass heater system and method

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Abstract

Claims25