Incinerator adaptations and air quality monitoring data for Cape Maclear, Malawi
Design, Maintenance, Operation, and Results
Contributors
- Raphaël Bahisson 
0009-0004-6139-9243 author
- Jakub Tkaczuk 0000-0001-7997-9423 supervisor, developer, maintainer
- Elizabeth Tilley 0000-0002-2095-9724 supervisor
Github repository for this page sits here.
1 Introduction
In December 2023, two De Montfort Mark 8A Incinerators were constructed in Cape Maclear, Malawi, as part of an initiative to improve local waste management in a region where open waste burning was the norm. While the installation of these incinerators marked a significant step forward, their real-world performance, particularly in terms of emissions and air quality, was yet to be critically evaluated.
This documentation details the improvements and adaptations introduced to the incinerators between 22 October 2024 and 16 January 2025 during the field work of Raphaël Bahisson, being a part of his Master’s thesis at ETH Zürich.
2 Overview
Documentation of the construction of two initial incinerators is available here. The work detailed in this repository and the underlying thesis address the challenges in the construction, visible through material degradation and combustion efficiency deterioration, after one year of operation.
During initial testing, it became apparent that the cyclone separator, too small a chimney and cracks in the construction did not provide satisfactory conditions for complete combustion and became a bottleneck in the design, making the operation of the incinerators unbearable to the operators, questioning project’s relevance.
To address the above issues, the cracks, brickwork, cement, and broken metal parts were fixed. Two 4 m-long, 160 mm-wide chimneys were installed on two incinerators (one at the Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic and one at Sustainable Cape Maclear) to increase the airflow and draft efficiency. A copper pipe heat exchanger was added to both incinerators to recuperate waste heat from the fume gases and provide the all-year-round access to warm water without additional fuel, offering environmental and practical benefits for the clinic and worker hygiene. In the end, a waste sorting table and an adjacent lift for trash cans at Sustainable Cape Maclear were installed to incentivize waste sorting and organized waste management. The total cost of the work (repairs, improvements, and adaptations, not including student’s labor) is $1301.63 USD. Details about all adaptations and their costs are provided on the following pages of this repository.
3 Safety Precautions
Always wear protective equipment when working with heat and waste. A mask, goggles, gloves and closed footwear are essential for protecting the operator’s health.
4 License
The complete design and user manual are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.