A Feasibility Study on Microwave Imaging for Domestic Compost Production Monitoring

Home compost production requires regular monitoring of temperature and humidity, as well as interventions to ensure the correct maturation of the mass and high-quality compost. This article studies the adoption of microwave imaging (MWI) as a supporting tool to detect, locate, and monitor biomass hot spots, which are detrimental to the entire production. In this regard, it provides a threefold contribution: first, the dielectric characterization and temperature profiling of the compost; second, the introduction of a robust low-power wireless temperature sensor; finally, the validation of the MWI for retrieving the thermal profile of hot spots via 2-D numerical experiments, considering critical design aspects such as spatial resolution, operating frequency and number of wave probes. The proposed imaging technique combines information from a network of temperature sensors and scattered electromagnetic field samples to simplify the linear imagery-based strategy. Furthermore, the MWI system is supported by an electronic system equipped with temperature, humidity, and pH sensors to integrate the information and validate its functionality in the prototype phase. Overall, we demonstrate that it is feasible to use MWI for compost temperature monitoring.