Design, development and performance evaluation of mobile street cleaner (mSC) for municipal solid waste litter management

Rapid urbanization and population growth have led to a significant rise in municipal solid waste litter (MSWL) generation. The traditional manual collection process are labour-intensive, time-consuming, and often inadequate for addressing the growing volume of MSWL in cities. Advanced vacuum suction devices (VSDs) have emerged as an effective solution for indoor litter collection. However, limited studies has been reported to understand the feasibility of these devices for outdoor applications. Therefore, this study proposes a mobile street cleaner (mSC), a VSD specifically designed and engineered for MSWL collection from diverse urban settings. The study highlights the design methodology and model assumptions for developing a mechanical suction unit (MSU) for the mSC, demonstrating a 70% performance efficacy at 5000 m³/h (S₁) suction flow rate. Batch-scale experimental simulations with varying hose pipe diameter (D) (0.3–0.15 m), suction flow rate (S) (2500–5000 m³/h) and litter characteristic was conducted to optimize mSC. At S₁, the nozzle inlet velocity of 23–40 m/s was found to be more effective in collecting larger and heavier litter particles compared to S₂. Therefore, the hose pipe diameter of 0.25 (D₂) and 0.20 m (D₃) at S₁ was found to be most efficient and less time consuming in MSWL collection. Finally, the study highlights the potential benefits of proposed mSC in automating collection process, reducing operational costs, improving source segregation and recycling opportunities. The findings of this study offer valuable insights for technocrats and researchers in enhancing application of VSDs for sustainable urban waste management.