Inspiration
We generate mountains of waste every day as a society across the world. However, modern processing now allows us to turn that waste into energy. As such, it is important to consider the benefits of waste to energy as we seek means to limit our negative impacts on the planet and efficiently use our resources.
Instead of taking our waste to landfills, why not look at the available options? Instead of letting our waste go to waste, we can use it to create energy.
What it does
In its simplest form, waste to energy involves taking our waste disposal and turning it into energy3. To get to the point where waste management facilities can produce energy, the waste has to go through a specific process. There are several waste-to-energy processes that we can use to do this. This can include anaerobic digestion or fermentation5, both of which are known as biochemical. There is also a thermochemical, which can include gasification or pyrolysis.
We can use these methods to turn waste into several energy products, including natural gas, biochar, bio-oil, and hydrocarbon fuels such as diesel and gasoline.
As our planet is suffering at the hands of humans and our wasteful ways, we now have a feasible option. It is an alternative that provides us with a source of renewable energy. When we consider that we throw away 1.3 billion tons of food waste each year, waste to energy has the potential to offset our ways
How we built it
The waste (fuel) is burned, releasing heat. The heat turns water into steam in a boiler. The high-pressure steam turns the blades of a turbine generator to produce electricity. An air pollution control system removes pollutants from the combustion gas before it is released through a smoke stack.
Challenges we ran into
Releases carbon from non-biodegradables which would otherwise be stored in landfill. Ash and flue gas cleaning residues from incineration can also cause leachate problems if not properly disposed of.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We will always have waste, and there is no denying this fact. We will always need energy too. So, the critical benefit of waste to energy brings the two together, creating a cleaner, more sustainable energy.
However, it's not perfect. Waste to energy plants still use energy and create their own by-products. Some also argue that they can reduce recycling.
As such, there is a lot of work to be done. Testing new technologies such as waste to energy and solar energy can help us determine which energy recovery options work best when it comes to meeting our needs and dealing with our municipal solid waste. And as improvements are had, the ultimate outcomes of turning waste into energy will likely become more positive.
Air pollution is a real problem. Needlessly creating and filling landfill sites just adds to the issues we face. Therefore, we should look to use these energy solutions to change the future. The amount of waste we generate on a global level is astronomical. If we can put this to good use, then there is no doubt that it can be a real game-changer in our quest to become more sustainable.
What we learned
Waste to energy is one of the most robust and effective alternative energy options to reduce CO2 emissions and replace fossil fuels. Approximately 2/3 of household waste is categorized as biomass. Therefore, we can recover 2/3 as CO2-neutral energy and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
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