Solar Energy Application in Waste Treatment- A Review

Abstract

This review is an exposure on the various ways that solar energy can be harnessed for numerous waste treatment processes. Almost all forms of waste treatment require energy which is scarcely available considering the global energy crisis. The objective of this study is to enumerate the solar energy applications in waste treatment as a way of global environmental protection and energy management. Solar energy which is abundant in most part of the world has been adopted as a very sustainable source of energy for waste treatment. Its application in both solid waste and waste water treatment as in pyrolysis, solar incineration and gasification for solid wastes treatment and solar pathogenic organic destruction, solar photocatalytic degradation, solar distillation and desalination for waste water treatment. These waste treatment methods require light from the sun to photocatalyse reactions and also heat as thermal energy for the various endothermic reactions. This review therefore highlighted various methods of waste treatment which does not require the limited conventional energy sources. It also reveals that model optimizations for assessing the best options for potential pollutant treatment in pyrolysis,, solar incineration, gasification, photo catalytic degradation etc, of contaminants have not been achieved.

Integration of renewable energy in wastewater treatment during COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges, opportunities, and progressive research trends

“…Plentiful solar energy is proactively used to dispose of solid and liquid waste ( Pandey et al 2021 ). Technologies such as solar pathogenic organic destruction, solar photocatalytic degradation, solar thermal desalination, and distillation are used to treat liquid waste ( Ugwuishiwu et al 2016 ). Despite the benefits of integers in each method, specific problems need to be addressed.…”

Solar Heat for Materials Processing: A Review on Recent Achievements and a Prospect on Future Trends

“…Solar heat is also being used for treatment of solid waste materials, and numerous solar-driven solid waste treatments and conversion methods have been developed. A review work published in 2016 by Ugwuishiwu et al [44] summarizes the main applications, e.g., solar incineration of Municipal Solid Waste; solar solid waste pyrolysis (pyrolysis is the thermal degradation of carbon-based materials through the use of an indirect, external source of heat, typically at temperatures of 450 • C to 750 • C, in the absence or almost complete absence of free oxygen); solar solid waste gasification (gasification is a partial oxidation process which produces a composite gas, syngas, comprised primarily of hydrogen and carbon monoxide). Depending of the type of residues, which may include several types of inedible crop residues, the gasifier operating temperature may range from 760 • C to 1540 • C [45][46][47].…”

Biomedical Waste Management by Using Nanophotocatalysts: The Need for New Options

“…Successful and efficient management of biomedical waste requires the use of different treatment practices and techniques, such as incineration, autoclave, hydroclave, and microwave treatments [2]. It is essential that every single applied innovation assures both the environment and public health protection [3]. Waste management and waste engineering advances have turned out to be extremely vital because of the significant increase in rate and diversity, both in the quality and quantity of the waste that is being produced every day, so using the most financially plausible strategies has become even more crucial than before [4].…”