Waste to energy conversion for a sustainable future

Abstract

Air pollution, climate change, and plastic waste are three contemporary global concerns. Air pollutants affect the lungs, green gases trap heat radiation, and plastic waste contaminates the marine food chain. Two-thirds of climate change and air pollution drivers are emitted in the process of burning fossil fuels. Pollutants settle in months, green gases take centuries, and plastics take thousands of years. The most polluted regions on the planet are also the ones that are greatly affected by climate change. Air pollutants grow in most climate-change affected areas, contributing to the greenhouse effect. Smog affects local and regional transboundary countries. The biggest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters may not be the worst-hit victims because wind and water flow distribute green gases and plastic waste worldwide. The major polluters are often rich and developed countries, and the worst affected countries are the underdeveloped poor communities. Technologically advanced countries may help the developing countries in research into removing particulate matter, green gases, and plastic waste. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Paris Accord have emphasized on immeasurable efforts to encourage the conversion of pollution, green gases, and plastic waste into energy. Conversion of CO 2 into petrol, GHG gases into chemicals, biowaste into biofuels, plastic waste into building bricks, and concrete waste into construction materials fosters a circular economy. This work reviews existing waste to power, energy, and value-added product conversion technologies.

Biochar and bio-oil fuel properties from nickel nanoparticles assisted pyrolysis of cassava peel

“…Generally, the production of biochar and bio-oil can be conducted from different waste biomass sources such as almond shell, corn cob, rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, groundnut shell, poplar sawdust, food waste, Crofton weed, citrus peel, coffee husk, palm kernel shell, walnut shell and cassava rhizome ( Cheng et al., 2021 , 2022 ; Egbosiuba et al., 2020a ; Ifa et al., 2020 ; Islam et al., 2021 ; Kalair et al., 2021 ; Morales et al., 2021 ; Nkomo et al., 2021 ; Promraksa and Rakmak, 2020 ; Quillope et al., 2021 ; Rueangsan et al., 2021 ; Saleem, 2022 ; Selvarajoo et al., 2022 ; Soka and Oyekola, 2020b ). The quality of the biochar can be determined by physicochemical parameters such as volatile matter, percentage carbon content, fixed carbon, ash content and higher heating value (HHV).…”

Get the win–win: Sustainable circular model of ‘generation-value-technology’ of industrial solid waste management

“…The key to EPR is the transfer of responsibility for ISW management from the public bodies to the producer of the products (Watkins and Gionfra, 2019). The US Energy Policy Act considers waste-to-energy (WTE) as a renewable process through which ISW can be converted into electricity and which can significantly meet the needs of a net-zero carbon vision (Kalair et al, 2021). In Malaysia, the use of WTE technology is also used to minimize the stock of ISW and to produce electricity and heat from it (Yong et al, 2019).…”

On the Conversion of Paper Waste and Rejects into High-Value Materials and Energy

“…One major approach towards sustainability is the conversion of waste into energy and value-added products, which has shown significant development recently. While minimizing linear economies, a sustainable circular economy should encourage the steps of take, make, use, reuse, and recycle, as opposed to a linear economy that follows take, make, use, dispose, and pollute [86]. Below are examples of how paper waste and rejects can be converted into energy and useful products, including biofuels, biohydrogen, biomethane, heat, nanocellulose, hydrochar, construction materials, and soil amendments.…”