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Waste to energy conversion for a sustainable future
Ali Raza Kalair1, Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian1, Alex Stojcevski1
1Department of Telecommunications, Electrical, Robotics and Biomedical Engineering, Swinburne University, Australia.
Heliyon
|November 3, 2021
Summary
Air pollution, climate change, and plastic waste pose global threats. Converting waste into energy and products offers a circular economy solution to mitigate these environmental challenges.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Air pollution, climate change, and plastic waste are critical global issues.
- Fossil fuel combustion drives climate change and air pollution, with varying environmental persistence.
- Pollution disproportionately affects underdeveloped regions, while major emitters are often developed nations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review technologies for converting waste into power, energy, and valuable products.
- To explore circular economy approaches for mitigating pollution and climate change.
- To highlight the potential of waste-to-value conversion for environmental remediation.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on waste-to-energy and waste-to-product conversion technologies.
- Analysis of different waste streams, including CO2, greenhouse gases, biowaste, and plastic waste.
- Examination of conversion processes for energy generation and material production.
Main Results:
- Various technologies exist for converting diverse waste streams into energy and valuable products.
- Waste-to-value conversion supports a circular economy, reducing reliance on virgin resources.
- Specific examples include CO2 to petrol, GHG gases to chemicals, and plastic waste to construction materials.
Conclusions:
- Waste-to-value conversion technologies offer a promising pathway to address air pollution, climate change, and plastic waste.
- International collaboration and technological advancement are crucial for developing and implementing these solutions.
- Promoting a circular economy through waste conversion is essential for environmental sustainability.
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