Salman's Infobahn

Image via Wikipedia The global market for WTE technologies was valued at US$19.9bn in 2008. This has been forecasted to increase to US$26.2bn by 2014. While the biological WTE segment is expected to grow more rapidly from US$1.4bn in 2008 to approximately US$2.5bn in 2014, the thermal WTE segment is nonetheless estimated to still constitute the vast bulk of the entire industry’s worth. This segment was valued at US$18.5bn in 2008 and is forecasted to expand to US$23.7bn in 2014. The global market for waste to energy technologies has shown substantial growth over the last five years, increasing from $4.83 billion in 2006, to $7.08 billion in 2010 with continued market growth through the global economic downturn. Over the coming decade, growth trends are expected to continue, led by expansion in the US, European, Chinese, and Indian markets. By 2021, based on continued growth in Asian markets combined with the maturation of European waste management regulations and European and ...

Image by Colt Group via Flickr The global market for WTE technologies was valued at US$19.9bn in 2008. This has been forecasted to increase to US$26.2bn by 2014. While the biological WTE segment is expected to grow more rapidly from US$1.4bn in 2008 to approximately US$2.5bn in 2014, the thermal WTE segment is nonetheless estimated to still constitute the vast bulk of the entire industry’s worth. This segment was valued at US$18.5bn in 2008 and is forecasted to expand to US$23.7bn in 2014. The global market for waste to energy technologies has shown substantial growth over the last five years, increasing from $4.83 billion in 2006, to $7.08 billion in 2010 with continued market growth through the global economic downturn. Over the coming decade, growth trends are expected to continue, led by expansion in the US, European, Chinese, and Indian markets. By 2021, based on continued growth in Asian markets combined with the maturation of European waste management re...

Image via Wikipedia Renewable energy systems have been used in Jordan since early 1970s. Infact, Jordan has been a pioneer in renewable energy promotion in the Middle East with its first wind power pilot project in Al-Ibrahemiya as early as 1988. Systematic monitoring of the technological developments and implementation/execution of demonstration and pilot projects has been the hallmark of Jordan’s foray into clean energy sector. Municipal solid wastes represent the best source of biomass in Jordan. In terms of quantity per capita and constituents, the waste generated in Jordan is comparable to most semi-industrialized nations. The per capita of waste generated in Jordan is about 0.9 kg/day. The total generation of municipal waste in Jordan is estimated at 1.84 million tons per year.   The main resources of organic waste in Jordan that can be potentially used to produce biogas are summarized as follows: Municipal waste from big cities Organic wastes from slaughterhouse, veget...

Image via Wikipedia According to a recent study, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region offers almost 45 percent of the world’s total energy potential from all renewable sources that can generate more than three times the world’s total power demand. Apart from solar and wind, MENA also has abundant biomass energy resources which have remained unexplored to a great extent. According to conservative estimates, the potential of biomass energy in the Euro Mediterranean region is about 400TWh per year. Around the region, pollution of the air and water from municipal, industrial and agricultural operations continues to grow.  The technological advancements in the biomass energy industry, coupled with the tremendous regional potential, promises to usher in a new era of energy as well as environmental security for the region. The major biomass producing countries are Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Jordan. Traditionally, biomass energy has been widely used in rural areas for dom...

Image via Wikipedia Southeast Asia, with its abundant biomass resources, holds a strategic position in the global biomass energy atlas. There is immense potential of biopower in Southeast Asian countries due to plentiful supply of diverse forms of wastes such as agricultural residues, woody biomass, animal wastes, municipal solid waste, etc. The rapid economic growth and industrialization in the region has accelerated the drive to implement the latest waste-to-energy technologies in order to tap the unharnessed potential of biomass resources. The Southeast Asian region is a big producer of wood and agricultural products which, when processed in industries, produces large amounts of biomass residues. According to conservative estimates, the amount of biomass residues generated from sugar, rice and palm oil mills is more than 200-230 million tons per year which corresponds to cogeneration potential of 16-19 GW. In 2005, rice mills in the region produced 38 million tonnes of rice h...

Image via Wikipedia Like any developing country, the Philippines is facing a formidable challenge of fostering sustainable energy options to support the energy requirements of its economic and social development goals with minimal adverse effects on the environment. In the Philippines, renewable energy sources contribute 43 percent to the country’s primary energy mix, one of the highest in Southeast Asia. The Philippines has an existing capacity of 5,500 MW of renewable energy power. Out of which, 61 percent is hydropower while 37 percent is geothermal power. Biomass energy application accounts for around 15 percent of the primary energy use in the country. The resources available in the Philippines can generate biomass projects with a potential capacity of around 200 MW. The country has abundant supplies of biomass resources, offering much potential for clean energy generation.  These include agricultural crop residues, forest residues, animal wastes, agro-industrial wastes, ...

Image via Wikipedia Traditional methods of farm waste management are unscientific and have several negative externalities associated with them. Being the emitter of stock pollutants, like CO, SOx, NOx, PAHs, and aerosols, which accumulates in the atmosphere, traditional practices have a regional impact apart from local damage. Crop burning decrease the fertility of soil. To meet increasing market demand for more produce, farmers add more chemical fertilizers. With continued excessive usage of chemicals causes’ salinity, further degrading the soil. Burning of dung cakes/ crop residues for cooking and domestic heating causes health ailments like pulmonary diseases (lung cancer, tuberculosis) due to passive intake by people of the house, especially women and children. The adoption of anaerobic digestion is required for better utilization of renewable energy resources. However, certain factors limit its widespread application in rural societies in developing countries like India. ...

Image via Wikipedia Anaerobic digestion is the most important method for the treatment of organic waste because of its techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability. The use of anaerobic digestion technology generates biogas and preserves the nutrients which are recycled back to the agricultural land in the form of slurry or solid fertilizer. The relevance of biogas technology lies in the fact that it makes the best possible utilization of various organic wastes as a renewable source of clean energy. A biogas plant is a decentralized energy system, which can lead to self-sufficiency in heat and power needs, and at the same time reduces environmental pollution. Thus, anaerobic digestion of food waste can lead to climate change mitigation, economic benefits and landfill diversion opportunities. Of the different types of organic wastes available, food waste holds the highest potential in terms of economic exploitation as it contains high amount of carbon ...

Image via Wikipedia Energy is the driving force for development in all countries of the world. The increasing clamor for energy and satisfying it with a combination of conventional and renewable resources is a big challenge. Accompanying energy problems in different parts of the world, another problem that is assuming critical proportions is that of urban waste accumulation. The quantity of waste produced all over the world amounted to more than 12 billion tonnes in 2006, with estimates of up to 13 billion tonnes in 2011. The rapid increase in population coupled with changing lifestyle and consumption patterns is expected to result in an exponential increase in waste generation of upto 18 billion tonnes by year 2020. Waste generation rates are affected by socio-economic development, degree of industrialization, and climate. Generally, the greater the economic prosperity and the higher percentage of urban population, the greater the amount of solid waste produced. Re...

Image via Wikipedia Renewable energy is growing rapidly in India. With an installed capacity of 13.2 GW, renewable energy sources (excluding large hydro) currently account for 9% of India’s overall power generation capacity. By 2012, the Indian government is planning to add an extra 14 GW of renewable sources. Grid Interactive Renewable Power in India Technology Potential (MW) Achievement (MW) Windpower 45,000 5,246 Small Hydro (<25MW) 15,000 537 Cogeneration/Bagasse 5,000 759 Biopower (Agro-residues and woody biomass from plantations 61,000 26 Waste-to-Energy 7,000 1 Solar PV Systems (4-7/kWh/km 2 /day) 20MW/km 2 2 Total 133,000 14,914 Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 2009 In its 10th Five Year Plan, the Indian government had set itself a target of adding 3.5 GW of renewable energy sources to the generation mix. In reality, however, nearly double that figure was achieved. In this period, more than 5.4 GW of wind energy was added to the ...

Major components of Waste-to-Energy Processes Front end MSW pre-processing is used to prepare MSW for treatment and separate any recyclables Conversion unit (reactor) Gas and residue treatment plant (optional) Energy recovery plant (optional): Energy / chemicals production system includes gas turbine, boiler, internal combustion engines for power production. Alternatively, ethanol or other organic chemicals can be produced Emissions clean up Incineration Combustion of raw MSW, moisture less than 50% Sufficient amount of oxygen is required to fully oxidize the fuel Combustion temperatures are in excess of 850 o C Waste is converted into CO2 and water concern about toxics (dioxin, furans) Any non-combustible materials (inorganic such as metals, glass) remain as a solid, known as bottom ash (used as feedstock in cement and brick manufacturing) Fly ash APC (air pollution control residue) particulates, etc Needs high calorific v...

Image via Wikipedia Anaerobic digestion provides a variety of benefits. These may be classified into three groups viz. environmental, economic and energy benefits: The environmental benefits include: a)      Elimination of malodorous compounds. b)      Reduction of pathogens. c)      Deactivation of weed seeds. d)     Production of sanitized compost. e)      Decrease in GHGs emission. f)       Reduced dependence on inorganic fertilizers by capture and reuse of nutrients. g)      Promotion of carbon sequestration h)      Beneficial reuse of recycled water i)        Protection of groundwater and surface water resources. j)        Improved social acceptance Anaerobic digestion is advantageous in terms of energy generat...