Solid Waste Management in Peru's Cities: A Clustering Approach for an Andean District

There is a great deficiency in the collection and disposal of solid waste, with a considerable amount disposed of in dumps instead of in landfills. In this sense, the objective of this research is to propose a solid waste mitigation plan through recovery in the District of Santa Rosa, Ayacucho. For this, a solid waste characterization plan was executed in eight days, and through ANOVA it was shown that there is a significant difference in means between business pairs except between a bakery and a hotel. Through clustering, zones A and B are highly correlated, reflecting that the amount of organic waste was greater than inorganic waste. In the organic waste valorization plan, the results through ANOVA indicate a significant difference for monthly and daily averages, and the clustering shows the different behavior of each month, drawing attention to August, concluding that the valorization pilot plan is viable due to the contribution of a large amount of organic solid waste to the valorization plant.

CO2-mediated thermal treatment of disposable plastic food containers

In accordance with global economic prosperity, the frequencies of food delivery and takeout orders have been increasing. The pandemic life, specifically arising from COVID-19, rapidly expanded the food delivery service. Thus, the massive generation of disposable plastic food containers has become significant environmental problems. Establishing a sustainable disposal platform for plastic packaging waste (PPW) of food delivery containers has intrigued particular interest. To comprise this grand challenge, a reliable thermal disposable platform has been suggested in this study. From the pyrolysis process, a heterogeneous plastic mixture of PPW was converted into syngas and value-added hydrocarbons (HCs). PPW collected from five different restaurants consisted of polypropylene (36.9 wt%), polyethylene (10.5 wt%), polyethylene terephthalate (18.1 wt%), polystyrene (13.5 wt%), polyvinyl chloride (4.2 wt%), and other composites (16.8 wt%). Due to these compositional complexities, pyrolysis of PPW led to formations of a variety of benzene derivatives and aliphatic HCs. Adapting multi-stage pyrolysis, the different chemicals were converted into industrial chemicals (benzene, toluene, styrene, etc.). To selectively convert HCs into syngas (H2 and CO), catalytic pyrolysis was adapted using supported Ni catalyst (5 wt% Ni/SiO2). Over Ni catalyst, H2 was produced as a main product due to C[sbnd]H bond scission of HCs. When CO2 was used as a co-reactant, HCs were further transformed to H2 and CO through the chemical reactions of CO2 with gas phase HCs. CO2-assisted catalytic pyrolysis also retarded catalyst deactivation inhibiting coke deposition on Ni catalyst. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

Effective multipurpose sewage sludge and food waste reduction strategies: A focus on recent advances and future perspectives

Energy crisis and increasing rigorous management standards pose significant challenges for solid waste management worldwide. Several emerging diseases such as COVID-19 aggravated the already complex solid waste management crisis, especially sewage sludge and food waste streams, because of the increasingly large production year by year. As mature waste disposal technologies, landfills, incineration, composting, and some other methods are widespread for solid wastes management. This paper reviews recent advances in key sewage sludge disposal technologies. These include incineration, anaerobic digestion, and valuable products oriented-conversion. Food waste disposal technologies comprised of thermal treatment, fermentation, value-added product conversion, and composting have also been described. The hot topic and dominant research foci of each area are summarized, simultaneously compared with conventional technologies in terms of organic matter degradation or conversion performance, energy generation, and renewable resources production. Future perspectives of each technology that include issues not well understood and predicted challenges are discussed with a positive effect on the full-scale implementation of the discussed disposal methods. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Masks thermal degradation as an alternative of waste valorization on the COVID-19 pandemic: A kinetic study.

The COVID-19 pandemic generated a new dynamic around waste management. Personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, and face shields were essential to prevent the spread of the disease. However, despite the increase in waste, no technical alternatives were foreseen for the recovery of these wastes, which are made up of materials that can be valued for energy recovery. It is essential to design processes such as waste to energy to promote the circular economy. Therefore, techniques such as pyrolysis and thermal oxidative decomposition of waste materials need to be studied and scaled up, for which kinetic models and thermodynamic parameters are required to allow the design of this reaction equipment. This work develops kinetic models of the thermal degradation process by pyrolysis as an alternative for energy recovery of used masks generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The wasted masks were isolated for 72 h for virus inactivation and characterized by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and determinate the higher calorific value (HCV). The composition of the wasted masks included polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, nylon, and spandex, with higher calorific values than traditional fuels. For this reason, they are susceptible to value as an energetic material. Thermal degradation was performed by thermogravimetric analysis at different heating rates in N2 atmosphere. The gases produced were characterized by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The kinetic model was based on the mass loss of the masks on the thermal degradation, then calculated activation energies, reaction orders, pre-exponential factors, and thermodynamic parameters. Kinetics models such as Coats and Redfern, Horowitz and Metzger, Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose were studied to find the best-fit models between the experimental and calculated data. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the thermal degradation processes demonstrated the feasibility and high potential of recovery of these residues with conversions higher than 89.26% and obtaining long-chain branched hydrocarbons, cyclic hydrocarbons, and CO2 as products.

CO2-mediated thermal treatment of disposable plastic food containers

In accordance with global economic prosperity, the frequencies of food delivery and takeout orders have been increasing. The pandemic life, specifically arising from COVID-19, rapidly expanded the food delivery service. Thus, the massive generation of disposable plastic food containers has become significant environmental problems. Establishing a sustainable disposal platform for plastic packaging waste (PPW) of food delivery containers has intrigued particular interest. To comprise this grand challenge, a reliable thermal disposable platform has been suggested in this study. From the pyrolysis process, a heterogeneous plastic mixture of PPW was converted into syngas and value-added hydrocarbons (HCs). PPW collected from five different restaurants consisted of polypropylene (36.9 wt%), polyethylene (10.5 wt%), polyethylene terephthalate (18.1 wt%), polystyrene (13.5 wt%), polyvinyl chloride (4.2 wt%), and other composites (16.8 wt%). Due to these compositional complexities, pyrolysis of PPW led to formations of a variety of benzene derivatives and aliphatic HCs. Adapting multi-stage pyrolysis, the different chemicals were converted into industrial chemicals (benzene, toluene, styrene, etc.). To selectively convert HCs into syngas (H2 and CO), catalytic pyrolysis was adapted using supported Ni catalyst (5 wt% Ni/SiO2). Over Ni catalyst, H2 was produced as a main product due to CH bond scission of HCs. When CO2 was used as a co-reactant, HCs were further transformed to H2 and CO through the chemical reactions of CO2 with gas phase HCs. CO2-assisted catalytic pyrolysis also retarded catalyst deactivation inhibiting coke deposition on Ni catalyst.

Strategic Factors of Sustainable Development of Sugar Production in the Southern Federal District

The sugar industry plays an important role in the Russian economy and the southern Russian regions are the main producers of sugar in Russia (the Southern Federal District ranks the second in the production of white sugar). The specificity of sugar production is expressed in its high dependence on producers of beet raw materials, as well as in the presence of a significant amount of various types of waste, faces many problems of sustainable development in the sugar industry. The purpose of this article is to identify strategic factors for the sustainable development of sugar production, taking into account the challenges and threats of the new reality. In the study of strategic factors of sustainable development of the sugar industry, the authors identify demand factors and supply factors, as well as risk factors and stress factors. It is proved that the main threat to the sustainable development of the sugar industry is currently expressed in the risks of breaking supply chains in the conditions of the crisis caused by Coronavirus. This study focuses on the risk of stability reduction of the supply of beet raw materials. This risk is directly connected with the level of development of beet production in the region. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that a decrease in the cultivated areas of sugar beet in the Southern Federal District is a stressful factor in the development of sugar industry. To solve this problem, state subsidies are proposed for projects for the development of abandoned agricultural land for beet cultivation. The solution of the problems of environmental sustainability growth of sugar production is associated with the circular economy models. It is concluded that the strategic factors of sustainable development of sugar industry in the South of Russia are directly connected with technological innovations in the agro-industrial sphere of the region, the implementation of which is largely determined by the level of state support for the industry.Alternate : Сахарная промышленность играет важную роль в российской экономике, а южнороссийские регионы являются основными производителями сахара в России (ЮФО занимает 2-е место по производству белого сахара). Специфика сахарного производства, выражающаяся в его высокой зависимости от производителей свекловичного сырья и наличии значительного количества различного вида отходов, сталкивается со множеством проблем обеспечения устойчивого развития. Цель данной статьи состоит в выявлении стратегических факторов устойчивого развития сахарного производства, учитывая вызовы и угрозы новой реальности. Ð’ исследовании стратегических факторов устойчивого развития сахарной промышленности авторы выделяют факторы спроса и факторы предложения, а также факторы риска и стрессовые факторы. Обосновывается, что основная угроза устойчивому развитию сахарной промышленности в настоящее время выражается в рисках разрыва цепочек поставок в условиях коронакризиса. Соответственно, в данном исследовании основное внимание уделяется риску снижения стабильности поставок свекловичного сырья, непосредственно связанному с уровнем €Ð°Ð·Ð²Ð¸Ñ‚ия свекловичного производства в регионе. Ð’ результате анализа выявлено, что уменьшение посевных площадей сахарной свеклы в ЮФО является стрессовым фактором развития сахарной промышленности. Для решения данной проблемы предлагается государственное субсидирование проектов освоения заброшенных сельскохозяйственных угодий под выращивание свеклы. Решение проблем повышения экологической устойчивости сахарного производства возможно на основе реализации моделей циркулярной экономики. Сделан вывод о том, что стратегические факторы устойчивого развития сахарной промышленности на Юге России непосредственно связаны с технологическими инновациями в АПК региона, реализация которых во многом определяется уровнем государственной поддержки отрасли.

Waste surgical masks to fuels via thermochemical co-processing with waste motor oil and biomass.

In this work, the co-processing of waste surgical masks, waste motor oil, and biomass was investigated to reduce the environmental impacts of the increasing medical-derived plastic pollution as well as to elucidate its effect on the production of chemicals . The results showed high yields towards an oily product with an interesting hydrocarbon content in the diesel range. Furthermore, although the initial waste motor oil had a high sulfur content, the oily products showed a low sulfur content, that was logically distributed in the solid and gas phases. In addition, all oily products presented HHVs ​​higher than 44 MJ/Kg, with cetane indices, densities, and viscosities lower than those of petroleum-derived diesel. This work could impact on the management of waste surgical masks and the joint recovery of everyday waste towards high value-added products.

The Potential of Selected Agri-Food Loss and Waste to Contribute to a Circular Economy: Applications in the Food, Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Industries.

The food sector includes several large industries such as canned food, pasta, flour, frozen products, and beverages. Those industries transform agricultural raw materials into added-value products. The fruit and vegetable industry is the largest and fastest-growing segment of the world agricultural production market, which commercialize various products such as juices, jams, and dehydrated products, followed by the cereal industry products such as chocolate, beer, and vegetable oils are produced. Similarly, the root and tuber industry produces flours and starches essential for the daily diet due to their high carbohydrate content. However, the processing of these foods generates a large amount of waste several times improperly disposed of in landfills. Due to the increase in the world's population, the indiscriminate use of natural resources generates waste and food supply limitations due to the scarcity of resources, increasing hunger worldwide. The circular economy offers various tools for raising awareness for the recovery of waste, one of the best alternatives to mitigate the excessive consumption of raw materials and reduce waste. The loss and waste of food as a raw material offers bioactive compounds, enzymes, and nutrients that add value to the food cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. This paper systematically reviewed literature with different food loss and waste by-products as animal feed, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products that strongly contribute to the paradigm shift to a circular economy. Additionally, this review compiles studies related to the integral recovery of by-products from the processing of fruits, vegetables, tubers, cereals, and legumes from the food industry, with the potential in SARS-CoV-2 disease and bacterial diseases treatment.

COVID-19 mask waste to energy via thermochemical pathway: Effect of Co-Feeding food waste.

In this study, co-pyrolysis of single-use face mask (for the protection against COVID-19) and food waste was investigated for the purpose of energy and resource valorization of the waste materials. To this end, disposable face mask (a piece of personal protective equipment) was pyrolyzed to produce fuel-range chemicals. The pyrolytic gas evolved from the pyrolysis of the single-use face mask consisted primarily of non-condensable permanent hydrocarbons such as CH4, C2H4, C2H6, C3H6, and C3H8. An increase in pyrolysis temperature enhanced the non-condensable hydrocarbon yields. The pyrolytic gas had a HHV of >40 MJ kg-1. In addition, hydrocarbons with wider carbon number ranges (e.g., gasoline-, jet fuel-, diesel-, and motor oil-range hydrocarbons) were produced in the pyrolysis of the disposable face mask. The yields of the gasoline-, jet fuel-, and diesel-range hydrocarbons obtained from the single-use mask were highest at 973 K. The pyrolysis of the single-use face mask yielded 14.7 wt% gasoline-, 18.4 wt% jet fuel-, 34.1 wt% diesel-, and 18.1 wt% motor oil-range hydrocarbons. No solid char was produced via the pyrolysis of the disposable face mask. The addition of food waste to the pyrolysis feedstock led to the formation of char, but the presence of the single-use face mask did not affect the properties and energy content of the char. More H2 and less hydrocarbons were produced by co-feeding food waste in the pyrolysis of the disposable face mask. The results of this study can contribute to thermochemical management and utilization of everyday waste as a source of energy.