The amount of waste generated every day is a cause of concern for the environment. Europe produces more than 1.8 billion tonnes of waste each year, and the number isn’t going to decrease any time soon. However, with the advent of technology, it is now possible to convert waste into energy, killing two birds with one stone.
Let’s look at some clever ways to turn garbage into ‘gold’.
There are two types of wastes — liquid and solid. It is solid waste that is converted to energy. Solid wastes can include everyday trash like newspapers, broken glass, furniture, appliances, car tyres, and even food waste. For example, newspapers can now be converted into biofuel, which has 85–90% of the energy density of petrol, as compared to ethanol which only has 60–70%. Through the process of gasification, furniture and discarded appliances can be converted into steam known as ‘syngas’ which can be used to make transport fuel or even electricity. Around the world, two billion tyres are produced every year, so they are a major source of landfill waste. The good news is that car tyres can be converted into cleaner fuel. The tyres are first shredded and then are decomposed at a high temperature using some chemicals. The type of biofuel created is dependent on the temperature at which the tyre was decomposed. Food waste can be composted to make biofuel used in cooking, or even manure. If the food waste is burned, it can provide heat which can then be converted to electricity.
Since the technology is still so new, there are very few companies capable of building a project that can pull off such a feat. Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy is one such company. Established in 1971, it is the world’s largest solar EPC solutions provider, with projects ranging from 1 MWp to 1,177 MWp. They have completed 255 solar projects across the world, with a workforce of more than 1300 solar professionals. Their focus is on solving the global issue of renewable sources of energy, so the company has created a new subsidiary that specializes in waste-to-energy projects.
The subsidiary has already won a project worth more than Rs.1,500 crores. The facility will be built in the UK, their first project in the European continent. The facility will be able to process 23.3 tonnes of non-recyclable solid municipal waste per hour and will be responsible for diverting more than 185,600 tonnes of waste each year. With this amount of waste, the facility will be able to generate 19.6 MW of energy. That is enough to power over 30,000 homes, as well as provide heat to the nearby businesses. The company will be operational in the third quarter of 2022.
Originally published at http://realestateandepc.wordpress.com on March 3, 2022.
