The Energy and Resources Insitute The Energy and Resources Insitute

Editors

Banwari Lal $ Priyangshu M Sarma

TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGIESfromfrom wastewasteWWealthealth

fromfrom

waste

waste

TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGIESfromfrom wastewaste

Waste is often described as an unavoidable by-product of growth and development. Increase in consumption will eventually lead to higher generation of waste. This paradox is a practical reality in a country like India, where rapid urbanization and industrialization have led to a proportionate increase in the contaminated wastelands, water systems, and landfi lls. Along with the rapid increase in the municipal and domestic waste, plastic waste, and other industrial effl uents that are choking the urban environment, the quest for nutritional and food security is also generating a considerable amount of biomass-based waste from agro-industrial processes. The natural waste minimization processes cannot cope with the quantum of waste generated, and at times, create additional problems, impacting the environment severely.

These issues, thus, necessitate an urgent need for waste valorization rather than focusing on mitigation through waste disposal. Converting the waste streams of industrial by-products into value chains will not only generate revenue but also bring in new feedstock, which will make the environment greener. Thus, this edition of Wealth from Waste takes a closer look at the different avenues that consider waste as a resource for recycling and valorization rather than contemplating its disposal.

This edition will serve as an important reference for a wide range of stakeholders, from policy-makers to environmentalists, development practitioners, academicians, waste management experts, researchers, and corporate decision-makers.

Editors

Banwari Lal $ Priyangshu M Sarma

B Lal $

P M

Sarm

a

Third Edition

Wealthfrom wasteTRENDS AND TECHNOLOGIES

Third Edition

Chapter 00 Prelims.indd iChapter 00 Prelims.indd i 14/Feb/2011 4:27:45 PM14/Feb/2011 4:27:45 PM

Book 1.indb iiBook 1.indb ii 09/Feb/2011 10:51:11 AM09/Feb/2011 10:51:11 AM

EditorsBanwari Lal and Priyangshu M Sarma

Wealthfrom wasteTRENDS AND TECHNOLOGIES

The Energy and Resources Institute

Third Edition

Chapter 00 Prelims.indd iiiChapter 00 Prelims.indd iii 14/Feb/2011 4:28:16 PM14/Feb/2011 4:28:16 PM

© The Energy and Resources Institute, 2011First edition 1995Second edition 2005Reprint 2008Third edition 2011

ISBN 978-81-7993-424-1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

All export rights for this book vest exclusively with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Unauthorized export is a violation of terms of sale and is subject to legal action.

Published byTERI PressThe Energy and Resources Institute Tel. 2468 2100 or 4150 4900Darbari Seth Block Fax 2468 2144 or 2468 2145IHC Complex, Lodhi Road India +91 • Delhi (0)11New Delhi – 110 003 E-mail teripress@teri.res.inIndia Website www.teriin.org

Printed in India

Chapter 00 Prelims.indd ivChapter 00 Prelims.indd iv 14/Feb/2011 4:28:42 PM14/Feb/2011 4:28:42 PM

Foreword

Economic development and population growth have led to a major increase in production and consumption of goods and services. There has also been a substantial increase in the generation of waste, both in magnitude and variety, emanating from the expanding cycle of production and consumption. This trend has been most pronounced in urban areas, and now that over 50% of the world’s population lives in towns and cities, the quantities and types of waste generated have grown rapidly. Rural areas have not been an exception to this global phenomenon, and with the rise in incomes and consumption levels in villages across the world, waste generation in these locations has also increased substantially. The overall effect has been that both in economic and ecological terms, costs associated with waste generation and management have increased manifold in recent years.

Much is spoken and written about on the need for a new set of three “R”s guiding our actions and thinking. This imperative refers to the need for human society to reduce, reuse, and recycle goods produced and consumed worldwide. As a philosophy, human society need not bring about a radical regression in lifestyles and standards of living, but essentially, every community and individual would now have to ensure that one does not consume purely for the sake of consuming, but in response to needs and aspirations that are bound by a conservation ethic. Also, our pricing systems would have to internalize the cost of externalities imposed by private entities on the global commons and society at large; we would need to ensure that there is a set of incentives and disincentives for producers and consumers to move towards the greater reuse of materials at every stage of the production/consumption cycle. Government policy through carefully designed fi scal measures can create conditions for a major shift to greater reuse and recycling of materials and products. For instance, bio-waste can be converted into feedstock for several products, and through the applications of green chemistry, a new set of chemicals and products could be produced, which are inherently effi cient in the use of natural resources.

In a country like India where waste materials ranging from municipal garbage and agricultural residues are simply burned, this practice not only

Book 1.indb vBook 1.indb v 09/Feb/2011 10:51:11 AM09/Feb/2011 10:51:11 AM

vi Foreword

leads to higher levels of pollution but also results in the wastage of that material, which could be productively employed through technological innovations for producing useful products and services. A new set of technologies would need to be rapidly evolved to provide options by which waste can be converted to useful products, with consequent environmental benefi ts and economic gain. Wealth from Waste is a useful compilation of select technological interventions, which address these objectives, and which are assessed in depth for creating an understanding and application of these methods. The interested reader, therefore, would go through this volume fully understanding the usefulness of waste as a resource and the value of innovation to create wealth from waste. This book would also provide pointers to innovations and research directions, which could be undertaken in the future. The book is of value not only for academics and researchers, but also for leaders of industry, policy-makers, and the public at large.

R K Pachauri, PhDDirector-General, TERI

Book 1.indb viBook 1.indb vi 09/Feb/2011 10:51:11 AM09/Feb/2011 10:51:11 AM

Preface

With rapid urbanization and increasing economic growth, witnessed especially in the developing countries, there is a consistent increase in the generation of waste, subsequently bringing the issues related to its impacts to the fore. The problem of industrial or municipal solid waste, domestic or agro-industrial waste, plastic waste or waste water effl uent is serious in terms of their magnitude and potential impacts on air, water, land, and health of people managing these waste streams. Generation of waste is related directly or indirectly to the growth and development of human society. The distribution and the quantum of waste generated, however, vary from place to place, depending on the population density and consumption pattern of society. In developing countries, rapid urbanization and exponential growth in industries have led to the generation of large quantities of waste. Further, waste generation is always directly proportional to the population density. This makes the issues of generation of waste and methods for its mitigation prime concerns in developing countries.

Depending on its constituents, waste can be at times extremely “dirty”, providing favourable conditions for the proliferation of disease-causing pathogens that are dangerous and hazardous in terms of toxicity, impacting the food chain, the ecosystem, and the entire environment. Thus, there is a need to come up with innovative, integrated solutions to mitigate and minimize the issues associated with waste and waste water. A method of safe disposal of waste can provide an immediate solution. However, it depends on the quantum, composition, and costs. Depending on the waste composition, nature’s biological cycle can play a signifi cant role in converting a type of waste to another benign form. However, these natural efforts are becoming futile owing to the large quantum of waste generated due to rapid growth and development. On the contrary, sometimes, the natural biological phenomena also generate some form of waste that can have a more detrimental impact on the environment. For example, the methanogenic bacteria generates tonnes of methane gas annually, which is almost three times more potent than carbon dioxide, through anaerobic digestion of the waste in landfi lls world over, contributing to global warming.

Book 1.indb viiBook 1.indb vii 09/Feb/2011 10:51:12 AM09/Feb/2011 10:51:12 AM

viii Preface

Thus, the concepts of integrated waste management options and innovation involve adopting alternative strategies, especially valorization of waste, so that the waste is no longer considered a by-product, but a value-added product. This will not only make the generators of the waste to comply with the waste regulations but also encourage them to invest in waste treatment strategies, thus creating a viable value addition chain for revenue generation. In the last two decades, there have been increasing efforts both from scientists and industrialists to safeguard the environment, especially from the adverse impacts of the waste. Today, various methods of treatment of solid and liquid waste have been successfully developed and implemented globally. However, the waste management practice is not suffi cient to make the environment completely free from the detrimental impact of the wastes. But, with continuous improvement in the fi elds of science and technology, scientists have developed new technologies, using which human beings will be able to not only enhance their knowledge on disposing of the hazardous waste but also generate some alternative useful products from the same waste, which can be highly useful to society. Today, biofuels, bioenergy, bio-fertilizer, feedstock for green chemicals, and most importantly, the concept of bio-refi neries have changed the outlook of waste valorization. Generation of profi table revenues from waste is no longer a concept; it is now a reality.

In this context Wealth from Waste: trends and technologies is an effort to put together the various options available to meet the above requirements. Articles included in this book not only aim to promote the concept and technologies, but also highlight the tremendous business potential that well-placed systems of waste management can offer.

Wealth from Waste is a must-read for policy-makers in the developing countries, governments, environmentalists, development practitioners, researchers, waste-management experts, and decision-makers in corporate organizations.

Book 1.indb viiiBook 1.indb viii 09/Feb/2011 10:51:12 AM09/Feb/2011 10:51:12 AM

Acknowledgements

The editors would like to gratefully acknowledge all the contributing authors for timely submission of the manuscripts and also promptly addressing all the queries. A special gratitude to Ms Neena Mata, TERI, for following up with the correspondence and providing logistical support from the beginning till the fi nalization of the draft of this book.

We would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to Dr R K Pachauri, Director-General, TERI, who not only was the source of inspiration for bringing out this edition of Wealth from Waste but also provided his expert guidance throughout the reviewing and editing process. We are also very thankful to him for kindly agreeing to write the foreword for this book.

We acknowledge the effort of the entire editorial and production team of TERI press, which was instrumental in bringing out this edition.

The editors would also take this opportunity to thank the members of the microbial biotechnology group of TERI for their support and cooperation.

Book 1.indb ixBook 1.indb ix 09/Feb/2011 10:51:12 AM09/Feb/2011 10:51:12 AM

Wealth from Waste : Third Edition

Publisher : TERI Press ISBN : 9788179934241 Author : Banwari Lal,Priyangshu M Sarma

Type the URL : http://www.kopykitab.com/product/6112

Get this eBook