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Assessment and Analysis of Waste Treatment and Environmental Management, Volume II

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B: Energy and Environment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2023) | Viewed by 10921

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Management and Protection, Faculty of Geo-Data Science, Geodesy and Environmental Engineering, AGH University of Krakow, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Interests: environmental engineering; energy from waste; open burning; formation of air pollutants in combustion, incineration, and industrial processes; flue gas treatment; air emission measurements; air emission inventory and management; air quality impact assessment; source appointment; air quality management and protection; air pollution monitoring and assessment; atmospheric dispersion modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Management and Protection, Faculty of Mining Surveying and Environmental Engineering, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Interests: waste management; life cycle assessment; circular economy; life cycle assessment of waste management systems; life cycle assessment of waste treatment technologies; open fires of waste; environmental management; urban mining; biofuels from waste
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to its potentially large impact on the environment, the waste management sector is an important element of the environmental management system. Properly selected and conducted waste treatment processes should bring economic benefits at reasonable ecological costs and should be socially acceptable. Depending on the waste treatment technologies, various methods can be used for their evaluation, including e.g. material flow analysis, life cycle assessment, energetic and exergetic assessment, as well as methods used directly in the environmental impact assessment. There may exist also certain market conditions that make recycling or recovery of some waste unprofitable. That can lead to waste of materials and energy or create serious environmental problems as well as it can cause failure of some components of the waste management system. As an example is excessive and improper storage of troublesome waste leading to self-ignition, or even arson, open burning, burning in domestic furnaces or waste disposal in illegal landfills.

This special issue is devoted to the assessment and analysis of various waste treatment methods and entire waste management systems with a particular focus on the environmental impacts.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Waste management system and environmental management;
  • Optimization of operation of waste treatment facilities;
  • Control method for waste treatment installation;
  • Assessment of cumulative energy demand in waste processing;
  • Waste recycling and recovery technologies;
  • Raw materials processing;
  • Waste-to-energy treatment technologies;
  • Production and use of waste-derived fuels;
  • Waste co-processing technologies and their benefits;
  • Self-ignition of landfills, fires or open burning of waste;
  • Pollutant emission factors and environmental risk assessment;
  • Environmental impact or life cycle assessment for waste treatment processes and systems;
  • Environmental pollution caused by waste management facilities;
  • Environmental pollution caused by improper waste management.

Dr. Robert Oleniacz
Dr. Katarzyna Grzesik
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • waste treatment
  • waste processing
  • waste recovery
  • recycling
  • waste disposal
  • waste incineration
  • waste-to-energy plants
  • MBT plants
  • waste co-processing
  • raw materials
  • waste-derived fuels
  • cumulative energy demand
  • landfills
  • waste self-ignition
  • waste fires
  • open burning
  • environmental management
  • life cycle assessment
  • environmental risk assessment
  • environmental impact assessment
  • environmental pollution
  • pollutant emission factors

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1236 KiB  
Article
The Energy Potential of Waste from Banana Production: A Case Study of the Mediterranean Region
by Atilgan Atilgan, Anna Krakowiak-Bal, Hasan Ertop, Burak Saltuk and Mateusz Malinowski
Energies 2023, 16(14), 5244; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16145244 - 8 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5084
Abstract
Recently, with the development of technology, the number of studies on the need for energy and the possibilities of covering this need in a sustainable way has been increasing. The management of agricultural biomass and waste is cited as one of the challenges [...] Read more.
Recently, with the development of technology, the number of studies on the need for energy and the possibilities of covering this need in a sustainable way has been increasing. The management of agricultural biomass and waste is cited as one of the challenges as well as a solution. Mersin and Antalya sites, where banana production is intensively practiced in Turkey, were selected as the study region. The potential amounts of energy values obtained from the waste generated during banana cultivation in the field area of study were calculated. The energy potential was calculated on the basis of the conversion of biogas that can be obtained from the waste. The values obtained were analyzed and compared with the levels of electricity used to determine the economic gains that can be achieved for Mersin and Antalya regions. The data on bananas used in study were obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute (for the years 2016–2020). It is calculated that 2884.43 MWh of electricity can be generated in Mersin and 2218.26 MWh in Antalya per 5 years from the waste generated during banana production. The values of the number of houses whose needs can be met with the calculated five-year potential electricity amount are 1237 in Mersin and 952 in Antalya. It can be considered that reusing the potential energy that can be obtained from banana waste, examined as material for energy, used in agricultural production will result in a positive impetus to agricultural activities. Energy obtained from banana waste can cover a very small amount of the electrical energy needs of agricultural production, ranging from 0.19% to 0.34%. However, it is concluded that the potential amount of energy to be obtained by recycling not only banana waste but also other agricultural and food waste will be even higher. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 970 KiB  
Review
Bioflocculants as Alternative to Synthetic Polymers to Enhance Wastewater Sludge Dewaterability: A Review
by Wissem Mnif and Faouzi Ben Rebah
Energies 2023, 16(8), 3392; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16083392 - 12 Apr 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2751
Abstract
The dewatering process reduces the water quantity in sludge, allowing the decrease in its volume, which facilitates its storage, transport, stabilization, and improves the post-treatment efficiency. Chemical polymers including aluminum sulphate and polyaluminum chloride were applied as flocculants in the conditioning process in [...] Read more.
The dewatering process reduces the water quantity in sludge, allowing the decrease in its volume, which facilitates its storage, transport, stabilization, and improves the post-treatment efficiency. Chemical polymers including aluminum sulphate and polyaluminum chloride were applied as flocculants in the conditioning process in order to prepare sludge for dewatering. However, these synthetic polymers may cause risks for human health, and should be substituted with ecofriendly and safe materials. These materials include plant-based flocculants, animal-based flocculants, and microbial-based flocculants. Sludge dewaterability was evaluated by considering many parameters, such as moisture content (MC), dry solids (DS), specific resistance to filtration (SRF), capillary suction time (CST), and sludge volume index (SVI). The use of microorganisms for sludge dewatering is an available option, since many strains (R. erythropolis, A. ferrooxidans, P. mirabilis, T. flavus, etc.) demonstrated their ability to produce polymers useful for dewatering sludge from various origins (chemically treated primary sludge, activated sludge, anaerobically digested sludge, etc.). For plant-based flocculants, only okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), cactus (Opuntia ficus Indica), moringa (M. oleifera), and aloe (A. vera) plants are examined for sludge dewatering. Compared to synthetic polymers, plant-based flocculants showed a viable alternative to chemicals and a step forward in green sludge treatment technology. Among the animal-based flocculants, chitosan and aminated chitosan were able to reduce the SRF (SRF reduction rate > 80%) of the anaerobically digested sludge. A new strategy using methylated hemoglobin also showed a significant enhancement in cake solid content of sludge (47%) and a decrease in sludge bound water content of 17.30%. Generally, extensive investigations are needed to explore and optimize all the related parameters (operating conditions, preparation procedure, production cost, etc.) and to choose the appropriate materials for large-scale application. Full article
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21 pages, 3384 KiB  
Review
Chemical and Microbiological Techniques for Recovery and/or Removal of Elements from Incinerated Sewage Sludge Ash—A Review of Basic Methods
by Monika Kasina and Kinga Jarosz
Energies 2023, 16(6), 2840; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16062840 - 18 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2412
Abstract
In the face of material shortages, growing environmental awareness, and technical advancement, incinerated waste materials are being considered secondary resources. Especially incinerated sewage sludge ash is of interest due to its massive and increasing production and relatively stable composition with a satisfying concentration [...] Read more.
In the face of material shortages, growing environmental awareness, and technical advancement, incinerated waste materials are being considered secondary resources. Especially incinerated sewage sludge ash is of interest due to its massive and increasing production and relatively stable composition with a satisfying concentration of elements of value. This paper revises the basic methods for recovery of valuable components from incineration sewage sludge and simultaneous removal or stabilization of elements that may negatively influence the environment with further ash usage or storage. The presented work focuses on collating and analysing the efficiency of currently used approaches as well as their limitations and perspectives for future development. Chemical methods analysed include acidic and alkaline leaching, chelating, and sequential leaching. Due to scarce examples from literature, the exploration of a microbiological approach focuses on the mechanisms and potential for application of different microorganisms for element extraction. The methods described are relatively efficient and affordable, yet still need further development. Specifically, microbiological approaches are rarely used for incineration sewage sludge treatment regardless of their potential advantages over other approaches. Constant mineral and chemical composition within one incineration plant can vary among plants due to many factors, so a well-established range of techniques and an individual approach are important. Full article
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