Advanced waste treatment technologies in the world
According to a report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank, Vietnam wastes nearly $3 billion a year by failing to recycle all its plastic waste. Organic waste also contributes to significant financial losses, with over $30 billion wasted when nearly 70% is not recycled [1]. This massive amount of garbage causes serious environmental and ecosystem pollution, intensifies the greenhouse effect, and leads to severe climate change. Moreover, it negatively impacts human health and quality of life, reduces work capacity, and increases production costs. Therefore, advanced waste treatment technologies were born to contribute to protecting the living environment and turning waste into money. Join RX Tradex to find out the benefits of these top 5 technologies in the article below.
Why was waste treatment technology born?
Environmental pollution caused by waste is a critical global issue, resulting in far-reaching consequences that profoundly affect all aspects of life and human health. Countries worldwide are facing this challenge and seeking multiple options to address it effectively.
In this context, some countries have created breakthrough technologies or optimal solutions, not only treating waste well but also turning waste into raw materials for reproduction. For instance, Belgium manages to landfill only 25% of its waste, while Sweden impressively has only 1% going to landfills [2]. Sweden’s waste management is so advanced that it even imports garbage for recycling into gas energy. Waste treatment technologies were born to support the treatment and recycling of waste from production and daily activities in an efficient, thorough, resource-saving way and reduce the risk of environmental pollution.
The benefits of advanced waste treatment technology.
Waste treatment technologies bring many benefits not only to the nation but also to businesses and every citizen on this Earth:
· Environmental benefits: Advanced waste treatment technologies thoroughly treat each type of garbage by employing specific methods for recycling and sorting. The finished product and the energy generated are reused for other purposes, while by-products are also treated to reduce toxins. These processes help reduce environmental pollution to the maximum.
· Social benefits: When most garbage is treated by technology, the amount of waste buried is greatly reduced, which means limiting the discharge of a huge amount of garbage into the environment that pollutes the air and water sources, directly affecting people’s health and life.
· Economic benefits: Recycling and utilizing recyclables as raw materials for other processes become a significant economic advantage. Many countries around the world have thoroughly used the amount of waste after the treatment and recycling process to make raw materials for production. This is towards creating a circular green economy, where the waste is treated and put back into production.
Top 5 advanced waste treatment technologies in the world.
Currently, many progressive solutions have been born globally to cope with waste and environmental pollution. Each technology will affect one or more different types of waste such as: Wastewater, organic waste, food, domestic solid waste, recyclable waste, industrial waste,… At the same time, each method will have its own mechanism of action and advantages to solve each group of waste: Mechanical, chemical, thermological, gasifying, physical, physicochemical treatment,…
In the framework of this article, RX Tradex would like to introduce the top 5 typical waste treatment technologies in the world today:
Biotechnology recycles Austrian PET plastic.
Many countries have a headache with the problem of plastic waste, a type of garbage that is difficult to decompose, occupying a lot of area, destroying the natural environment, not to mention the decaying plastic particles, thereby greatly damaging human health. However, in Austria, a small country has done a great thing in dealing with this type of plastic waste.
We can simply understand PET as a thermoplastic, commonly recycled through burning or crushing, so the product created from them is often of very poor quality. An Austrian company used the enzyme of a fungus to recycle PET plastic. Under the action of this enzyme, plastic will be broken down into small molecules and then transformed into high-quality plastic. The outstanding advantages of this bioplastic recycling method are as follows:
· Helping to reduce the amount of plastic waste discharged into the environment, costing money and effort to treat, greatly contributing to creating a circular green economy.
· Bringing great economic value with higher quality recycled products, not to mention creating a business that benefits the country.
· Enzymes are non-toxic, easily decompose and produce large quantities. Therefore, this is considered a breakthrough in plastic recycling.
Swedish waste incineration technology generates electricity and heat.
It can be said that Sweden is a leading and exemplary country in waste treatment. With 47% of its waste recycled, 52% of its waste incinerated for electricity and heat, Sweden only landfills 1% of its waste and 50% of the country’s electricity uses comes from this renewable process [2], which are the lowest figures in the world and truly impressive.
Although garbage power technology is applied in many countries, Sweden has established the most efficient waste incineration network. This incineration system is implemented for each household, providing heating during winter. Incineration methods of electricity and heat generation have brought benefits to this country and the environment such as:
· Making the most of garbage resources, in addition to reducing environmental pollution, saving costs for waste management, Sweden is also paid to treat waste for other countries.
· Turn garbage into resources and energy to serve the electricity and heating needs of people across the country. It is one of the rare countries that imports garbage for these needs.
· Help Sweden become the greenest and most livable country in the world.
Japanese CFB circulating fluidized bed boiler technology.
Although not a leading country in waste recycling like European and European countries, Japan is a leading country in the sense of thorough waste classification and treatment. CFB technology effectively treats waste by burying garbage within a layer of sand, then using airflow during furnace heating and some other chemicals to dispose of garbage. Some countries have imported this technology from Japan, such as Thailand, China and Singapore. The benefits of CFB technology are as follows:
· The emission is low, so there is no need for a by-product treatment system, such as: Reducing the amount of SOx gas inside the furnace by introducing limestone, while NOx emissions are less generated thanks to the low furnace temperature (about 800 degrees Celsius) and the phased combustion process.
· Ideal combustion conditions throughout the entire infrastructure of the furnace system are due to the contact between high-speed gas and circulating solids, creating a strong flow in the furnace, resulting in high heat transfer and mass transfer rates.
· CFBs can burn even the most difficult materials to process at fast speeds thanks to their long stays, which are achieved by circulating solids in cyclone convection currents.
· CFB technology is cheaper than many other ways, not to mention the heat that can be used to produce electricity.
Thermolis HTFB thermal oxidation technology of Veolia USA.
Veolia offers thermal oxidation technologies to eliminate odors and reduce sludge to a much less amount of inert ash than its original weight (as low as 7%). [3] Fluidized bed liquid burning is gaining widespread acceptance for sustainable sludge treatment, which reduces air pollution, saves resources, and protects the environment amid land becoming scarce and these waste management regulations becoming more stringent. Thermolis HTFB is a proven, safe, and environmentally friendly thermal oxidation process, thanks to the following benefits:
· Using a bent dome and an airbox lined with refractory materials allows maximum heat recovery and spontaneous combustion.
· Minimal sand loss with a teardrop reactor reduces the gas rate, separates sand and optimizes combustion.
· The high efficiency of the sludge introduced into the troposphere enhances combustion and reduces pollutant emissions.
· Short warm-up times and low fuel usage thanks to the heating burner installed in the airbox, allowing for a cost-effective cold start.
· Power generation, heat recovery through waste heat boilers or hot oil economizers to generate electricity using steam turbines or the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). Here ORC is a model used to predict the performance of steam turbine systems as well as study the performance of steam engines.
AOP wastewater treatment technology.
AOP wastewater treatment technology is a method of thoroughly treating persistent organic pollutants in industrial and domestic wastewater. This technology uses advanced oxidation by creating a strong secondary oxidant – the hydroxyl radical (OH), which treats organic matter until these pollutants are completely mineralized into carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O) and other inorganic acids,… The advantages of this method of wastewater treatment are as follows:
· Hydroxide radicals are highly reactive, at least 1 million times faster than ozone (O3) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), resulting in a smaller contact and retention time.
· Hydroxyl radicals can selectively decay even the most stubborn organic matter, which will be fragmented and converted quickly and efficiently into small inorganic molecules.
· This method is often used to treat wastewater and biologically hazardous or persistent materials such as PCBs, nitrophenols, dioxins and furans, pesticides, dyes, aromatics, surfactants, petroleum components,…
Summary
Through the content shared above, RX Tradex hopes to provide useful information related to advanced waste treatment technologies in the world. The application of advanced technologies will make waste treatment more efficient and sustainable. This, in turn, not only helps protect human health and the living environment but also reduces the burden of waste backlog, saving time and money on waste disposal, and enhancing business reputation. Moreover, it enables the transformation of garbage into valuable resources and goods. Additionally, many modern technologies, machinery, and equipment supporting industrial production will be showcased at Vietnam Manufacturing Expo, METALEX Vietnam, NEPCON Vietnam and Waste and Recycling Vietnam in 2023.
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[1] Vietnam is wasting US$3 billion by not recycling garbage.
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