Open AWE Magazine menu
Subscribe Login

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / Wealth from Waste

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Air Quality
  • Chromatography
  • Construction
  • Climate Change
  • Emissions
  • Environmental & Monitoring Technology
  • Gas Detection
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Humidity & Temperature
  • Laboratory Testing
  • Land Remediation
  • Marine Pollution
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Regulations & Legislations
  • Sludge and Biosolids
  • Soil Analysis
  • Spectroscopy
  • Weather Monitoring
  • Water Analysis
  • Water Monitoring

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Magazines
  • Webinar Sign Up

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
HSI White logo
Open AWE Magazine menu
Subscribe

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / Wealth from Waste

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Air Quality
  • Chromatography
  • Construction
  • Climate Change
  • Emissions
  • Environmental & Monitoring Technology
  • Gas Detection
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Humidity & Temperature
  • Laboratory Testing
  • Land Remediation
  • Marine Pollution
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Regulations & Legislations
  • Sludge and Biosolids
  • Soil Analysis
  • Spectroscopy
  • Weather Monitoring
  • Water Analysis
  • Water Monitoring

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Magazines
  • Webinar Sign Up

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

CATEGORIES

  • Heat and Flame
  • Press Release|Gas Detection
  • Article
  • Press Release
  • Air Quality
  • Chromatography
  • Construction
  • Climate Change
  • Emissions
  • Environmental & Monitoring Technology
  • Gas Detection
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Humidity & Temperature
  • Laboratory Testing
  • Land Remediation
  • Marine Pollution
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Regulations & Legislations
  • Sludge and Biosolids
  • Soil Analysis
  • Spectroscopy
  • Weather Monitoring
  • Water Analysis
  • Water Monitoring
  • Wellbeing at work

Press Release

Wealth from Waste

By Maria Sotenko

| Read Bio

Published: May 14th, 2019

Share this article

Solving environmental problems usually just means cleaning up the mess people have made. But scientists are increasingly interested in creating something valuable from pollution. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, as they say, and researchers have now demonstrated several ways that useful products can be obtained from waste in industry and agriculture while also remediating contaminated soil, water and air.

Air pollution

One environmental problem scientists are urgently trying to solve is the problem of carbon dioxide emissions which cause climate change. Researchers are developing processes which can capture carbon dioxide and convert it into useful chemicals like methanol – which can be used for fuel cells – or urea, which is used as a solvent in the chemical industry, in nitrogen fertiliser and in lactic acid, which can be used as a food preservative.

Carbon dioxide can also be captured and used to help grow algae, which are then harvested for biofuel.

Water pollution

Wastewater – what we all flush away from our homes, offices and elsewhere – contains toxins and organic pollutants that treatment facilities remove before they can reach natural water systems like rivers and the ocean. However, researchers are trying to recover and turn this organic matter into something useful. Phosphorus and nitrogen are essential soil nutrients that are found in wastewater which could be returned to farm fields as fertilisers.

Researchers have also taught microorganisms to break down toxic organic contaminants which are found in wastewater and generate electricity from them. As well as cleaning the water, microbial fuel cells would turn wastewater treatment facilities into giant batteries for green energy as electrochemically active bacteria degrade organic substances and release electrons to generate an electric current.

Soil pollution

Soil contamination with heavy metals is particularly tricky to solve. Usually, the only solution is to dig out the contaminated soil and dispose of it at a landfill site. Even then, contaminants can leach out of the soil and into underground water reservoirs, potentially ending up in plants and food crops, which soak up the water during growth. An alternative method involves a combination of phytoremediation and biorefinery.

Biorefinery means processing biomass – such as food waste and the plant remains from agriculture – to produce valuable commodities. Phytoremediation cleans up environmental pollution using plants to extract metals from the contaminated soil in the same way a white rose would absorb red food colouring from dyed water and grow red petals.

Chinese brake fern (Pteris vittata) can accumulate arsenic as it grows and could be used to clean up areas contaminated with arsenic, such as land surrounding former mines in Cornwall and Devon. Phytoremediation can help recover rare earth elements and precious metals from the world’s most polluted places like Guiyu town in China, which became heavily contaminated from electrical waste disposal.

By harvesting the plants with metal deposits stored in their cells, the toxic metals can be removed from the environment. The plant biomass can then be processed to recover metals for use in producing energy, fuel or industrial chemicals, making the whole process pay for itself.

Environmental engineers are using their imagination to clean up the environment and generate wealth from waste at the same time. As our environmental woes intensify, we’ll need even more creative thinking.

The Conversation is an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community and delivered direct to the public.

Share this article

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maria Sotenko

Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University.

POPULAR POSTS BY Maria Sotenko

Press Release

Wealth from Waste

Get email updates

Sign up for the AWE newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email and receive the latest environmental monitoring product information and newsletter emails from AWE - Monitoring and Analysing the Impact of Industry on the Environment

"*" indicates required fields

Country
*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Press Release

Blackline Safety and NevadaNano Reach Milestone in Deployment of Industry-First Sensors

Press Release

The Benefits of Using Refurbished Parts in Your Lab

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

AWE on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AWEIMagazine/

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

AWE on Twitter

Avatar AWE International Magazine @aweimagazine ·
4h

Alphasense has increased its production capacity, automated elements of calibration and upgraded software for its OPC products to meet rising industry demand.

Find out more today:
https://www.aweimagazine.com/press-release/increased-demand-for-air-quality-improvements-leads-to-investment-in-alphasense-opc-production/

#aweinternational #alphasense #particlecounter #OPC

Reply on Twitter 1641389929895788547 Retweet on Twitter 1641389929895788547 Like on Twitter 1641389929895788547 Twitter 1641389929895788547

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE

Stay up to date with our newsletter

    • Keep up-to-date with Europe’s largest audited environmental monitoring magazine

 

    • Delivering the latest information on new products and emerging technologies related to industrial environmental monitoring.

 

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Subscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO AWE MAGAZINE

5 reasons to subscribe to our digital and print package

  • Stay up to date from anywhere in the world, with instant access to the latest issue straight from your phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Trust that you’re getting the best content from our range of internationally accredited authors.
  • Get full access to our archives and see how the environmental monitoring landscape has evolved with us over the years.
  • Enjoy our monthly newsletter curated with up-to-the-minute news and a selection of editor’s top picks.
  • Hot off the press and straight to your door – look forward to your own glossy copy of AWE, delivered five times a year
Subscribe View Subscription levels

STAY SAFE & INFORMED

Subscribe to the latest environmental monitoring articles, news, products and regulations

Find out more

Stay up to date with our newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ABOUT

  • About AWE
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

YOUR ACCOUNT

Sign In Register Account Subscribe to AWE

RESOURCES

Request Media Pack

CONNECT

ACCREDITATIONS

Copyright Bay Publishing 2023. All Rights reserved.

Designed & Built by:
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT