Waste to energy conversion for a sustainable future

Air pollution, climate change, and plastic waste are three contemporary global concerns. Air pollutants affect the lungs, green gases trap heat radiation, and plastic waste contaminates the marine food chain. Two-thirds of climate change and air pollution drivers are emitted in the process of burnin...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Heliyon 2021-10, Vol.7 (10), p.e08155-e08155, Article e08155
Main Authors: Kalair, Ali Raza, Seyedmahmoudian, Mehdi, Stojcevski, Alex, Abas, Naeem, Khan, Nasrullah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
air
air pollution
biofuels
carbon dioxide
circular economy
climate change
energy conversion
food chain
Fossil fuels
gasoline
Green gases
greenhouse effect
greenhouse gases
heat
Hydrocarbons
particulates
Pollutants
Review
Smog
smog pollution
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Value added products
wastes
water flow
wind
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Air pollution, climate change, and plastic waste are three contemporary global concerns. Air pollutants affect the lungs, green gases trap heat radiation, and plastic waste contaminates the marine food chain. Two-thirds of climate change and air pollution drivers are emitted in the process of burning fossil fuels. Pollutants settle in months, green gases take centuries, and plastics take thousands of years. The most polluted regions on the planet are also the ones that are greatly affected by climate change. Air pollutants grow in most climate-change affected areas, contributing to the greenhouse effect. Smog affects local and regional transboundary countries. The biggest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters may not be the worst-hit victims because wind and water flow distribute green gases and plastic waste worldwide. The major polluters are often rich and developed countries, and the worst affected countries are the underdeveloped poor communities. Technologically advanced countries may help the developing countries in research into removing particulate matter, green gases, and plastic waste. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Paris Accord have emphasized on immeasurable efforts to encourage the conversion of pollution, green gases, and plastic waste into energy. Conversion of CO2 into petrol, GHG gases into chemicals, biowaste into biofuels, plastic waste into building bricks, and concrete waste into construction materials fosters a circular economy. This work reviews existing waste to power, energy, and value-added product conversion technologies. Smog; pollutants; Green gases; Hydrocarbons; Fossil fuels; Value added products.
ISSN:2405-8440
2405-8440
DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08155