Solid waste produced by industry and municipalities can poison our soil, air, and waterways. While current methods to deal with waste are insufficient, research being done at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and elsewhere is attempting to shine a light on how waste can be reused for the good of society.
In a review paper published this week in Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, a team including Michael Timko, William B. Smith Professor and head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, laid out the case for the use of hydrothermal liquefaction as the cornerstone for converting waste into a valuable resource.
Hydrothermal liquefaction is a process that uses heat and pressure to accelerate chemical reactions that occur in geological timescales to form a petroleum-like crude oil. Through this process, food waste, sewage sludge, agricultural waste, and plastic waste all can be converted into crude oil, which can then be transformed into renewable fuels like diesel and jet fuel.
In the review, the authors, who include researchers from universities in the United Kingdom and Iran, connect the science of hydrothermal liquefaction to its real-world application, while pointing out the potential for even greater benefits when waste utilization is combined with low-carbon and renewable sources of energy.
“While the basic science of waste utilization is largely known, the challenge to date has been putting it to use in the world, Timko says. “Hydrothermal liquefaction is a complex process that requires expensive equipment. We hope that, with our paper, we are providing commercial operators with the bridge between molecular insight into reactions, products, and separations to reduce the risks and costs associated with scaling up this technology.”
Timko says this research is especially timely given that landfills in many parts of the world are overflowing with waste, and in some places where landfills do not exist, waste is often dumped in rivers. Improper waste disposal has resulted in enormous “islands” of trash in the oceans. Even waste that is appropriately landfilled degrades over time to form powerful greenhouse gases that impact the climate when they get into the atmosphere.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” says Timko. “Nature has evolved millions of processes to ensure that waste does not occur in biological systems. For example, the waste generated by one process or organism can be the input for another. Arranging the human economy around waste utilization can achieve the same effect.” Timko hopes the review paper brings society one step closer to this greener future.
Topics
People
