Environmental Final

Industrial waste

Materials considered to be no longer of use after a manufacturing process has been completed. Industrial companies produce this waste

Ex: insulation, paper, plastic, wood, anything used in construction

Agricultural waste

Waste produced on farms by animals with their animal waste, or harvesting crops.

Releases methane into atmosphere

Contaminated water runoff due to heavy rainfall

Hazardous waste

A waste with properties that make it dangerous or capable of having harmful effect on human health or the environment

Can seep into Earth and contaminate water when precipitation mixes with hazardous waste

Pollutants from hazardous waste can be difficult to remove and can release into the air.

Radioactive waste

A type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material.

What can radioactive waste do to the environment?

Could contaminate the soil, water, and biodiversity. Radioactive substances can also enter the food chain of marine habitats via water and marine plants and can accumulate in predatory fish.

Examples of radioactive waste

Contaminated protective equipment, cleaning material, concentrated wastewater

Who produces radioactive waste?

Industries such as mining, nuclear power generator, medicine, defense

Medical waste

Healthcare waste that may be contaminated with blood, bodily fluids, or other potentially infectious material like shots, tissues

Medical waste contamination

If put into landfill, could contaminate the other wastes and infections/bacteria can also be put into the atmosphere, which can be harmful to people.

A company correctly sterilizes and decomposes the waste by putting it into specialized containers, then it’s sent to a landfill.

E-waste management

Any electrical or electronic device that’s unwanted, broken, broken-down, or now useless.

Examples of E-waste

Electronics that contain iron, steel, plastics, non-ferrous materials (copper, aluminum), and precious metals (gold, silver, palladium)

Problems with e-waste

Mines can dig up radioactive waste during mining process to extract materials for the phone. It affects the troposphere through toxic emissions from burning and incineration.

Leaches heavy metals into soil (lithosphere), and polluted hydrosphere (ground water/oceans)

Municipal solid waste

Trash or garbage that consists of everyday items we use then throw away.

Ex: product packaging, clothing, bottles, food scraps.

Can come from home, businesses, schools, etc.

Renewable energy sources

Yay!

Hydrogen

More efficient than fossil fuels and doesn’t cause harmful emissions.

Steam methane reforming method: CO + H2O —> CO2 + H. Only byproduct is H2O

Geothermal

Produced by the natural radioactive decay of elements and the original heat of the planet’s formation

Wave

A renewable form of power generated by capturing kinetic and potential energy of ocean waves.

Generated electricity using wave energy converters. Emits little to no greenhouse gases/ minimal land use.

Tidal

Renewable energy source that converts the kinetic and potential energy of ocean tides (caused by the gravitational pull of moon and sun) into electricity.

Harnesses kinetic/potential energy of tides when they rise and fall

Algae

Renewable alt. to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae for energy-rich soils.

Alt. to commonly known biofuels such as corn and sugar cane.

Hydropower

Hydropower plants make energy by using the force of flowing H2O to spin turbines, which drives generators to produce electricity.

Doesn’t Burn fuel or pollute the air

Solar

Conversions of sun’s heat via black electronic panels into heat and electricity

PVC: a small device designed to absorb sunlight and create energy

Wind

Wind energy is obtained by harnessing the kinetic energy of moving air, which is produced by the uneven heating of the atmosphere, Earth’s rotation and surface irregularities

Biofuels (ethanol)

Alcohol-based biofuel. Can come from corn, fermented sugar, and sugar cane. Renewable, liquid biofuel derived from plant biomass through fermentation.

Produced from crops, lower greenhouse gases emissions.

Expensive to produce and is less energy dense.

Biofuels (biodiesel)

Made from renewable, biodegradable fuel from vegetable oil, animal fats, or recycled grease

What is biofuels (biodiesels) used for?

For conventional diesel engines

Biomass (wood, peat, waste)

Organic material derived from plants and animals. Stores energy produced by photosynthesis which is released as heat when burned directly/converted into liquid and gaseous fuel.

Biomass (anaerobic digesters)

Methane produced through anaerobic digestion, often called biogas is used to generate energy by capturing it and burning it directly, turning it into renewable natural gas, or using it as fuel in engines to create electricity and heat.

Process produces renewable energy and prevents methane from going to atmosphere.

Non renewable energy sources

Yay

Energy basics

Cogeneration: a highly efficient technology that generates electricity and captures waste heat from single fuel source to provide thermal energy

Example: district heating, food processing, hospitality, commercial building

Coal

A sedimentary rock mostly made up of carbon that has formed over millions of years.

Stores solar energy from ancient plants that’s released as heat through combustion

Example: lignite; lowest heating valve, highest moisture content

Bitaminous; high heating valve, black and layered appearance, most commonly used in coal

Petroleum (oil)-conventional drilling

A fossil fuel formed over millions of years from anaerobic decay of organic materials from buried prehistoric organisms.

Example: petroleum-powered vehicle. Can be used for heating. Also found in everyday products.

Petroleum- Tar sands

Tar sands are unconventional petroleum deposits composed of sands, clay, water, and thick bitumen

Surface mining used for shallow deposits by massive trucks and shovels for open pit mining

Deeper mining involves injecting hot steam into the ground to melt the bitumen so that it can be pumped up

What does petroleum-tar sands produce?

Produce synthetic crude oil, which is refined into transportation oil like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel

Greenhouse gases and tar sands

Tar sands emit up to three times more greenhouse gases during production than conventional oil

Landfills

A large site for the disposal of waste material

Surface impoundment

Create a hole at the surface and fill it up. Related to waste management as it holds liquid waste

Deep well injections

Deep holes in the ground that are used to get rid of liquid waste, often from oil and gas drilling

Incineration/combustion

the process of burning hazardous materials at temperatures high enough to destroy contaminants.

It’s a specialized form of combustion used to destroy waste materials, typically reducing volume and generating energy

the process of burning something

Source reduction/reuse/recycling

The elimination of waste before it’s created

Involves the design, manufacture, purchase or use of materials and products to reduce the amount of toxicity of what is thrown away.

Reusing materials instead of throwing it away

Composting

The process of recycling organic materials by having them aerobically biologically decomposed by microorganisms

Allows organic materials to decompose in an environmentally-friendly way and releases significantly less methane than landfilling.

Food production methods

Alhamduillah

Plantation

Farms that use large scale monoculture (single crop) for commercial export, relying on significant capital, specialized knowledge, and intensive labor.

Modern mechanized farming

‘ The integration of advanced machinery, and all fields of agricultural practices through the use of drones, GPS, automated systems, etc

Aquaculture

A farming of aquatic plants and animals in a contained freshwater or saltwater environment

Subsistence farming

Small scale personal farming

Urban gardens

Plants, fruits, and vegetables grown in urban areas

A type of subsistence farming

Vertical gardens

A garden that is grown vertically usually found in urban areas

Concentrated animal farming operation (CAFO)

a type of large, industrial livestock facility where many animals are kept and fed in a confinement rather than grazing on a pasture

rangeland farming

an extensive area of land where we can graze animals.

has native plants such as grasslands, Savannahs, deserts, tundras, wetlands

pesticides

substances used to kill off unwanted organisms

Plant based technology and an example

Using plant ingredients to create meat

Ex: veggie burger

Cell based technology

creates real animal meat using cultivating animal cells

ex: chicken nuggets (superMeat)