Exploring Ways of Making Self-sustenance in Wastewater Treatment Plants

The increase in population and urbanization have resulted in an increase in the number of wastewater treatment plants in South Africa. Although wastewater treatment plants serve a great purpose in the reduction of environmentally threatening contaminants from wastewater, the increase in energy consumption by these plants raises concerns about climate change. Thus, there has been a rise in literature attempting to map the energy consumption of wastewater treatment plants to help decision-making in the search for alternative energy sources to promote self-sufficient wastewater treatment plants. There has been a proposition of capturing energy from sewers to mitigate the greenhouse gas emanating from energy consumption by wastewater treatment plants

Progress in Green Solvents for the Stabilisation of Nanomaterials: Imidazolium Based Ionic Liquids

For over a decade, ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted enormous attention from scientists across the globe. The history of these compounds traces back to 1914 where the inception of the first IL with a melting point of 12°C was made. Years later, a progression of the remarkable related compounds have been discovered. Out of many analogous compounds realized from time to time, the imidazolium class of ionic liquid is the most studied because of their air and moisture stability. The physicochemical properties of ILs differ significantly depending on the anionic/cationic species and alkyl chain length. ILs have found application in many scientific fields the most recent being good solvents and stabilizing agents in the nanomaterial synthesis. Studies have showed that ILs not only stabilize as synthesized nanomaterials but also provide environmentally green routes towards nanomaterials engineering

Making Global Green Connections: The Importance of Green Chemistry Summer School for Sustainable Development

This GCPSS was held both in Venice and online, celebrating the end of uncertainty surrounding COVID-19-related travel restrictions. 161 postgraduate students attended (50 in-person and 111 online) from 45 different countries. Scientific lectures and other presentations from sponsors and invited speakers delivered engaging talks and motivated participants to do their part in promoting a sustainable future. Postgraduate students exchanged their knowledge through high-quality posters, which revealed their commitment to designing innovative green solutions. Students from diverse backgrounds were able to learn from each other and returned to their home countries inspired to advocate for the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It was a great opportunity to network with people from a variety of cultures and speak the common language of science. The 14th GCPSS successfully brought together like-minded scientists from around the world who all share the same goal of promoting the field of green chemistry. Hence, we believe that the GCPSS successfully achieved another goal set for the 14th edition. Therefore, the GCPSS must continue in the years to come to tirelessly train young green chemists. So that the world will one day have more science leaders and science advocates with green chemistry minds for building a sustainable society. Wholeheartedly, we were a few young green chemists who got lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend the 14th GCPSS. However, there are thousands, if not millions, of young chemists from around the globe, who still wait to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Therefore, we hope that more sponsors will join Green Sciences for Sustainable Development Foundation (GSSDF), IUPAC Interdivisional Committee on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development (ICGCSD), IUPAC, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), PhosAgro, Zhejiang NHU Co., Ltd., BRACCO Group, SASOL, and GreeNovator in the future to support the attendance of more young green chemists, particularly from the Global South, to join the next editions of the GCPSS

An Overview of Biogas Production from Anaerobic Digestion and the Possibility of Using Sugarcane Wastewater and Municipal Solid Waste in a South African Context

Bioenergy production from waste is one of the emerging and viable routes from renewable resources (in addition to wind and solar energy). Many developing countries can benefit from this as they are trying to solve the large amounts of unattended garbage in landfills. This waste comes in either liquid (wastewater and oil) or solid (food and agricultural residues) form. Waste has negative impacts on the environment and, consequently, any form of life that exists therein. One way of solving this waste issue is through its usage as a resource for producing valuable products, such as biofuels, thus, creating a circular economy, which is in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5, 7, 8, 9, and 13. Biofuel in the form of biogas can be produced from feedstocks, such as industrial wastewater and municipal effluent, as well as organic solid waste in a process called anaerobic digestion. The feedstock can be used as an individual substrate for anaerobic digestion or co-digested with two other substrates. Research advancements have shown that the anaerobic digestion of two or more substrates produces higher biogas yields as compared to their single substrates’ counterparts. The objective of this review was to look at the anaerobic digestion process and to provide information on the potential of biogas production through the co-digestion of sugarcane processing wastewater and municipal solid waste. The study deduced that sugar wastewater and municipal solid waste can be considered good substrates for biogas production in SA due to their enormous availability and the potential to turn their negative impacts into value addition. Biogas production is a feasible alternative, among others, to boost the country from the current energy issues

Resource Reclamation for Biogas and Other Energy Resources from Household and Agricultural Wastes

The chapter’s goal is to highlight how the reclamation of household and agricultural wastes can be used to generate biogas, biochar, and other energy resources. Leftover food, tainted food and vegetables, kitchen greywater, worn-out clothes, textiles and paper are all targets for household waste in this area. Agricultural waste includes both annual and perennial crops. Annual crops are those that complete their life cycle in a year or less and are comparable to bi-annual crops, although bi-annuals can live for up to two years before dying. The majority of vegetable crops are annuals, which can be harvested within two to three months of seeding. Perennials crops are known to last two or more seasons. Wastes from these sources are revalued in various shapes and forms, with the Green Engineering template being used to infuse cost-effectiveness into the process to entice investors. The economic impact of resource reclamation is used to determine the process’s feasibility, while the life cycle analysis looks at the process’s long-term viability. This is in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose roadmap was created to manage access to and transition to clean renewable energy by 2030, with a target of net zero emissions by 2050

Biochar: Production, Application and the Future

Biochar, or carbon obtained from biomass, is a particularly rich source of carbon created by thermal burning of biomass. There is a rise of interest in using biochar made from waste biomass in a variety of disciplines to address the most pressing environmental challenges. This chapter will provide an overview on the methods employed for the production of biochar. Biochar has been considered by a number of analysts as a means of improving their ability to remediate pollutants. Process factors with regards to biochar properties are mostly responsible for determining biomass production which is discussed in this present chapter. Several characterization techniques which have been employed in previous studies have received increasing recognition. These includes the use of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the Scanning electron microscope which duly presented in this chapter. This chapter also discusses the knowledge gaps and future perspectives in adopting biochar to remediate harmful contaminants, which can inform governmental bodies and law-makers to make informed decisions on adopting this residue