Day 3 :
Keynote Forum
Ann T W Yu
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Keynote: Onsite generation of electricity from discharged urine in high-rise residential buildings
Biography:
Ann T W Yu has completed her PhD from the Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2007. She was appointed as an Assistant Professor in Value Management and Construction Management by the Department of Building and Real Estate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2007 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2014. She was the Honorary Secretary of HKIVM for seven years. She has a strong track record and has published extensively on the broad theme of project management in leading construction management journals and international conference proceedings.
Abstract:
This research study explores the potential for producing electricity from discharged urine in the daily operation of high-rise residential buildings. The majority of the population in metropolitan cities lives in high-rise residential buildings. High-rise buildings consume large amounts of energy in daily operation and release considerable amounts of waste including human urine into the environment. Untreated urine contains polluting organic compounds and requires energy-consuming treatment prior to discharge into waterways. Hydrogen, which is a clean source of energy, is considered by scientists as a promising fuel for future. Hydrogen and urea are produced in electrolysis of urine. The generated hydrogen gas can be utilized to generate electricity for building operations. Ohio University in the USA has developed Ammonia GreenBox®, which can extract hydrogen gas directly from urine by electrochemical oxidation using an economical catalyst. Electricity is produced from the electrolysis of hydrogen gas in a hydrogen fuel cell. The simple and convenient hydrogen extraction process is suitable to be applied in high-rise developments. Production of electricity from urine can reduce power supply from the grid system and subsequently reduce building management cost.
Keynote Forum
Daniel Ikhu-Omoregbe
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa
Keynote: Energy materials from City of Cape Town municipal solid wastes – an overview and assessment
Biography:
Daniel Ikhu-Omoregbe holds a First Class Honours degree in Chemical Engineering of the University of Benin, Nigeria 1979; an MSc in Biochemical Engineering (1982) and a PhD in Chemical Engineering (1985) both of the University of Birmingham, UK. He is currently working as Professor and Head of Department of Chemical Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He is a Corporate member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, UK and a Chartered Chemical Engineer. His research interests include renewable energy, food processing, environmental engineering, waste to energy and has authored more than 60 academic papers.
Abstract:
The City of Cape Town’s Integrated Waste Management Plan (IWMP, 2006) for 2012 – 2013 financial year aims at achieving a 20% reduction in waste generated and 10% reduction in waste to landfill. As part of achieving these waste reduction aims such as through waste generation preventive measures, waste recycling and alternative waste disposal options, thermal waste conversion can play an integral role in achieving these targets. A recently concluded Municipal Systems Act section 78(3) process assessment on waste management system by the Solid Waste Department has also explicitly targeted waste to energy as an option for alternative waste disposal technology, especially for dry dirty or non-recyclable and organic waste material. In this paper an overview of solid waste management practices will be discussed as well as the characteristics of municipal solid wastes from the city. An analysis of the RDF obtained from the MSW and fish wastes will be discussed as well as briquettes from corn stovers. Another energy material that can be obtained from MSW is hydrogen which can be used in PEM fuel cells. Sewage treatment to obtain biogas and bio-solids will also be discussed. The quality of municipal solid wastes (MSW) needs an improved analysis to enhance the choice for energy exploitation and environmental assessment of fly and bottom ashes associated with the thermochemical conversion. The paper will conclude by analysing the production of electricity from one of the city’s landfill sites.
- Chemical Waste Recycling | Plastic Recycling | Nano Environmental Technologie | Bioremediation | Entrepreneurs Investment Meet
Session Introduction
Akihiro Yamasaki
Seikei University, Japan
Title: PAdeCS®, a new type of material derived from concrete sludge and its applications to pollution prevention processes
Biography:
Akihiro Yamasaki is Professor at the Department of Materials and Life Sciences of Seikei University, Tokyo, Japan. He has his education in Chemical Engineering at the University of Tokyo, and awarded PhD in Chemical Engineering for his work on membrane separation. After that, he joined the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) until he moved to Seikei University. In the meantime, he joined Institute for Environmental Chemistry at the National Research Council, Canada as a Guest Researcher and the Department of Chemical System Engineering at University of Tokyo as a Guest Professor. His research field covers wide range of environmental issues including recycling, CO2 mitigation, water treatment, and air pollution.
Abstract:
A new type of material, PAdeCS®, derived from concrete sludge has been developed, and its removal performances for heavy metals, and toxic anions such as arsenate, boron were examined. Concrete sludge is waste of fresh concrete, which is rich in calcium and strong alkaline. Concrete sludge is generated when unused concrete is returned from construction sites or excess concrete in the concrete-using industries. In Japan, the annual emission rate of concrete sludge is as large as several millions metric tons, and it requires an acid treatment to neutralize the alkaline components before disposal. We have developed a method for manipulating concrete sludge to prepare a solid material through partial removal of calcium contents to avoid hardening of concrete. After solid-liquid separation, the solid residue was obtained, which is still rich in calcium and alkaline. PAdeCS®, so prepared have versatile usage including heavy metal removal and toxic anion removal from waste water. In addition, calcium and alkaline in PAdeCS® would form hydroxyapatite (HAP) when mixed with dissolved phosphorus ions. Thus, PAdeCS® can be used for phosphorous recovery process from sewage stream. We first tested the removal performance of boron and fluorine in water. Since PAdeCS® is derived from hydrated cement, it would contain a certain amount of ettringite, a crystalline material with the chemical formula, Ca6Al2 (SO4)3(OH)12·26H2O`, of which sulfate ions have anion exchange capacity with ambient anions. The experimental results showed that boron as well as fluorine in water can be removed efficiently. In addition, removal of heavy metals and arsenate in water was examined, and showed excellent removal performances. Thus PAdeCS® is a versatile solid material for environmental-related applications.