waste e8 by mickey mulder george washington high school
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WASTE E8 by Mickey Mulder George Washington High School. Click to continue. "According to the World Wildlife Fund's 2006 Living Planet Report, we are now turning resources into waste 25% faster than the Earth can turn waste back into resources“ – John Green . Methods of Waste Disposal. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
WASTE E8by Mickey MulderGeorge Washington High School
Click to continue
"According to the World Wildlife Fund's 2006 Living Planet Report, we are now turning resources into waste 25% faster than the Earth can turn waste back into resources“ –John Green
Methods of Waste DisposalLandfill SitesIncinerationRecyclingBurial of Radioactive Waste
LANDFILLS!!!!
A Little About LandfillsWaste is increasing rapidly, so sequentially
landfills compactly is decreasing.Landfills take up land where people, animals
and plants could be growingThey are the most common form of waste
disposal
The ProsWaste is out of sight out of mind
People believe once the garbage has left there home or office it doesn’t effect them….. WRONG!!!
Its easyThat’s It, there are many better alternatives
to landfills including recycling and incineration
The ConsUgly, Stinky, Space consuming, Loads of garbageTransportation costs to landfills are high and tend to
be far away from cities. For example Toronto outsourced their garbage all the way to Michigan.
Underground water and soil pollution can permanently scar the surrounding land as well as the organisms living there
Anaerobic decomposition of organic wastes, such as most foods, plants, and some other garbage can releases the green house gas methane (CH4) as well as ammonia (NH3), Hydrogen Sulfide and others
Medical waste and biological contaminatesMedical Waste also tends to be thrown in landfills,
although not much of this waste can be recycled, some materials can be made from recycled goods which ultimately cuts down on garbage, this includes things like pipette tips, as well as biological storage bags or boxes. Found on http://www.ehs.uci.edu/programs/biosafety/medwasteguide.pdf
Other medical waste includesCHEMO wasteSharpsPharmaceuticalChemical waste
INCINERATION!!!
What’s the deal with incineration?!?!
Incineration is the burning and melting of garbage in order to produce energy and slag
This resulting slag can either be used in construction such as building roads and buildings or be safely discarded in a landfill
Incineration also requires energy to transport waste similar to a landfill, however in the burning process some energy can be recovered
The good, the bad, and the uglyThe Pros The ConsCreates EnergyDoesn’t scar the land
like a landfillCan kill disease causing
microorganismsUses less space, and is
not as unattractive as a landfill
Expensive, and still uses more energy that eat creates
The burning of plastics release dioxins into the environment
Slag doesn’t serve many purposes
RECYCLING!!!
RecyclingRecycling is presently the best way to get rid
of waste. Not only does it reduce green house gasses, conserve energy, and have lower costs, but your neighbors will thank you for it!
The recycling process is divided into four partsGlassMetalsPlasticsPaper Products
Glass-The process1st Glass is separated by colors mainly, clear,
amber, and green, many glass containers for food and drinks fall into these categories. However special composition glass such as mirrors and light bulbs cannot be recycled.
2nd The glass in than crushed, and is now called “cullet.”
3rd The glass is exposed to magnets to remove metal and a vacuum to get rid of paper and plastic.
4th The glass is finally heated to about 1200˚C where it is mixed with sand, limestone, or ash to create new bottles jars and tiles
Glass- The BenefitsReduces costs in mining for new glass such
as mining waste and cost of raw materialsUses only a third the energy to produce as
virgin glassUses only half the water virgin glass doesReduces use of landfillsCullet can be used in constructionGlass can be recycled over and
over again
Metals- The ProcessThe metals must be separated into ferrous
metals and non ferrous metals (I.E. Tin cans separated from Aluminum cans)
1st The Metal is cut up than magnets separate the lighter aluminum metal by flotation.
Next the metals are melted and reused
Metals-The BenefitsConserves raw materialsDramatically reduces energy costs, water
use, and landfill use, therefore less greenhouse gasses
Aluminum and steel, the most common recycled material, can be recycled over and over again! Non ferrous
(left)Ferrous (right)
Plastics
Plastic-The ProcessBecause of the many different types of plastic,
such as polyethene and polystyrene, it is expensive and difficult to recycle plastics.
Hence the numbering system which helps to manually separate similar plastics.
Low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) can not always be recycled however polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) can.
Once similar products are combined they are melted and reused
PETE- polyethylene terephthalate- found in soft drink, water and beer bottles etc.
HDPE- high density polyethylene- found in bleach, milk jugs, juice bottles etc.
V-vinyl- found in PVCLDPE- low density polyethylene-
Squeezable bottles, bread, frozen food, dry cleaning and shopping bags
PP- polypropylene- found in some yogurt containers, syrup bottles and ketchup bottles
PS- polystyrene- found in Disposable plates and cups, meat trays, egg cartons and carry-out containers
Plastics-The BenefitsGreatly reduces landfill sites and use of
incineratorsUses less petrochemicalsUses less energy and water compared to
virgin plasticsThere are many uses for recycled plastics,
from plastic lumber such as Trex to polyester fibers.
Paper
Paper-The ProcessPaper with wax or plastic coatings cannot be recycled
therefore paper must first be separatedPaper is than chopped and mixed with water as well
chemicals such as Calcium Oxide (CaO) and Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)
This process brakes the paper down and creates pulp.Spinning this pulp than removes heavy objects like
paper clips and staples, the ink is than washed away by adding more water
Other chemicals are used to remove dyes, inks, and glues
Paper-The Process cont.Often fresh pulp is added, if this not treated
to remove lignin, a glue in wood that holds fibers together, the paper will turn yellow in sunlight such as with newspapers
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) or Chlorine Dioxide (ClO2) can also be used to bleach the paper
Paper- The BenefitsOnly needs half the energy and water that
virgin paper needsReduces trees that have to be cut down,
preserving natural forests and saving animal habitats
By saving forests use also reduce greenhouse gasses as CO2 is consumed by plants
Extends life of landfill sites because less trash is there
Note: Paper can only be recycled so many times as the fibers lose strength
Radioactive Waste!!!
What is Radioactive Waste?It all started when the French physicist Henri
Becquerel (1896) accidentally discovered that some isotopes undergo reactions that change the nuclear form
There are three common types of radiationAlphaBetaGamma
Alpha RadiationAn Alpha radiation an alpha particle, a
positively charged helium nuclei.These alpha particles have a low penetrating
power, only about a few centimeters of air and can be stopped by clothing paper and skin.
Beta RadiationBeta radiation occurs in beta decay when a
stream of negatively charged electrons are expelled from an atom
In beta decay, a neuton converts to a proton emitting a beta decay in the process. The beta particle is identical to an ordinary electron.
Beta particles, electrons, can penetrate a few meters of air, this is still only a moderate penetrating power.
Gamma RadiationGamma rays are emitted if a nucleus still has
excess energy following decay and the emission of other particles. They are electomagnetic in nature (called photons), with a discrete, unique energy (this is used to identify different radioisotopes).
Photons are packets of energy, with wave like properties. Photons make up light.
Gamma rays are not physical particles, but their interactions with matter are described by assigning them particle-like properties.
Gamma rays can penetrate 10cms of lead and up to a couple meters of concrete
Radioactive Half livesBecause of decay, all radioactive isotopes,
eventually brake down into other materials, when only half the original substance is left, it has gone though 1 half-life
Half-lives can range from milliseconds to billions of years depending on the element and isotope
To equate half lives use the equation:Original Mass = Remaining
Mass 2^half life
Radioactive Waste DisposalThere are three levels of waste storage,
depending on the type of decay it produces and the length of half life
Low Level WasteMedium or Intermediate WasteHigh-level Waste
Low-Level WasteHolds 90% of nuclear waste, but is only
responsible for about 1% of the radiationCompacted to reduce volume, than buried in
shallow lined land-burial trenches90% of this waste will return to background
radiation within 100 years.This radioactive waste typically has only alpha
and low level beta radiation and short half-livesWaste includes clothes, gloves, paper, products
from nuclear fuel cycle, hospitals and nuclear research facilities
Mid-Level/ Intermediate WasteThis waste is often stored in steel containers
in concrete vaults below groundIntermediate waste is used with intermediate
levels of beta decay, and with intermediate half-lives, shockingly.
This waste is produced from nuclear reactor parts and processing nuclear fuel
High-level WasteVery small percentage of waste but is the biggest
contributor to radiationMust be stored for a very long time, which causes
the most problemsPresently the best solution is to change the liquid
waste into glass, than burying deep underground in earthquake free environments. Such as granite or salt mines.
This waste is normally due to high beta or gamma radiation with a long half-live
High-level waste comes from spent fuel rods, and processing of spent nuclear fuel
The End