Waste to Fuel

Eating food everyday keeps human alive and provides us with energy. After we eat our food, it will be digested in our stomach. When it is fully digested and the right time comes, we go to the “throne” and relieve ourselves. Eating food and making poop out of these foods is what we routinely do every day. Animals as well have the same routine. But what happens to human or animal waste? If human waste is not properly disposed, it can impose hazardous health risk to humans which can be a cause for bacterial and viral diseases. Usually, poop is being used in farming as fertilizer to plants. Since poop is rich in different vitamins and minerals which can be a good fertilizer.

But there is more use for poop than just fertilizer. Waste to fuel can also be achieved if it human waste is properly processed. Just thinking about poop which is readily available everyday and produced without any effort and money involved can be a great profit-making for the country. It is actually a work in progress by Kartik Chandran, an earth and environmental engineering professor, to produce waste to fuel products to be able to provide energy. Biodiesel and methane can be the byproduct of human waste when it is processed which can be through pyrolysis or gasification. These products can provide electricity and heat to industries and even our homes. Poor countries can benefit more in this product since it is less expensive and it can also stop or minimize wastewater contamination in lakes and rivers.

Waste to fuel does not only provide us with cheap energy but it can also provide environmental protection. Aside from throwing our waste to landfills, it can be processed through gasification and produce a new product like fuel to provide us with electricity. Aside from human waste, plastic waste can also be used to provide waste to fuel products which can be processed in pyrolysis and distillation. In this technology, it will not only provide cheap fuel but also synthetic fuel which is cleaner, higher cetane and low sulphur compared to other types of fuel. The gasification process which is used does not only provide waste to fuel products but also cement for road works. Since the gasification process also produces slags which can be used as it is or converts into blocks of cement which can be sold to cement industries.