EWB CHALLENGE
The EWB challenge is established as an initiative to approach first year university student to the real responsibilities of an engineer. This challenge is managed by Engineer Without Border Australia cooperating with different type of organizations, across many industries. This challenge has been revealed in 2007, it has spread and cooperate with 26 universities around Australia. In the previous year, EWB held a workshop with Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) staff in their regional office in Bharatpur.
For the 2014-2015 challenge, EWB has collaborating with NEWAH and several organizations. This challenge is focusing on the hill region communities of the Gorkha district. There are seven design areas that have been identified to be- work for this challenge. One of them is waste management of the village. Students has been deputed to create integrated design solution for this design area. Community health, the environment and the potential uses for this by-product must take into consideration when doing the solution.(EWB 2014)
BIOCHAR
Introduction:
The objective of this proposal is to overcome problems arising from the septic tank which has been use by the villagers nowadays for their sanitation. Besides, the by-product of this design will be used to enhance village agriculture and ease their daily life.
Definition and History of Biochar:
Biochar is the one kind of charcoal and the term biochar is refers to the charcoal which particularly used for the agriculture or environmental purpose. It is produced by the conversion of biomass under specific conditions in a reactor. This process known as pyrolysis process. There are several organic materials which currently used for this process, (i.e. crop residue, bones, sludge ...
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...Quality', in VK Gupta, MG Tuohy, CP Kubicek, J Saddler & F Xu (eds), Bioenergy Research: Advances and Applications, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 435-46.
International Biochar Initiative 2014, What is Biochar, viewed 4/3 2014, .
Kookana, RS, Sarmah, AK, Van Zwieten, L, Krull, E & Singh, B 2011, 'Chapter three - Biochar Application to Soil: Agronomic and Environmental Benefits and Unintended Consequences', in LS Donald (ed.), Advances in Agronomy, Academic Press, vol. Volume 112, pp. 103-43.
Nelissen, V, Saha, BK, Ruysschaert, G & Boeckx, P 2014, 'Effect of different biochar and fertilizer types on N2O and NO emissions', Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol. 70, no. 0, pp. 244-55.
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... and soil scientist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Corn stover has been historically left in the field as cover to reduce soil erosion and for conserving soil nutrient contents. The immediate environmental concern of using corn stover for biofuel production is soil erosion. In addition, when we take a look at the big picture, the 0 carbon emission theory is wrong, as it does not take into account the vast amount of carbon released into the atmosphere from land conversion. Global warming is inevitable. The disadvantages definitely outweigh the advantages.
This paper will present an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of a proposed construction project of a new recycling center in a rural area. The proposed project is to be built in a nonattainment area. The EIS will address land-use and development, social and neighborhood effects, economic factors, air quality, noise, and water resources as it relates to the proposed project. Included in the process will be three alternatives as well as a no build alternative. The Environmental Impact Statement will provide a detailed scoping of the project along with the alternatives that will ensure all potential impacts are addressed prior to project approval.
as combustion. It is a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and some sort of fuel such as wood or gasoline (Fire). For the reaction to take place, you have to heat the fuel to its ignition temperature. When wood reaches the temperature of 300 degrees Fahrenheit, or 150 degrees Celsius, the heat starts to decompose parts of the cellulose material that makes up the wood. These decomposing materials release volatile gases. The more common name for these gases, is smoke. Smoke is the combination of the compounds of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen (Combustion). A fire also forms char and ash. Char is almost pure carbon. It is what you buy when you get charcoal. Charcoal is just wood that was heated to remove everything besides the carbon, hence why it burns without smoke (Charcoal). Ash is all the unburnable minerals in the wood such as calcium and potassium.
Research conducted by Lillianna Guerrero et al. at the Built Department at Eindhoven University of Technology in Den Dolech showing the challenges of waste management challenges for cities in developing countries that waste management comes at a high cost that most countries don’t have the money to set aside for in the annual budget (1). They found that even when the money is set aside, failure to follow guidelines hurts the budget even more. This is important because they must figure out how to make sure guidelines are followed so they can make planned budget costs. Budgeting for a smaller country with no money can be tough especially when there is another factor in their country that needs as much resources as it can get, such as food and water supply for their countries people. Worsening the problem can be avoided if they inform their people on how to properly dispose of their waste and recycle item that could be used in place of another object that will potentially end up as harmful waste. According to Guerrero’s research the outcomes are a comprehensive list of stakeholders that are relevant in the waste management systems and a set of factors that reveal the most important causes for the systems’ failure. For example, failure to educated the public causes incorrect disposal techniques to
Florida International University recognizes its contribution to the accumulation of waste considering that it produces about seven million pounds of waste each year (Figueroa, 2010). Unlike other universities that still remain adamant in investing on green practices, FIU has, “governed by the State of Florida under Florida Statute 403.714 and The Florida Solid Waste Management Act of 1988” (FIU, 2011), established its own internal ‘green machine’ or solid waste and environmental protection system via the FIU Custodial Services Office. The university’s efforts in ensuring efficient solid waste management even “far exceeds the minimum standards” (FIU, 2011) required by law. What makes the solid waste management efforts of the university one-of-a kind is the establishment of a “single stream recycling program which means that all recyclable items can be placed into one bin and do not have to be sorted” (FIU, 2011). Nevertheless, despite the use of single recycle bins, proper labeling has to accompany each bin to ensure that only materials that are recyclable are placed in the bins. There are also different sized of bins which are placed stra...
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Fertilizers play a major role in increasing the yield of a crop. Both organic and inorganic fertilizers supplement a plant’s nutrient source with macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as well as some micronutrients such as boron, copper, and chloride. These nutrients are all directly affected by the pH of the soil. Certain nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can only be absorbed by a plant in a higher pH level. Nutrients such as boron and copper can only be absorbed in a lower pH level. A balanced soil will provide the optimum benefits of each nutrient (“Plant Nutrients”, n.d.).
Stated by The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed. It is said that “Charcoal is a substance obtained by partial burning or carbonization (destructive distillation) of organic material, a charcoal is largely pure carbon.” In addition, The Columbia Encyclopedia said that the entry of air during the carbonization process is controlled so that the organic material does not turn to ash, as in a conventional fire, but decomposes to form charcoal.
...ch is used to replace natural gas. He also stated that, among the equipment used to burn the biofuel, the suspension burner have the ability to exceed 99% efficiency and whole-tree burner can reduce the cost of harvesting and handling woody fuels by about 35% (Brown, 2003). Moreover, the usage of bio-energy in long term is to provide a degree of ecological balance and climate change, avoid acid rain, reduce soil erosion and minimize water pollution (Gevorkian, 2007). Therefore, biomass is environmental friendly like solar energy. Based on the research that has been carried out regarding the synthesis of gas from biomass, the gas gasifies in the internal combustion engine. The relative energy density of synthesis gas is higher than the fossil fuel under certain conditions. In addition, the relative flame speed of synthesis gas can reduce the time for spark ignition.
The concept of this essay is to stress that biofuels are a viable and sustainable energy source than fossil fuels, showing its advantages but not ignoring its disadvantages which also enlightens us about the cleaner and renewable natural resources. Biofuels is an alternative source of energy which can end the global dependence on fossil fuels.
In the process of producing biofuels by using plants, rich and high quality land will be over-used as soybean and maize require fertile land for growth. This is so because the plants have to be produced at a large scale for a better yield. Soil erosion can arise due to complete harvesting of the crops (Jose et.al, 2008). Corn which is one of the plants used to produce biofuels requires intense irrigation and a serious environmental concern is raised by the use of fertilisers and pesticides. Biotechnology can be used to alter the crops so that their production does not harm the environment, however this might lower the process (Demirbas, 2009).
Policy is needed to regulate which course of action should be taken and how it should be implemented. Because of this, many plans and policies revolving around the management of solid waste have been put in place. Sometimes however, a particular policy can have its shortfalls, potentially resulting in its negative aspects outweighing the positive ones. According to the Conference Board of Canada Report, “Canadians dispose of more municipal solid waste per capita than any other country” (2013). Solid waste management in particular, involves many aspects, ranging from packaging waste, food waste, etc. (White & Franke 1999), hence, the following analysis revolves around household and commercial waste – referred to as Municipal Solid Waste (White & Franke. 1999) – in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Municipal waste is a major health and environmental concern as it contributes to numerous problems like habitat destruction, surface groundwater pollution, and other forms of air, soil, and water contamination. Waste disposal methods like incineration create toxic substances, and landfills emit methane, which contributes to global warming. According to the Zero Waste Objective Report, “The impact of climate change and the increasing awareness of the role of “waste” and “wasting” in the production of greenhouse gas emissions is a constant environmental pressure… (2009). This leads to an increasing limitation of government to prevent and control the volume and toxicity of products in the waste stream and a growing need to shift responsibility to the product manufacturer.
As humanity develops new technology, the magnitude and severity of waste increases. When computers were developed, it widely was believed that the need for paper would be eliminated. On the contrary this was widely proven false and we are now utilizing more paper than ever. Canada is not an exception as the typical Canadian generates an average of three pounds of solid waste each day1. This alone shows what a careless species we have become- using and disposing materials without even considering the damage we are causing. With half a trillion tones of waste around the world, only 25% may be reused for a second or third time and less than 5% can be renewed limitlessly1. These facts are true only in developed countries. Since these traditional waste reduction methods have been proven inefficient, we must endorse new innovative technology to arrive at a solution.
The average resident produces seven and a half pounds of garbage every day that is buried down in landfills and litters lands costing a great amount of money. Nowadays, people face no more critical trouble than the need to save the weakening environment, mainly in urban areas, where solid wastes are uselessly dumped. It has been observed that cities have no controlled structure for garbage disposal. Each year, millions of dollars are spent picking up litter and more is thrown away in valuable materials that could be recycled. As humanity develops new technology and equipment, the level of waste increases every day. Due to the fact that there is a huge problem with garbage disposal, government representatives must contribute to resolving this issue.