Wealth from Waste: Trends and Technologies

Rapid urbanization and industrialization in India visibly spell the need to put in place effective and efficient systems for disposal of the waste generated–municipal solid waste, agro-industrial waste, plastic, waste water, and so on. As in other Asian countries, in India too, landfills, groundwater pollution, residues produced by agro-industrial processes, and other similar problems pose a threat. It is estimated that methanogenic anaerobic digestion releases over 250 million tonnes of methane gas annually all over the world–methane is a substantial contributor to global warming. These facts compel us to take a closer look at the need to recycle waste rather than simply find ways to dispose of it. At a time when the world is confronted with the twin challenges of fossil-fuel depletion and environmental degradation, the book emphasizes how addressing the latter could contribute to mitigating the former by addressing the issues of generating energy from waste, describing scientific methods to minimize its hazardous impacts, providing an assessment of the existing technologies, and highlighting various aspects of biofuel production and cogeneration.