Waste Treatment and Recycling: Methods and Technologies
Methods of Treatment
Incineration
It’s a garbage collection method that involves combustion of waste at high temperatures. Incineration and other treatment systems at high temperatures are described as heat treatment. Thus, the incineration of waste materials becomes waste heat, gaseous emissions and residual solid ash. Other types of heat treatment include gasification and pyrolysis. Incineration is applied fairly in countries like Japan where land is a scarce resource. Sweden has been a leader in
Read MorePrinciples of Sustainability and Environmental Science
1. Principles of Sustainability
1.1 What are three principles of sustainability?
A. Environmental Science: A study of connections in nature.
- Ecology: Studies relationships between living organisms and their interaction with the environment.
- Environmentalism: A social movement.
B. Nature’s Survival Strategies: Three principles of sustainability.
- Life depends on solar energy.
- Biodiversity provides natural services.
- Chemical/nutrient cycling means there is little waste in nature.
C. Key Components of Sustainability:
Read MoreEcology and Environmental Science: A Comprehensive Guide
Biomes
1. The biome with the greatest species diversity is Rain Forest
2. In North America, in what direction would you usually Have to travel to go from a coniferous forest to a deciduous forest?South/East
3.Grasslands occur between deserts and Forests
4.Seventy-five Percent of the Earth’s surface is contained in Forests
5.Which Biome receives the least amount of rainfall?Desert, Tundra
6.Which Part of the rainforest environment do most of the organisms live?Canopy
7.The Dust Bowl was the result of
Read MoreSoil Science: Understanding Earth’s Foundation
Soil: The Foundation of Life
It allows us to grow food and the materials we use to make everything from the shirt you have on to the medicine you took this morning.
Soil is made up of small pieces of rock that have broken down over thousands of years.
Soil is also partly made up of the remains of plants and animals, and is home to many organisms, from earthworms to ants.
In this Unit, you will learn how soil forms, what it contains, and how to protect it.
The Lithosphere
Soil is found on the uppermost
Read MoreAir Quality and Pollution
Composition of the Atmosphere
Nitrogen: 78%
Oxygen: 21%
Argon: 1%
Carbon Dioxide: 0.04% (important because it’s involved in the greenhouse effect. Plants need it, and it is produced by us.)
Structure of the Atmosphere
Exosphere: 1000 km
Thermosphere (Ionosphere): 200 km
– Temperature increases because X-rays are absorbed.
Mesosphere: 70 km
– Temperature decreases, gases are less dense.
Stratosphere: 15 km
– Temperature increases as we move up.
– Ozone Layer: 35 km
– UV rays are absorbed here (main reason
Read MoreIntroduction to Geology and Atmospheric Sciences
Geology
The Earth’s crust occupies 0.6% of the planet’s volume and 0.4% of its total mass. It is remarkably thin compared to the Earth’s radius. The oceanic crust averages about 7 km thick, while the continental crust increases to 35-40 km. Beneath the crust lie the mantle, outer core (both fluid), and the solid inner core at the planet’s center. These layers likely represent different chemical compositions and are classified based on their physical behavior.
The lithosphere, Earth’s rigid outer layer,
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