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Turkey
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INFORMATION
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 From Waste to ElectricityKeywords
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From Waste to Electricity
Article Since the beginning of Industrial Revolution, most of the cities in industrialized countries, have been struggling with the wastes that are released by the factories. Besides the unwanted industrial wastes, which may cause irrepairable effects to the environment, the municiple wastes are also a problem that has been faced with. Thanks to the brainstormings of environmentalists all around the world, many different ideas have been found, in order to prevent the landfill problems. Problems with waste management:Like all industrialized cities, Ankara and Seixal have been having a waste management problem since they became one of the most populated cities of Turkey and Portugal. This problem has been gradually increasing as well as the population of the cities. For long years, the two cities have not recycled their wastes, instead they collected them in landfill sites which are not far away from the city centers. This not only caused some pollution problems but also threatened the lives of people living close to the areas with the risk of explosion, caused by the increasing amounts of methane gas.Solutions:In order to solve the waste management problems, in both cities a recycling facility have been built up, in which the gases that are produced from municipal and industrial wastes are converted into electrical energy. The recycling plants (Amarsul Landfill Site in Seixal and Mamak ITC Landfill Site in Ankara) also have impacts such as the removal of the risk of explosion, emission of odor, providing employment opportunities and reduction of gases that cause climate change in the landfill sites. Besides, they aim to decrease the amount of waste that has to be piled in the landfill area.
Further research and development studies are ongoing for the application of innovative technologies for energy production from waste. How the system works in a recycling facility:When the waste starts to decompose it produces gases. These gases are pulled out of the landfill to avoid combustions and explosions. There is a system of perforated tubes where the gas is drawn out - biogas wells. This biogas is made of a mixture of gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Methane is used as an energy source, so it's important to know if there is enough amount of it in that mixture, so that about 45% to 50% can be dragged out.
In order to check the correct amount of methane in the biogas, there is an automatic system that measures it and controls the opening or closing the wells according to the amount needed. This system is controlled by technicians that can adjust the parameters of control. Ultimately, the biogas is compressed, burnt in motogenerators and converted into electric energy.
Outcomes:The improvement of the environment in the landfill sites and in the surrounds is an important aspect, because in the Energetic Use of Biogas, the compounds that cause unpleasant smells, are drawn out and destroyed during the process. This is a means to reduce the unpleasant smells. Another important thing is that it helps reducing the greenhouse effect caused by gases with methane.The recovery of biogas represents an energetic advantage to the economy in both countries: taken from waste products in landfill sites it generates power that can be used for self-consumption or/and sale to the National Energy Company. Moreover in Ankara the waste heat and energy yielded during the transformation of biogas is used for a greenhouse which is used to grow tomatoes.
Cooperation Article Written By Pınar Uslu, Gökalp Güneş, Doruk Uz-METU High School, Turkey / Alef Salles, André Soromenho- Escole Secundária da Amora, Portugal Coordinator Teachers: Meral YILMAZ, Alexandra FIGUEIREDO |
What is YRE
