Hydrocarbon Matters

Landfill gas (LFG) is a natural byproduct of the decomposition of organic waste in landfills. It consists of methane, carbon dioxide, and other organic compounds. Methane (CH4) is a significant component of LFG that is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide (CO2) at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) and a significant contributor to global warming. While LFG can be harmful to the environment, it can also be harnessed as a valuable source of renewable energy. Many landfills collect and treat LFG to generate electricity or heat while reducing environmental impact. Landfill gas to energy (LFGTE) - Landfill gas to energy is a process that involves capturing and converting the methane gas produced by the decomposition of organic waste in landfills into usable energy, typically electricity or heat or producing renewable natural gas (RNG). LFGTE projects not only help reduce the emission of methane, but they also provide a source of renewable ene...

Waste-to-energy  (WTE)  plants burn municipal solid waste (MSW), which is trash, to produce steam in a boiler, and the steam is used to power an electric generator turbine. MSW is a mixture of energy-rich materials such as paper, plastics, yard waste, and products made from wood, etc. WTE is a process that involves converting various types of solid waste materials into usable energy, typically in the form of electricity and heat. This approach helps address two key issues: the disposal of waste and the generation of renewable energy. Mass burn facilities are the most common type of WTE combustion facility in the world. The waste used to fuel the mass burn facility may or may not be sorted before it enters the combustion chamber. Many advanced facilities separate the waste on the front end to save recyclable products, but this is not required and adds significant cost to the process without any significant environmental benefits. Here's how waste to energy works: 1.  ...

Waste-to-energy (WTE) and landfills both have impacts. WTE is a controlled process that reduces greenhouse gases (GHG) and recovers valuable resources. Landfills releases harmful chemicals that can be controlled by various technologies to produce renewable resources. Both WTE and landfills  are critical aspects of environmental conservation and sustainability. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, which should be considered when making decisions about how to manage waste. Waste-to-energy Advantages: Energy Generation: WTE facilities can produce electricity and heat, contributing to the local energy supply.  Reduces Land Use: WTE facilities typically require less land compared to landfills.  Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions: While not emission-free, WTE can reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to Methane from landfills.  Waste Reduction: It helps to reduce the volume of waste that ultimately ends up in landfills. Reduces fossil fuel use: WTE facilitie...

  Hydrogen gas is generated from multiple different ways and is typically produced mixed with extraneous matter. Two of the most typical ways to create hydrogen are chemical synthesis by steam reforming of natural gas, partial oxidation of methane, and  gasification processing  where hydrogen gas is produced as a by-product, and petrochemical applications such as hydrocracking or desulphurization; while the other method of hydrogen generation is made by putting a lot of electricity into water to separate hydrogen from water (water electrolysis). However, steam reforming of natural gas has only 70-85% efficiency for hydrogen production. To generate purified hydrogen in the 99.99% purity levels, a purification process is necessary to create purified hydrogen gas. The purification process involved  Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) . PSA is a process that involves the production of contaminants or side products that need to be removed. It includes compounds such as carbon...

  Wastewater treatment is the process of converting wastewater to remove contaminants from wastewater or sewage water that is no longer needed or is no longer suitable for use into an effluent water that can be treated to remove pollutants, converted and broken down during the treatment process before it can be released back into the local environment. Various waste streams such as oily water, KO drum water, and sour water with sufficient pressure can be collected into a header and sent to a floating-roof waste-water tank with an oil skimmer. A combined oily-water and storm sewer will flow by gravity to an underground sump to be pumped on level control into the same floating roof tank. Hydrocarbon vapors from the sump should be collected in disposable carbon canisters to prevent escape. Skimmed oil from the tank will be removed periodically by vacuum truck and taken to a recovered oil tank for recycle. After free oil has been skimmed, water will be pumped to a dissolved-air flotati...

  The Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process to convert green waste into renewable energy is a multi-steps chemical reactions in both coal liquefaction and gas to liquids technology for producing liquid hydrocarbons. The Fischer-Tropsch plants typically go through the following process of conversions. Feed Handling Biomass feed consists of yard waste, tree trimmings, and scrap lumber. Biomass feed will be blended to provide a feed mixture for drying and gasification. Feed streams will be moved with a series of belt and screw conveyors. After blending, a mechanical screener will remove fines and a belt magnet will remove tramp ferrous metal. Following the belt magnet, a device will detect and reject non-ferrous metal. After screening, a grinder will reduce biomass feed chunks to 3" or smaller in preparation for drying. After grinding, a drying system reduces moisture from 40% to 12%, without releasing volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere. After drying, biomass feed is transferred to ...

  Wave power is free, reliable, sustainable, renewable, and produces zero greenhouse gases and helps to reduce our carbon footprint. Wave energy (or wave power), also called ocean wave energy, is the electrical power produced by harnessing the up and down motion of floating devices placed on the surface of the ocean. Ocean wave energy is typically produced by floating turbine platforms or buoys that rise and fall with the ocean currents. Ocean waves contain tremendous energy potential. Wave power high-tech devices are designed to extract energy directly from the natural movements of ocean currents and the flow of motion to generate power. Wave energy can be generated by exploiting the changes in air pressure occurring in wave capture chambers that face the sea or changes in wave pressure on the ocean floor. The concept to harness wave power is to form, guide or focus waves into a narrow channel to increase their size and power and to spin the turbines that generate electricity. Wav...