Solid Waste Crisis: How First World Countries Manage It - Essay Sample

Introduction

Solid waste has been rampant in the recent past affecting lives worldwide. The government recognized solid waste as a significant environmental crisis affecting people's lives in different measures. First world countries handle the crisis through the process of waste reduction. Waste reducing mainly involves recycling and re-usage of non-degradable solid materials. Recycling in this regard includes drying, which means the removal of water from slurry. In the case of solid waste management, we focus on the digestion process of drying the waste slurry.

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The biological system, preferably used in recycling, reduces the slurry to a digester (Ashrafi, Yerushalmi & Haghighat, 2015). The process involves active bacteria feeding on inactive ones; hence, activation of the wastewater to consume chemical and biological oxygen demand. Other chemicals consumed during the process include nitrogen and ammonia from the mixture. The entire process makes the water safe for human consumption and the life of aquatic animals.

Consumption of water from sewage by bacteria leads to an increase in the number of bacteria by the same ratio. This replication means, there is a reduction in the name of bacteria in the sludge to keep the system clean and functional. The slurry then undergoes digestion to reduce the consumption of wasted bacteria from the treatment system. Notably, the digester system operates at a temperature of about 150C and 400C (Kor-Bicakci, Ubay-Cokgor & Eskicioglu, 2019). The level of harmful pathogens in the untreated sludge depends on the flow scheme and the treatment system used. Pathogens are detrimental to both human and animal lives, therefore removed reduction in the vector attraction (Al-Gheethi et al., 2018). Vectors are living organisms, which can transfer pathogens from one body to another plant in the pathogen cycle. Majorly sewage waste contains solid waste, which, if left, will decay and produce odor to attract these vectors.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this invention looks at dewatering sludge from biological systems. The design ensures that the water produced is safe for human and animal consumption. The thermophilic digestion process removes water from the slurry, as indicated. Therefore, this method is effective and conducive for the environment since the water extracted is always safe for human use and aquatic animals' life.

References

Al-Gheethi, A. A., Efaq, A. N., Bala, J. D., Norli, I., Abdel-Monem, M. O., & Kadir, M. A. (2018). Removal of pathogenic bacteria from sewage-treated effluent and biosolids for agricultural purposes. Applied Water Science, 8(2), 74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-018-0698-6

Ashrafi, O., Yerushalmi, L., & Haghighat, F. (2015). Wastewater treatment in the pulp-and-paper industry: A review of treatment processes and the associated greenhouse gas emission. Journal of environmental management, 158, 146-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.05.010

Kor-Bicakci, G., Ubay-Cokgor, E., & Eskicioglu, C. (2019). Effect of dewatered sludge microwave pretreatment temperature and duration on net energy generation and biosolids quality from anaerobic digestion. Energy, 168, 782-795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.11.103