Valorization of Cotton Gin Trash through Thermal and Biological Conversion for Soil Application

Cotton gin trash, the by-product of the cotton ginning industry which is produced in large quantities every year, can be utilized as feedstock for deriving high quality organic materials such as biochar, compost and co-composted derivates for improvement of soils’ key physical, chemical and biological properties. This is the first report in which cotton gin trash was both thermally and biologically converted at the same time into biochar (BC), compost (C) and co-compost (Coc), and their effects on soil properties and on plant performance were examined. In order to find the optimum rate, the products were used as soil amendments in a greenhouse experiment at 2.5 t ha−1, 5 t ha−1and 10 t ha−1 rates. All of the amendments contributed in improving the soil properties and provided agronomic benefits to plants, however plants (radish var. Cherry belle) showed significantly (p < 0.05) better growth attributes and almost a 315% increase in biomass yield observed when co-composted biochar (10 t ha−1) was applied to the soil, thus suggesting its role in compensating fertilizer application. Amendments (2.5 and 5.0 t ha−1) considerably increased plant growth parameters; however, differences between 5 and 10 t ha−1 amendments were not so significant. As a result, replenishing soil with Coc (5 t ha−1) on a regular basis can promote plant growth and improve soil qualities over time.

Study on the Potential of Waste in Pangkalpinang as Source of Power Generation

The Waste Power Plant is one of the power plants with a new renewable energy concept that utilizes waste as fuel. The processing of waste into electrical energy is carried out in two ways: the thermal conversion process and the biological conversion process to find the potential for waste that can be used as fuel to generate electricity. The analysis is needed, especially for Pangkalpinang, which currently has a lot of unprocessed waste. This research was conducted through calculations using several formulas that have been used in previous studies. From these results, the potential waste in 2015 is 97.25 tons/day and produces energy of 18548.10 MWh/year, and in 2020, it was about 186.57 tons/day and produced energy of 35547.18 MWh/year. The projection calculations are carried out to determine the potential for 2021 to 2030. Waste as much as 182523 tons/day in2021 can produce energy of as much as 34776.11 MWh/year. And in 2030, the amount of waste as much as 218132 tons/day can generate an energy potential of 41560.69 MWh/year.

The amenability of pre-treated source separated organic (SSO) waste for ethanol production

Every year, millions of tonnes of municipal solid waste are generated in the city of Toronto from residential and non-residential sources. A large fraction of the municipal solid waste is composed of organic materials. This valuable resource has traditionally been disposed of in landfills, which in turn contributes to the pollution of the environment and the generation of green house gases. This places a great emphasis on the need for the design and implementation of more sustainable waste management practices and the adequate supportive infrastructures in order to achieve sustainability. The city of Toronto has been experiencing a huge challenge over the past few years regarding its waste problem, and having inadequate infrastructure for effective waste management practices. In the year 2000, the City of Toronto established a goal of 100% waste diversion by the year 2010 (Task Force, 2001). In the year 2005, the City of Toronto collected approximately 100,000 tonnes of source separated organic waste (SSO) from single-family households (Butts, 2005). SSO is an excellent source of fermentable carbohydrates including free sugars, starch, cellulose, hemicellulose and other degradable organic materials. However, the main obstacle is the release of some of its carbohydrates, such as cellulose and hemicellulose, from their bondage to lignin before conversion to fermentable sugars. Cellulose and hemicellulose in SSO are bonded to lignin and are not easily separated and fermented to ethanol. Therefore, for utilizing SSO as a feedstock for ethanol production, a deep understanding of the nature of lignocellulosic materials is essential in order to overcome the challenges in the biological conversion to ethanol. As an initial part of a multi-staged project, this thesis is to examine the potential of SSO for utilization as a feedstock for ethanol production. A set of experiments were conducted on SSO in order to determine the amenability of SSO to ethanol production The experimental results show a relatively high amount of carbohydrates in the SSO samples, indicating potential of SSO to be utilized as an ethanol production feedstock. Comparing result of the characteristics study with other cellulosic feedstocks, indicates that SSO has a reasonable amount of fermentable sugars and can be utilized for ethanol production instead of using other cellulosic feedstocks such as herbaceous energy crops. A technology for the biological conversion of SSO to ethanol was proposed based on the current techniques and the results from the characterization study on SSO. It is foreseen that the findings of this study will enhance the overall understanding of the nature of SSO and the possibility of using it for ethanol production, and provide technical data and information for the decision makers in the assessment of the potential of SSO for ethanol production.

The amenability of pre-treated source separated organic (SSO) waste for ethanol production

Every year, millions of tonnes of municipal solid waste are generated in the city of Toronto from residential and non-residential sources. A large fraction of the municipal solid waste is composed of organic materials. This valuable resource has traditionally been disposed of in landfills, which in turn contributes to the pollution of the environment and the generation of green house gases. This places a great emphasis on the need for the design and implementation of more sustainable waste management practices and the adequate supportive infrastructures in order to achieve sustainability. The city of Toronto has been experiencing a huge challenge over the past few years regarding its waste problem, and having inadequate infrastructure for effective waste management practices. In the year 2000, the City of Toronto established a goal of 100% waste diversion by the year 2010 (Task Force, 2001). In the year 2005, the City of Toronto collected approximately 100,000 tonnes of source separated organic waste (SSO) from single-family households (Butts, 2005). SSO is an excellent source of fermentable carbohydrates including free sugars, starch, cellulose, hemicellulose and other degradable organic materials. However, the main obstacle is the release of some of its carbohydrates, such as cellulose and hemicellulose, from their bondage to lignin before conversion to fermentable sugars. Cellulose and hemicellulose in SSO are bonded to lignin and are not easily separated and fermented to ethanol. Therefore, for utilizing SSO as a feedstock for ethanol production, a deep understanding of the nature of lignocellulosic materials is essential in order to overcome the challenges in the biological conversion to ethanol. As an initial part of a multi-staged project, this thesis is to examine the potential of SSO for utilization as a feedstock for ethanol production. A set of experiments were conducted on SSO in order to determine the amenability of SSO to ethanol production The experimental results show a relatively high amount of carbohydrates in the SSO samples, indicating potential of SSO to be utilized as an ethanol production feedstock. Comparing result of the characteristics study with other cellulosic feedstocks, indicates that SSO has a reasonable amount of fermentable sugars and can be utilized for ethanol production instead of using other cellulosic feedstocks such as herbaceous energy crops. A technology for the biological conversion of SSO to ethanol was proposed based on the current techniques and the results from the characterization study on SSO. It is foreseen that the findings of this study will enhance the overall understanding of the nature of SSO and the possibility of using it for ethanol production, and provide technical data and information for the decision makers in the assessment of the potential of SSO for ethanol production.