Zero waste

Furthermore zero waste efforts in Brazil to avoid hazardous consequences caused by additives, due to inappropriate handling of waste, are described. The city of Cantagalo is one of the first in Brazil to establish organised separation and treatment of solid wastes for reuse. The separation with proper allocation for coprocessing of the waste not suitable for recycling or composting is a laudable solution from both an environmental and economic standpoint. 

Zero-valent iron effluent treatment, 9 434 Zero-VOC technologies, 13 74 Zero waste concept, 25 863 Zero Waste Alliance (ZWA), 12 816 Zestoretic... 

A major advantage of plasma processing is that the heat input may be accomplished in an atmosphere of any desired composition and reactivity. In practice there are only a few variations of chemical strategies available for thermal processing i.e. pyrolysis, oxidation, reactions with hydrogen and water. They were already reported elsewhere [5]. The most cost effective and friendly to the environment are the approaches of plasma employing for zero-waste fuel generation or for zero-waste incineration. 

Figure 1. Flowchart of plasma zero-waste fuel generation process...

In Figure 2 the flow chart of classic fuel burning incinerator combined with plasma vitrification system of all solid residues is presented. The system is self-supplied in the electric power and it employs only single plasma furnace for vitrification of solids. This way every classic waste incineration plant can be converted to zero waste emission system. The excess of energy in the form of electricity or steam can be sold. 

Short residence time, minimal downstream separation, energy efficient, zero waste, low inventory, improved intrinsic safety, improved process flexibility, reduced area required, rapid product grade change, rapid response to market needs, improved control. 

Zero Waste Alliance. The primary Web site for a coalition of universities, government, businesses, and other organizations working to develop and promote more efficient methods of dealing with wastes, http // www.zerowaste.org/. Accessed on September 1, 2006. 

The Green Chemistry Institute (GCl) Pharmaceutical Roundtable has used the Process Mass Intensity (PMl) [12], defined as the total mass used in a process divided by the mass of product (i.e. PMl = E factor -i- 1) to benchmark the environmental acceptability of processes used by its members (see the GCl website). The latter include several leading pharmaceutical companies (Eh Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca, Schering-Plow, and Johnson Johnson). The aim was to use this data to drive the greening of the pharmaceutical industry. We believe, however, that the E factor is to be preferred over the PMl since the ideal E factor of 0 is a better reflection of the goal of zero waste. 

Federal, state, and local governments are demanding more and more information from manufacturers not only the size, composition, and properties of waste streams that are generated, but also what chemicals are added to the process to manufacture the final product, and descriptive information on how these chemicals are used within the process. The third major driver for pollution prevention, then, becomes control of the business. When a business does not make any waste or is below a de minimus level, then only a minimum amount of information is required by the governing bodies hence, business information is conserved. Thermodynamic principles govern that zero waste is not possible, and the technical challenge is develop manufacturing processes that produce minimum waste. 

Recognizing the value of pollution prevention to the business and the customer, progressive companies are developing corporate goals to motivate their employees to reduce the amount of waste being produced. Examples include the 3M Corporate Environmental Conservation Policy and the DuPont Company s Safety, Health and the Environment Commitment of zero waste generation and emissions, which is shown in Fig. 9. 

The environmental group Grassroots Recycling Network is developing a Zero Waste Policy Paper for consumer products. The net result is that society is beginning to expect that the products and processes of the future will not generate waste and are recyclable or biodegradable. 

Goal of Zero Waste and Emissions We will drive toward zero waste generation at the source. Materials will be reused and recycled to minimize the need for treatment or disposal and to conserve resources. Where waste is generated, it will be handled and disposed of safely and responsibly. 

Recyclability and therefore near-zero waste production. 

By a systems approach, a process is designed as a complex system of interconnected components so as to satisfy agreed-upon measures of performance, such as high economic efficiency of raw materials and energy, down to zero waste and emissions, together with flexibility and controllability faced with variable production rate. 

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