Sustainable Alternatives for Decarbonization
Abstract
*E-mail: rgani@pseforspeed.com
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Name: Rafiqul Gani |
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Short bio-data: Prof Gani is is currently the CEO of PSE for SPEED, a company he co-founded in 2018 and is also a distinguished adjunct professor at HKUST (Hong Kong University of Science & Technology) at Guangzhou (China), an honorary professor at ECUST (East China University of Science & Technology) at Shanghai (China), and a distinguished research professor at Széchenyi István University at Győr (Hungary). Starting from 1985, Prof Gani worked at the Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, where he founded the CAPEC research center and industrial consortium. Prof Gani served as editor-in-chief of Computers and Chemical Engineering journal (2009-2015) and currently serves as editor for the Sustainable Production & Consumption journal and is a member of advisory boards for several peer-reviewed international journals. Prof Gani has been awarded five Doctor Honoris Causa degrees from University Politehnica Bucharest (Romania), University of Pannonia (Hungary), Babes-Bolyai University (Romania), University of Maribor (Slovenia) & Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (Mexico). He is an ex-president of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (2015-2018), a member of the Danish Academy of Science, a Fellow of AIChE and a Fellow of IChemE. He has received numerous awards, including the AIChE Computers in Chemical Engineering award in 2015, the EFCE Jacques Villermaux medal in 2019, the IChemE Sargent Medal in 2021 and the American Society for Engineering Education award for excellence in Chemical Engineering education in 2022. He has published more than 550 articles in peer reviewed international journals and proceedings plus 5 edited books and 1 text-book. His publications have given him an H-index of 80 in GoogleScholar, 68 in SCOPUS and 61 in Web of Science (January 2024). Prof Gani’s current research includes development and application of computer aided methods and associated tools for modelling; property estimation; process and/or product synthesis, design & intensification; and process-tools integration with emphasis on energy, sustainability, decarbonization and application of a systems approach. |
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Flow Cells for Long-Duration Energy Storage Tianshou Zhao
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Biography of T.S. Zhao |
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The global challenge of municipal solid waste (MSW) management is escalating due to population growth, rapid urbanisation, and shifting consumption patterns. In many developing countries, including Malaysia, MSW is often mismanaged through open dumping or burning without proper landfill gas collection and energy recovery systems. This leads to significant environmental and health risks with inherent cost inefficiencies. Addressing these pressing issues necessitates adopting a sustainable MSW management approach. A multi-objective life cycle sustainability assessment optimisation model is developed by considering the environmental (planet), economic (profit), and social (people) impacts of various potential MSW facilities. Findings reveal that mechanical material recovery facility (MRF) is the most sustainable solid waste facility, outperforming open landfills by 7.5 (environmental), 2.7 (economic), and 1.95 (social) times, followed by incineration, anaerobic digestion (AD), tunnel composting, and sanitary landfill. Given the heterogeneous nature of MSW with high variations in composition and characteristics, a combination of waste facilities is imperative for effective treatment. Optimisation is crucial in determining the most efficient waste treatment configuration. Among Pareto optimal solutions, the study recommends an optimal MSW treatment configuration for Malaysia that minimises environmental impact while maximising economic feasibility and social acceptance, diverting 26% of waste to composting, 37% to AD, 17% to incineration, and 21% to MRF. Specifically, the optimal configuration suggests directing paper, wood, yard waste, and a portion of food waste meeting composting ratios to composting facilities. Community engagement is vital for implementing circular and sustainable MSW treatment practices like MRF, composting, and AD, which require proper waste segregation. Strengthening legislation and initiatives such as optical sorting bags and Pay-as-You-Throw (PAYT) can enhance waste segregation. Local authorities can increase participation through capacity-building programs, providing tools and recycling bins, and offering incentives like compost buy-back mechanisms and recycling take-back programs. This study provides the policy implications and recommendations, facilitating the stakeholders and policymakers to foster a circular and sustainable MSW management practice.
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Chew Tin Lee, PhD |
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Chew Tin Lee |