My Journal
Introduction
Innovations on environmental solutions are currently taking place all around the world. Many new technologies have been developed or currently being developed by companies, research institutions and universities. This is due to many environmental problems encountered nowadays. Most of the problems are related to our main living resources such as water, soil and air.
Environmental problems were created by human themselves. They conduct activities without proper investigation on its bad effect. Some people throwing excess waste from factory into the river, cutting the log, improper rubbish management, expose the soil to acidic substances and many more. This is happening due to lack knowledge and love to our earth. Environmental problem give bad effects to all living things. It will affect the eco-system, habitat of flora and fauna and also effects on human daily life.
If this issue continuously happen, it will lead to the climate change, rising of sea level, land pollution, air pollution, water pollution and many more. Therefore, innovations to the environmental issues should be done to solve this entire problem. We should prepare a healthy environmental for our future generations. This is for our own mankind.
Innovation on Climate Change
Climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time. This change was caused by human activity as supposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earth’s natural processes. Climate change also synonym with the global warming. It refers to the surface temperature increases.
To deal with this issue, biochar has been introduced. Biochar is the gasification processes that done on biomass such as trash and dried sewage. The purpose is to produce syngas and charcoal. These two products will be used to synthesize the gasoline and diesel or as gas turbines to generate the electricity. Biochar may be added to the soils with intention to improve soil functions and to reduce emissions from biomass that would degrade to greenhouse gases.
The agricultural waste was converted into a soil enhancer so that it can hold carbon then boost food security and discourage deforestation. The process creates a fine-grained, highly porous charcoal that helps soils retain nutrients and water. Biochar was found in soils around the world as a result of vegetation fires and historic soil management practices. It is an important tool to increase food security and cropland diversity in areas with severely depleted soils, scarce organic resources and inadequate water and chemical fertilizer supplies.
This innovation can help combat global climate change by displacing fossil fuel used and sequestering carbon instable soil carbon pools. It may also reduce emissions of nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas). This simple technology can store up to 2.2 gigatons of carbon annually by 2050. Besides, it is relatively inexpensive, widely applicable and quickly scalable.
When the biochar is buried in the ground as a soil enhancer, the system becomes carbon negative. As we know, fossil fuel is carbon negative. They will add more carbon to the air. The carbon captures in the biomass by photosynthesis would have eventually returned to atmosphere through natural processes where burning plants for energy just speeds it up. Sustainable biochar systems can be carbon negative because they hold a substantial portion of the carbon in soil. The result is a net reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as illustrated below.
Another benefit of biochar is it can improve fertility, stimulating plant growth, which then consumes more CO2 in a feedback effect. It also reduces the need for fertilizer, resulting in reduced emissions from fertilizer production and increases soil microbial life, resulting in more carbon storage in soil.
Innovation on Water Pollution
Another innovation that I have found out was on water pollution by using bio-technology. It was named ad CMF Technology by the Chinese scientists. As an example, China has experimenting this kind of innovation to reduce the pollution in its river. The technology was developed by the Haifa Group in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan and the University of Agriculture in east China’s Shandong Province.
CMF Technology consists of a highly effective microbial thallus compound and oxygenating agents. The team has developed 80 kinds of solid microbes for the project. Then environmentalists will decide how many or what kinds of microbes should be used in accordance with the ratio of organic and inorganic substances in water. When the microbial compound is injected into the water, the microbe activates within 30 minutes and duplicated in number every 15 minutes.
Given that a gram of microbial compound contains between six and eight billion microbes, the organic substances are quickly eliminated. Upon completion of the process which generates no pollution or waste products, the water is left clean without any pollution. The initial investment for the treatment per square metre is 12.4 U.S dollars and the treatment is effective for 20 years with no reinvestment.
CMF technology has been trial in Funan River in Chengdu for one month period. From the results, it is proven to be very effective and thus will be expanded to larger areas of the river.
Innovation on Controlling Sea Level
Our world now is undergoing the raising of temperature. This situation has increases the sea water level. The third innovation I have discovered was on combating sea level rise by using simple action of condensation. The moist ground with a membrane barrier above ground is used to created condensation.
The sea water would be let into subterranean water tables which would be dried from the lack of rains. Once the land is fully saturated the membrane would condensate the moisture and water would gather on the underside of the huge membranes. The membranes can be constructed in such a way that the droplets form and run off to be used as irrigation or drinking water.
If drinking water was the main product it would be best to treat the waste and then re-use that water for the irrigation of trees and shrubs and other water retaining plants. This would stop the water getting back into the hydro-cycle and counteracting the intention of keeping sea levels stable.
Another benefit of this innovation is that massive amount salt would be produced. It can be used to re-salinate the North Atlantic. Fresh water in North Atlantic was come from the melting of Greenland ice sheet. This can affect how the Gulf Stream or Atlantic conveyor works. If it causes the Gulf Stream to stop, then the results would be catastrophic. Northern Europe would suffer from several winters and the farming and food production would be immensely affected.
This situation could turn into a huge emigration and causing problems all around the world. There also will be economic problems globally and world economies would tumble due the problems. The salt could also be used as a solar reflector. It could be spread out over the desert acting as a huge mirror that reflecting heat back into space.
So a simple idea using condensation would solve a whole load of possible problems. Major cities around the world would be safe from flooding, global economies would be safeguarded, drought could be solved and also solving starvation in the Horn of Africa, vast amounts of oxygenating vegetation could be grown, a boost for construction, drilling and shipping companies.
Conclusion
Innovations on environmental solutions are very important. To achieve the environmental goals, we have to bring the changes in the way people do something, or changes in technology. By having these innovations, we can improve our own life and taking care of our environmental health. We have to love our earth as its getting old nowadays with all the pollution here and there.
Thus, lots of innovations need to be developed in future. As the example is innovation on radiation pollution, greenhouse gases, land pollution, light pollution and noise pollution. There are many environmental problems that we need to solve out as we need to prepare better environment for our next generations. They rely on us for a better future.
References
Beijing Time (2003). Article of China Reduces Water Pollution Through Bio-technology.
http://www.biochar-international.org/
N. L. Nemerow, F. J. Agardy (2005). Environmental Solution.
Stuart William Olds. Article of Sea Level Control by Condensation.
FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
SKAA 2922 WASTEWATER ENGINEERING
MDM NORMALA BINTI HASHIM
