Rescuing the Environment: Turning (Micro)plastics into Energy Through Gasification

• Main Authors: Ana Ramos, Abel Rouboa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade do Porto 2017-09-01
• Series: U.Porto Journal of Engineering
• Subjects: Sustainability; Microplastics; Gasification
• Online Access: https://journalengineering.fe.up.pt/article/view/84

Plastics are a common residue of our activities and, when incorrectly disposed, high quantities of this type of products end up in the environment, namely through landfilling and dumping into the aquatic compartments. Therefore, water streams and basins are contaminated threatening wildlife, which ultimately can entail human toxicity by means of the food-chain effect. One of the major concerns relies on microplastics which, due to its size and nature, constitute a more difficult to handle residue. This paper presents an endeavour to control, reduce or even mitigate the presence of plastic debris in the environment, with the benefit of converting them into energy or other valuable commodities for the actual society. Gasification can be seen as one of the most effective techniques for this purpose, featuring a more environmental friendly scheme for treating this kind of residues, avoiding their overspread throughout Nature, as well as complying with environmental policies.