Turning waste into renewable energy

Published on : 24 June 20202 min reading time

Without energy, our daily actions become difficult and even impossible. Having said that, energy is part of our daily life, and most of our daily activities depend on it, such as transportation, cooking, etc. You should know that it is now possible to get energy from waste.

Turning waste into renewable energy: how does it work?

Turning waste into renewable energy was developed with the aim of energy recovery. Waste can be converted into electricity and/or heat. Turning waste into renewable energy is the third largest alternative source of electricity generation after hydropower and wind power and the fourth largest source of renewable heat after wood, biofuels and heat pumps. Moreover, if you want to save on raw material fuels, this is the best solution to take. In addition, this transformation process makes it possible to reduce the price of processing urban waste by 20%.

What are the processes for transforming waste into renewable energy?

First of all, there is the incineration of household agricultural, food and industrial waste such as tars or used solvents as well as biomass (wood or plant material) to produce energy thanks to the heat released by burning it. There is also the methanisation of waste, organic, animal or vegetable matter, which comes from our household waste or from the agricultural and food-processing sector, or from sewage sludge. This waste is stored and then fermented to generate biogas, a renewable energy composed mainly of methane, which can provide heat, electricity or fuel. This biogas is collected from storage facilities and sewage treatment plants. The biogas that will be produced contains 40 to 60% methane, which gives it significant energy potential. Without forgetting recycling where the individual consumer plays an essential role by collecting and sorting what he or she no longer uses, particularly product packaging.

What is the status of waste-to-energy conversion in France?

For France, total RE represents about 10% of primary energy resources. In this country, the treatment of waste for electricity production is still too marginal due to less than 0.0004% of electricity production.

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