09.03.2022
Petrol From Used Tyres: A Solution to Zambia's Fuel And Waste Problems
A company in Zambia has begun converting abandoned tyres and discarded plastic into petrol , diesel and gas in a project that could help slash the amount the country spends on importing fuel while simultaneously clearing some of the waste that litters many of the streets in the nation's towns and cities. The project by Zambia's Central African Renewable Energy Corp. currently processes 1.5 tonnes of waste to make 600-700 litres of diesel and gasoline per day on a pilot basis. The company is seeking $60 million in investment to raise daily fuel output to 400 tonnes of diesel, 125 tonnes of petrol, and 30 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), he said, all at roughly half the cost of imported fuel. Plastic and rubber are made of long chains of hydrocarbons that can be heated and broken down into something resembling crude oil -- which, in the case of plastic and synthetic rubber, is what they were to begin with. Several companies globally are investing in this process, which involves burning waste rubber and plastic in a reactor and then mixing it with a catalyst to produce diesel, gasoline and LPG. Just how "green" such projects are is a subject of debate. From a climate change perspective, it takes a lot of energy to convert the waste into fuel, and its products still release CO2 into the air when burned. Credit: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
Poverty deprives people of adequate education, health care and of life's most basic necessities- safe living conditions (including clean air and clean drinking water) and an adequate food supply. The developed (industrialized) countries today account for roughly 20 percent of the world's population but control about 80 percent of the world's wealth.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
