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SOLAR ENERGY APPLICATION IN WASTE TREATMENT- A REVIEW


BO Ugwuishiwu
IP Owoh
IJ Udom

Abstract

 

This review is an exposure on the various ways that solar energy can be harnessed for numerous waste treatment processes. Almost all forms of waste treatment require energy which is scarcely available considering the global energy crisis. The objective of this study is to enumerate the solar energy applications in waste treatment as a way of global environmental protection and energy management. Solar energy which is abundant in most part of the world has been adopted as a very sustainable source of energy for waste treatment.  Its application in both solid waste  and waste water treatment as in pyrolysis, solar incineration and gasification for solid wastes  treatment and solar pathogenic organic destruction, solar photocatalytic degradation,  solar distillation  and desalination  for waste water treatment. These waste treatment methods require light from the sun to photocatalyse reactions and also heat as thermal energy for the various endothermic reactions. This review therefore highlighted various methods of waste treatment which does not require the limited conventional energy sources. It also reveals that model optimizations for assessing the best options for potential pollutant treatment in pyrolysis,, solar incineration, gasification, photo catalytic degradation etc, of contaminants have not been achieved.

 

http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v35i2.27


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eISSN: 2467-8821
print ISSN: 0331-8443