What is CH4? Why is CH4 bad for the environment in excess? What are four sources where CH4 originates?
Methane (most potent greenhouse gas); huge contributor to global warming; anaerobic breakdown of organic materials through industry, agriculture (cattle, manure lagoons), landfills and fugitive emissions (unplanned emissions from broken equipment)
Nutrient loading
-Excessive nutrients from waste on land can dissolve into storm water, and runoff can impact local water ways and surface water
-Main worries: Nitrogen and phosphorous
Sustainability
-Development that meets the needs of now without comprising the future
Sustainability themes
- Converting waste to energy
-Reducing impacts through diversity (keeping materials out of water and landfills)
-Methane
-Nutrients removed at every step to reduce environment impacts
Biodigester
Powers 300 homes annually
Anaerobic conditions
UWO campus
3 LEED Gold buildings (Sage, Alumni Center, Horizon)
Clow is LEED Silver
Solar thermal on Albee, Blackhawk, Heating Plant, Horizon, Taylor
Sustainability connections to field trips
-Methane is collected at every field trip
-Removal of phosphorous at FDLWWTP when sulfate was added at injection site so Phos. would come out
Dead zones
Area of low dissolved oxygen in water; often caused by decomp of algae after big influx of nutrients
Carbon cycle (field trip connections and info)
-Transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to living things and back
1) Photosynthesis occurs as carbon dioxide is taken in by plants
2) Respiration occurs as carbon dioxide is released
3) Combustion (burning, car/factory emissions) of CO2 when fossil fuels
Types of energy
-Potential (stored) energy
-Kinetic (used) energy
Potential energy
-Chemical: stored in bonds of molecules
-Mechanical: stored in objects by tension
-Nuclear energy: stored in nuclei of atom
-Gravitational: energy stored in object's height; higher the object, more energy stored
Kinetic energy
-Radiant: sunlight
-Thermal: heat, molecular motion
-Motion: motion in wind
-Sound: force causing substance to vibrate; longitudinal waves
-Electrical: charged electrons move through wire
Embodied Energy
Amount of energy consumed in entire process of energy production of a building (from gathering resources to actual usage of resources)
Problems with current power system grid
-Efficiency (much of energy lost as heat, only 33-48% effective)
-Storage (electrical energy must be converted first before stored)
Power grid solutions
- Improve efficiency
-Improved battery tech
-Work on supply/demand tech (draw at different day times)
Field trips
- Biodigester
- Earth Week planting
- FDLWWTP
- Landfill/MRF (rained out)
FDL Water Treatment Plant
Treats water from 85,000 Fon Du Lac and Lake Winnebago residents; intake from Milk Specialties, International Paper and Saputo Cheese; have around 6.5 to 13 million gallons go come in each day; uses UV light disinfectant to break down bacteria (this is us
Food Recovery Hierarchy
Source reduction (most preferred)
Feed the hungry
Feed animals
Industrial
Composting
Landfill/incineration (least)
Anaerobic digester
-Uses anaerobic fermentation (no oxygen)
-Creates biogas (40% CO2, 60% CH4)
-Uses renewable resources
Digester types
Wet: Sealed tanks w/ organic materials in slurry, needs water, creates waste water, requires heat uses 10-30% of created energy
Dry: organic material sprayed with percolate in sealed chamber, does not need to be mechanically broken down, little water need
Landfill transition
-1960s: Open pits
-1970s: Environmental movement
-1980s: Modern landfill, plastic liner with drainage stone system
Northeast Landfill
Created in 2012 w/ 10 year life
Outagamie County Landfill
Powers 4,000 homes from created energy
1st nation landfill to use methane for production energy
Recycling benefits
Prolongs life of landfill
Provides market for materials
Reduces need to harvest new/virgin materials (wood, metals)