Organic Waste Recycling Technology and Management

Abstract

As the world population is projected to increase from the current number of 6 billions to 9 billions in the year 2050, the amount of organic wastes generated from human, animal and agricultural activities would also increase, causing more pollution problems to the environment. The Millennium Development Goals call for actions on environmental protection, sustainable development and poverty alleviation. Despite a lot of efforts from the national and international agencies, waste treatment alone will not be able to respond effectively to the challenges. The book presents new concept and strategy of waste management which combines technologies of waste treatment and recycling and emphasizing the benefits to be gained from use of the recycled products. These technologies such as composting, fermentation, algal photosynthesis, and natural treatment systems are cost-effective, bring economic returns and are applicable to most countries, in particular those located in the tropical areas. They are considered as sustainable technologies which, if properly applied, should be an effective tool in responding to the Millennium Development Goals. In the third edition, I have included up-to-date information on organic waste recycling technologies and more case studies of successful organic waste recycling programs implemented in several countries. New sections on: cleaner production is added in chapter 2, ethanol production in chapter 4, chitin and chitosan production in chapter 6, and constructed wetlands in chapter 7. Chapter 10 has been revised to cover management aspects of organic waste recycling programs including the planning, institutional development and regulatory standards. More examples and exercises are given in each chapter to help the readers understand the technical principles and their application. This book is intended to be used as a text for students majoring in environmental sciences and engineering and for graduate students conducting research in the related fields. Many universities worldwide have developed new curricula on environment and sustainable development or are offering specialized courses on sustainable waste management, all relating to the subject contents of this book. Environmental professionals and policy makers should find this book a useful reference source for planning, design and operation of organic waste recycling programs. In the preparation of the third edition, I am grateful to my graduate students at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands, for the constructive suggestions on the book contents and feedbacks on the use of the book in teaching and application of these organic waste recycling technologies in their home countries. The book reviewers, Professor Dr. Hubert Gijzen, Director and Representative of UNESCO office, Jakarta, Indonesia and Dr. Rao Surampalli, Engineer Director of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Kansas, U.S.A. and adjunct Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska, U.S.A., gave useful and constructive suggestions on the content of the revised book. I am thankful to Professor Dr. Shigeo Fujii who invited me to spend a sabbatical leave at the Reseach Center for Environmental Quality Management, Kyoto University, Japan, which allowed me to finalize the book revision. My student assistants, Warounsak Liamleam and Robert Dongol, did an excellent job in assisting me in the overall revision of the book.