In a new episode of the UB Dose of Science series, lect. Florina Țuluca, PhD, teaching staff at the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Bucharest, offers us a useful discussion on the management of municipal solid waste deposits and on a series of innovative solutions obtained through targeted scientific research, in the context of the increasing challenges of environment, but also of the objectives assumed by the international community, in general, and the European one, in particular.
As a member state of the European Union, Romania has assumed that, by 2035, it will reach the target of 10% in terms of the amount of municipal solid waste stored. In other words, by 2035, only 10% of this waste should end up in landfills. Where is Romania now? Very far from the proposed objective, which is to deposit approximately 70% of the municipal solid waste.
What can Romania do in this sense, given that several European countries have not only reached the 10% goal, but are even moving towards more ambitious targets, below 5%? What are the risks in a landfill and what can be done to minimize them? How could landfills be made to work better and be economically viable?
With answers to these questions and many more comes episode number 14 of the UB Dose of Science, which can be accessed here.
Gathered in a working group, several researchers affiliated to the University of Bucharest, the Romanian Society of Applied Geophysics, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Geoklast proposed that, based on a series of non-invasive scanning techniques of waste, to obtain a 3D model designed to allow them to visualize the interior of a waste deposit and characterize the real situation within the volume of stored material. The technology developed this way is derived from geophysical procedures for investigating the geological environment, with their adaptation to the conditions in waste deposits.Specifically, the method presented by lect. Florina Țuluca, PhD, member of the research team, allows highlighting the risk areas within the waste dumps and offers operators the opportunity to identify the most suitable solutions to prevent a hazard and, even more, to optimize the biodegradation rate.As the guest of the UB Dose of Science further shows, through the scanning procedure of waste deposits, those areas where there is a need to increase humidity can be identified, which allows operators to come up with solutions to compensate for the humidity deficit in the exact areas in which it is needed. Why is this so important in managing a landfill? Because, in the absence of moisture, the rate of biodegradation is slowed down. As research proves, biodegradation is optimally stimulated when the liquid fraction within a volume of waste is around 35-65%. Therefore, by adding fluids where they are in short supply, the time required for organic waste to biodegrade is significantly reduced.
At the same time, the innovative solutions proposed by the research team also target those areas with excess moisture within the waste volumes, as harmful to the rate of biodegradation and favoring the destabilization of the stored material, respectively the sliding phenomenon.
Another aspect of research is related to the emission and capture of gases, particularly methane, a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and also a widely used fuel. As such, from an undesirable factor, methane could be transformed into an energy resource. In this sense, as shown by lect. Florina Țuluca, PhD, warehouses complying with current standards also include advanced gas collection systems.
In other words, if each part of the deposit were properly managed, extremely high benefits would be obtained, manifested both in the form of reducing the total volume occupied by waste, and in the recovery of larger quantities of methane.
More on the environmental challenges we face, but also on innovative solutions for an advanced management of waste deposits, are available in episode number 14 of the UB Dose of Science, which has researcher Florina Țuluca as a guest.
Florina Țuluca is lecturer at the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Bucharest. She is involved in studies and didactic and scientific research programs that use geophysical methods for issues of infrastructure vulnerability, efficient management of municipal solid waste deposits, strategies for the protection of the geological environment and ensuring sustainable development supported by non-destructive geophysical investigation and monitoring techniques.
She is the president of the Romanian Society of Applied Geophysics, a professional and scientific association whose foundations were laid by teaching staff of the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics, researchers and specialists in geophysics and related fields. She was the president of the Balkan Geophysical Society, and she is currently the vice president of the same association. At the same time, she is a member of the NSGD Committee of the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers.
She actively contributes to the development and implementation of activities that aim to promote the use of geophysical techniques in various fields to identify sustainable solutions regarding natural resources, the environment, resilience to earthquakes and other natural hazards that destabilize the geological environment.
Launched in October 2021, the UB Dose of Science is a project that proposes a focused and dynamic way to communicate scientific information in an attractive, lively and expressive format, establishing a platform for dialogue with the public interested in science.
Initiated within the Science Communication Program, launched by the University of Bucharest in 2018, the UB Dose of Science is aimed at the public and encourages the connection between the academic and non-academic milieus, based on current and interesting topics.
The guests of this series, intended to represent a synthetic and engaging way of communicating the various fields of science, are mainly professors and researchers from the academic community of the University of Bucharest.
The materials in the UB Dose of Science include short and dynamic presentations of topics relevant to contemporary society: pollution, climate change, education, digitalization, significant research contributions and others. Thus, in addition to the fundamental dimension of communicating scientifically validated information, the UB Dose of Science also proposes an important component of social responsibility, reconfirming the role and mission of the University of Bucharest within society and contributing to the awareness of severe problems of today’s world and to the promotion of possible solutions to these problems.
SECŢIUNE ACCESIBILIZATĂ PENTRU PERSOANELE CU DIZABILITĂŢI DE VEDERE
Postări asemănătoare:
About dinosaurs and their world with Zoltán Csiki-Sava, PhD, from the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Bucharest
18 Students from the Faculty of Geography of the University of Bucharest, Participants in the CIVIS BIP “Participatory tools for urban nature planning and management”
The students of the University of Bucharest propose solutions to promote de-bureaucratization in the first edition of the Student Competition “Romania without file”
