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Introduction

Purpose & process

Do you even have an idea of how much trash we produce in a day? We produce tons and tons, but garbage is transformed into electric energy when heated to high temperatures. Therefore, we want to design a strategy to use trash as an energy source. This will help our environment in many ways and give a second use to all the garbage that is accumulated since it is quite a lot.

It is a conflict that we produce so much garbage. Just in Mexico City, each inhabitant produces about 1.7 kg of garbage per day. Isn’t that a lot for just one person? Now imagine how much garbage accumulates in a month or in a year!

Purpose & process

The purpose of this machine is to reduce waste and by doing that we make sustainable energy, we created a form to solve one of the biggest problems of the planet. The general objective is to create a way to use garbage as energy to help the environment.

The process is very simple. First, the trash must be separated into groups of 1 Ton. Then, we take them to an incenator and burn the trash in very high temperatures (850 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit). The steam that is created is used to propel a turbine and that makes the electric energy. Also, the heat that is created is used to boil water and spread it to different places.

Background

Every day, this environmental problem gets more complicated.The 48% of waste is produced at home, 20% in shops and 14% in services. Generating energy requires 1 ton heaps of garbage.

The linear economy is the production of goods from raw materials, for consumers to purchase later. This idea of transforming garbage into energy started when Sweden was looking for a solution as it was one of the countries that produced the most garbage. The garbage that they gather is separated, and those in charge of this collect it. They gather it in piles of 1 ton, this is taken to an incinerator. Then, they burn the garbage, this with the purpose of generating steam that turns the turbines.

This garbage is incinerated at 850 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit until ashes.

The transformation of garbage to energy has its benefits like recycling metals. However, it also has its negative side such as the generation of heavy metals that are also polluting.

So we citizens can achieve this, we need the cooperation of the community and respect for the idea to support it. We still have time to make a significant change for the environment.

Flow chart explanation

This project is called “HELPLAC”. In the flow chart we’re trying to explain in a simple way how our business works. In this case, we take the trash from your home, store, building, etc. you will help us a lot if you separate the waste. Then, we take them to a big landscape and separate them into groups of 1 ton. After that, we take them to a big container and burn it. The steam that is created is used to propel a turbine. The heat that is also created by the burning trash is used to heat water and then spread it to different places like: houses, communities, schools, etc.

Talking about chemistry, there are a few chemical reactions in this process. When we burn the trash we are producing methane, ethane, propane and ethanol, and also, when we boil the water we produce hydrogen and tons of oxygen.

This image is an example of how the machine works. First of all, the trash is put in the incinerator and is ready to get burnt. Then, you can see two conducts, one is for the steam to produce energy and the other one is to heat the water and spread it.

Contributions

2. How can we help as citizens?

As a citizen, I could help the environment by not throwing trash in public places, parks, museums, etc. Try to separate the trash in two types (organic and inorganic). Doing this, I can help the environment, but a single person is not enough to help the environment, we need a lot of people to help with this project. Also, an easy way to help the environment is avoiding the use of plastic bags in markets, instead of using those you could use a cloth bag. If you are an adult, convince and teach your children about sustainable lifestyles, once they are aware, they will spread awareness around them and eventually, the entire society will be enlightened.

By: Carlos Tanamachi

1. Ways to implement the process in your city.

This will bring us economic benefits even for the country. In addition to the fact that there wouldn’t be as much pollution, it would modernize the city if we implement this technology. It will be a machine that could perform different processes such as sorting the garbage, in 1 ton piles for the incineration. A way the government would want to implement this is if this machine could be made with the metals that get recycled for the incineration, this would mean the government would not have to contribute much money. This could be close to the roads of the city so that it’s a clear area with enough space. This will be a great strategy to start implementing this culture among the citizens.

By: Joselyn López

3. Did you know that...

...approximately 100 billion cardboard boxes are produced each year in the United States which makes up more than 400 billion square feet of cardboard?

...enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times? Plastic bags can take up to 1000 years to decompose and the Styrofoam never decomposes.

...Americans use 85 millions tons of paper per year which is about 680 pounds per person? The average office workers use 10,000 sheets of paper per year.

...the average person generates 4.4 pounds of solid waste every day and Americans throw away enough trash in an average year to circle the planet 24 times?

By: Leobardo Escobar

4. Vision of the future with this invention.

In my opinion, I think this will be a massive industry that will help a lot by reducing waste and making sustainable energy, but I think that in the future we’re going to come up with more ideas like this one. This project needs the cooperation of everyone and I think we, the citizens, are going to help. We‘ll realize how bad our situation is. This invention will improve the environment and will provide safer and cheaper protection for the world. It will have more functions during the years. Maybe the ashes could be used to make some thing and not waste them, but it would be great if more countries developed this invention so we can make a big change quickly.

By: Isabella Ortiz

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