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This paper is an exploratory study on the Bangladesh and Thailand rural electricity transition. This study compares the Bangladesh microgrid policies with that of Thailand microgrid policies. The comparative study in several areas considers electricity security, electricity access, environmental sustainability, economic development and growth of the countries. Public data related to microgrid policies in Bangladesh and Thailand had been collected, analyzed and discussed. The comparative case brings out the significant differences while also exploring the range of possible synergies across different dimensions and sectors. Concisely, the transition of rural electricity, driven by microgrid policy in both countries can be achieved by adopting new electricity market structure and regulation. The private sector would play a key role in electricity generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forms of copper that are highly soluble in aquatic environments are used as chemical reagents in a variety of industries, especially copper complexes. Wastewater containing copper complexes can be difficult to treat and analyse. Normally, flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS) is a favourable technique for analysing metal ions in wastewater, but is less reliable for copper analysis owing to the influence of copper oxides. To solve this problem, it is necessary to adjust the atomization and delay times. The objective of this study was to use FAAS to accurately determine the quantity of complexed copper in synthetic wastewater, using increased atomization and delay times. The method showed excellent linearity in the copper standard concentration range of 1-5 mg L-1. The sensitivity of the analysis was 0.023 mg L-1. The percentage of recovery and the relative standard deviation were 85.02% and 0.75%, respectively. The experimental results demonstrated that the estimation of uncertainty from preparation of working standard, repeatability uncertainty, instrument deviation, calibration curve and recovery uncertainty were 8.2 x 10-4, 4.49 x 10-4, 7.21 x 10-4, 21.25 x 10-4, and 98.19 x 10-4, respectively. Overall, the results showed the suitability of the FAAS method for determining copper in synthetic wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-sludge generated from wastewater treatment plants is typically disposed of in landfills. Among the pressure of environmental problems, alternative options for bio-sludge disposal have been proposed. In addition to landfills, burning sludge in cement kilns and composting are new options for managing bio-sludge in Thailand. The objective of this study is to evaluate the environmental impact of alternative waste management practices for bio-sludge, including landfilling with landfill gas utilization systems, cement kilns, and composting, compared with conventional landfills. The environmental impact from each scenario was calculated at midpoints and damage levels using the IMPACT 2002+ method. The results indicate that landfilling with landfill gas utilization systems shows the greatest potential for greenhouse gas reduction compared with conventional landfills. The cement kiln option has the highest potential for aquatic acidification, terrestrial acidification and nitrification. While the fertilizer option has lowest potential for those impacts, the potential for aquatic eutrophication and terrestrial ecotoxicity is highest in this option. Finally, the endpoint analysis showed that the fertilizer option has a high performance in regard to human health and climate change, and it was recommended for selection as a first priority for bio-sludge disposal in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petrochemical wastes are generated in significant amounts, and most of them are considered to be hazardous. In this study, we investigated the potential of the reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) strategy to help reduce landfill wastes from polyethylene factories in Thailand. The sources of industrial wastes were identified as follows: (1) production processes; (2) maintenance programs; (3) packaging; and (4) waste treatment systems. The existing waste management options primarily consisted of fuel substitution and fuel blending. After 3R options were proposed, the performance of selected 3R options was evaluated. In this study, a new metric, the 3R indicator (3RI), was introduced to indicate the performance of 3R options based on both quantitative and qualitative measurements. The 3RI performance analysis indicated that high-density polyethylene plant has 3RI = 3.52 with 87.83 % landfill waste reduction, linear low-density polyethylene plant has 3RI = 0.71 with 17.83 % landfill waste reduction and that linear density polyethylene plant has 3RI = 2.85 with 69.51 % landfill waste reduction. This indicator can be used to measure environmental progress in terms of reducing landfill waste based on the 3R strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable waste management was introduced more than ten years ago, but it has not yet been applied to the Thai petrochemical industry. Therefore, under the philosophy of sustainable waste management, this research aims to apply the reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) concept at the petrochemical factory level to achieve a more sustainable industrial solid waste management system. Three olefin plants in Thailand were surveyed for the case study. The sources and types of waste and existing waste management options were identified. The results indicate that there are four sources of waste generation: (1) production, (2) maintenance, (3) waste treatment, and (4) waste packaging, which correspond to 45.18%, 36.71%, 9.73%, and 8.37% of the waste generated, respectively. From the survey, 59 different types of industrial wastes were generated from the different factory activities. The proposed 3R options could reduce the amount of landfill waste to 79.01% of the amount produced during the survey period; this reduction would occur over a period of 2 years and would result in reduced disposal costs and reduced consumption of natural resources. This study could be used as an example of an improved waste management system in the petrochemical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feasibility of the 3R concept tends to increase the reduction, reuse, and recycling of industrial waste. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of 3R methods to cope with industrial waste generated from high-density polyethylene production in Thailand. The sources and types of waste and existing waste management practices were identified. The four sources of waste generation that we identified were: (1) production, (2) packaging, (3) wastewater treatment, and (4) maintenance, distributed as 47, 46, 4, and 3 %, respectively. The main options for management were: sales to recycling plants (60.41 %), reuse and recycling (25.93 %), and industrial-waste landfilling (10.47 %). After 3R options were introduced, the proposed alternatives were found to be capable of reducing the amount of waste by 33.88 %. The results of life-cycle assessment (LCA) were useful for considering the environmental impact where 3R options were adopted. We also found that net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other environmental impacts could be reduced when industrial waste diverted from landfill is used as alternative fuel. However, the cost of waste disposal seems to be the greatest obstacle for the adoption of 3R methods in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selective extraction of Cr(VI) from waste pickling solution of the stainless steel-cold rolled plate process by hydrophobic hollow fiber supported liquid membrane (HFSLM) was investigated. The effects of various parameters— types of organic extractants, i.e., metyl trioctylammonium chloride (Aliquat 336), tri-n-octylamine (TOA), tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) and the mixture of Aliquat 336 and TBP, concentration of the selected extractant, types of stripping solutions (NaCl and NaOH), pH and concentration of the selected stripping solution, and the operating temperature—were studied. The feed and stripping solutions flowed countercurrently. The results showed that the coexisting contamination in spent pickling solution of Fe(II) and Ni(II) ions had no significant effect on Cr(VI) extraction. Among the extractants used in this study, Aliquat 336 was a specific carrier to attain the highest percentage of Cr(VI) extraction. About 70% extraction was achieved by using 0.11 M Aliquat 336 and 0.5 M NaCl at pH 7. The percentage of stripping slightly increased when the concentration of NaCl increased. In addition, it was found that the operating temperature of 20, 30, 40, and 50 °C had almost no influence on the percentages of extraction and stripping of Cr(VI). The calculated diffusion energy of Cr(VI) extraction was 15.14 kJ/mol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]