Category: News

Recently a published article in Annual Reviews in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering by Professor Castaldi was more brought to life through Knowable Magazine’s story by Michael Waldrop.  The article by Castaldi entitled “Perspectives on Sustainable Waste Management” provided an overview of how waste management is done and how it can be made to be more sustainable.

You can find the Knowable Magazine article at: https://knowablemagazine.org/article/food-environment/2020/recycling-meets-reality-feature

In addition, a complementary video produced by Bridget Hunnicutt and her team centered on the research done at EEC|CCNY and CCL focused on thermal conversion of residual waste that cannot be recycled.  To view the video please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zI4xXGmNPw&t=186s

We are very happy that the work being done at EEC|CCNY and CCL is making a real impact and being disseminated through different outlets that are dedicated to presenting the facts of our current waste management systems and how they can be improved.

Recently Enerkem was featured on CNBC.  EEC has been working with Enerkem for the past several years on technical due diligences and some modeling and performance evaluations.  We are happy to see that Enerkem is getting some visibility and wish them continued success.

Please watch the video here.

Dear Colleagues,

Unfortunately, we must postpone the upcoming 2020 EEC|WTERT Biennial Conference that is scheduled for October 22^nd & 23^rd, 2020. Currently, there is no firm new date, but it is anticipated that the conference will occur in the Fall of 2021. We have delayed this decision for as long as possible to incorporate the most updated current information and projections related to the pandemic.

Unfortunately, New York City is currently operating on a limited schedule with 25% in-door dining permitted and most hotels closed until December of 2020.  Furthermore, The City College of New York, where the conference is scheduled to be held, is conducting classes mostly via remote format and has requested limiting on-campus events as much as possible.  In addition, we are aware that most private companies are not permitting or heavily limiting travel for non-critical business purposes. We were optimistic early in the summer that NYC would be more open, as evidenced back then that Broadway was planning to open near September 4^th, however those expectations never materialized.

We received enough abstracts, combined with invited presenters, to have a conference that would have been slightly more expanded than the previous two held at CCNY in 2016 and 2018. We seriously considered moving to an on-line format to allow the invited speakers and those who submitted abstracts to present their findings and thoughts. Yet after careful consideration that included participating, monitoring, and soliciting feedback on a virtual event, it has been determined that it would not be effective. An important factor in this determination is the international participation that our conference normally enjoys. For example, in 2018 there were a total of 12 countries represented that spanned several time zones (Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Korea, Sudan, UK and US). Additionally, an important component of our conference is the person-to-person interaction that allows attendees to make new connections and collaborations that normally would not occur in other settings. That interaction cannot happen in a virtual environment and the spontaneous discussions on the scientific topics also cannot occur via an on-line format.

Therefore, please keep our conference on your mind. We will be sending reminders and announcements as we develop more clarity. Stay safe. We look forward to seeing you next year.

Sincerely,

Anjeza Arapi, Snehesh Ail, Marco J. Castaldi

Nannette Hernandez, a former researcher at EEC, has been featured in the Fall 2020 ChE newsletter. The write-up details her career path after graduating from CCNY and how she is continuing her support for our ChE department.

The newsletter can be accesses with this link.

Recently Prof. Castaldi virtually presented a Keynote lecture on some results of research conducted during the pandemic on health impacts of WTE facilities to the 2020 BEEM conference attendees.  This presentation is a brief overview of a more detailed document that will be published in the near future.  That Title and abstract are below and the presentation, along with others that presented at BEEM.   The link to the presentation (8KEN-19) is here https://app.xsync.co/onlineconference/5f4349e23d966d3214be0979/schedule/5f4f0847e222d224df54e0d6

A review of the health impacts of WTE facilities

Abstract:  There has been considerable progress made with waste to energy (WTE) facilities over the past several years.  Many countries that previously did not have WTE facilities have begun to construct them as they recognize the benefit of WTE for sustainable waste management.  Those newly constructed facilities have created visibility for the WTE industry locally and worldwide.  Some of that visibility has resulted in public concern over health impacts of WTE facilities based on outdated or incorrect information.   There is a large body of scientific and engineering literature in the public domain that quantitatively documents the performance of WTE facilities and impacts of adhering to a sustainable waste management strategy.  The longstanding and well-documented scientific consensus is that human health is not adversely impacted by WTE.  As far back as 20 years ago, a National Research Council report in 2000 stated that pollutants such as particulate matter, lead, mercury, and dioxins and furans from well-run WTE facilities are expected to contribute little to environmental concentrations or to health risks.  The presentation will cover the latest information in the peer-reviewed literature on health impacts of WTE facilities.

Please continue to visit us for updates

Dear Attendees,

We are aware that the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving and these next couple of months will be very informative.  Currently we are still planning to have an in-person meeting on October 22^nd & 23^rd provided the University and other guideline permit.  Since the conference will be on The City College campus of City University we will not need to make a decision until late August/early September.  A decision to proceed or cancel will be made then and will include all variables from travel restrictions to campus capacity guidelines.

Please periodically visit our website for updates

Thank you

Conference Chairs: Dr. Jeffery LeBlanc, Anjeza Arapi, Dr. Snehesh Ail, Prof. Marco J Castaldi

by Raleigh McElvery, special to C&EN, OCTOBER 24, 2019

All too often, plastics serve a “one-and-done” purpose. Roughly 300 million t of materials are discarded each year after just one use, contributing to waste and pollution. Scientists and businesses have been teaming up to change this, devising ways to transform single-use plastics into products of even greater value. Now, researchers have devised a catalyst capable of selectively converting single-use polyethylene—even from a plastic bag—into lubricants like motor oil or waxes for use in detergents, cosmetics, and more… read more

The use of social media platforms to educate and inform the public on the processes of modern recycling” discusses how social media can be used to better educate the public on recycling.  Annette and her team determined that the convenient location of recycling bins and a robust education program would likely increase recycling the most compared to other factors such as incentives.  To read more please go to: https://www.foresternetwork.com/msw-management/article/21105814/is-recycling-a-fraud-why-should-i-bother

Professor Castaldi was recently quoted in a recent Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) feature. The article by Alexander Tullo presents the issues associated with plastic waste.  The article “Plastic has a problem; is chemical recycling the solution?” published October 6, 2019 C&EN VOL. 97, ISSUE 39 details how new and existing conversion technologies are planning to process the plastic wastes that are not or cannot be recycled.  Currently about 9% of plastics are recycled because the public does not separate their waste enough, the markets for recycled material are weak and product performance dictates exacting properties which recycled material normally cannot meet.  To read more please visit https://cen.acs.org/environment/recycling/Plastic-problem-chemical-recycling-solution/97/i39.

Sarah Foster is a Principal at the scientific consulting firm CPF Associates, LLC, in the Washington DC area.  She has a Masters Degree in Environmental Health Sciences from the Harvard University of Public Health and over 30 years of consulting experience in the environmental health science field.  She focuses on developing strategies for and conducting health and environmental assessments related to waste technologies, waste sites and industrial facilities.  She has managed or performed over 100 comprehensive risk assessment projects and other types of health and odor evaluation studies for municipal solid waste and hazardous waste landfills, waste-to-energy facilities, hazardous waste incinerators, transfer stations and contaminated sites.  She has extensive experience in multiple chemical, multiple pathway risk assessments, assessment of public health, occupational and odor impacts based on environmental and workplace monitoring data, risk and exposure assessments of indoor water uses, environmental fate and transport modeling, and risk communication.