ACTION 5: INNOVATION

In-situ treatment of waste significantly improves the efficiency of the waste management cycle. A summary of the motivations and legal references can be found on the website of Cisa, a company already active in this emerging market.

Certain urban environments provide opportunities to implement “waste pipelines”, i.e., conduits for the pneumatic transport of waste. For new residential developments, such conduits could be included as part of primary urbanization works. In cities with existing underground infrastructure—such as canals, metro lines, or disused large-scale water or gas pipelines—this system could be introduced. The technology, already developed and in use in various cities worldwide for decades, is offered by companies like Envac.

Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia has proposed a groundbreaking method for generating energy from methane without producing CO₂ pollution: methane cracking. This innovative technology splits methane into hydrogen and solid carbon. Hydrogen can be used to produce energy without CO₂ emissions. Solid carbon, the byproduct, can be repurposed for other applications. Developed at the laboratories of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, this method represents a cost-effective alternative to renewable energy sources. Rubbia highlighted that Europe’s exclusive focus on renewable energy might exclude it from advancements in natural gas exploitation, a sector where the U.S. and other nations have achieved significant cost reductions through innovative extraction techniques. Methane cracking offers a clean energy solution for the natural gas abundance expected in the future, addressing the challenge of reducing CO₂ emissions. The next step, according to Rubbia, will be the development of practical applications for this technology. Source: Ansa.it