Reducing Environmentally Problematic Landfill And Circular Economy approaches for Waste Minerals (REPLACE for Waste Minerals

现代社会所依赖的大部分都源于化石燃料，包括电力，运输，供暖和塑料生产。然而，化石燃料是一种有限的资源，煤、天然气和石油预计将在42年内耗尽（纽约循环城市倡议，https：//www.circularnyc.org/）。除燃料外，我们开采和消耗大量金属和矿物，这些也是不可再生资源。这似乎是一个不那么紧迫的情况，直到我们意识到，我们的智能手机充满了稀土金属，其中许多正在耗尽。如果我们能从我们产生的废物中回收金属，这些废物本来会被扔进垃圾填埋场，而且，把它变成有用的东西，那会怎么样？这将成为我发展循环经济方法项目的一部分，解决我们目前主要是线性经济的问题。我将把鸟粪石（废水处理（WWT）产生的一种有问题的废矿物）转化为工业上有用的层状双氢氧化物（LDH）材料。鸟粪石中的镁将是LDH合成的金属前体。我的目标是利用绿色化学原理和各种废物来源来合成这些。LDH在许多不同领域具有潜在的应用。在这里，我将重点介绍它们在生物燃料和绿色制氢等反应中作为催化剂的作用，以及碳捕获和转化。此外，我将尝试设计LDH的合成和使用，考虑到Northumbrian Water Group的污水处理厂，创造一种循环经济的方法，将他们产生的废物转化为他们可以再次使用的东西。这将有助于公司实现净零废物目标。该项目正在采用一种新的LDH合成方法，同时使用LDH来创造可再生资源和循环经济途径。

Much of what society depends on in the modern day has its roots in fossil fuels, including electricity, transport, heating, and plastic production. However, fossil fuels are a finite resource with coal, gas and oil projected to reach depletion within 42 years' time (New York Circular City Initiative, https://www.circularnyc.org/). In addition to fuels, we mine and consume a large amount of metals and minerals, which are also non-renewable resources. This may seem a less urgent situation until we realise that our smartphones are laden with rare earth metals, many of which are running out. What if we could recover metals from waste we produce, waste which would otherwise have been put into landfill, and, furthermore, transform it into something useful? This will form part of my project to develop circular economy approaches, addressing the problem of our current and mostly linear economy. I will be transforming struvite, a problematic waste mineral produced as a consequence of waste-water treatment (WWT), into industrially useful layered double hydroxide (LDH) materials. The magnesium within the struvite will be a metal precursor for the LDH synthesis. I will aim to synthesise these using green chemistry principles and utilising various sources of waste throughout. LDH's have potential applications in many different fields. Here, I will focus on their role as catalysts in reactions such as biofuel and green hydrogen production, as well as carbon capture and transformation. Furthermore, I will try and design the synthesis and use of the LDH with Northumbrian Water Groups' WWT plant in mind, creating a circular economy approach in which the waste they produce has been transformed to something they can once again use. This will help the company attain its net zero waste target. A novel approach to LDH synthesis is being taken in this project, alongside the use of the LDH to create renewable resources and circular economy pathways.