{"id":10289,"date":"2025-06-16T17:39:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T20:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solvefortomorrowlatam.com\/pratica\/educacao-ambiental-na-pratica-estudantes-usam-residuos-para-gerar-energia\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T14:39:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T17:39:54","slug":"educacao-ambiental-na-pratica-estudantes-usam-residuos-para-gerar-energia","status":"publish","type":"pratica","link":"https:\/\/solvefortomorrowlatam.com\/en\/case\/educacao-ambiental-na-pratica-estudantes-usam-residuos-para-gerar-energia\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental education in practice: students turn waste into energy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three students from Paraguay were concerned about the frequent power outages and decided to put environmental education in practice: they developed a smart waste container that converts organic waste into biogas, a clean and renewable energy source. This initiative, called \u201cSmartbin,\u201d won the 2024 Solve for Tomorrow<\/a> in Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While researching the country\u2019s energy deficit, they reflected on the large amount of waste generated during school lunch. \u201cSuddenly, there\u2019s a lot of organic waste like banana peels. And they wondered: how can we turn this waste into biogas to power small appliances?\u201d, recalls the mediator teacher<\/a>, Leticia Cuevas. She is a systems engineer and the technology teacher at the school, where she leads the M.A.R. Tech Club (named after the school Miguel \u00c1ngel Rodr\u00edguez).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The club, created in 2022 to foster technology projects, brings together students from different scientific and technical courses. It was the birthplace of the \u201cSmartbin\u201d team. They are high school students in a scientific-technical track, which in Paraguay is the stage between basic and higher education. Two of the students had already developed the \u201cNeolimb<\/a>\u201d, a finalist project in the previous Solve for Tomorrow edition, and were joined by the older sister of one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne crucial point we knew we had to consider was feasibility. We analyzed industrial-scale models and smaller ones until we arrived at our prototype,\u201d Cuevas describes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Eureka Moment! <\/h5>\n

After the research, the students needed to decide where to store the waste to generate biogas. With limited financial resources, they couldn\u2019t afford a sophisticated container. So, they got creative: they saw prototypes using blue plastic barrels but didn\u2019t have one available. Then came the idea: why not try a 10-liter water jug? They repurposed one from the school, and it worked perfectly. \u201cWe also reused PVC pipes for waste outlets and a faucet. Everything was reused from school and our homes,\u201d highlights the teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Projects like this give students the tools to create solutions in any context in the future. It sparks curiosity, Cuevas believes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

One of the students, Emilia, was in charge of the design, first doing it by hand and then using a digital tool. With that as a basis, the whole group assembled the structure. They had to work with the electronics, adding a scale to the bottom of the bottle that connects to an Arduino Omega 2560, an open-source<\/a> microcontroller board that can be programmed<\/a> to control electronic devices such as motors and sensors, and which in this project controls the load inside the prototype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning lunch waste into cooking gas<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The idea is the waste to enter through a funnel with a lid operated by a servomotor (a device designed for precise movement control), connected to the scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the maximum weight is reached, a gate automatically closes, initiating the anaerobic digestion process. In other words, when the container is closed, it becomes oxygen-free (anaerobic environment), allowing a biological process to take place in which different microorganisms break down the organic matter inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This process produces biogas, with its weight and volume displayed on an LCD screen. Additionally, a sensor detects flammable gases, monitors biogas production in real-time, and triggers alerts to ensure safe storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After doing some calculations, they estimated that 3.8 kilograms of waste can generate 14 kilowatts of energy per day. That is enough to power a fan for 8 hours. The gas can also be used in stoves, heaters, ovens, or converted into fuel for electric generators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While developing the project, the team visited another school with a large biodigester (without electronic automation). \u201cWe exchanged information. They gave us tips about safety, like how to use valves to control methane leaks,\u201d says Cuevas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team carried out all the electronic tests, but due to time constraints, they scheduled the tests with school waste for 2025. Looking ahead, the teacher plans to further expand the technology of the environmental education project in practice. \u201cWe would like the data currently displayed on the LCD screen to be available in an online system so that any user can view it on their cell phone,\u201d she envisions. The ultimate dream is to have a robust biodigester plant at the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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