The fundamentals of pyrolysis, its latest developments, the different conditions of the process and its residues are of great importance in evaluating the applicability of the pyrolysis process within the waste management sector and in waste treatment. In particular the types of residue and their further use or treatment is of extreme interest as they could become the source of secondary raw materials or be used for energy generation in waste treatments. The main area of focus of this paper is the investigation of the link between the pyrolysis conditions, the chemical and mineralogical composition of their products and the benefits of pyrolysis in the waste management sector. More specifically the paper covers the fast, intermediate and slow pyrolysis of organic waste and mixtures of inorganic and organic waste from households. The influence of catalysts during fast pyrolysis on the product yield and composition is not being considered in this review.

Every year, the average citizen of a developed country produces about half a tonne of waste, thus waste management is an essential industry. Old waste management systems based on the collection of mixed/sorted waste and transporting it a long way to disposal sites has a significant negative impact on the environment and humans. This paper will review the available waste management systems for households. Biological methods (such as composting or anaerobic digestion) and physicochemical methods (such as burning or pyrolysis) of waste utilization will be considered from the householder’s point of view. The most important features of each system will be discussed and compared. Municipal waste management systems for domestic use could eliminate or significantly reduce the stage of waste collection and transportation. Additionally, they should not require special infrastructure and at the same time should allow garbage to be changed into safe products or energy sources with no harmful emissions. The aim of the work is to identify the best available waste disposal systems for domestic use.

Significant growth of the human population is expected in the future. Hence, the pressure on the already scarce natural water resources is continuously increasing. This work is an overview of membrane and filtration methods for the removal of pollutants such as bacteria, viruses and heavy metals from surface water. Microfiltration/Ultrafiltration (MF/UF) can be highly effective in eliminating bacteria and/or act as pre-treatment before Nanofiltration/Reverse Osmosis (NF/RO) to reduce the possibility of fouling. However, MF/UF membranes are produced through relatively intensive procedures. Moreover, they can be modified with chemical additives to improve their performance. Therefore, MF/UF applicability in less developed countries can be limited. NF shows high removal capability of certain contaminants (e.g. pharmaceutically active compounds and ionic compounds). RO is necessary for desalination purposes in areas where sea water is used for drinking/sanitation. Nevertheless, NF/RO systems require pre-treatment of the influent, increased electrical supply and high level of technical expertise. Thus, they are often a highly costly addition for countries under development. Slow Sand Filtration (SSF) is a simple and easy-to-operate process for the retention of solids, microorganisms and heavy metals; land use is a limiting factor, though. Rapid Sand Filtration (RSF) is an alternative responding to the need for optimized land use. However, it requires prior and post treatment stages to prevent fouling. Especially after coating with metal-based additives, sand filtration can constitute an efficient and sustainable treatment option for developing countries. Granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorbs organic compounds that were not filtered in previous treatment stages. It can be used in conjunction with other methods (e.g. MF and SSF) to face pollution that results from potentially outdated water network (especially in less developed areas) and, hence, produce water of acceptable drinking quality. Future research can focus on the potential of GAC production from alternative sources (e.g. municipal waste). Given the high production/operation/maintenance cost of the NF/RO systems, more cost-effective but equally effective alternatives can be implemented: e.g. (electro)coagulation/flocculation followed by MF/UF, SSF before/after MF/UF, MF/UF before GAC.