IT · Semester 1 · Chapter 4 · Book pp. 77–107
Predicting Future Technology
คาดการณ์เทคโนโลยีในอนาคต
Technology never stops changing. This chapter looks at how the technology for rubbish, wastewater and air pollution has changed, how to choose between them by their effect on people, society and the environment, and how to predict what will come next.
Learning objectives จุดประสงค์ของบทเรียน
By the end of this chapter you can:
- Choose technology by thinking about its effects on life, society and the environment.
- Predict the direction of future technology.
In this chapter: 4.1 How technology changes, and choosing technology · 4.2 Predicting future technology
Apply it: plastic packaging
Technology keeps changing, with good and bad effects on life, society and the environment, so we need to keep up and choose well. Plastic packaging holds liquids, is light and is easy to shape, so it is used everywhere and in huge amounts. But it is hard to break down: a plastic bottle or bag can take up to 450 years, so it causes pollution. Campaigns now push packaging that breaks down easily. But eco-friendly packaging has its own drawbacks, such as not holding liquids for long. So we must choose the packaging that suits the job.
📖 Review before you start
Technology is anything people create or develop to solve a problem, meet a need, or make their work easier. It can be an object or a method. People’s needs keep changing, so technology changes too: people develop it and improve its production, mechanisms and materials to meet those needs.
4.1 How technology changes, and choosing it การเปลี่ยนแปลงของเทคโนโลยี และการเลือกใช้เทคโนโลยี
Look back and you see technology changing all the time: its form, shape, mechanism, use, materials and how it is made. The causes include problems, needs, advances in science, the economy, society, culture and the environment. New technology makes life better and longer, but uses more resources, which can make pollution worse. So when we choose or develop technology, we must think about its good and bad effects on life, society and the environment.
4.1.1 How waste technology changed การเปลี่ยนแปลงของเทคโนโลยีการจัดการขยะมูลฝอย
Each method below was developed because the one before it was no longer good enough.
1. Open dumping เทกลางแจ้ง
Rubbish is piled outdoors on empty land to rot by itself.
👍 Good
- Easy, and costs little
👎 Bad
- Spreads germs and bad smells
- Uses a lot of land, spoils towns and hurts tourism
- Pollutes water, soil and air
2. Sanitary landfill ฝังกลบอย่างถูกหลักสุขาภิบาล
Rubbish is buried in a prepared pit lined with plastic sheet so leachate cannot reach the water or soil, with vent pipes for the gas from rotting rubbish.
👍 Good
- Simple, cheap to build and run
- Takes every kind of rubbish except hazardous and infectious waste
- Its methane can make electricity
👎 Bad
- Needs a lot of land, far from people
- Costs a lot to transport the rubbish
- Uses a lot of soil to cover it
3. Composting หมักทำปุ๋ย
With more organic waste and too little land for landfill, organic waste is composted into fertiliser to improve the soil.
👍 Good
- Turns organic waste into fertiliser
- Organic waste is sorted out first
👎 Bad
- Must be far from homes because of the smell
- Needs regular care, such as turning the heap
4. Community incinerator เตาเผาในชุมชน
Where there is not enough land for landfill, small incinerators burn small amounts of rubbish.
👍 Good
- No rubbish piling up in the community
- Low transport cost and little land
- Organic and reusable rubbish is sorted out first
👎 Bad
- Smoke and dust can harm breathing
- Costs money to build and run
5. Waste-to-energy incinerator เตาเผาเพื่อผลิตพลังงาน
As rubbish keeps growing, the heat from burning it is used to make electricity: “turn rubbish into energy.”
👍 Good
- Makes electricity from rubbish
- Little land, no rubbish heaps
👎 Bad
- Can cause air pollution and annoy neighbours if badly run
- The ash must go to a sanitary landfill
- Very costly to build and run
💡 Did you know? Leachate
Leachate (น้ำชะขยะ) is the liquid that drains through or out of rubbish. It is very dirty water, full of organic and inorganic matter, germs and poisons.
💡 Did you know? Aerobic composting
| Input | Process | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Organic waste |
| Black, fine, loose compost that smells like soil |
Feedback: check the compost’s moisture, colour, smell and looseness, and its nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. If it is not right, change the process.
Microbes need enough oxygen, waste that contains nitrogen, and moisture of 40–60% of the waste’s weight:
organic waste + aerobic microbes + oxygen + water fertiliser + CO₂ + water + heat
More: ipst.me/9131
💭 Think about it
With more knowledge and technology, what waste technology would you create or develop so it harms life, society and the environment as little as possible?
Choosing waste technology
Think first about the effects on the environment and society, then:
- The type of rubbish. Organic waste can be composted. General rubbish can go to a waste-to-energy incinerator or a sanitary landfill. Metal and plastic can be recycled. Hazardous waste needs its own proper method.
- The place. With plenty of land, a sanitary landfill works, but think about the smell reaching homes. Without land, use a community or waste-to-energy incinerator.
- The cost. In a city where land is expensive, a landfill is a poor choice because it needs so much land.
Inside a waste-to-energy plant
| Making electricity | Cleaning the air |
|---|---|
|
|
💡 Did you know? E-waste
E-waste, or WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment), is electrical and electronic equipment nobody wants any more, that is out of date, or that no longer works. There is more of it every year. Taking the metals out for reuse can leave poisons such as lead, cadmium and mercury, which leak into the environment if handled badly. The Basel Convention stops countries moving e-waste across borders.
4.1.2 How wastewater technology changed การเปลี่ยนแปลงของเทคโนโลยีการบำบัดน้ำเสีย
💡 Did you know? Wastewater
Wastewater is water with unwanted waste in it, so it has changed and cannot be used again. It can contain oil, grease, detergent, soap, pesticides, and organic and inorganic substances.
1. Constructed wetland บึงประดิษฐ์
For community wastewater that is mostly organic. Like a natural wetland: solids settle and are broken down by microbes, and dissolved matter is broken down by microbes on plant roots and stones, using oxygen from the air.
👍 Good
- Simple, no high technology
- The plants can be used and sold
👎 Bad
- Slow and not very efficient
- Cannot take the large flows from factories
2. Aerated lagoon บ่อเติมอากาศ
With more organic matter, aerators such as the Chaipattana aerator add oxygen, so microbes break the waste down faster than in a wetland.
👍 Good
- Treats wastewater from communities and small factories
- Easy to run and maintain
👎 Bad
- Uses electricity
- The aerators cost money to maintain
3. Activated sludge ตะกอนเร่ง
For lots of organic matter: bacteria that need oxygen are added, and air is pumped in to mix them with the wastewater, so the waste breaks down faster.
👍 Good
- Treats wastewater from communities and big factories
- Fast
👎 Bad
- Hard to run: the conditions must suit the microbes
4. Coagulation โคแอกกูเลชัน
When tiny suspended particles cannot be removed by the methods above, chemicals such as alum make them clump into heavy lumps that sink quickly.
👍 Good
- Treats factory wastewater with tiny particles or oil
👎 Bad
- Chemicals and electricity for mixing cost money
- Hard to get the right dose for each wastewater
- Water still high in organic matter must go on to one of the 3 methods above
5. Ion exchange การแลกเปลี่ยนประจุ
For factory wastewater with heavy metals: the water passes through resin, the heavy metals swap places with ions on the resin and stay stuck to it.
👍 Good
- Removes heavy metals
- The resin can be restored and used again
- The metals can be recovered and reused
👎 Bad
- Chemicals are needed to restore the resin
- The equipment is expensive to buy and maintain
💡 Did you know? How an aerated lagoon works
- Wastewater flows into the aerated lagoon.
- Aerators add oxygen, mixing the sludge with oxygen and the waste in the water.
- The water goes on to a settling pond.
- The cleared water goes to a chlorine pond to kill germs.
Output: treated water that meets the Pollution Control Department’s standard for release. See Pattaya’s system: ipst.me/9132
Choosing wastewater technology
First look at what kind of wastewater it is (from homes, farms or factories), because each kind needs different treatment. Then think about how much flows in each day, the cost to build and maintain, the land, and the effects of building and using it.
💭 Think about it
A palm-oil factory in an industrial estate has little land, and its wastewater has a lot of oil and grease floating on it. Which treatment would suit it?
💭 Think about it
As new knowledge and technology appear, what will wastewater treatment at your school or in your community look like, to work well and do as little harm as possible?
4.1.3 How air-pollution technology changed การเปลี่ยนแปลงของเทคโนโลยีการควบคุมมลพิษทางอากาศ
Dust from factories must be controlled before it pollutes the air. Each machine below was developed to catch what the one before it could not.
1. Gravity settling chamber เครื่องแยกโดยการตกเนื่องจากน้ำหนัก
Dusty air goes from a small pipe into a big room, slows down, and the dust falls to the bottom. Clean air flows out.
👍 Good
- Simple, easy to look after
- Removes big particles of 40–60 microns
👎 Bad
- Only 20–60% efficient, so used as a first stage
- Big, takes up space
- Not for damp or wet dust
2. Cyclone เครื่องแยกด้วยแรงเหวี่ยง
Centrifugal force throws the dust to the wall; it spirals down to the narrow bottom and out.
👍 Good
- Removes dust bigger than 10 microns
- Cheap to install and run
- Works with hot air
👎 Bad
- Not for damp or wet dust
- Wears out quickly
3. Bag filter เครื่องแยกอนุภาคด้วยถุงกรอง
Air passes through filter bags made of cloth, glass fibre or nylon.
👍 Good
- Removes dust as small as 0.1 micron
👎 Bad
- Dry dust only
- Bags must be changed, and wear out fast in heat or acid
- Damp air clogs the bags
4. Wet scrubber เครื่องพ่นจับแบบเปียก
Liquid is sprayed into the dirty air; dust and chemical fumes stick to the droplets, clump and fall to the bottom with the water.
👍 Good
- Removes gases and dust
- Works with hot, damp air
- Good for acid or alkaline fumes
👎 Bad
- Corrosion problems
- The wastewater has to be treated
5. Electrostatic precipitator เครื่องตกตะกอนไฟฟ้าสถิต
Electrodes give the dust an electric charge; plates with the opposite charge collect it. When the layer is 6–12 mm thick it is knocked down into the hopper and taken to landfill.
👍 Good
- Removes dust under 1 micron, over 99%
- Works with dry and damp air
👎 Bad
- Uses a lot of electricity
- Expensive to build
- Not for dust that can catch fire or explode
Videos: bag filters ipst.me/9139 · air-pollution control ipst.me/9133
Choosing air-pollution technology
Each machine has strengths and weaknesses, so understand how they work and choose the one that does the least harm. Think about the type and amount of pollution, the source, how long it runs, and the cost. Metal, cement and power plants give off dust smaller than 1 micron, so they use an electrostatic precipitator. Chemical, food, car and electronics factories give off gases and acid fumes, so they use a wet scrubber. Machines can also be combined.
💭 Think about it
As new knowledge appears, what will air-pollution technology look like in the future, to work better and do less harm?
🛠️ Activity 4.1 · Choose a technology
Situation: a village wants to farm to earn money for the community, but its soil lacks organic matter and nutrients, so plants grow badly and the harvest is poor.
List technologies that could fix the soil. For each, write its effects on life, society and the environment. Choose one, and give your reasons.
4.2 Predicting future technology การคาดการณ์เทคโนโลยีในอนาคต
A prediction is an estimate of what will happen, based on things seen happening again and again, or on knowledge such as principles, laws and theories. Predicting technology must rest on believable data. Look at the factors that cause change, in four areas, then work out how existing technology could develop or what new technology could be made:
Table 4.1 · Waste management
Towns grow and people buy more, so there is more rubbish every year.
| Factor | What changed | Source | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advances in science | More knowledge about materials, sorting rubbish, and disposal technology. | Abdulkadir Kan (2009), General characteristics of waste management: a review, Energy Education Science and Technology A 23(1) | Recycling technology, such as turning plastic bottles into clothes and blankets. |
| People and society | People know there is more rubbish every year. | Ministry of the Environment, Japan (2012), Solid Waste Management and Recycling Technology of Japan | Modern rubbish management, and recycling processes that add value to rubbish. |
| Economy | More electricity will be needed to run the economy. | Ministry of Energy (2018), energy.go.th | Better waste-to-energy plants that pollute less when they burn rubbish. |
| Environment | More rubbish pollutes water and soil. | Sonthi Khotchawat, Environmental Science Society, eric.chula.ac.th | Technology that can get rid of a lot of rubbish every day, such as pollution-free incinerators. |
Table 4.2 · Wastewater treatment
As the economy and population grow, water pollution will grow too.
| Factor | What changed | Source | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advances in science | Knowledge of nanofiltration, filtering at the scale of molecules, to remove organic matter. | Journal research on combined chemical and nanofiltration processes, journalgrad.ssru.ac.th (2018) | Technology that removes suspended particles, including bacteria. |
| People and society | People understand and care more about water pollution. | Thai Publica (2014), thaipublica.org | Ways of managing that make less wastewater, or treat it before it goes back to nature. |
| Economy | The government spends a lot on water pollution. | Pollution Control Department (2002), Wastewater and wastewater treatment systems | Government and companies working together on wastewater, with treatment suited to each kind of wastewater. |
| Environment | Heavy metals from factories and mines get into wastewater. | Pojananuki N. et al. (2016), Water Science and Technology: Water Supply 17(1) | Nano-scale ion exchange that captures heavy metals better. |
Table 4.3 · Air pollution control
More and bigger factories will mean more air pollution.
| Factor | What changed | Source | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advances in science | Knowledge of biofilters, which use living things as the filter. | Leson & Winer (2012), Biofiltration: an innovative air pollution control technology for VOC emissions | Technology that removes substances such as fluoride, chloride and mercury. |
| People and society | More people have breathing illnesses. | Prayoon Ausanasen (2016), si.mahidol.ac.th | Air-pollution control that is efficient and catches fine dust and toxic gas. |
| Economy | Budgets to help factories install air-pollution control. | Secretariat of the House of Representatives (2015), parliament.go.th | Rules that every factory must install air-pollution control, with standards and penalties. |
| Environment | More PM2.5 dust (2.5 microns or smaller). | The Standard (2018), thestandard.co | Better machines, and strict laws on dust from factories. |
Table 4.4 · Non’s rubbish crusher
Non solved the school’s problem with a crusher. How could it develop?
| Factor | What changed | Source | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advances in science | Knowledge of hydraulics. | Anusorn Jarumoon (2011), Pneumatics and basic hydraulics | A crusher that does not need human force. |
| People and society | Older people need crushers that are easy and cheap and need little force. | Engineering 360 (2018), Waste Compactors Information, globalspec.com | A foot pedal and a crushing system that need less force. |
| Economy | More crushers are being made. | Anurak Thongsukwong (2012), home.kku.ac.th | Cheaper crushers, so every home can have one and rubbish is easier to manage. |
| Environment | There is more rubbish. | Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (2018), Thailand’s pollution situation 2017 | Bigger crushers for many kinds of rubbish. |
Table 4.5 · Namwan’s rubbish reduction
Namwan solved it by reducing rubbish. How could her method develop?
| Factor | What changed | Source | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advances in science | New materials for packaging that breaks down. | Lorenz Anthony T. et al. (2016), chitin films from blue swimming crab shells, Procedia Chemistry 19 | Packaging made from many materials that breaks down, so rubbish does not pile up. |
| People and society | People are more aware, and there are campaigns to sort rubbish before throwing it away. | Wanchana Manokham (2012), Chiang Mai University thesis on Japanese waste management | Many ways to sort rubbish, so the sorted rubbish can be used and is worth more. |
| Economy | Shops charge for plastic bags. | BBC Thai (2016), bbc.com/thai/thailand-38067232 | More cloth and paper bags for sale, with many choices. |
| Environment | More rubbish pollutes the environment, for example the water. | Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (2018), Thailand’s pollution situation 2017 | Agreements between countries to stop using plastic packaging. |
🔮 End-of-chapter activity · Predict your own technology
In Chapters 1–3 you made a product or a method. With more knowledge, and changes in people, society, the economy and the environment, new technology may help it. Predict how your technology will change, using a table like the ones above: for each of the four factors, write what changed, your source, and your prediction.
Chapter summary สรุปท้ายบท
- Predict future technology from reliable, believable knowledge, thinking about how problems and needs change in people and society, the economy and the environment.
- Technology changes all the time, because people use it to make life easier and do more. The causes include advances in science (especially science and maths), the economy, society, culture and the environment.
- Knowing why technology changes, and its good and bad effects, helps you choose it correctly, suitably and safely.
🧠 Challenge · Choose and predict a technology
Choose one of these problems:
- Floods in the rainy season
- Traffic jams in the city
- Blocked drains
- Crowded city communities
- Air pollution
- Poisons left in the environment
- No water for farming in the hot season
Part 1: choose a solution. Write the problem scope, three possible solutions, the one you choose and why, then design how the technology works as a system: input → process → output, with feedback.
Part 2: predict how that technology will change, with the four-factor table.
Mini-quiz
Source: IPST (สสวท.) Basic Science and Technology textbook, Technology (Design and Technology), Grade 8 (M.2), Chapter 4. Figures are from the textbook; text translated and adapted by Guru Jazzy. Sources in Tables 4.1–4.5 are the book’s own, shortened.