Environmental Pollution Control: Lecture Notes on Solid Waste Management

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

INCINERATION
Incineration involves burning the solid wastes at high temperatures. The residue should be
disposed-off by landfilling. It leads to air pollution unless the plant is designed, equipped and
operated to comply with air pollution standards. Typical air pollutants from incinerator are
flyash, SO2, HCl, organic acids etc. Waste combustibility is an important factor in selecting the
Incineration as a processing technique. Energy should be recovered to make Incineration
economically viable. Heat can be recovered by putting a waste heat boiler or some other
recovery device on an existing device. The heat recovered can be utilized for generating
electricity or for space heating or fuel heating purposes.

Equipment: Multiple hearth furnace, Rotary furnace, Fluidized bed type incinerator.

Procedure: The solid waste is released onto grate of the incinerator where it is combusted at
higher temperatures. Temperatures beyond 1200-1500 0C are required to reduce dioxin emissions
from plastic. The hot gases will escape through pollution control equipment and gets discharge
into environment from stack. The bottom ash collected at bottom of the grate is carried for
disposal in landfill. Many of the incinerators in India are not functioning due to incompatibility
of waste and high inorganic dust in the waste.

 Advantages: A wide range of ability for handling varying loads and small space requirement
for ultimate disposal.
 Precautions:
 The incinerator chosen must be capable of handling all types of wastes generated in an
industrial facility.
 High level of maintenance is required.
 Operating costs are high.
 Susceptible for frequent breakdowns if not properly operated.

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 Environmental Pollution Control: Lecture Notes on Solid Waste Management

FINAL DISPOSAL

The options available for final disposal of solid waste management are (i) open dumping (ii)
secured/sanitary landfill. The major problem with the open dumps is with leachate and escape of
biogas (CH4 + CO2). The leachate is that part of precipitation/rainfall or surface runoff that
passes through the solid waste and dissolves the contents of solid waste, carry along with it and
contaminate the surface or ground waters. Around 90% of the landfills in India are mere open
dumps with minimum efforts to recovery biogas. The secured/sanitary landfills employ measures
for biogas and leachate recovery and treatment.

Open dumping: The associated aspects are : (i) Huge emissions of gases, particulates and odors
involved (ii) Contaminated run-off and leachate causes water contamination (iii) Uncontrolled
form of disposal.

Secured/Sanitary landfill: The associated aspects are : (i) Controlled mode of disposal (ii)
Liner system introduced to minimise the groundwater contamination (ii) Cell concept for proper
anaerobic decomposition of organic waste (iv) Vents for gas collection (v) Vegetation for dust
emission control and run-off control

Components in a landfill
 Cell: It is the amount of solid waste that is collected in a day’s operation

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 Environmental Pollution Control: Lecture Notes on Solid Waste Management

 Daily cover: It is the soil that is spread over the cell at the end of day’s operation. Gravel is
usually used which can permit flow of gases through it.
 Final cover: It is the soil that is spread over the landfill cells at the end of completing the total
volume of the landfill.
 Lift: It is equal to the height of individual cell.

Types of landfills
The landfills can be used for several purposes. They can be used
for a single use or multiple use. They are classified as:
 Conventional landfills for commingled MSW
 Landfills for shredded solid wastes
 Landfills for individual waste constituents or Monofills
 Landfills designed to maximise gas production
– Venting for gas collection
– Recycling the leachate to enhance biological
decomposition
 Landfill as integrated treatment unit
– Organic constituents are separated and treated in a
landfill
– Increasing the moisture content of waste
– Recycling the leachate or by seeding the digested
WWTP sludge or animal manure

Methods of landfilling
There are three methods (i) trench method (ii) area method and (iii) canyon method. The trench
method is used when an existing trench is available in large area. The solid waste cells are kept
against the walls of the trench (Refer Fig.) and made to fill the trench. The trench can be divided
into number of parts which can be termed as phases of landfilling. The area method is used when
a huge area of unused land is available (Refer Fig.). The solid waste is piled up in cells by
constructing a support dyke. The canyon method is used when the site available is in the form of
canyon or a depression. This is usually adopted to use abandoned mines where they are already
digged up. The cells are piled up supporting the base of canyon as shown in Fig. The total

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 Environmental Pollution Control: Lecture Notes on Solid Waste Management

volume of landfill can be calculated as the sum of volume of solid waste + volume of landfill
cover material.

Reactions occurring in landfills

The organic portion of the solid waste in a landfill will undergo anaerobic decomposition during
which biogas (CH4 + CO2) is generated. The methane will escape into air thereby increasing the
hydrocarbon levels in air. The CO2 being heavier, will be moving downwards and reach
groundwater table forming carbolic acid. The water quality in the surroundings will thus be
contaminated. The leachate generated from the landfill operation will also contaminate the
groundwater. The gas generation will slowly taper off and by 25-30 years after the operation of
landfill, the gas will cease up. This is called closure period of a landfill. In the mean time, due to
the decay of organic matter, the cells also will undergo consolidation and compaction due to the
overburden weight of solid waste and cover material above. The reactions occurring can thus be
summarized as:
 Biological decay of organic materials
 Chemical oxidation of waste materials
 Escape of gases from landfills
 Movement of the liquids caused by differential heads
 Dissolving and leaching of organic and inorganic materials by water and leachate moving
through the landfill
 Movement of dissolved material by concentration gradients.
 Uneven settlement caused by consolidation of landfill material

Recovery of biological products: Methane (Biogas)

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 Environmental Pollution Control: Lecture Notes on Solid Waste Management

The gases found in landfills include air, ammonia, CO 2, CH4, CO, H2S, N, and oxygen. The CO2
and CH4 (together called as Biogas) are the principal gases produced from anaerobic
decomposition of organic solid wastes. The share of CH 4 is about 50-55% by volume. The CV of
biogas is about 8950 kJ/kg. The yield period of gas is about 7-10 years in Indian conditions. It
then slowly tapers off for period up to 25 years. The quantity of gas formation depends upon the
chemical composition of the solid waste.

Most of the methane escapes into atmosphere. The gases generated should be either vented into
atmosphere or collected for production of energy. The average biogas generation is 250 m 3/tonne
of municipal solid waste. The recovered gas is collected through perforated pipes installed in the
cells and connected to the generator to produce electricity (Refer Fig.).

Biogas collection mechanism Methane gas venting at landfill

Leachate: Collection and treatment

It is the liquid that has percolated through solid waste and has extracted dissolved and suspended
materials in it. It is normally composed off the liquid produced from the decomposition of wastes
and liquid that has entered the landfill from external sources such as surface drainage, rainfall,
groundwater etc. As leachate percolates through the underlying strata many of the chemical and
biological constituents originally contained in it will be removed by the filtering and adsorptive
action of the material composing the strata. To avoid risk of contaminating the groundwater, it is
necessary to collect it and treat. Clayliners and membrane liners (such as HDPE liners,
geotextiles etc.) are used to intercept the movement of leachate into the groundwater and collect
it for treatment (See Fig.). Underdrainage pipes are installed at the bottom of landfill to intercept
the flow of leachate. The leachate will be treated similar to that of wastewater and the available
techniques of wastewater treatment can be used after careful studies for estimation of quantity of
leachate and its characteristics.

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 Environmental Pollution Control: Lecture Notes on Solid Waste Management

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