CHE 558

SOLIDWASTE MANAGEMENT
UNIT 7

Dr. Benjamin Afotey

[email protected]//0249312880

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 7.1. Introduction: What is solid
waste?
• Not waste discharged into the atmosphere or a sewage systems
usually a solid but may not be.

• Regulatory definition in CERCLA:

“Garbage, refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water
supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility, and other
discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained
gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and
agricultural operations.”

❖ CERCLA: stands for the Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, known also as
Superfund 2
 Introduction: What is solid waste? (Contd.)
❖ Solid waste: unwanted or useless solid materials generated from combined residential,
industrial and commercial activities in a given area.

❖ It may be categorized:
➢ according to its origin (domestic, industrial, commercial, construction or
institutional);
➢ according to its contents (organic material, glass, metal, plastic paper etc);
➢ or according to hazard potential (toxic, non-toxin, flammable, radioactive, infectious
etc).

❖ Management of solid waste reduces or eliminates adverse impacts on the environment

and human health and supports economic development and improved quality of life.

❖ A number of processes are involved in effectively managing waste for a municipality.

These include monitoring, collection, transport, processing, recycling and disposal.
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7.2. History of Solid Waste Management –
Developed/developing Countries

• What solid wastes do you generate?

• What do you do with these wastes?

• Does your waste disposal pose a problem? Why?

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7.3 What is the difference between a landfill and a
dump?

Typical
Landfill

Solid Waste Engineering, Worrell and

Vesilind, 2012

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7.4 MSW Recycling Rates, 1960 to 2013

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7.5 Management of MSW in the United
States, 2013

Combustion
with
Energy
Recovery 12.9%
Recovery
34.3%

Discarded
52.8%

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US EPA, http://www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/municipal/msw99.htm
7.6 The Waste Management Hierarchy

US Environmental
Protection Agency
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The Waste Management Hierarchy (contd.)

Figure 3-2.2 Solid Waste Management Hierarchy (source 9

 The Waste Management Hierarchy : The 3 Rs of the
hierarchy(Ctd.)

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

❖ Waste reduction and reuse
❖ Recycling

Color Coded Recycling Bins for Waste Separation at the Source of Production

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 The Waste Management Hierarchy
Apply the hierarchy: Person drinking water

• Source reduction: water fountain ( no cup)

• Reuse: non throwaway cup

• Recycling: recycle plastics

• Energy recovery:

• Disposal: landfill

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 The Waste Management Hierarchy
Apply the hierarchy: Food consumption

• Source reduction: cook at home, eat leftovers; buy in

bulk/without packages

• Reuse: re-usable storage containers, re-use bags

• Recycling: recycle storage bags

• Energy recovery:

• Disposal:

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 The Waste Management Hierarchy
Apply the hierarchy: Transportation/Car

• Source reduction: walk, live close to campus, bicycle

• Reuse: buy used cars, repair tires,

• Recycling: recycle tires, oils, metals

• Energy recovery: burn tires for energy

• Disposal: landfill

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 7.7 Integrated Solid Waste Management

• What does it mean?

– Use all parts of hierarchy for a locally specific complete system

• Why do we need it?

– All waste can’t be dealt with using one method

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Integrated Solid Waste Management(ctd)

• Why should integrated solid waste management systems designed to

be community specific?
– Different existing facilities
– Different waste stream composition
– Different physical layout ( distance to landfill)

• What criteria are used in designing integrated solid waste management

systems?
– Cost (capital + operating)
– Energy conservation
– Environmental impact
– Social impact

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7.8 Municipal Solid waste Generation and Characterization:
What factors influence solid waste generation rates?

• Income per person, by house – economy

• Number of people per dwelling
• Disposal fee ( usually called tipping fee)
• Construction
• Kg per yards

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What factors influence solid waste generation
rates?

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What factors influence solid waste generation
rates?

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 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Composition by identifiable items

• Standard Test for Determination of the Composition of Unprocessed

Municipal Solid Waste (ASTM D 5231-92): quartering and coning to
reach 200 lb samples

• Number of samples a function of desired confidence level (90% good

enough for most studies) and component(s) (the larger the articles, the
more is required to achieve acceptable precision)

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Mixing Sample
with Backhoe
Quartered Sample in
Field
Selection of Quarter
for Sampling

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 7.9 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Moisture Content

1. Moisture content on a wet weight basis:

2. Moisture content on a dry weight basis:

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 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Moisture Content
Experimental determination of moisture content:

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Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Moisture Content

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 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Moisture Content

Example1: Analysis of moisture content test data:

Example2: Determination of moisture content of a waste
mixture

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7.10 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Chemical Composition

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 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Chemical Composition

How is proximate analysis determined?

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
Heat sample and measure weight loss with time
Pyrolysis in air – gases, O2, H2; inert Ne, Ar, He
How is ultimate analysis determined?
CHNO/& analyzer
Combust samples in pure oxygen - form CO2, H2O, N2
Thermal cord. detector detects presence of CHNO

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 7.11 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Heating Value

How is heat value determined?

ASTM E711-87(1996) Standard

Test Method for Gross Calorific
Value of Refuse-Derived Fuel by
the Bomb Calorimeter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=RzAPQPWOlNI

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 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Heating Value

Moisture-free heat value:

Water component subtracted from denominator

Moisture and ash-free heat value:

Water and inorganics ( wont burn) subtracted from denominator

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Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Heating Value

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 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Heating Value

Example 3: analysis of calorimeter data

q=mc(t2-t1)

Example 4: Determination of heat value of a waste mixture

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 7.12 Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Biodegradability

How is biodegradability determined?

• ASTM D5929-96(2009) Standard Test Method for
Determining Biodegradability of Materials Exposed to Municipal Solid
Waste Composting Conditions by Compost Respirometry
• ASTM D5511-12 Standard Test Method for Determining Anaerobic
Biodegradation of Plastic Materials Under High-Solids Anaerobic-
Digestion Conditions
• ASTM D7475-11 Standard Test Method for Determining the Aerobic
Degradation and Anaerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials under
Accelerated Bioreactor Landfill Conditions

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Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics
Biodegradability

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7.13Waste (Refuse) Collection Systems
Phases of MSW Collection

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 Refuse Collection Systems
Phase 1: House to Can

Ex. 5

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 Refuse Collection Systems
Phase 2: Can to Truck

• For safety:
– Plastic bags (no can) – lightweight

– Can-on-wheels

– Semi-automated collection-
hydraulic lift

– Automated Collection – “Can

Snatcher”
Photo courtesy Google Images
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06xpoVe6ZoQ

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 Refuse Collection Systems
Phase 2: Can to Truck

• Packer trucks compact waste from 100-200 lb/yd3 to 600-700 lb/yd3

http://www.tigerdude.com/garbage/rearload/garwood/loadpacker.html
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Refuse Collection Systems Phase 3: Truck from House to
House: How many houses/customers can the truck serve
before it fills up?
Example 6

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Refuse Collection Systems Phase 3: Truck from House to
House. How long does it take to collect a load of waste?

Example 7:

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 Refuse Collection Systems Phases 4
How many loads can a truck collect per day?

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 Refuse Collection Systems Phases 4
How many loads can a truck collect per day?

Example 8

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 Refuse Collection Systems Phases 5
How many trucks does a city need?

Example 9

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 7.14 Treatment and Disposal Methods/Waste
Management Techniques

• Treatment & Disposal

❖ Waste treatment techniques seek to transform the waste into a form that is more
manageable, reduce the volume or reduce the toxicity of the waste thus making it easier to
dispose of.

❖ Treatment methods are selected based on the composition, quantity, and form of the waste
material.

❖ Some waste treatment methods being used today include subjecting the waste to extremely
high temperatures, dumping on land or land filling and use of biological processes to treat
the waste

❖ It should be noted that treatment and disposal options are chosen as a last resort to the
previously mentioned management strategies reducing, reusing and recycling of waste

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 Conversion of Waste (Biomass) to Energy?

Direct
Combustion
Thermochemical
conversion Gasification

Biomass/Org Pyrolysis
anic waste
Fermentation
Biochemical
conversion Anaerobic
digestion
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• Thermal Treatment
❖ Incineration/combustion:
➢ the most common thermal treatment process.
➢ This is the combustion of waste in the presence of oxygen.
➢ This method may be used as a means of recovering energy to be used in heating or the supply
of electricity

❖ Pyrolysis and gasification

➢ Pyrolysis and gasification are similar processes,
➢ both decompose organic waste by exposing it to high temperatures and low amounts of oxygen.
➢ Gasification uses a low oxygen environment while pyrolysis allows no oxygen.
➢ These techniques use heat and an oxygen starved environment to convert biomass into other
forms.
➢ Gasification is advantageous since it allows for the incineration of waste with energy recovery and
without the air pollution that is characteristic of other incineration methods.

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• Biological Waste Treatment
• Composting
❖ Composting is the controlled aerobic decomposition of
organic matter by the action of micro organisms and small
invertebrates

• Anaerobic digestion
❖ Anaerobic digestion like composting uses biological
processes to decompose organic waste.
❖ However, where composting can use a variety of microbes
and must have air, anaerobic digestion uses bacteria and an
oxygen free environment to decompose the waste

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Conversion of Waste to Energy: Landfill Gas
to Energy
• Dumps and Landfills
• Sanitary landfills:
❖ are designed to greatly reduce or eliminate the risks that waste disposal may pose to the public health and environmental quality.
❖ They are usually placed in areas where land features act as natural buffers between the landfill and the environment.
❖ For example the area may be comprised of clay soil which is fairly impermeable due to its tightly packed particles, or the area may be
characterised by a low water table and an absence of surface water bodies thus preventing the threat of water contamination.

• Controlled dumps
❖ Controlled dumps are disposal sites which comply with most of the requirements for a sanitary landfill but usually have one deficiency
• Bioreactor landfills
❖ They use enhanced microbiological processes to accelerate the decomposition of waste.
❖ The main controlling factor is the constant addition of liquid to maintain optimum moisture for microbial digestion.
❖ This liquid is usually added by re-circulating the landfill leachate

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Integrated Solid Waste Management(ISWM)

❖ takes an overall approach to creating sustainable systems that are economically affordable,
socially acceptable and environmentally effective.
❖ involves the use of a range of different treatment methods, and key to the functioning of
such a system is the collection and sorting of the waste.
❖ no one single treatment method can manage all the waste materials in an environmentally
effective way

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