Characteristics of Solid Waste

Name : Nipesh Lamsal (074BME622)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Density:                 
 It is expressed as  mass per   unit volume. 
 This  parameter is required for designing a solid waste
management program . 
 Significant changes in the density occur as  waste
moves from sources to disposal site, as A result of
scavenging, handling, wetting,  and  drying by  the
Weather and  vibration during transport. 
 Density  is critical in the design  of sanitary  landfill as
well as for storage, collection and transport of wastes.
 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Moisture content
 Moisture content is defined as the ratio of the weight of water
(wet weight - dry weight) to the total wet weight of the waste.
 Moisture increases the weight of solid wastes, and thereby, the
cost of collection and transport.
 Moisture content is a critical determinant in the economic
feasibility of waste treatment by incineration, because wet
waste consumes energy for evaporation of water and in raising
the temperature of water vapour.
 wastes should be insulated from rainfall or other extraneous
water. 
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Field Capacity of Solid Waste
 The field capacity of MSW is the total amount of moisture
which can be retained in a waste sample subject to
gravitational pull.
 It is a critical physical characteristics of solid waste because
water in excess of field capacity will form leachate, and
leachate can be a major problem in landfills.
 Field capacity varies with the degree of applied pressure and
the state of decomposition of the wastes.
 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Size of Waste constituents

 The size distribution of waste constituents in the waste stream

is important because of its significance in the design of
mechanical separators and shredder and waste treatment
process.

 This varies widely and while designing a system, proper

analysis of the waste characteristics should be carried out.
 CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS          

• Lipids  

 These are included in the class of fats, oils and grease.

 The principal sources of lipids in the garbage are cooking  oil
and fats.     
 Lipids have  high heating  values about 38,000 Kj/Kg
(kilojoules/kilograms), which makes  the waste  with high
lipid content  suitable for energy recovery. 
   
 CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Carbohydrates  
 
 These are primarily originated  from  the food sources rich in
starch and celluloses.  

 These readily  biodegrade into carbon dioxide, water and 

methane.

 Decomposition  of carbohydrates attracts the  flies and rats 

and hence should not be  left exposed for  long  duration.
 CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Proteins

 These are the compounds containing carbon, hydrogen,

nitrogen and oxygen and organic acid with amino groups.

 They are primarily found in food and garden wastes, but their
partial decomposition result in the production of amines,
which impart unpleasant odors.
 CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Natural Fibers
 These are the natural products contain cellulose and
lignins that are relatively resistant  to  biodegradation. 
 These  are found in  paper products, food and yard
wastes.
 Paper is almost100% cellulose, cotton over  95% and
wood  products  over  40-50%.
 These are   highly combustible products  most suitable for
incineration. The calorific  value of  oven dried  paper
products are in the  range 12000-18000 kJ/kg.            
 CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Synthetic  Organic Materials
  In the recent years plastics have become a significant
components  of solid waste, accounting for  1-10%.

 They  are highly resistant to the biodegradation; hence their

presence in  the waste is  objectionable.

 Plastics have a high  heating value, about 32000 kj/kg, which

makes them  very suitable for incineration. 
 Overview of solid waste
generation
•Increasing population and prosperity has
increased the generation rate of municipal
solid waste (MSW) significantly, resulting in
serious problems on public health and the
environment.
• Household Waste Generation
• Institutional Waste Generation
• Commercial Waste Generation
• Industrial Waste Generation
• Other waste
 Household waste Generation
• The household waste consist of organic
matter, plastics paper and paper products
others and glass, metal, textiles, and rubber
and leather and household hazardous waste
• Such waste consists of high organic content
which indicates a need for frequent collection
and removal, as well as good prospects for
organic waste resource recovery.
 Institutional Waste Generation
• Waste generated from offices, schools, and colleges were
categorized as institutional waste
• Such waste consists of higher fraction of paper and paper
products and plastics, and hazardous waste that came
from students’ snack boxes and discarded white paper.
• A relatively low level of organic waste is generated in
schools because little fresh food is handled.
• Other constituents are dust, mud, and broken bricks,
glass, textiles, metals, and rubber and leather which
consist lower fraction of the waste
 Commercial Waste Generation
• waste from commercial establishments such as
shops, hotels, and restaurants
• composition of commercial waste comprises
organic wastes than paper and paper products,
plastics, glass, and others including hazardous
waste
• A higher percentage of plastics is generally found
in waste from shops, while the organic fraction is
observed higher in hotels and restaurants.
 Industrial Waste Generation
• Construction, fabrication and heavy
manufacturing, refineries, chemical plants,
power plants, démolition, etc. industries
produce waste
• light Paper, cardboard, plastics, wood, food
wastes, glass, metal wastes, ashes, hazardous
wastes, etc are produced from industries
 Other waste
• Waste generated from different sources are to
be added to the total amount of MSW, such as
street wastes (waste littering the streets),
waste from parks and gardens.
Solid Waste Management
Techniques
Prepared By: Parinam Sapkota
(074BME625)
Solid Waste Management Techniques

Open Dumps

Landfill

Composting

Vermicomposting

Incineration
 Open Dumps
• Simplest Method
• An open place is chosen
• All wastes collected here
• No segregation
• Usually process followed by another process
like incineration
 Open Dumps

Disadvantag
Advantages
es
• Cheapest • Ugly and
Method smelly
• Minimum labor • Home for flies
required and pests
 Landfills
• Advanced form of open dump
• Waste collected in a place, similar to open
dump
• Mainly mining voids or borrow pits are used
• Disposed waste is compacted and covered
with soil
 Landfills

Advantages Disadvantages

• Cheap • Ugly
• Use of unused • Multiple sites
land required
 Composting
• For organic wastes
• Biological decomposition of organic waste
• Organic wastes: kitchen waste, dry leaves, plants, papers,
animal feces, etc
• Aerobic condition (usually controlled)
• The processes for composting are:
1. Segregation
2. Processing the compostable matter
3. Preparation for compost
4. Digestion
5. Curing
6. Screening
 Composting

Advantages Disadvantages
• Manure • Long process
• Control of flies • Large area for
pits
 Vermicomposting
• For organic waste
• Earthworms (Vermi-worms) used
• Vermis eat organic waste and produce manure
• Slow process but faster than composting
 Vermicomposting

Advantages Disadvantages
• Manure • Vermis cost
• Control of flies • Slow process
 Incineration
• Combustion process
• Inorganic waste burned
• Thermal power plants can be run utilizing this
process
• Smoke as a by-product causes air-pollution
 Incineration

Advantages Disadvantages
• Quick Process • Smoke
• Power Generation • Material segregation
and preparation
 Hazardous Waste
•A waste with properties that make it dangerous .

•Capable of having a harmful effect on human health

or the environment.

•Generated from many sources, ranging from

industrial manufacturing process wastes to batteries.

•May come in many forms, including liquids, solids

gases, and sludges.
Classification of Hazardous Wastes

• Classified on the basis of their biological, chemical,

and physical properties.

• These properties generate materials that are either

toxic, reactive, ignitable, corrosive, infectious, or
radioactive.
• Four identifiable classifications :

1. Listed wastes
2. Characteristic wastes
3. Universal wastes
4. Mixed wastes
1. Listed wastes : When it comes to listed wastes, there are
four sub-types of listed wastes.
I. F-List Wastes :
• Includes any wastes that have a nonspecific source. Produced
from manufacturing and industrial processes.
• Depending on the operations that produce the wastes, F-list
wastes are dioxin-bearing wastes, wood-preserving wastes,
spent solvent wastes, petroleum refinery wastewater
treatment sludges, chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons
production, multisource leachate, electroplating and other
metal finishing wastes.
ii. K-List Wastes : The K-list wastes are specific wastes that
have specific industry sources.
The industries that generate K-lists are such as:
Iron and steel production
Petroleum refining
Inorganic pigment manufacturing
Explosives manufacturing
Ink formulation
Veterinary pharmaceuticals manufacturing
Primary aluminum production
Organic chemicals manufacturing
Pesticides manufacturing
iii. P-List & U-List Wastes : Specific commercial chemical
products that are disposed of, but unused. Wastes must be
discarded and unused to meet the following criteria to be
considered P-list or U-list wastes:
• It must contain one of the chemicals identified in the P or U
list
• The waste’s chemical must be unused
• The waste must be in a commercial chemical product form
2. Characteristic Wastes : Follow the identification process
depending on the characteristics they display.
Below are the four characteristics that are identified with
wastes.
• Ignitability
• Corrosivity
• Reactivity
• Toxicity
3. Universal Wastes : Typically include bulbs, mercury-containing
equipment, pesticides and batteries .
More commonly produced and identified oftentimes as
“dangerous goods”.
• Explosives
• Gases
• Flammable Liquids
• Flammable Solids or Substances
• Oxidizing Substances and Organic Peroxides
• Toxic and Infectious Substances
• Radioactive
• Corrosive Substances
• Miscellaneous Dangerous Substances and Articles
4. Mixed Wastes : Contain both hazardous as well as radioactive
components. 
Identified as one of three types of mixed waste according to
the US DOE.
• Low-level mixed waste (LLMW)
• High-level mixed waste (HLW) and
• Mixed transuranic waste (MTRU)
 HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
STRATEGY:

1. Waste minimization
2. Detoxification & neutralization of
waste by treatments
3. Destruction of combustible
waste by incineration
4. Solidification of sludge & ash from steps
from 2 & 3
5. Disposal of residues in landfills.
1.Waste minimization:
helps in resource conservation,
economic efficiency &
environmental protection.
The strategies include
a) Source
reducti
on
b)
recyclin
2. TREATMENT METHODS:
a)Physical
treatment
b)Chemical
treatment
c) biological
treatment
Physical treatment :
• Involves variety of seperation
techniques
• Whenever a waste containing
liquid & solid must be treated.
• Physical processes are
• Screening, sedimentation,
centrifugation, flotation,
adsorption, stripping and RO.
Chemical treatment:
 To make the complete breakdown
of HW into non toxic form and
 To reduce the hazard of a
particular waste
 Chemical methods are ::
 Neutralization, precipitation,
oxidation and reduction.
• Neutralization: carried out when the waste
contains excessive amount of acid or alkali.
• Chemical oxidation:used to destroy toxic
cyanide molecule with oxidising agents
• Reduction: used in the conversion of hexa
valent chromium into trivalent chromium
before it can be precipitated.
• Anodic electrolysis: used for the destruction
of cyanide in spent stripping & plating
solutions.
Biological treatment:
 Differnet types of microorganisms
are used for degradation of specific
compounds of HW
 Some microbes found in soil &
sewage sludge have been tested in
the degradation of organic
chemicals
 Tests have been conducted to degrade
PCBs using pseudomonas & flavo
bacterium.
 Psuedomonas bacteria – benzene,
3. INCINERATION:
 able to achieve 99.99%
destruction & removal efficiency
of hazardous components in
waste.
 Primary products are CO2, vapour
& ash
 Sulphur bearing wastes gives
off SO2, CO2, H2O when
incinerated.
 By products of incomplete
combustion are sometimes
4.Solidification or Stabilization:
 Convert the waste into an
insoluble,rock hard material.
 Additive materials used to reduce the
mobility of pollutants in the waste.
 Certain materials like nickel cannot
be destroyed or detoxified by
above methods.
 The residues that are left out are
solidified to reduce the leachability.
5.DISPOSAL METHODS:
 The options for disposal include
land disposal, underground
disposal & deep well injection.
 The choice of disposal method
should be based on evaluation of
economics & potential pollution
risks.
 To prevent environmental
pollution from landfills , it is
essential that site c/s are taken