Industrial Pollution Engineering

(CHE3008)

Dr.A.Babu Ponnusami
Associate Professor/
SCHEME
Lecture-1
Solid Waste
 What is Solid Waste?
• Municipal Solid Waste
(MSW)
• “trash” or “garbage”
• Includes:
• Durable goods, e.g., tires,
furniture
• Nondurable goods, e.g., Solid Waste – USA - 1989
newspapers, plastic
plates/cups; containers and
packaging, e.g., milk
cartons, plastic wrap; and
other wastes, e.g.,
• Yard waste, food.
• Common household waste,
as well as office and retail
wastes
 Solid Waste Definition and Classification
Any material which is not needed by
the owner, producer or processor.

Classification:
• Domestic waste
• Factory or industrial waste
• E-waste (electronic waste)
• Construction waste
• Agricultural waste
• Food processing waste
• Biomedical waste
• Nuclear waste
• Sewage solids (sludge, biosolids, compost, etc.)
 Typical Solid Waste Categories
• Paper waste: packaging, newspapers, corrugated boxes,
office paper, magazines, etc.
• Biological waste: food wastes: animal or vegetable
• E-waste- electronics such as computers, telephones, TVs,
monitors, music systems, etc.
• Plastic wastes: bags, bottles, buckets, packaging, etc.
• Metal wastes: cans, sheet metal, tools, fasteners, etc.
• Nuclear waste: unused materials from nuclear power
plants
• Medical wastes: Syringes, Waste Tissues, bodily wastes,
infectious agents, radioactive wastes, etc.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-ps_0UFmfI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe4-wuWcP_A
 Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
• Engineered facilities (in design and operation)
• Located, designed, operated, and monitored to protect the
environment and human exposure to MSW
– Designed to contain and biodegrade the waste
– Protect the environment from contaminants which may be
present in the solid waste stream.
• Landfill siting plan
– Intended to prevent landfill siting in environmentally-sensitive
areas
• On-site environmental monitoring systems
– Monitor for evidence of groundwater contamination and for
landfill gas
– Many new landfills collect solid waste leachate (liquid
emanating from the waste and recycle or store it.
– Many new landfills collect potentially harmful landfill gas
emissions and convert the gas into energy (it is combustible).
 Landfill Properties, Practices and Policies
• Location restrictions
– Ensure they are built in suitable geological areas
away from faults, wetlands, flood plains, or other
restricted areas.
• Composite liners requirements
– Includes a flexible membrane (geomembrane)
overlaying two feet of compacted clay soil lining the
bottom and sides of the landfill,
• Protects groundwater and the underlying soil from
leachate releases.
• Leachate collection and removal systems
– located above the composite liner to remove leachate
from the landfill for recycling, treatment and disposal.
 Landfill Properties, Practices and Policies
• Ban disposal of some toxic and hazardous materials
– Paints, cleaners/chemicals, motor oil, batteries, and
pesticides.
• Leftover portions of them are “household
hazardous waste”
• Hazardous to health and the environment if
mishandled
• Many municipal landfills have household hazardous
waste drop-off stations for these materials.
• Unwanted household appliances (white goods)
– Refrigerators or window air conditioners containin
ozone-depleting refrigerants and their substitutes.
• Electrical waste should be collected separately; not
landfilled.
– Contains radioactive and toxic chemicals
– Not biodegradable
 Landfill Properties, Practices and Policies
• Operating practices
– compacting and covering waste frequently with several inches
of soil
• Reduce odor; control litter, vectors (e.g., insects, and
rodents)
• Groundwater monitoring
– Required testing of groundwater wells to determine if wastes
escape
• Closure and postclosure management requirements
– Cover landfills and provide long-term management of closed
landfills.
• Corrective action provisions
– control and clean up landfill releases
– achieve groundwater protection standards
• Financial assurance
– Funding for environmental protection during and after landfill
closure
 Bioreactor Landfills
• Operated to rapidly transform and degrade organic
waste by microbial processes
• Increase waste degradation and stabilization through the
addition of liquid and air
• Differs from the traditional “dry tomb” municipal landfill
approach.
• Three different general types of bioreactor landfill
configurations:
• Aerobic:
– Leachate is removed from the bottom, piped to liquids
storage tanks, and re-circulated into the landfill in a
controlled manner.
– Air is injected into the waste mass, using vertical or
horizontal wells, to promote aerobic activity and
accelerate waste stabilization.
 Bioreactor Landfills
• Anaerobic
– Add moisture to the waste mass as re-circulated leachate
or other sources to obtain optimal moisture levels.
– Anaerobic biodegradation oxygen to produces landfill gas
• Primarily methane
• can be captured to minimize greenhouse gas
emissions and for energy projects.
• Hybrid (Aerobic-Anaerobic)
• Accelerates waste degradation by employing a sequential
aerobic-anaerobic treatment
• Rapidly degrades organics in the upper sections of the
landfill
• Collects gas from lower sections.
• Hybrid operation results in earlier onset of methanogenesis
compared to aerobic landfills
 Bioreactor Landfills
• Accelerate the decomposition and stabilization of waste.
• Leachate is injected to stimulate natural biodegradation processes.
• Other supplemental liquids such as stormwater, wastewater, and wastewater
treatment plant sludges are often added to maintain moisture content
– Enhance microbiological processes by controlling moisture content
– Differs from landfills that just recirculate leachate for liquids management.
• Landfills recirculating leachate may not operate as optimally.
• Moisture content is the most important factor for accelerated decomposition.
• Maintain optimal moisture content near field capacity (~35-65%)
– Add liquids when necessary to maintain that percentage.
• The moisture content, combined with the biological action of naturally
occurring microbes decomposes the waste.
– The microbes can be either aerobic or anaerobic.
– Side effect: production of landfill gas (LFG) such as methane at higher rate
than traditional landfills.
 Potential Advantages of
Bioreactor Landfills
• Waste decomposition and biological stabilization can occur
in a much shorter time than in a traditional “dry tomb” landfill
– Potential decrease in long-term environmental risks and
landfill operating and post-closure costs.
– Decomposition and biological stabilization in years vs.
decades in “dry tombs”
• Lower waste toxicity and mobility due to both aerobic and
anaerobic conditions
• Reduced leachate disposal costs
• A 15-30 % gain in landfill space due to an increase in
density of waste mass
• Significant increased LFG generation that, when captured,
can be used for energy use onsite or sold
• Reduced post-closure care