SOLID WASTE CHARACTERISTICS

To effectively implement the three fundamental functions of collection,

processing, and disposal, solid wastes must be characterized. Solid wastes may
be characterized as to their rates of generation, as well as to their physical and
chemical characteristics. Physical characterizations useful in solid waste
management are itemization of individual components, moisture content, and
density. On the other hand, useful chemical characterisations include proximate
and ultimate analyses (chemical analysis of component atomic elements) and
heating value.
GENERATION RATES
The overall generation rates of solid waste for the entire community, generation
rates of residential as well as industrial, commercial, and institutional
establishments and public places, and generation rates of individual solid waste
components are required in the design of a solid waste management system.
SOLID WASTE COMPONENTS
The characterization of solid wastes as to physical components must incorporate
those items that are readily identifiable. Table 11-3 shows generations and
percentages of the various components identified from four solid waste sources.
Table 11-3 shows that the most abundant solid waste component is paper, which
ranges from 11% in the rural to 50% in a large city. Yard wastes and cardboard
rank next in abundance, ranging from 11% to 37% and 9% to 40% respectively.
It is interesting to note that food waste is among the lowest component. Glass
ranks third in abundance after yard wastes and cardboard.
MOISTURE CONTENT OF SOLID WASTES
Knowledge of the moisture content of solid wastes is important when it is used
in boilers to produce steam and electricity. It is also important when solid waste
is composted or subjected to anaerobic decomposition in sanitary landfills. To
subject an organic waste to composting and anaerobic digestion, the water
content must be put at the optimum.
Sanitary landfilling is an engineered burial of refuse. Essentially, it consists of
spreading waste on the ground, compacting it, and covering it with soil at the
end of the working day. Landfill as a method of disposal is discussed at the end
of this chapter. The moisture content is expressed in two bases: wet and dry.
The wet percentage moisture of solid waste is equal to the mass of moisture
divided by the wet mass of solids, and the dry percentage moisture of solid
waste is equal to the mass of moisture divided by the dry mass of solids. The
wet and dry percentages P
w
and P
d
, respectively, are computed using the
respective equations.
P
w
=
w(100)
S
w
w(100)
S
d
(11.1)


Where W is the mass of the moisture, S
w
the mass of the wet solids, and S
d
the
mass of dry solids. During analysis, the sample of solid waste is dried at 77C to
drive off the moisture. W is obtained by the difference between Sw and S
d
.
Density of solid wastes
The most important use of the knowledge of the density of solid waste is the
determination of its compacted volume. Arguably, why measure density when
volume can be measured? Unfortunately or fortunately, for better control of
operation, it is easier just to weigh things than to measure volumes. For
example, it is so easy to measure the weight of a truck full of solid wastes that
arrives at the landfill by driving it to the top of a scale. By knowledge of the
compacted density, the volume of landfill space requirement (a compacted
volume) can be calculated easily. Compacted volume is also required to size
vehicles used to collect solid wastes.
Densities of solid wastes may be expressed on an as-compacted or as-
discarded basis. The ratio of the as-compacted density p
c
to the as-discarded
density p
d
is called the compaction ratio r, or
r =
p
c
p
d
(11.2)
There are two compacted ratios: the final disposal compaction ratio, such as in
landfills, and the compactor machine compaction ratio. Compactor machines
are used to reduce the volume of the solid waste before final disposal.
Compactor machines compaction ratios can vary from 2 to 4. Landfill as-
compacted densities can vary from 297 to 891 kg/m
3
. Generally, 475 to 594
kg/m
3
can be achieved in landfills with a moderate compaction effort. A poorly
compacted landfill can achieve only about 297 kg/m
3
of compacted density.
With the knowledge of the as-discarded density along with these figures, the
final disposal compaction ratio may be determined. Table 11-6 shows typical
as-discarded densities of solid waste components. Municipal solid waste as-
discarded densities may vary from 90 to 180 kg/m
3
, with a typical value of 130
kg/m
3
.
Proximate and ultimate analysis
Proximate analysis is a chemical characterization that determines the amounts
of some surrogate parameters in place of the true chemical content. Surrogate
parameters normally determined in proximate analysis are moisture(loss at
105C at 1 h), volatile matter (ignition at 650 to 950C),fixed carbon (the
carbon not burned), and ash. Ultimate analysis, on the other hand, is the
determination of the chemical elements that compose the substance.
The energy content of solid wastes is the heat of combustion released when the
waste is burned. There are two types of heats of combustion: the higher heat of
combustion and the lower heat of combustion. The higher heat of combustion
includes the heat of vaporization of water, while the lower heat of combustion
does not include the heat of vaporization of water. In practical applications, the
lower heat of combustion represents the net heat available in the combustion
reaction. Higher heats of combustion are determined by the bomb calorimeter.
If energy values are not available, values of the higher heat of combustion may
be obtained as follows: The heating values of carbon and sulphur are
32,851.465 kJ/kg and 9263.37 kJ/kg, respectively. The higher heating value of
hydrogen is 141,989.04 kJ/kg. In any given fuel, only the net hydrogen has the
heating value. Hence to obtain the heating value due to hydrogen, the combined
hydrogen must be subtracted from the total hydrogen. Let H be the fraction of
the total hydrogen (excluding the moisture) and O be the fraction of oxygen in
the fuel. Since in H
2
O, one unit mass of hydrogen is equal to
1
8
of a unit mass of
oxygen, the fraction of combined hydrogen is then equal to O/8. Hence the
fraction of net hydrogen is equal to H-O/8. Considering the heating values of
carbon and sulphur, the higher heating value of the fuel is then
H
h
=32,851C + 141,989 (H-
0
8
) +9263S
Where H
h
is the higher heating value (kJ/kg), C is the fraction of carbon, and S
is the fraction of sulphur. This equation is called Dulongs formula. The heat of
combustion of municipal solid wastes ranges from 9300 to 12,800 kJ/kg, with a
typical value of 10,500 kJ/kg.