Solid Waste Management
Solid waste
Solid waste, often called the third pollution, after air and water
pollution. Solid waste is that material which arises from various
human activities and which is normally discharged as useless or
unwanted. It consists:
Highly heterogeneous mass of discharged materials from the
urban community.
The more homogeneous accumulation of agricultural, industrial
and mining waste.
Classification of solid wastes
Solid wastes may be classified based party on content and party on
moisture and heating value. A typical classification is as follows:
(a) Garbage ()القمامه المتعفنه: Refers to the putrescible solid waste
constituents ( )النفايات الصلبو القابلو للتعفنproduced during the
preparation or storage of meat, fruit, vegetables etc. These
wastes have a moisture content of about 70% and heating value
of about 6×106 J/kg.
(b) Rubbish ()القمامه غير المتعفنه: Refers to non-putrescible solids
waste constituents, either combustible or non-combustible.
Combustible wastes would include paper, wood scrap, rubber,
leather etc. Non-combustible wastes are metals, glass, ceramics
etc. These wastes contain a moisture content of about 25% and
heating value of the waste is around 15×106 J/kg.
(c) Pathological wastes ()النفايات المرضيه: Dead animals, human
waste, etc. The moisture content is 85% and there are 5% non-
combustible solids. The heating value is around 2.5 × 106 J/kg.
(d) Industrial wastes ()النفايات الصناعيه: Chemicals, paints, sand,
metal ore processing, fly ash, sewage treatment sludge etc.
(e) Agricultural wastes ()النفايات الزراعيه: Farm animal manure
()السماد, crop residues etc.
Environmental and health impacts.
The organic fraction of municipal solid waste is an important
component, not only because it constitutes a sizable fraction of the
solid waste stream in a developing country, but also because of its
potentially adverse impact upon public health and environmental
quality. A major adverse impact is its attraction of rodents and vector
insects for which it provides food and shelter. Impact on
environmental quality takes the form of foul odours and unsightliness.
These impacts are not confined merely to the disposal site. On the
contrary, they pervade the area surrounding the site and wherever the
wastes are generated, spread, or accumulated.
Uncontrolled or poorly managed intermediate
decomposition products can contaminate air, water, and soil resources.
Solid waste disposal methods
An appropriate selection of disposal method of solid waste can
save and avoid future problems. The method should also provide
opportunities for recycling of materials if possible, and should not
pollute the air, the ground water, the surface water or the land.
Several disposal methods are being used in the various parts of the
world and the most prominent of these are:
1. Recovery and utilisation of resources
2. Composting التسميد
3. Incineration الحرق
4. Sanitary landfill دفن النفايات الصحي
5. Open dumping النفايات المعرضو للجى
1. Recovery and utilisation of resources :
For several reasons, resource recovery is a major element in solid
waste management in developing nations. Reuse and recovery of the
inorganic components (metals, glass, plastic, textiles, and others) of the
waste stream is an important aspect of waste management.
Special attention is given to organic (biodegradable) residues since,
in the majority of developing countries, these residues constitute at least
50% of the waste (by weight). The resource recovery aspect regarding the
organic component is threefold:
1. The component can be used in agriculture as a soil amendment through
composting.
2. Its energy content can be recovered either biologically or thermally.
Biological energy recovery is by way of methane production through
anaerobic digestion. Thermal recovery is by way of combustion to
produce heat.
3. The organic content can be hydrolysed either chemically or
enzymatically to produce a sugar. The sugar can be used as a substrate for
ethanol fermentation or for single-cell protein production.
Of the three applications, use in agriculture is the most practical.
Although dating back many years, methane production
(“biogasification”) has only recently begun to receive serious attention as
a potential alternative source of energy. Many hurdles, primarily
economic in nature, must be surmounted before either single-celled
protein production or ethanol fermentation become a practical reality.
2. Composting التسميد
Composting of refuse is an aerobic method of decomposing solid
waste. Many types of microorganisms already present in the waste
stabilize the organic matter in the waste to produce a soil conditioner.
Initially, the process starts with the mesophilic bacteria which oxidize
the organic matter in the refuse to carbon dioxide and liberate heat. The
temperature rise to about 45 oC and at this point the thermophilic bacteria
take over and continue to decomposition. During this phase, the
temperature further rise to about 60 oC . The refuse is periodically بشكل
دوريturned over نقلبto allow sufficient oxygen to penetrate to all parts of
the material to support aerobic life. After about three week, the compost
is stabilized. The end point of operation can be measured by noting a
drop in temperature. The compost should have an earthy smell and a dark
brown color.
3. Incineration:
Incineration involves burning of solid wastes at high temperature,
leftover ashes, glass, metals and unburned combustible amount to perhaps
25% of the original waste. Incineration leads to air pollution unless the
plant is designed, equipped مجهسهand operated to comply with air
pollution standards. Typical air pollution from incineration is fly ash,
SO2, hydrogen chloride, and organic acid. Incineration is an economic
method for solid waste disposal because useful material and energy can
be recovered from the process. Heat can be recovered by putting a waste
heat boiler or some other recovery device on an existing waste
incinerator. The solid waste has about one-third the heating value of coal
with very low sulfur content.
The advantages of incineration include wide range ability for handling
varying loads and small space requirement for ultimate disposal.
However, the method requires fairly high level of maintenance and the
operating costs are higher than those for operating of a sanitary landfill.
4. Sanitary landfill :
Sanitary landfilling is an engineering operation, designed and operated
according to acceptable standards. It may be defined as a method of
disposing refuse الفمامةon land without creating nuisances مصادر ازعاجor
hazards to public health or safety.
In sanitary landfill operation, refuse الفمامةis spread and compacted in thin
layers within a small area. This layered structure is usually referred to as
a cell. To allow for proper compaction, the cell depth should not exceed
about 2 meters. The cell is then covered with a layer of soil which is
spread uniformly and then compacted. To provide an adequate seal the
cover should normally be at least 20 cm thick. When a number of cells
reach the final desired elevation, a final cover of about one meter of earth
is placed and it is again compacted. The final cover is necessary to
prevent rodents ( )القىارضfrom burrowing ( )االختباءinto refuse.
5. Open dumping :
Open dumping is practiced in many cities because it is cheap and
requires no planning. The open dumps cause public health problems by
encouraging the breeding of flies, rats, mosquitoes and other pests. They
also become source of objectionable odors and cause air pollution when
the wastes are burned in order to reduce their volume and conserve space.
Integrated waste management .
Integrated waste management is a frame of reference for designing
and implementing new waste management systems and for analysing and
optimising existing systems. Integrated waste management is based on
the concept that all aspects of a waste management system (technical and
non-technical) should be analysed together.
Integrated waste management, is intended to help guide decisions
about the generation of waste, recycling of material, and ultimate disposal
of waste resides.
An outline of some of highlights of integrated waste management are
listed below:
1- Source reduction.
Reduce toxicity.
Less packaging.
Product reuse.
More durable products.
On-site mulching and composting.
2- Recycling.
Collection.
Processing.
Use of recycled material in products.
Composting.
3- Disposal.
Combustion with energy recovery.
Landfill.
Incineration without energy recovery.
References
C.S.Rao , “Environmental Pollution Control Engineering”, 2nd eddition ,
New Age International(P) Limited, Published, 2006, Reprint 2007.
R. K. Sinnott, Chemical Engineering Design, Vol. 6. 4th edition,
Chemical Engineering Design, 2005, pp. 450-457.
Noel de Never, “Air Pollution Control Engineering”, McGrow-Hill, Inc
1987.
M. Grawford, “Air Pollution Control Theory”, McGraw-Hill, New York,
1976.
M. M. Gilbert, “Introduction To Environmental Engineering And Science
”, 2nd edition, Hall, Inc, New Jersey, 1998.
