Fonseca, Jonaselle O.

CIV 153

EXCESSIVE SUDS IN TULLAHAN RIVER

What's that foam in the water?

What causes foam to appear on rivers, lakes and streams?

As with most liquids, water molecules are normally attracted to each other. This attraction creates
tension at the surface of the water, often referred to as a thin "skin," which allows some insects to
glide across it.

 When leaves, twigs or other organic substances fall into water and begin decaying, they
release compounds known as surfacants.
 This interaction breaks the surface tension, which in turn allows air to more easily mix
with water and creates bubbles. These bubbles congregate as natural foam.

However, not all foam is natural. Certain man-made products, including detergents, can cause
foam that is similar in appearance, but may be harmful to fish and other aquatic life.
When am I most likely to see natural foam on a waterbody?

 On a windy day, because foam occurs when air mixes with water to form bubbles.
 During the fall when trees drop their leaves and aquatic plants begin to die back and
decompose.
 Throughout the spring as plants lose their buds.
 When the outdoor temperature rises, because heat accelerates plant decay, which
releases the organic substances that contribute to foam.
 During soil erosion events or from human activities, such as gravel washing.

Is foam harmful?

 Foam is usually harmless. In fact, only 1 percent of the foam you see on a waterbody
is the actual foaming agent; the rest is air and water.
 However, excess foam is sometimes the result of too much phosphorus in the water.
 Although phosphorus in an important plant nutrient, it is not found abundantly in nature
and too much of it is indicative of pollution from human activities.

Excessive phosphorous can result in nuisance algae blooms, fish kills due to low dissolved oxygen
from decomposition processes, and irregularities with the water's taste and odor.
How can I tell what kind of foam it is?
Although it's difficult to know for sure, foam from various sources can have different
characteristics.

Natural foam usually: Unnatural foam from human activity

usually:
 appears as light tan or brown
in color, but may be white;  appears white in color;
 smells earthy, fishy or has  gives off a fragrant,
fresh cut grass odor; perfumed or soapy odor;
 can occur over large areas and
and accumulate in large  usually occurs over small
amounts, especially on area, localized near source
windward shores, in coves of discharge.
and eddies; and
 dissipates fairly, quickly,
except when agitated (as in
high wind conditions).

From https://www.rappflow.org/resources/faq.html

The following research papers were all taken from https://www.researchgate.net/publication

 HUGE AMOUNT OF PLASTIC WASTES

Environmental concerns about the huge landfill space that is being taken by construction and
demolition debris has brought up a new technique in salvaging construction material and
recycling demolition debris. Although one process exists for two types of waste, many have tried
different strategies in dealing with this problem. These strategies vary between "separating and
sorting" then "crushing and reducing" and "crushing and reducing" then "separating and sorting".

PROCESS OF C&D DEBRIS RECYCLING

C&D debris refers to materials generated as a result of construction and demolition projects.
Metals, wood, rocks, concrete, rubble, soil, paper, plastics and glass are among the many
materials that are considered C&D debris. Realizing that the disposal of C&D debris in landfills
consumes large amount of space and is economically and environmentally costly, the need to get
acquainted with suitable recycling processes is becoming more and more essential. Although,
only one recycling process has been developed, there are different strategies for implementation.

YPES OF CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTES

Type I - Roadway and Site Conversion C&D Waste
C&D waste is classified as Type I if it consists mainly of rubble with a little ratio of "clean"
materials such as wood, metals, and plastics. Type I waste should be easily separable in order to
be considered as "clean". The composition by weight of a Type I C&D debris is (2, p.6.31):

Rubble
concrete, asphalt 40%
soil, rock 20%
Wood 30%
Metals, plastic 10%

Type II - Construction and Interior Demolition Waste

This type is mainly generated from urban structure such as office buildings, stores, etc.. Type II
contains mixed fractions of concrete, drywall, framing, ductwork, roofing, windows, corrugated,
packaging, etc.(2,p.6.32) . Due to its high heterogeneous composition this type is difficult to
separate, it is mainly made of:

Rubble 25%
Wood 33%
Metals 20%
Corrugated 12%
other (carpet, residue, etc.) 10%

C & D WASTE PROCESSING STRATEGIES

Primary separating equipment used with type I are very efficient while with type II this
procedure along with hand sorting will take lots of time. Processing procedure is determined by
the type of waste and the possible use of the output materials
(2, p.6.32). Table 1 shows the different contents of C & D waste .
Table 1 Contents of C&D Waste (2, p.6.31)
Waste type Contents
Rubble Soil, rock, concrete, asphalt, bricks
Tar-based material Shingles, tar paper
Ferrous metal Steel rebar, pipes, roofing, flashing, structural members, ductwork
Nonferrous metal Aluminum, copper, brass
Harvested wood Stumps, brush, treetops and limbs
Untreated wood Framing, scrap lumber, pallets
Treated wood Plywood, pressure-treated, laminates
Plaster Drywall, sheetrock
Glass Windows, doors
Plastic Vinyl siding, doors, windows, blinds, material packaging
White goods/bulky items Appliances, furniture, carpeting
Corrugated Material packaging, cartons, paper
Contaminants Lead paint, lead piping, asbestos, fiberglass, fuel tanks

Type I C & D Waste Processing Strategy

Clean rubble can directly be placed into a grizzly feeder where a jawcrusher and hammermiller
could act on it for reduction.

- Debris placed into grizzly feeder

Sorting and reducing first is more practical than crushing if the debris contains material such as
plastics, paper, rags, or contaminants such as paint, lead pipes, etc.. After crushing the mix is
then screened to remove fine soil and small rocks. Any contaminants, ferrous, and non ferrous
material is removed by either manual picking or magnetic field belt. If wood is present in the
rubble then the mix is guided towards a flotation tank where the wood will float and thus the
separation from rocks is achieved. Another system instead of a flotation tank could be used and
that is an air classifier. The air system is more expensive to use, but if the recycling plant is
located in a region where there is strict rules about water pollution, thus requiring that the water
from the flotation tank to be treated, then an air system might be a better option.

Crushing, reducing and then sorting and separating is much more recommended with systems
made from 80% to 90% rubble, wood, and few contaminants. A general processing layout is
shown in figure 2 and is available as both fixed and
portable designs(2, p.6.34).

- Recycling plant
Type II C&D Waste Processing Strategy
It is essential that type II C&D waste be sorted and separated before being crushed and reduced
since this type of waste could have asbestos, paint, lead pipe, etc.. These contaminants could
render the mixture hazardous if they where to be crushed into small pieces, consequently making
hand-picking extremely difficult or even impossible to do.

- Separating and sorting

After removing big contamineous material, the mix is introduced into a disk screen in order to
separate the soil from rocks.
- Hand-picking
This has proven to be essential in order to increase the efficiency of handpicking in a later stage.

Eventually, material recovered will be free from contaminants and rubble will further be
processed according to the need of the local market(2, p.6.36).

- Aggregate of size 0-60mm

CONCLUSION
In recycling C&D debris, many considerations should be accounted for; such as the nature and
the type of the material. Knowing these properties, it is possible to choose and apply the suitable
process strategy: with type II materials, sorting and separating at an early stage before crushing
reduces the risk of coming out with a contaminated recycled material. In contrast to type II
material, type I material can be,in most cases, more easily and safely crushed before being sorted
since the percentage of contaminants is negligible.

From https://effectivepapers.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-paper-on-recycling.html

The following research papers were all taken from https://www.researchgate.net/publication