SOLID WASTE

MANAGEMENT
&
LANDFILL ENGINEERING
(ENVENG 6032)
 PART I: SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION SWM
 Solid Waste in History
 Solid Waste Management
 Functional Elements of SWM
 Integrated Solid Waste Management
 Hierarchy of Integrated Solid Waste Management
CHAPTER 2: SW GENERATION, TRENDS, STATISTICS & CHARACTERIZATION
 Sources of Solid Waste
 Types of Solid Waste
 Characterization of Solid Waste
 Quantification of Solid Waste
CHAPTER 3: ONSITE HANDLING, STORAGE AND PROCESSING OF SW
 Onsite Handling of SW
 Onsite Storage of SW
 Onsite Processing of Solid Waste
 Waste Recycling and Producer Responsibility
 Waste Minimization
 Life Cycle Analysis of Waste Management Options
CHAPTER 4: COLLECTION OF SOLID WASTE
 Phases of Solid Waste Collection
 Type of Pick-Up Services
 Types of Collection Systems
 Analysis of Collection Systems
 Design of Collection Routes
CHAPTER 5: MANAGEMENT OF SPECIAL WASTES
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 Managing Health-care/Hospital Wastes
CHAPTER 6: TRANSFER AND TRANSPORT OF SOLID WASTE
 Transfer Station
 Need of a Transfer Station
 Types of Transfer Stations
 Comparison of Transfer Stations
 Transport Means and Methods
 Methods used to Unload Waste Containers
 Requirements for Efficient Transfer Station
 Pneumatic Waste Collection Systems
CHAPTER 7: SOLID WASTE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENTS
 Purpose of SW Processing
 SW Processing Techniques
 Densification
 Chemical Volume Reduction
 Mechanical Size Reduction
 Component Separation
 Drying and Dewatering
 Stabilization/solidification of SWS
CHAPTER 8: COMBUSTION AND ENERGY RECOVERY
o Waste to Energy as a Waste Management Option
o Waste to Energy as a Pollution Prevention Option
o Waste to Energy as Renewable Energy Source
o Objectives of Managing Waste through Waste to Energy Option
o Determinants of Selecting Waste to Energy as Waste Treatment Option
o Assessment of Waste to Energy Potential
o Waste to Energy Recovery Technologies
 Physical Method
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 Biological Methods
CHAPTER 9: BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT AND COMPOSTING OF SW
o Fundamentals of Composting
o Composting and Compost
o Process Description
o Control of Composting Process
o Functions Performed by Composting
o Environmental Aspects
o Compost as Soil Amendment
o Anaerobic Digestion
o Microbiology of Composting Process
PART II: LANDFILL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN
CHAPTER 10: LANDFILL CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND CLOSURE
o Disposal of the SW in Landfills
o Landfilling Methods
o Site Selection Criteria for Landfills
o Reactions Occurring in Completed Landfill
o Leachate and Gas Generation in Landfill
o Movement and Control of Leachate and Gases in Landfill
o Landfill Gas Collection and Use
o Landfill Design:
 Hydro-geologic Principles
 Barrier Layer Design
 Leachate Collection System Design
 Storm water Management & Landfill Cover Design
 Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design
 Landfill operations
4
 Post-closure Care and Use of Old Landfills
 CHAPTER 11: Current Issues in Solid Waste Management
 Life Cycle Analysis
 Life Cycle Management
 Product stewardship or Producer responsibility
 Flow Control
 Financing Solid Waste Facilities
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
 On completion of the course, you will be able to:
o Understand the implications of production, resource mgt and environmental impact of
SWM
o Design SWM infrastructure systems to minimize its impacts
o The significance of recycling, Reuse & Reclamation of SWs
o Understand the relationship b/n poor waste mgt practices and impacts on water, soil and
sediment quality
o Appreciate the current practices available and implement available systems in SWM
o Assess the relationships b/n environmental guidelines, human activities and
environmental quality of polluted soils and water
o Integrate technical options and environmental legislation and guidance of SWM to
development of legal and safe solutions

5
REFERENCE BOOKS
1. Tchobanoglous, G., H. Theisen and S. Vigil (1993). Integrated Solid Waste
Management: Engineering Principles and Management Issues, McGraw-Hill, Inc.,
Boston, MA.
2. Tchobanoglous G. and F. Kreith (2002). Handbook of Solid Waste Management,
Second Edition., McGraw-Hill, New York, USA.
3. Kanti L. Shah (1999). Basics of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
Technology, First Edition, Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0139603786
4. Bagchi, A., (1994). Design, Construction and Monitoring of Sanitary Landfill,
Second Edition. John Wiley and Sons, YN , USA
5. McBean, E.A., F.A. Rovers and G.J. Farquhar (1995). Landfill Engineering and
Design. Prentice Hall PTR, Eaglewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA
6. Shaukat Hayat & Sajjad H. Sheikh (2016). Municipal Solid Waste: Engineering
Principles and Management. Second Edition. The Urban Unit, 503-Shaheen
Complex, Egertan Road, Lahore, Pakistan
7. John T. Pfeffer (1992). SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ENGINEERING.
Prentice-Hall, Inc. A Simon & Schuster Company Engiewood Cliffs, New Jersey
07632. ISBN 0-13-824905-9

6
 PART I

SOLID
WASTE
MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

8
 INTRODUCTION
 What is Solid Waste?
o The definition of waste can be very subjective, what represents waste to one person may represent a valuable
resource to another
o It does not mean that the SW being discarded have no value
o It simply means that the SW have no value for the current owner but it can be reused and become a resource for
another owner if managed properly
 The word waste can be defined as any unwanted item or substance resulting from a human activity or production
processes that is useless for the current owner
 Solid Waste is defined as anything non-liquid and non-gaseous in terms of byproduct that is produced because of any
human activity and can produce any detrimental impact on environment
 ‘Any substance or object which the holder discards or intends to discard’
 Human activities generate waste materials that are discarded because they consider useless
 The physical state of these materials is solid
o Solid waste as, "any discarded, rejected, abandoned, unwanted or surplus matter, whether or not intended for
sale or for recycling, reprocessing, recovery or purification by a separate operation from that which produced
the matter or anything declared by regulation or by an environment protection policy to be waste"
 The term solid waste encompasses the heterogeneous mass discarded by the urban community as well as
more homogeneous accumulations of agricultural, industrial and mineral waste
 SOLID WASTE IN HISTORY
 Solid Waste is a consequence of life
o All creatures including human beings constantly make decisions about what to use and what to throw away
 A chimpanzee knows the inside of the banana is good and the peel is not and throws it away
 A paramecium uses high-energy organic molecules and discharges its products after having extracted the
energy in the C–C or C–H bonds
 Humans buy a can of soft drink with the full understanding that the can will become waste
 So waste is a consequence of everyday life of all creatures 9
o Humans have been producing SW forever as part of life
 Hunters & gathers
• Ultimate composters
• No packaging materials
• All wastes were biodegradable
• Wastes had no impacts on health & Env’t
o Mass production of SW began when humans abandoned nomadic life and began to live in communities at
around 10,000 BC
o In early times, the disposal of wastes did not pose a significant problem because:
 Population was small
 Assimilation capacity of the environment was large
 Wastes disposal become the problem when humans first began to congregate in:
o Tribes
o Villages
o Communities
o For the most part, people in cities lived among waste and squalor
o Only when the social discards became dangerous for defense was action taken
 Increase in solid waste generation is due to
 Increasing population
 Industrialization
 Urbanization
 Economic growth
 Improved standard of living
 Impacts of Solid Waste
o Solid waste is being produced since the inception of human history
o In early history, human being used to throw their waste in open land because of small population and few
environmental hazards
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 Open Dumps
 1st created in 500 B.C in Athens, Greece
 Developed a waste collection program in 14 AD in Rome, Italy
 Outlawed in U.S. & many other Developed Countries
 Some illegal dumping still occurs
 Still used by many developing countries
 Many poor families work on dumps to get food or recyclables
 Cons:
 Attracts vermin & insects
 Smells
 Methane causes spontaneous fires (Smokey Mtn in Phillipines)
 Aesthetic degradation
Fig. A typical horse-drawn solid waste collection vehicle (left) and scavengers looking food or recyclables

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 Ocean Dumping
o 55 million lbs of bottles, cans, plastic are dumped at sea
o 330 million lbs of fishing gear-lines, nets, etc. lost each year
o USA did not stop dumping sewage into ocean until 1992!
 Proper SWM is an ongoing concern
o Promotion of MOs that cause diseases
o Generation of noxious odors
o Environment pollution (water, soil, air, sediment)
o Occupy valuable land that could be used for other purposes
o Degrade aesthetic quality of the environment
o Attraction and support of disease vectors
o A fire hazard
o Resource wastage that could be raw materials to produce goods, feed stock for composting and
mulching processes and fuel
o Environmental and Ecological Damage

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 Risks associated with poor SWM

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 Solid Waste Management (SWM)
o Solid waste management may be defined as the discipline associated with the control of generation,
storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and recovery and disposal of solid waste in a
manner that is in accordance with the best principles of public health (decrease in diseases), economics,
engineering, conservation, aesthetics and other environmental considerations and that is also responsive
to the public attitude (involvement of community)
 All administrative, financial, legal, planning, Architectural, environmental and engineering functions
involved in solution of all problems of SW
 If solid waste management is to be accomplished in an efficient manner, the functional aspects and
relationships involved must be identified and understood clearly
 Indiscriminate dumping of SW & failure of the collection system cause:
 Odors
 Flies
 Rats
 Roaches
 Crickets
 Wandering dogs and cats
 Fires
 Objectives of SWM
 Public hygiene and health
 Reuse, Recovery and Recycle (3R’s)
 Energy Generation (waste to Energy)
 Sustainable Development (SD)
 Aesthetics
 Environmental Pollution (air, water, soil, sediment)
 The activities associated with the management of solid waste from point of generation to final disposal
may be grouped into six functional elements (see table on the next slid) 14
Table: Functional Elements of a Solid Waste Management System

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Fig.: Interrelationships between the functional elements of MSWM system

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Fig.: The functional elements of MSWM system

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 Functional Elements of a Solid Waste Management System…..
Fig. Views of the functional activities that comprise a solid waste management system: (a) waste generation;
(b) waste handling and separation, storage and processing at the source; (c) collection; (d) separation,
processing and transformation of solid waste; (e) transfer and transport; (f) disposal SW

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 INTRODUCTION…..
 Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) is a comprehensive waste prevention, recycling,
composting and disposal program
o An effective ISWM system considers how to prevent, recycle and manage SW in ways that most
effectively protect human health and the environment
o ISWM involves evaluating local needs and conditions and then selecting and combining the most
appropriate waste management activities for those conditions
o The ISWM aims to manage the waste in an environmentally and economically sustainable way
o The twin goals of ISWM are:
 To recover maximum possible amount of reusable materials and energy from the municipal solid
waste stream through best available practices
 To avoid releasing the energy or matter into the environment as a pollutant
o ISWM provides a hierarchy (an order from most preferred to least preferred) of approaches and
technologies for managing solid waste in order to meet the goal of sustainability
o The major ISWM activities are:
 Waste prevention (source reduction)
 Reusing waste
 Recycling waste
 Waste transformation (composting and combustion)
 Disposal in properly designed, constructed and managed landfill
Figure: Hierarchy of solid waste management
 Hierarchy of Integrated Solid Waste Management
 The ISWM hierarchy is based upon the material and energy that is embodied in SW and that is
associated with its recycling and disposal
 The higher an option in the hierarchy, the more benefits it has in terms of economic value
 The hierarchy is a useful for conserving resources, dealing with landfill shortages, minimizing air
and water pollution and protecting public health 19
 HIERARCHY OF INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
 Source Reduction
 The highest priority option in ISWM
 Involves reducing the amount and/or toxicity of SW
 It eliminates and/or facilitates the need to manage waste generated
 May occur through the designing, manufacturing and packaging of products with minimum toxic
content, minimum volume of material or a longer useful life
 May also occur at the household, commercial or industrial facility through selective buying patterns
and reuse of products and materials
 Sorting at source, recycling at source and processing at source (e.g. yard composting) help in waste
minimization
 Effects of Source Reduction
 There are both economic and environmental advantages to source reduction
• Environmental benefits of source reduction
• Reduced pollution from trucks and disposal
• Less resource depletion from excess packaging not generated
• Reduced need for landfill capacity
• Waste and toxicity reduction
• Reduced need for natural resources
• Less energy and pollution from avoided processing/reprocessing of materials
• A reduction in the amount of material sent to landfills and waste combustion facilities
• Source reduction can reduce the costs of SWM by
 Reduction in Cost of SWM (collection, processing, and disposal of materials)
 Reducing the quantity of waste to be managed,
 Avoided purchasing costs
 Collecting revenues from resale of items
 Source reduction activities can result in changes to the composition of solid waste 20
 Strategies for Source Reduction
o There are many strategies available to accomplish source reduction
 Redesigning products or packaging to reduce the quantity or toxicity of the materials used,
substitution of lightweight materials, or making them reusable
 Reusing existing materials, products or packaging; for example, refillable bottles, reusable pallets,
reconditioned toner cartridges and copying on both sides of a sheet of paper
 Reducing the amount of a product or packaging used
 Lengthening the lives of products or materials to postpone disposal, such as through regular
maintenance or choosing to repair an item
 Using packaging that reduces the amount of damage or spoilage to a product
 Managing organic wastes (such as food scraps and yard trimmings) through on-site composting or
other alternatives to disposal (such as leaving grass clippings on the lawn)

21
 Waste minimization techniques

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Table: Consumer Strategies for Source Reduction

23
Table: Purchasing Strategies for Source Reduction

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 Strategies for implementing source reduction in commercial facilities and institutions
o Two main categories: changing procurement policies & modifying operations
 Reducing waste through procurement policies
 Setting a price preference for reusable, refillable and durable equipment that reduces waste, such as double-
sided (duplexing) copy machines
 Requiring companies that ship goods to package them in reusable shipping containers and/or to take back the
packaging; for example, furniture that can be delivered in reusable shipping blankets
 Negotiating for longer and more comprehensive warranties and service contracts when purchasing durable
goods
 Leasing instead of buying equipment to provide manufacturers with an incentive to keep it in good repair
 Purchasing items that can reduce paper use, such as double-sided photocopy machines, laser printers and
equipment and computer software that permit faxing from a computer to reduce printouts
 Some Operational Strategies for source reduction
o Using e-mail instead of paper for communications
o Eliminating fax cover sheets
o Editing and careful proofreading on the computer before printing papers
o Storing files on computer disks and printing only when necessary
o Loading laser printer paper trays with paper used on one side for drafts
o Reducing mailings by targeting audiences as narrowly as possible
o Using scrap pieces of paper for short memos
 Strategies for Industrial source reduction
o Recover plant materials such as solvents, metal, paper, oil, and cooling water
o Increase production efficiency to reduce the generation of scrap material
o Limit production to what is required
o Reuse and repair used pallets
o Reuse and refill packaging containers such as bags and drums
o Return packaging materials for reuse and/or reuse packing material 25
o Redesign products to prevent waste associated with packaging and manufacturing
 Reusing
 Municipal could be reduced through reusing the items that are no longer required by someone to
reduce solid waste generated
 The repeated use of products and components
 Most of our daily use products are reusable
 Examples of reusing waste:
 Plastic bags from the market can be used to pack the solid waste and transport to the waste bin
 Newspapers can be rolled up to make fireplace logs and coffee cans to be used to hold bolts
and screws
 Reusing is thus about extending the life or giving a second life to something that we previously
considered as "garbage“
 Reduces the amount of SW send to the landfill sites and extends the operational life span of landfill
 Extends resource supplies
 Saves energy and money
 Reduces pollution
 Creates jobs
 Reusable products

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 Recycling
 Separation and collection of waste materials
 Preparation of these materials for reuse, reprocessing and remanufacture
 Reuse, reprocessing, and remanufacture of these materials
 An important factor in helping to reduce the demand of resources and the amount of waste requiring
disposal by landfilling

 Resource Recovery
 The fourth option in the ISWM hierarchy
 Involves the physical, chemical or biological alteration of waste
 The transformation of waste materials usually results in the reduced use of landfill capacity
 Example: The reduction in waste volume through combustion
o Landfilling SW: Disposal of Solid Waste in Landfills
 The last and least preferred option of the ISWM hierarchy
 Involves the controlled disposal of waste on or in the Earth's mantle
 It is the most common method of ultimate disposal for waste residuals

27
 Benefits of Recycling (chart)

28
 Waste Recycling and Producer Responsibility
o Recycling will return raw materials to market by separating reusable products from the waste stream
o Turns products that would become waste into new materials or products
o The materials to be recycled can include paper (newspaper, cardboard, mixed paper, etc.), glass
(amber, green, and/or flint), cans (aluminum, ferrous, bimetal) and plastics (PETE, HDPE, PS, PVC,
PP, LDPE, etc.) and other items
o The owner of the waste material first collect, clean and separate out the the useful materials from the
rest of the SW and then, the materials are manufactured into new products which can be marketed
and sold to consumers
o Composting is another form of recycling that turns organic matter such as food and yard wastes into
new soil (compost) through controlled biological decomposition
 Preliminary steps for a recycling program
o An accurate analysis of the sources and content of the SW stream
o Evaluation of any existing recycling programs (existing programs must be integrated into the new or
expanded program)
o Identification of public attitudes about recycling
o Determine what markets exist for the recycled materials
o Determine the best recycling options
 Recycling Programs
o There are many ways to implement a recycling program
o It can be either voluntary or mandatory
o The materials to be recycled can include:
 Paper (newspaper, cardboard, mixed paper, etc.)
 Glass (amber, green, and/or flint)
 Cans (aluminium, ferrous, bimetal) 29
 Plastics (PET, HDPE, PS, PVC, PP, LDPE, etc.) as well as other items
 Waste Recycling and Producer Responsibility…..
o Recycling program alternatives include the following:
o Return of bottle bill containers or use of reverse vending machines
o Drop boxes, drop-off centers, or buyback centers for recyclables
o Curbside collection of homeowner-separated materials
o Curbside separation of homeowner-commingled recyclables
o Materials recovery facilities (MRFs) for the separation of commingled recyclables (collected at curbside,
collected in drop boxes, or collected in special blue bags) using various levels of mechanization for waste
processing
o Mechanically assisted hand separation of recyclables from raw waste (front-end processing or mixed-
waste processing)
o Fully automated separation of recyclables from raw waste
 Recycling Options
 Drop-off and buyback Centers
o Centralized locations where a specified class of waste generators (typically residential generators) may
voluntarily bring certain recyclable materials
o Can be staffed or unstaffed
 Curbside Collection
o More effective, but more expensive
 Voluntary vs. Mandatory Recycling
o Enforcement
 Benefits of Recycling
o Saves precious finite resources
o Lessens the need for mining of virgin materials (lowers environmental impact for mining and processing)
o Reduces the amount of energy consumed
o Help stretch landfill capacity
o Improve the efficiency and ash quality of incinerators and composting facilities by removing
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noncombustible materials (metals and glass)
 Producer Responsibility
o Europe has taken the lead in reducing electronic waste from electronic products through producer
responsibility (PR)
o Making the producers responsible for taking back their products
o A producer takes back a product at the end of its useful life either directly or through a third party
o PR focuses on the responsibility that producers assume for their products at the end of their useful life
(postconsumer stage)
o The aim of PR is to encourage producers to prevent pollution and reduce resource and energy use in each
stage of the product life cycle through changes in product design and process technology
o Producers will bear a degree of responsibility for all the environmental impacts of their products
o This includes impacts arising from the choice of materials and manufacturing process, as well as impacts
resulting from the use and disposal of products
o The EU has drafted legislation to require manufacturers to improve the design of their products in order
to avoid the generation of waste and to facilitate the recovery and disposal of electronic scrap
o This can be achieved through the phase out of hazardous materials, as well as the development of
efficient systems of collection, reuse, and recycling
o The ultimate aim is to close the loop of the product life cycle so that producers, who are in charge of
designing the product, get their products back and assume full responsibility for end-of-life-cycle costs
o Ensuring this feedback to the producer and making them financially responsible for end-of-life waste mgt
should create an incentive to design products with less hazardous and more recyclable materials
o This change in the market economics, the internalization of costs that are currently passed off to the
general public, should encourage the design of products for repair, upgrade, reuse, dismantling, use of
environmentally preferable materials, and safer recycling
o Internalizing the costs of waste mgt makes manufacturers more aware of the problems associated with
their products
o This type of sliding scale encourages manufacturers, to consider the life cycle of their products and to
reduce the amount of material used 31
 Producer Responsibility……
o Producer responsibility programs can also be used to apply fees to materials based on type and amount
o The money generated can be used to fund collection and processing of the material
o It has been applied to a range of products including batteries, packaging waste, waste paper end of life
vehicles, etc
o Other products, such as batteries, appliances, electronics, and hazardous materials, have also been the
targets of producer responsibility laws
o Recycling has grown rapidly and can expand further

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 SW GENERATION, TRENDS & STATISTICS, COMPOSITION, QUANTIFICATION AND
CHARACTERIZATION
o The design and operation of functional elements associated with the management of SW require data on
 Sources of solid waste
 Types of solid waste
 Physical and chemical characteristics
 Composition of solid waste
 Generation rates of solid waste
 SOURCES OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION
 Domestic/Residential Waste:
o All SWs produced by people living in residences such as single-family homes, duplexes, town houses,
low, medium and high rise apartments
o Generated as a consequence of household activities such as cooking, cleaning, repairs, hobbies,
redecoration, empty containers, packaging, clothing, old books, writing/new paper and old furnishings
o Households also discard bulky wastes such as furniture and large appliances which cannot be repaired
and used
 Commercial Waste: all SWs produced by commercial establishments such as office buildings, print shops,
shopping malls, warehouses, hotels, airports, restaurants, auto repair shops, wholesale and retail stores
 Institutional Waste: all SWs produced by schools, medical facilities, prisons, government centers,
universities and research institutes
 Waste similar to residential and commercial is produced in institutions
 Agricultural Waste: all solid wastes produced from farming operations such as field and row crops,
orchards, vineyards, dairies, feedlots, farms, planting and harvesting of crops, production of milk
 Treatment plant Wastes: all sludge solid wastes produced by water, wastewater and industrial treatment
processes. Waste is principally composed of residual sludge and other minor components
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 Mining waste: all residues remaining from mining and mineral processing operations
 SOURCES OF SOLID WASTE GENERATION
 Industrial waste: all non-hazardous solid wastes produced by industrial manufacturing processes and
industrial operations
 Cover a vast range of substances which are unique to each industry
 plants such as packaging of components, office wastes, lunchroom and restroom wastes but not industrial
process wastes
 Municipal waste: all solid wastes from street cleaning, landscaping, catch-basin cleaning, parks and
beaches, other recreational areas
 Construction and demolition wastes: all solid waste materials generated during the construction,
refurbishment, repair and demolition of houses, apartments, commercial buildings, industrial factories
and other structures
 Demolition waste: Waste from razed buildings and other structures
 Construction waste: waste from construction, remodeling and repairing of individual residences
and other buildings
 New construction sites, road repair renovation sites, razing of buildings, broken pavement
 It mainly consists of bricks, concrete and other masonry materials, soil, wood, wall coverings,
plaster, drywall, plumbing fixtures, non-asbestos insulation, roofing shingles, asphaltic pavement,
glass, plastics, metals…

Treatment plant Wastes

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demolition wastes
Table: Sources of solid waste generation in a community

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 Types of Solid Waste
o The term solid waste is all-inclusive and encompasses all sources, types of classifications, compositions
and specifications
o There are different types of solid waste originating from different resources, with varying quantities,
characteristics and different methods of handling
o Some type of waste are toxic, carcinogens and malicious and require special care for its management
and disposal
o That is why there is a need to classify waste according to their source of origin and quantity of
production
o Various investigators had classified the solid waste into the following categories:
 Garbage
 The component of solid wastes that consists of animal, fruit or vegetable residues
 Normally results from the handling, preparation, cooking and eating foods
 It is also called 'food waste‘
 It is highly putrescible and will decompose rapidly
 Often, decomposition will lead to the development of offensive odor
 It can originate from residences, restaurants, hospitals and prisons etc.
 Rubbish
 Consists of combustible and noncombustible solid wastes of households, institutions, commercial activities,
etc. excluding food waste or other highly purtrescible items
 Combustible rubbish include paper, cardboard, plastics, textiles, rubber, leather, wood, furniture and garden
trimmings, timber, unused furniture, dressed timber
 Noncombustible rubbish consists of items as glass, crockery, tin cans, aluminum cans, ferrous and other non-
ferrous metals and dirt
 Ashes and Residues
 Materials remaining from the burning of wood, coal and other combustible waste in homes, institutions,
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industrial and municipal facilities for purposes of heating, cooking and disposing of combustible wastes
 Types of Solid Waste…..
 Demolition and Construction Waste
 Waste from razed buildings and other structures are classified as demolition waste
 Waste from construction, remodeling and repairing of individual residences and other buildings are
classified as construction waste
 Include dirt, stones, concrete, bricks, plaster, timber, plumbing, heating and electrical parts
 Treatment Plant Waste
 The solid and semi-solid wastes from water, wastewater and industrial waste treatment facilities
 Agricultural Waste
 Waste and residues resulting from diverse agricultural activities-including planting and harvesting of
crops, production of milk, production of animals for slaughtering and operation of feedlots
 Hazardous Waste
 Chemical, biological, flammable, explosive or radio-active wastes, that pose a substantial danger,
immediately or over time to human, plant or animal life
 Must be handled and disposed of with great care and caution due to immense danger associated

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 CHARACTERIZATION OF SOLID WASTE
o The solid waste is a mixture of heterogeneous matter and its composition differs with the origin, i.e.,
residential waste are different from commercial waste and industrial waste are different from agricultural
waste
o In order to decide about the handling of solid waste at all the stages of solid waste management (i.e., storage,
collection, processing and recovery and disposal, it is necessary to know the exact nature of wastes
o Characterization of solid waste is a difficult task due to:
 Heterogeneity of the waste
 Spatial and temporal variations
o If good and reliable data with reasonable uncertainty is to be obtained waste characterization costly
o A waste characterization is narrowly defined to meet specific needs for information
 The purposes of characterization SW can be:
o Data on waste quantities and composition are used for policy setting on recycling
o To classify waste as hazardous or non-hazardous waste according to national regulation
o To document adherence to specified quality criteria for recycled materials
o To determine the efficiency of an introduced recycling scheme
o To determine waste generation rates for residential waste to forecast of waste quantities based on to
population growth
o To characterize waste quantity and composition for the design of a waste incinerator
o Effectiveness of waste reduction, recycling programs or bans on the disposal of certain materials
o Potential sources of environmental pollution in the waste
o Size, capacity and design of facilities to manage the waste
o Understanding the characteristics of waste stream is important for all SWM methods
 If all waste is to be landfilled, the characterization program focuses on the
 Quantity of waste
 Its density 38
 Its potential for compaction
 Solid Waste Characterization ….
 If all waste is to be incinerated, the critical parameters are
 Quantity
 Heat value
 Percentage of combustible material
 The long-term trends in waste stream characteristics are important
 If future quantities and components are under- or overestimated, then facilities may be over- or
undersized
 In developing SWM programs, it is important to identify the sources, characteristics and quantities
of SW
 Information on SW characteristics is also important in determining the:
 Types of collection services
 Types of collection vehicles
 Types of processing facilities
 Disposal methods
 If recycling and composting are planned or underway, a composition study can identify
 Materials targeted for recovery
 Estimate the abundance of recoverable materials
 Monitor compliance with source separation

39
 SOLID WASTE CHARACTERISTICS…..
 The inherent properties are determined by physical and chemical analysis while the performance testing is
made in experimental systems containing the waste and simulating its performance under determined
conditions (e.g., compression testing, leaching testing and degradability testing)
 Physical analysis is used to determine the composition of household waste and the estimation of its recycling
and waste treatment options.
 The selection of analyses and tests to be performed is based on the goals of the characterization and also with
due respect to the limitations in available time and resources
 Some of the characteristics of interest are:
 Composition by identifiable items (steel cans, office paper, etc.)
 Moisture content
 Particle size
 Chemical composition (carbon, hydrogen, etc.)
 Heat value
 Density (Specific and bulk densities)
 Mechanical properties
 Biodegradability
 Analysis of Solid Waste Composition
o Because of heterogeneous nature of MSW, determination of its composition is not easy
o A full knowledge of the composition of the wastes is an essential element in
 Selection of the type of storage and transport most appropriate to a given situation
 Determination of the potential for resource recovery
 Choice of a suitable method of disposal
 Determination of the environmental impact exerted by the wastes if they are improperly managed
 Physical Composition Analysis of SW
o Physical composition of solid waste can be determined either by using 40
o Input method/materials flow method
 Physical Composition Analysis by Input/Material Flows method
o used to estimate the waste production at national level by collecting data from the production industries
o It’s accuracy depends upon the data collection and refuse rate
 Data sources for material flows methodology:
o Domestic production of the materials
o Products in municipal Solid Waste
Input/Material Flows method
Characterizes residential, commercial, institutional and some
industrial wastes
Characterizes SW at national level
Characterizes SW generation as well as discards
Characterizes SW on an as-generated moisture basis
Provides data on long-term trends
Characterizes SW on an annual basis
Does not account for regional differences
The entire waste stream is measured instead of samples
Updates are inexpensive once analytical structure is established
Results tend to be more consistent than sampling
Cannot measure the generation of food wastes, yard trimmings
and some miscellaneous inorganic wastes
Output method
Characterizes wastes received at the sampling facility
Is site-specific
Usually characterizes only discards as received
Usually characterizes wastes after they have been mixed
and moisture transferred
Provides only one point in time (unless multiple samples
are taken over a long period of time)
Provides data on seasonal fluctuations (if enough samples
are taken)
Can provide data on regional differences
A more detailed waste characterization method
Can easily measure generation of food wastes, yard
trimmings and some miscellaneous inorganic wastes
Requires less effort and finance as compared to input
method
Sample size and method of characterizing the refuse are
the most important variable
41
 Measuring Physical composition of SW by Input/Material Flows method
 Data sources for material flows methodology:
o Domestic production of the materials
o Products in municipal Solid Waste
o Data series consistent from year to year rather than a single point in time allows the methodology to
obtain meaningful historical data that can be used for establishing time trends
o Numerous adjustments are made to the raw data for material flows methodology:
o Make adjustments if imports and/or exports are a significant portion of the products Make
adjustments for various diversions of products from disposal as SW (e.g., toilet tissue which goes
into sewer systems rather than solid waste)
o Make adjustments for product lifetimes (e.g., all containers and packaging and most non-durables
are disposed of the same year they are produced but durable products such as appliances and tires are
designated as “lagged”)

42
 SOLID WASTE CHARACTERISTICS…..
 Measuring Solid Waste Composition by Load Count Analysis
o Unloading and analyzing a quantity of wastes in a controlled area of a disposal site
o A representative sample may be a truck load from a typical week day collection route
o For analysis, a sample size of 100-200 kg is sufficient from a truck load
o Coning and quartering method is utilized to obtain 100 kg sample
o First of all, the large pieces of the waste items are converted to smaller ones to homogenously mix the
waste
o Then waste heap is converted to a conical shape with pile diameter 4 -8 times the pile height ~0.8 m high)
o The cone is then flattened and is divided into four quarters using straight lines, perpendicular to each
other
o The opposite quarters are discarded and again rests of the two quarters are mixed
o Repeat the above procedure to get a sample size of ~100-200 kg (min 100 kg)
o This sample is then segregated into different components like food waste, paper, plastics, rags, garden
trimmings, glass, metals and debris etc., and percentage of each is calculated on weight basis

Fig. A truckload SW for sampling and analysis

43
 Measuring Solid Waste Composition by Load Count Analysis…..
o The extra two quarters from the last reduction are utilized for moisture content analysis and bulk density
computations
o Instruments and equipment required:
 Gloves, face mask, safety shoes
 Weighing balance, polythene bags
 Polyurethane sheet, scissors
 String, sieve, buckets with labels
 Spade

Fig.: Coning & quartering

method

44
Figure: Physical composition analysis of Lahore waste

45
 Composition of SW, % by weight in d/t countries

46
 Major types of individual components (Composition by Identifiable Items) of SW
o Physical composition describes the individual components of solid waste stream and their relative distribution, based
on percentage by weight
 Food wastes
 Paper and cardboard
 Polyethylene bags
 Other plastics
 Garden trimmings
 Rags
 Glass
 Metals
 Debris (dust, stones etc.)
 Distribution for components in SW vary with:
 Location
 Season (time of the year)
 Habits, education and economic status of the people
 Number and type of commercial and industrial operations
 Whether the area is urban or rural

Table: Paper and paperboard products in SW

 Paper and Paperboard
o The largest component of the MSW stream (> 1/3 of total generation)
o Found in a wide variety of products in 2 categories of MSW:
o Non-durable goods: newspapers, books, office papers, Tissue paper and towels, directories, magazines, catalogs,
commercial printing like advertising inserts in newspapers, reports, brochures, telephone books, disposable plates
and cups and so on
o Containers and packaging: (corrugated boxes, folding cartons (e.g., cereal boxes), milk cartons, paper bags 47 and
sacks and other kinds of packaging)
 Glass
o Containers & packaging for beer and soft drink bottles, wine and liquor bottles, food products,
toiletries and in some durable goods
o Trend has dropped owning to 1 st Al cans and then plastic bottles encroached on the markets
o Almost all can be recycled
 Metals (Ferrous, Nonferrous Metals & Aluminum)
o Ferrous Metals
 Steel and iron in major durable goods such as appliances, furniture, tires & miscellaneous items
 Steel cans mainly package food, with small amounts in beverage cans and other packaging
 The generation pattern of steel in containers and packaging is much like that of glass (it has been
displaced by plastics )
 Good recycling potential
o Aluminum
 Al containers and packaging and in some durable and non-durable goods (e.g., Beer and soft drink
cans, food and other cans, foil and closures)
o Nonferrous Metals
 Non-ferrous metals (e.g., lead, copper, zinc) found
 in durable goods (e.g., lead in automotive batteries)

48
 Plastics
 Used very widely in the products found in MSW
 Found in plates and cups, Trash bags, Disposable diapers, clothing and footwear, Soft drink bottles,
milk and water bottles, bags and sacks, wraps …
 Found in durable goods (appliances, carpeting and furniture)
 Containers are the largest source of plastics in MSW (soft drinks, milk, water, food and other
products) and packaging (bags, sacks, wraps, closures and other miscellaneous packaging products)
 Plastics are strong, waterproof, lightweight, durable, microwavable and more resilient than glass
 They have replaced wood, paper and metallic materials in packaging and other applications
 Recycling programs developed
 IR Code (1 - 7) marked on most plastics
 1: PETE
 2: HDPE
 3: PVC
 4: LDPE
 5: PP
 6: PS
 7: All other plastics

49
 PLASTIC RECYCLING CODES

 Polyethylene terephthalate, PETE-1

 High-density polyethylene, HDPE-2
 Polyvinyl chloride, PVC-3
 Low-density polyethylene, LDPE-4
 Polypropelyne, PP-5
 Polystyrene, PS-6
 All Other, 7

50
Table: Common Types of Plastics That May Be Recycled
Code Chemical name Abbreviation Typical uses

1 Polyethylene terephthalate PET/PETE Soft drink bottles

2 High-density polyethylene HDPE Milk bottles
3 Polyvinyl chloride PVC Food packaging, wire insulation,
and pipe
4 Low-density polyethylene LDPE Plastic film used for food
wrapping trash bags, grocery bags
and baby diapers
5 Polypropylene PP Automobile battery casings and
bottle caps
6 Polystyrene PS Food packaging, foam cups and
plates and eating utensils
7 Mixed plastic PLA Fence posts, benches, pallets and
compostable packaging

51
 Other Materials in Products of solid wastes
o Materials that cannot be classified into basic material categories according to material flows
methodology:
o Rubber and Leather (found in tires, furniture and furnishings and carpets, clothing and footwear)
o Textiles (found in clothing and household items such as sheets and towels & in items like tires, furniture
and footwear)
o Wood (found in durable goods such as furniture and cabinets for electronic goods and in the containers
and packaging category in shipping pallets and boxes)
o Other Materials (disposable diapers including the fluff (wood) pulp used in the diapers as well as the
feces and urine that are disposed along with the diapers & electrolyte in automotive batteries)
 Food Wastes
 Uneaten food and food preparation wastes from residences, commercial establishments (e.g.,
restaurants), institutions (e.g., schools and hospitals) and some industrial sources (e.g., factory
cafeterias or lunchrooms)
 The only source of data on food wastes is sampling studies
 Yard Trimmings
 Grass, leaves and tree and brush trimmings from residential, commercial and institutional sources
 Estimated based on sampling study data
 Varies seasonally & geographically
 Miscellaneous Inorganic Wastes
 Includes soil, bits of stone and concrete and the like
 Estimates are derived from sampling studies
 The items in the category would usually be classified as fines

52
 For commercial and industrial SW the field procedure for component identification involves the analysis
of representative waste samples taken directly from the source and not from a mixed waste load in a
collection vehicle
 Measuring Composition by Photogrammetry
o Involves photographing a representative portion of SW and analyzing the photograph
o The photograph should be taken directly of the SW (90º angle) with a wide-angle lens
o The picture is then projected onto a screen that has been divided into about 10 10 grid blocks
o The components in each grid intersection are then identified and tabulated
o Using predetermined bulk densities, the fraction by weight is then calculated
o Suffers from two disadvantages:
 Its accuracy is dependent on bulk density figures
 The time required to analyze one picture is substantial
o One important advantage:
 The refuse need not be touched or smelled, and thus, there are no problems with disease Transmission

AUSTRALIA
USA

53
 Products in MSW by Weight
 Used and discarded products contain materials found in MSW
 These products can be classified as:
1. Durable goods (products having lifetimes of 3 yrs or more; include major appliances (refrigerators,
washing machines, stoves), small appliances, furniture and furnishings, carpets and rugs, rubber tires,
lead-acid automotive batteries and miscellaneous durables like electronics goods such as televisions
and personal computers & a variety of other products such as luggage and sporting goods)

2. Nondurable goods
 Discarded the same year they are manufactured
 Have lifetimes of < 3 yrs

54
3. Containers and Packaging:
o Includes both primary packaging (the containers that directly hold food, beverages, toiletries and a host
of other products) and secondary and tertiary packaging, which contain the packaged products for
shipping and display)
o All containers and packaging are discarded the same year they are manufactured (except a few such as
reusable wood pallets)

4. Other Wastes
o Food wastes, yard trimmings and miscellaneous inorganic wastes
o Added to the product categories of durable goods, nondurable goods and containers and packaging
to obtain total generation of SW
55
 Quantification of Solid Waste
 Solid waste generation refers to the amount of materials and products in SW as they enter the waste
stream before any materials recovery, composting or combustion take place per person per day
 The quantities generated are calculated on the basis of generation per capita per day basis
 MSW generation on a per person per day basis is often important for planning purposes
 It determines the size and number of the facilities and equipment required to manage the waste
 Also the fee collected for each unit quantity of waste delivered to the facility is based on the projected
cost of operating a facility divided by the quantity of waste the facility receives
o Knowledge of generation rates is very important for designing a solid waste management system and to
determine the total amount of waste to be managed
 Expression for Unit Generation Rate
o Generation rates can be measured either on volume or weight basis i.e., how much of volume or weight of
SW is generated by one person per day
o Solid waste quantities should be expressed in terms of weight
o Weight is the only accurate basis for records because tonnages can be measured directly, regardless of the
degree of compaction
o The use of weight records is also important in the transport of solid wastes because the quantity that can
be hauled is restricted by highway weight limits rather than by volume
o The general expression for residential areas is kg per capita per day and due to lack of more rational data
the same unit is being applied to industrial and agricultural wastes
o The more rational units for these should be:
 Industrial waste: kg/repeatable unit of production, e.g., kg per automobile
 Agricultural: kg/ton of raw product

56
 Factors that influence the quantity of wastes generated include
 Geographic location & Seasonal Changes
 Family Size
 Statistical Properties
 Weekly and Daily Variations
 Frequency of collection
 The habits and economic status of the people
 The extent of salvage and recycle operations
 Legislation
 Public attitudes
o All these factors are important in planning for SWM
Table: Solid waste generation in different countries
Country Generation rate (kg/person/year) Country Generation rate (kg/person/year)
Iceland 1030 USA 531
Canada 760 Sweden 468
Australia 690 Japan 410
Norway 675 Turkey 330
Denmark 667 Thailand 300
Germany 640 China 290
UK 599 India 180
France 555 Bangladesh 160
57
Ethiopia 80
 Methods Used to Determine Generation Rate
 Commonly used methods are: Load count analysis & Materials Balance Analysis
 Load count analysis; the number of individual loads is counted
Solved Example
o Estimate the unit generation rate for 1600 homes from the following data collected from a transfer station
for one week
 Number of compactor trucks = 10
 Average size of compactor truck = 20 m3
 Density of solid waste in compactor truck = 170 kg/m 3
 Number of flat bed trucks = 10
 Density of solid waste in flat bed truck = 70 kg/m 3
 Average flat bed truck volume = 1.5 m3
 Number of loads of private vehicles = 20
 Estimated volume per private vehicle = 0.3 m 3
 Density of solid waste in private vehicle = 50 kg/m 3
 Determine the unit waste generation rate based
 On the assumption that each household is comprised of 6 people

58
 Methods Used to Determine Generation Rate…
 Materials Balance Analysis for the determination of SW Generation Rate
 A detailed material balance analysis for each generation source, such as an individual home or a
commercial and industrial activity is made to determine generation rate
 As compared to load count analysis, this method gives relatively accurate value of generation rates
 High expenses and large amount of work is involved compared to load count analysis
 Under majority of situations, load count analysis will serve the purpose of determining generation rate
 Steps to follow for material balance analysis
 Draw a system boundary around the unit to be studied
 Identify all activities that cross or occur within the boundary and affect generation rate
 Give generation rate in each activity
 Determine the quantities of waste generated, collected and stored by using a material balance

59
Fig.: Material balance analysis sketch
 Materials Balance Analysis for the determination of SW Generation Rate
Solved Example
1. A cannery (where food/fruits are canned) receives on a given day
i) 12 tons of raw produce
ii) 5 tons of cans
iii) 0.50 tons of cartons
iv) 0.30 tons of miscellaneous materials
2. As a result of internal activity
i. 10 tons of product are produced, remainder are discharged t o sewer
ii. 4 tons of cans are stored, remainder used
iii) 3% of cans used are damaged and incinerated, remainder used
iv) 75% of miscellaneous materials become paper waste and incinerated, remainder is disposed of
3. Determine the generation rate of solid wastes
Solution
o Cans used in product = (1 – 0.03) ton = 0.97 ton
o Cartons incinerated = (0.03) (0.5 ton) = 0.015 ton
 Cartons used in product = (0.5 – 0.015)ton = 0.485ton
o Miscellaneous incinerated = (0.75) (0.3 ton) = 0.225 ton
 Miscellaneous disposed of = (0.3 – 0.225) ton = 0.075 ton
o Total incinerated (0.015 + 0.225)ton = 0.240 ton
o Total produce = (10 + 0.97 + 0.485) tons = 11.455 tons/d
Comment
o This simple example was presented to illustrate some of the computations involved in the preparation of a
materials-balance analysis. If the internal processing activities are more complex, the amount of work
involved in arriving at a materials balance obviously could become prohibitively expensive
60
 Methods Used to Determine Generation Rate…
 Sampling from Representative Generation Units
 In these method representative houses, shops etc. are selected and sampling made for a definite
period, which may be one week, one month or one year
 The method is illustrated in the Solved Example BELOW
Solved Example
A number of houses were selected in different areas of a city showing the poor, middle and rich population of
the city. The generation thus obtained was 0.20 kg/capita/day as calculated in the table below

Sample # Sample area Income Average No. of Duration Total Wt. Generation
code Level Population Houses of Sample of sample Rate
Sampled (#) (Days) (Kg) (Kg/Capita/day)
(#)

1 A High 21 4 10 69.3 0.33

2 B Middle 40 5 10 56 0.14

3 C Middle 50 5 12 126 0.21

4 D Middle 45 5 8 97 0.27

5 E LOW 46 5 10 79 0.17

6 F LOW 65 6 10 71.5 0.11

Average 0.20
61
 Factors that influence the quantity of solid wastes generated include:
 Geographic location:
 Related to the different climates that can influence both the amount of certain types of solid waste generated and the
collection operation
 The necessary information regarding variation in the quantities of certain types of solid waste generated under varying
climates can be obtained from a load-count analysis
 Frequency of collection
 Generally, the more frequent the collection, the more MSW is produced
 This might indicate that more waste diversion activities occur when collection is less frequent
 Economic status of the people
 Income and affluence tend to have a positive effect on refuse generation with the logic that the more expendable
income a household has, the more they tend to throw away
 The more expendable income a household has, the more they tend to throw away.
 Characteristics of Population
 Variability of wealth among residents of an area influence the quantity of solid generated
 More people use and throw away more wastes
 Individuals living alone, families with two wage earners and single-parent families tend to buy more prepackaged
food and to eat out more
 The effect of population density on solid waste generation is still uncertain
 The extent of salvage and recycle Operations
 The existence of salvage and recycling operations within a community definitely affects the quantity of waste
collected
 Legislation
 The existence of local, provincial and federal regulations concerning the use and disposal of specific materials
 Example: 'Bottle Bill‘ in USA requires carbonated soft drink and beer container to be returned
 Public Attitudes
 If people are willing to change their habits and lifestyles to conserve national resourceswill also reduce the economic
62
burdens associated with the SWM
 Some factors tend to decrease SW generation
o Redesign of products: some products have grown lighter (Refrigerators, rubber tires, packaging,
newspapers)
o Materials substitution: substitute lighter materials in many applications (Al cans ► replaced steel
cans; plastic bottles ► substituted for glass)
 SW generation trends
• The significant decrease in per capita disposal
• Increase in per capita materials recovery
• Plastic and paper products have been growing
• The dramatic increase in plastics as a component

63
 Statistical Analysis of Generation Rate
o In developing SWM systems, it is often necessary to determine the statistical characteristics of SW
generation
 The statistical measures that must be considered include:
 Frequency: the number of times a given value occurs in a set of observations
 Mean: the arithmetic average of a number of individual measurements

 Mode: the value occurring with the greatest frequency in a set of observations
Example: Set of observations = 1, 3, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 9 (Mode = 5)

64
 Statistical Analysis of Generation Rate
 Median: if a series of observations are arranged in order of increasing value, then the middle-most
observation (if observations are in odd numbers) or the arithmetic mean of two middle-most observations
(if observations are in even numbers) in a series
• Example 1: Odd number of observations e.g. 3, 8, 9, 11, 16 (Median = 9)
• Example 2: Even number of observations: 3, 8, 9, 11, 16, 22
 Standard deviation

o Shows scatter in a set of measurements

o The larger the scatter in a set of measurements, the greater will be S.D. Conversely, as the precision in a
set of measurement improves, the value of S.D will decrease
 Coefficient of variation (CV): is used as a relative measure of dispersion
 Consider the following two data sets

65
 Pattern of Variations
• Variation seems inevitable in nature. It is necessary to have some simple method of describing pattern of
variation. The graphical presentations and analysis of observed data can be used to depict and evaluate trends
and to determine the reliability of conclusions made from a limited set of observations
• Time series, histograms or frequency plots and cumulative frequency curves are extensively used for the
presentation and analysis of data
 Time Series
• Observations arranged in the order of occurrence in time
• It shows trends, cycles or periodicities and fluctuations that may be of value in understanding the basic nature
of phenomenon under evaluation

 Frequency Plots/Histogram
• Observations arranged in order of magnitude form an array
• If whole numbers are assigned to a magnitude range, then the frequency of occurrence of whole numbers
66 can
be plotted against the magnitude ranges
 Statistical Analysis of Generation Rate…..
 Cumulative Frequency Curves
o It is sometimes advantageous to tabulate magnitude ranges against cumulative frequency to find the
Percentage age of time a particular magnitude is exceeded or less than

 Types of Frequency Plots

• There are two types of frequency plots (1) Normal and (2) Skewed
 In normal distribution, about 2/3 (66%) of the occurrences fall within one S.D. on either side of the
67
average or mean. Curve is symmetric about mean/average value
 Statistical Analysis of Generation Rate…..
 Types of Frequency Plots
• There are two types of frequency plots”
• (1) Normal: about 2/3 (66%) of the occurrences fall within one S.D. on either side of the average or
mean. Curve is symmetric about mean/average value
• (2) Skewed: frequency decrease continuously from center to the extreme values but – unlike normal are
not symmetric about the mean. In skewed curves, extreme values occur more frequently in one direction
from the center than the other

68
 Comparison of Mean, Median & Mode
 The arithmetic mean is the most widely used measure of the central tendency
 It is preferred over median and mode b/se it is easy to manipulate mathematically
 It is the most reliable, provided there are no extreme values in the data as all the values in the data
are used in calculating mean unlike the mode and the median
 Whenever, a set of data contain extreme values, the median and the mode will, probably, be a better
indicator of central tendency of the whole set of data because they are not influenced by extreme
values
 Solved Example (Grouped Data)
The residential and commercial solid waste of a city with 25,000 people is collected on Tuesday and
Saturday morning. The volume of waste collected has been recorded for 1 year and the data for Tuesday
is given below. Prepare a frequency histogram and cumulative frequency distribution curve for Tuesday.
Find the mean, median, mode, standard deviation and coefficient of variation for the data given. Discuss
briefly the nature of the distribution and its significance. (In grouped data, instead of mentioning
individual readings, a magnitude range is defined for a set of reading falling within a specific range e.g.
1000-1100 and number of reading falling within that range is shown as a frequency i.e. 4 in this case)

69
 Solution

70
 Solution….

71
 Solved example …..

Exercise
Determine the mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation for the following solid waste generation
data for a period of 10 days (Ungrouped Data)

72
 PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL & BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF SW
o Properties of solid waste affect design of solid waste collection systems, treatment and disposal, operation,
mgt and performance of units
o Physical properties of solid waste affect design of storage equipment, its transfer, transpiration and treatment
 Physical properties of SW include:
 Waste Density (Bulk + Specific Density)
 Moisture Content
 Particle Size Distribution
 Field Capacity
 Permeability of Compacted Waste
 Heat and calorific value
 Angle of stability
Table: Typical material densities of individual waste fractions
 Waste Density
 The density ρ of a sample is its mass m divided by its volume V
 The density is used for the layout and design of waste collection, treatment facilities and landfills
 There are two kinds of densities: bulk density (ρb) and specific density (ρm)
 The bulk density is the wet weight of the waste packed in a known volume and hence depends highly on
the pressure exerted
 The material density or the specific density is the density without any void space and it is easily found
in tables
 Specific Weight (Density)
 The weight of a material per unit volume (kg/m3)
 Refers to uncompacted waste
 Varies with exerted pressure, geographic location, season of the year, degree of compaction, level of
economic development, storage time and concentration of produced waste products
 The variabilities are due to variations in moisture content
 Waste Density ….
 Density of waste affects:
 The number and size or type of SW containers, collection vehicles and transfer stations
 Transportation systems and land requirements for disposal
 May be used in estimating amount of SW in some cases
 Used to assess requirements of a sanitary landfill cover material
Bulk density
o For a mixture of two materials A and B, the bulk density of the mixture can be estimated as

Bulk density in terms of mass:

Table: Typical bulk densities of individual material fractions

74
 Typical Specific Weight Values (Fig.)
 Moisture Content of SW
o Important when the refuse is processed into fuel or when it is fired directly
o It influences many SW properties of importance
o Moisture level > 50%, the high organic fraction can undergo spontaneous combustion
o The moisture is expressed as percentage of the wet weight of the waste material
o The moisture content of solid waste is usually expressed in two ways:
 Either as a percentage of the wet weight of the material or
 As a percentage of the dry weight of the material
o Mostly, the wet-weight method is used in the field of SWM
o Moisture content, on wet weight basis can be expressed as
 Analysis Procedure:
 Weigh the aluminum dish
 Fill the dish with SW sample and re-weigh
 Dry SW + dish in an oven for at least 24 hrs at 105°C
 Remove the dish from the oven, allow to cool in a desiccator and weigh
 Record the weight of the dry SW + dish
 Calculate the moisture content (M) of the SW sample using the equation given above
o At 105 ◦C, in addition to water, volatile fatty acids, specific organic components and mercury may
volatilize
o The wet weight of a waste sample is made up of the dry weight plus the moisture content
o It may vary between 15 & 30% and is usually about 20%
o The moisture content will depend on the
 Composition of the wastes
 Season of the year
 Humidity and weather conditions particularly rain
o Moisture content may be evaluated on a dry weight basis as
76
Table: Typical Moisture Contents of Wastes

77
 Example: Estimation of moisture content of typical SW
• Estimate the overall moisture content of a sample of as collected MSW with the typical composition
given in table below (left) Table: Computation table

o Set up the computation table to determine dry weights of the components (see table at right)
o Determine the moisture content of the solid waste sample using

78
 Particle Size Distribution
o The particle size distribution is used to assess the suitability of the waste for mechanical sorting and
certain treatment methods as well as for assessing compressibility and other mechanical properties
o The most accurate expression of particle-size distribution is graphical
o Nonetheless, several mathematical expressions are used
o In water engineering, the particle size of filter sand is expressed using the uniformity coefficient
o The analysis involves the determination of the percentage by weight of particles within different size
ranges (See Fig. below)
o A sample is passed through a series of standard sieves having successively smaller mesh sizes & the
weight of material retained on each sieve is determined and the cumulative percentage by weight passing
each sieve is calculated
o Uniformity coefficient (UC) is given by:

79
 Particle Size Distribution…..
• The size and distribution of the components of wastes are important for the recovery of materials, especially
when mechanical means are used such as trommel screens and magnetic separators

Fig.: Typical particle ranges for material fractions found in residential waste
 Angle of Repose or Angle of stability
o It is the angle to the horizontal to which the material will stack without sliding
80
o Because of variable density, moisture and particle size, the angle of repose of shredded SW can vary from 45 o to greater
 Field Capacity (FC)
o The total amount of moisture that can be retained in a waste sample subject to the downward pull of
gravity
o It varies with the degree of applied pressure and the state of decomposition of wastes
o Field capacity is critically important in determining the formation of leachate in landfills

81
 Field capacity ….
 The potential quantity of leachate is the amount of moisture within the landfill in excess of the landfill
field capacity

Where:
FC = field capacity (i.e., the fraction of water in the waste based on the dry weight of the
waste)
W = overburden mass calculated at the midheight of the waste in the lift in question, kg

o The quantity of leachate is a direct function of the amount of external water entering the landfill
o If a landfill is constructed properly leachate production can be reduced
 Size of Reduction IN Volume (Reduction Volume)
o In design and operation when packaging or compacting solid waste in a landfill it is of value computing
size of reduction in volume as
Where: F = Volume of reduction (remaining ratios of original size as a result of compaction)
Vo = Original Size (initial).
Vc = Volume after compaction
o Relationship of reduction volume to apparent density can be found
• ρ0 = Original apparent density
 Permeability of Compacted Waste
o Hydraulic conductivity of compacted wastes governs movement of liquids and gases in a sanitary landfill
o Permeability depends on
o Particle size distribution
o Surface area
o Porosity
o Coefficient of permeability may be determined as:
Where:
K = Coefficient of permeability
Cd = Constant or shape factor, dimensionless
γ = Specific weight of water
μ = Dynamic viscosity of water
k = Intrinsic permeability (or specific) = Cd 2 (Typical values for the intrinsic permeability for compacted solid
waste in a landfill are in the range b/n about 10 -11 and 10-12 m2 in the vertical direction and about 10 -10 m2 in
the horizontal direction)

Fig. Typical Compaction Factors for Various 83

SW Components Placed in Landfills
 Chemical Properties Of MSW
 Important in evaluating alternative processing and recovery facilities
 Values in economics of material or energy recovery
• Examples
 Carbon/nitrogen ratio shows whether SW is suitable for composting or not
 Determination of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur helps in estimating the potential of the waste to:
• Produce biogas Fig. Chemical composition of typical
• Energy contents of SW MSW
 Chemical properties of SW include:
o Proximate analysis
o Fusing point of ash
o Ultimate analysis (major elemental analysis; e.g., C, H, O, N, S)
o Energy content analysis
o Chemical composition: carbon, hydrogen, concentration of metals
o Calorimetry
o Energy content
o Volatile solids lost upon ignition
o pH value
 Proximate Analysis
 Quick and inexpensive lab. determination of the percentages of moisture, volatile matter, fixed carbon and ash
content
 An important method to determine whether the given waste is suitable for incineration and how the incineration
should take place
o The combustible components of SW includes the ff tests:
 Moisture (drying at 105 oC for 1 hr)
 Volatile combustible matter (ignition at 950 oC in the absence of oxygen)
 Fixed C (combustible residue left after Step 2 above)
84
 Ash (weight of residue after combustion in an open crucible)
 Typical Proximate Analysis Values (% by weight) of SW

85
 Fusing Point of Ash
 The temperature at which the ash resulting from the burning of waste will form a solid
(clinker) by fusion and agglomeration
 Typical fusion temperatures for the formation of clinker from solid waste range from 1100 to
1200 oC.

86
 Ultimate Analysis
 The determination of percent C (carbon), H (hydrogen), O (oxygen), N (nitrogen), S (sulfur), halogens
and ash
 Used to characterize the chemical composition of the organic matter in SW
 Also used to define the proper mix of waste materials to achieve suitable C:N ratios for biological
conversion processes
 Ultimate analysis uses the chemical makeup of the fuel to approximate its heat value and it depends on
elemental composition
Example: Estimation of the chemical composition of a solid waste Sample. Determine the approximate
chemical formula of the residential SW with the typical composition shown in the table below and ultimate
analysis given on next slide
Table: Typical data on ultimate analysis of combustible materials found in SW

88
 Solution
Set up a computation table as shown on next slid to determine the total weight of the major elements i.e.,
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur in different components of the waste according to the
percentages of each element given in Table below. The steps for finding out the chemical formula are
shown in the computation table on next slide
Table: Typical data on the ultimate analysis of the combustible components in MSW

89
 Solution…..
o Key for various columns in the computational table is as follows:
o Column 1 = Copied from table on Previous slid
o Column 2 = Copied from table on Previous slid
o Column 3 = Dry weight = Col.1 × (100 Col.2) x100
o Column 4 = Copied from table on Previous slid
o Column 5 = Col.4 × Col.3x100
o Column 6 =Copied from table on Previous slid
o Column 7 Column 6 x Col.3 x100
o Column 8 = Copied from table on Previous slid
o Column 9 = Column 8 x Col.3 x100
o Column 10 = Copied from table on Previous slid
o Column 11 = Column 10 x Column 3 x 100
o Column 12 = Copied from table on Previous slid
o Column 13 = Column 12 x Column 3x100

o Chemical formula of the solid waste components is 90

 Solution…..
Table: Computation Table for Example on previous slid

91
 Typical data in elemental analysis (% by weight)

92
EXERCISE Find approximate chemical formula of the organic component of the sample composition of a
solid waste as set out in the following table. Use chemical composition obtained to estimate energy content of
this solid waste.

 Heat value (Calorific Value) of SW

o The amount of heat generated from combustion of a unit weight of a substance (KCal/Kg)
o Very importance in resource recovery
o The energy content of SW is important in biological as well as in thermal treatment processes
o Heat value can be determined by using:
 (1) A full scale boiler as a calorimeter
 (2) A laboratory bomb calorimeter
 (3) The data from the literature if the elemental composition of SW is known
o Most of the data on the energy content of the organic components of MSW are based on the results of
bomb calorimeter tests (Fig.)
o A bomb calorimeter is a device used to measure the energy contents of solid waste in the laboratory
o It consists of a thermometer attached to an insulated container
o Solid waste and fuel is placed in the crucible and ignited with electric energy
o The initial and final temperatures (after ignition) are noted
o The energy released is determined from the temperature increase in the well-insulated calorimeter caused
by the combustion
o The other method of finding energy content is using the data on elemental composition. This data may be
available in the literature. Typical data for energy content of residential MSW are given in Table slid # 66
93
Fig. Bomb calorimeter

94
Table: Inert residue and energy content of residential MSW

95
Table: Average composition and heating values for MSW

96
Fig.: Energy content of SW components

97
Example: Estimation of energy content of typical residential MSW
Determine the energy content of a typical residential MSW with the average composition shown in Table below.
Take quantities of different components of solid waste from Table on slid # 98

Solution
 Assume the heating value will be computed on as discarded basis
 Determine the total energy content using the data given in Table on slid # 60 98
Example: Estimation of energy content of typical residential MSW….
Solution
 Assume the heating value will be computed on as discarded basis
 Determine the total energy content using the data given in Table on slid # 60
 The necessary computations are presented as follow
 (1) Quantities of organic components derived from Table on slid # 60

 Note 1: British thermal unit (BTU) is a unit of energy. It is defined as the energy required raising
the temperature of 1 lb of water from 063 F to 64 0F
 Note 2: Btu/lb x 2.326 = K Joul/Kg.
 Volatile solids
• Can be estimated upon ignition at temperature of 550 oc for 4 hours and then cooling in a dryer
• Loss in weight represents volatile organics
• Loss in weight = Volatile Organics

99
 Estimation of energy content of typical residential MSW
o Energy values of solid waste and garbage can be estimated by using DuLong equation

o The DuLong formula does not give acceptable estimates of heat value for materials other than coal
o Total energy content may be determined using the modified DuLong formula:

100
 Essential nutrients & other elements
 Important if organic fraction of MSW is to be used for production of compost or CH 4

101
 Biological Properties of MSW : Biodegradability of SW
o The OFMSW (excluding plastics, rubber and leather) can be classified as:
o Water-soluble constituents: sugars, starches, amino acids and various organic acids found in
food wastes
o Hemicellulose: green (food, yard etc.) wastes
o Cellulose: waste paper, green (food, yard etc.) wastes
o Fats, oils and waxes: food wastes
o Lignin: waste paper, yard waste (brown-woody)
o Lignocellulose: combination of lignin and cellulose
o Proteins: food wastes
o Almost all of the organic components in MSW can be converted biologically to gases (CH 4 & CO2), inert
organic and inorganic solids
o Volatile solids (VS), determined by ignition at 550 oC, is often used as a measure of the
biodegradability
o Components such as Newsprint are highly volatile but low in biodegradability due to their high
lignin content
o Practically, organic waste components in MSW are often classified as rapidly and slowly
decomposable
o Treatment techniques (such as composting) must take into account that a large fraction of MSW is not
biodegradable and that this material must be disposed of by means other than producing useful products
using biodegradation.

102
 Biodegradable fraction of selected organic waste components

103
 Calculation of biodegredable fraction of MSW

104
 Production of odors
o Odors are developed when solid wastes are stored for long periods of time on-site
between collections, in transfer stations, and in landfills.
o It is more significant in warm climates.
o The formation of odors results from the anaerobic decomposition of the readily
decomposable organic components found in MSW.

105
 ONSITE HANDLING AND SEPARATION, STORAGE AND PROCESSING OF
SOLID WASTE
o The second important element in the SWM
 Onsite handling refers to activities associated with managing SW until they are placed in the containers
used for storage before collection
 Moving of loaded containers to the collection point
 Returning the empty containers after collection to the storage locations
o Onsite handling of Residential Waste
 Household compactors are used to reduce the volume
 Small wheeled handcarts are used to transport containers to the pickup points in low rise and
medium rise buildings
 Gravity chutes, service elevators, and pneumatic conveyors are used to containers to the pickup
points in high rise buildings
 Where kitchen grinders are used, food waste and other grind-able materials are discharged to the
wastewater collection system after grinding
 Chutes, used in apartment buildings, have diameters ranging from 30 to 90 cm with the most
common size is 60 cm
 Chutes are furnished with suitable intake doors, draft baffles at the intakes, door locks, sprinklers,
disinfection systems, sound insulation and roof vents
 Onsite handling of Commercial Waste: Wheeled or castor collection carts, container trains, burlap drop
cloths, service elevators, mechanical conveyors and pneumatic conveyors to handle commercial solid
wastes
 Manual separation of recyclables is extensively resorted at source during storage
 Transferring the waste to communal storage locations by using hand carts
 Onsite handling of Industrial Waste:
 Wheeled or castor collection carts, container trains, service elevators and mechanical conveyors are
used for handling the waste 106
 Auxilary Equipment and Facilities used for handling SW @ Source

107
 ONSITE HANDLING AND SEPARATION, STORAGE AND PROCESSING OF SOLID WASTE
 Source Separation of waste components such as waste paper, cardboard, aluminum cans, glass and
plastic containers at the source to achieve recovery and reuse (recycle):
o Allows efficient recovery of materials, such as papers, plastics, glass, metals
o Accomplished by having two containers; one for "wet" waste and one for "dry“ waste
 Storage within home and periodically transfer to larger containers
 Placing directly in containers
o Wet waste refer to the organic portion of solid waste like food waste etc. and dry waste normally refer to
paper, plastics, metals etc
o Three-bin system can be used especially for the collection of recyclables:
o Color coding schemes are also used for the onsite segregation of the municipal solid waste

108
 ONSITE HANDLING AND SEPARATION, STORAGE AND PROCESSING OF SOLID WASTE..
 Onsite Storage of SW
o “Containerization"
o The factors which need to be considered for onsite storage of solid waste are (i) type of container (ii) container
locations and (iii) public health and aesthetics
 Types of Containers for Onsite Storage of SW
 May be divided on the basis of their uses as individual units or communal units
 On the basis of their size they may be small, medium and large containers
o Separate or individual units are mostly small size containers with size up to 200 liters
o May be either non-standardized or standardized by the collection agency
o Non-standardized containers range from temporary containers such as cartons, plastic bags, baskets,
wooden crates to regular containers such as plastic or metal bins
o Make-shift type containers: non-standardized units not originally designed for use in solid waste
management
o Their advantage is that they do not cost the owner or collection agency
o Their disadvantage is that, the containers may be flimsy and otherwise difficult or dangerous to handle
o Standardized containers with lids are usually plastic or metal bins specifically made for use in SWM and
should carry the name and address of the owner in standardized format
 are proven to improve collection productivity, being conveniently handled by the collectors
 Standardized containers, have one major disadvantage that they are costly and it is needed to keep them
clean regularly
o Communal storage units may be either stationary or lift-able
o Stationary units include masonry or concrete structures of different shapes or large mild steel containers
with or without doors
o The stationary units are being used locally but none of them is recommendable due to the following
disadvantages
• Waste is typically strewn about the site by scavenging activities of animals, people and winds
• Waste is thrown around and not inside these units 109
• The collection vehicle's time is wasted due to manual lifting of wastes
Fig.: Different types of bin are used for storing waste at the household

110
 Separation & Storage of SWs @ Source

111
 ONSITE HANDLING AND SEPARATION, STORAGE AND PROCESSING OF SOLID WASTE
o The stationary units are being used locally but none of them is recommendable due to the following
disadvantages
 Waste is typically strewn about the site by scavenging activities of animals, people and winds
 Waste is thrown around and not inside these units
 The collection vehicle's time is wasted due to manual lifting of wastes
o Liftable units are large steel drums or containers
 Can be lifted mechanically by collection vehicles
 May be (a) medium size or (b) large size containers
 (a) Medium size containers are used for multi-storey buildings, densely populated areas, commercial
and industrial establishments
 Their size varies from 0.5 to 4 m3
 (b) Large size containers are employed in multi storey buildings, large industrial establishments and
for demolition and construction waste
 Their size ranges from 6 to 40 m3

112
Fig.: Locally used solid waste collection containers Fig.: Medium sized lift-able waste collection containers
 ONSITE HANDLING AND SEPARATION, STORAGE AND PROCESSING OF SOLID WASTE
 Effects of storage on waste components
o Biological decomposition (putrefaction)
o Absorption of fluids
o Contamination of waste components

Fig.: Large sized lift-able waste collection containers

 Capacity of Containers
 Based on per week (7 days) service, at least 50% excess capacity should be allowed
 6 days per week service at least 100% excess capacity needs to be provided
 Capacity should be chosen on the basis of peak loading periods, of the year
 Storage Locations
o For effective collection of the solid waste from the households, institutions, commercial centers, industries and
newly developing colonies, placing the storage bins or container is an important aspect as the collection is the
major component of the solid waste management system
Table: Planning for temporary storage locations of solid waste collection

113
 Public Health and Aesthetics
o Infestation of areas used for the storage with vermin and insects need proper sanitation
 Use lids
 Periodic washing of containers and storage areas
 Efficient removal of the biodegradable materials in warm climate
o Production of odor and unsightly conditions can also be controlled by
o Reasonable collection efficiency,
o Tight lids on the containers
o Scrubbing the containers
o Periodic washing of the containers
Table: Persons responsible for and auxiliary equipment used in the handling of SW at source

114
Fig.: Chute system for solid waste collection in high rise buildings

115
 Gravity feed SW chutes in high buildings

116
 SW HANDLING AND SEPARATION, STORAGE AND PROCESSING AT THE SOURCE …
 Processing of Solid Waste at Residences
o Involves grinding, sorting, compaction; shredding, composting and incineration etc used to
(i) Reduce the volume
(ii) Alter the physical form or
(iii) Recover usable materials from SW
o The most common processes used for the purpose include:
o Food waste grinding
o Component separation
o Compaction
o Incineration
o Composting

 Litter Bins for Primary Collection

o Besides the containers, litter bins with a capacity of 20-25 kg are to be provided on sides of streets for
pedestrian's convenience throughout the city
o Will help in keeping the streets clean and litter free
o Mounted on a pole or pedestal
o has hinged connection with the poles
o Hinged connection makes their turning easy and while being mounted these can be emptied in a hand cart

Fig. Road Fig. litter bin 117

 Example 1: Comparison of residential waste separation programs
o The effectiveness of MSW separation programs depends on the type of system used for the collection of
separated wastes. Compare the following two systems
 System 1
 Newspaper (25% of total amount of paper) is placed in Container#1
 Aluminum cans, glass and plastics are placed in Container#2
 The remaining wastes are placed in Container#3
 The separated materials, placed in special containers are collected at the curb
 System 2
 All paper and cardboard materials are placed in Container#1
 All plastic, glass, tin cans, aluminum and any other metals are placed in Container#2
 Garden wastes are placed in Container#3
 All remaining waste materials are placed Container#4

118
 Example 1: Comparison of residential waste separation…

119
 Example 1: Comparison of residential waste separation…

120
 Transfer & Transport Stations of Solid Waste
 The rising labor, operational and fuel costs and the absence of nearby solid waste disposal sites make
transfer stations becoming common
 Facilities used to effect the transfer of wastes from one location to another, usually more distant location
 Contents of small collection vehicles are transferred to larger vehicles that are used to transport the waste
over extended distances either to MRFs or to disposal sites
 Transfer and transport operations are also used in conjunction with MRFs to transport recovered materials
to markets or waste-to-energy facilities and to transport materials to landfills

Fig. The concept of solid waste transfer

121
 TRANSFER AND TRANSPORT of SOLID WASTE
 Transfer Station
o “A facility used for transferring solid waste from collection vehicles to long-haul vehicles
o It is not a storage facility
o Collection of the solid waste from the scattered households and colonies becomes problematic
o A waste transfer station
 Reduces the fuel consumption per unit volume of the solid waste
 Improves the transportation efficiency
 Provides a link b/n the community's SW collection program and waste disposal or processing
o Need for transfer operations
 Waste Disposal or processing facilities are not directly accessible
 The haul distances increase
 Collection mechanism remains idle for long time
 Small capacity vehicles cannot go to distant disposal sites for unloading
 Waste disposal unit is remote to the collection area
 Waste Processing facilities are located in remote areas
 Processing and disposal facilities are not directly accessible though highways
 Landfill or waste processing facility is 20-30 miles or more
 Factors that make the use of transfer operations attractive:
 Occurrence of illegal dumping due to excessive haul distances
 Location of disposal sites relatively far from collection routes
 Use of small-capacity collection vehicles
 Existence of low-density residential service areas
 Use of hydraulic or pneumatic collection systems
 Use of a hauled container system with relatively small containers

122
 TRANSFER AND TRANSPORT of SOLID WASTE….
o Transfer of waste components is an integral part of the operation of a material recovery facility (MRF)
o In an MRF great reduction of the final weight takes place
o If MRF facility is provided then size of transfer station tend to be much smaller
o If the one way hauling distance from the last collection point to the waste processing or disposal facility
is short, transfer station will not be required
o If the processing or disposal facility if far away from the last collection point, transfer station will be
required
o Transfer station is a must, where the haul distance to final disposal is large and size of collection vehicle
is small

Fig.: Small capacity waste collection vehicles Fig. donkey carts

 Benefits of transfer stations:
 Lower collection costs
 Reduced fuel and maintenance costs for collection vehicles
 Increased flexibility in selecting disposal facilities
 The option to separate and recover recyclables or compostables at the transfer site
 The opportunity to shred or bale wastes before disposal 123
 TRANSFER AND TRANSPORT of SOLID WASTE….
• The decision to build or not to build a transfer station is an economic or regulatory decision
• If the one-way haul distance from the point of the full-collection vehicle to the discharge point is short,
no transfer station is needed
• If the discharge point is far away and the collection vehicle will have to be away from its primary role of
collecting refuse for too long, then a transfer station might be warranted

124
 Types of Transfer Stations
o Depending on the method used to load the transport vehicles, transfer stations may be classified into
three general types:
 Direct discharge:
 Storage discharge
 Combination of direct and storage

125
 Direct Discharge Transfer Station
o The waste in the collection vehicles is emptied directly into the large transport vehicles
• The waste from small collection vehicles may also be directly loaded into stationary compactors which
compact the wastes into transport vehicles or into waste bales that are transported to the disposal site
• According to the size such transfer stations may be called
 i) Large capacity direct load transfer stations (for more than 500tons/day)
 ii) Medium capacity direct load transfer stations (for 100-500 tons/day)
 iii) Small capacity direct load transfer stations (for less than 100 tons/day)

Fig.: Small-capacity direct-discharge transfer station equipped with a stationary compactor

126
 Storage Discharge Transfer Station
 Waste collection vehicles unload into a storage pit, from where the wastes are loaded into transport
vehicles by various types of auxiliary equipment
 The storage capacity varies between 1 to 3 days
 May be large capacity storage discharge transfer stations or medium capacity storage discharge
transfer stations

127
Fig. Storage-load transfer station with processing and compaction facilities
 Combined Transfer Station
 Multipurpose facilities that serve a broader range of users
 Can also house a material salvage operation
 The wastes which require segregation will be deposited at storage discharge transfer facility
 The wastes not requiring salvage can be served at the direct discharge section

Fig. stationary compactor-container transfer station

 Transport Means and Methods

 Motor vehicles
 Railways
 ocean-going vessels (barges)

Table: Comparison of Transfer Stations 128

 Types of Transfer Stations Used for MSW

129
 Conventional Means for Transportation of SW
o All types of motor vehicles to be used to transport solid wastes should satisfy the following requirements
 Minimum hauling costs
 Covering of wastes during haulage
 Designed according to highway traffic rules
 Allowable volume and weight limits not to be exceeded
 Unloading methods should be simple and dependable
o The principle types of vehicles used at transfer stations include:
a) Trucks
b) Truck-trailer combination
c) Tractor semi-trailer combination
d) Tractor semi-trailer-pull trailer combination
Fig. Vehicles used for transportation of SW
 Unconventional Means for Transportation of SW
o For transporting the solid wastes to remote LF sites
o Use of railways is ideally suitable, if exists
o more expensive due to huge capital requirements
o Barges are used to transport wastes for Islands

Fig.: Transportation of waste through unconventional means

barges

130
rail
 Methods used to Unload Waste Containers
o One of four methods could be used for unloading of the transfer vehicles or containers at the transfer station, landfill or
waste processing facility
Live bottom or walking floors, on the floors of the vehicles: the back-and-forth movement of the longitudinal
floor sections causes the refuse to be pushed out of the trailer or the bottom surface of the vehicle is equipped
with moving conveyor
 Push blade: a telescoping rod connected with the blade, pushes the solid waste from the front of the containers
toward back similar to the compactors
 Drag chain: Some transfer vehicles are equipped with chains on sprockets that can extend from the front of the
vehicles to the rear and through pulling the chain, the solid waste is dragged out of the container
 Tipper: Some transfer vehicles are not equipped with any unloading mechanism. At the landfill site, the transfer
vehicles is simply lifted at an angle causing the door to open and solid waste to slide out
 Requirements for Efficient Transfer Station
 Capacity Requirements
 In direct discharge type transfer stations sufficient number of transfer vehicles should be housed at the transfer
station with proper size so that collection vehicles will not have to wait for long
 It should not be designed for peak hours
 Ideally an economic trade off analysis should be mad
 The annual cost of the time spent by the collection vehicle waiting to unload must be traded off against the
incremental annual cost of the use of more transport equipment
 In case of storage discharge type transfer stations, the storage capacity varies from one half to one day's volume
of waste
 Seldom will the nominal storage capacity exceed two day's volume of waste
 Equipment and Accessory Requirements
o Depends upon the use of the transfer station
o The types and number of equipment requirement vary with the capacity
o Scales are required for monitoring the operation and to develop meaningful data
131
 Scales also help in levying the charges, based on weight
 Equipment and Accessory Requirements
 For direct load transfer station some type of rigs are required to push and equalize the wastes in transfer
vehicles. In a pit type storage load transfer station, one or more tractors are required to break up the
wastes and to push them into the loading hopper
 Environmental Requirements
o The environmental requirements for a SW transfer station:
Construction material should be maintained and cleaned easily. It should also be fire-proof
To eliminate inadvertent emissions, enclosed facilities should have air handling equipment that creates a
negative pressure within the facility
 Proper barriers need to be provided to restrict the blowing of paper and bags
 Spilled SWs should be immediately picked up
 Overhead water sprays are used to keep the dust down and workers should wear masks
 The public should not be allowed to discharge wastes directly into pits at large storage discharge type
 Location of Transfer Stations
 Whenever Transfer stations should be located:
 As near as possible to the SW production areas to be served
 Within easy access of major arterial highway routes as well as near secondary or supplemental means of
transportation
 Where there will be a minimum public and environmental objections
 Where construction and operation will be most economical
 Additionally, if the transfer station site is to be used for processing operations involving materials
recovery and/or energy production, the requirements for those operations must also be assessed
 Pneumatic Waste Collection Systems
 Uses negative pressure of air to pull the SW (might be segregated streams such as paper, plastic, PET
bottles, drink cans etc.)
 Then deposited through chutes or outdoor litter bins through a network of pipes connecting the terminal
132
where the collected waste is compacted, baled and transported to the waste disposal or processing
 Pneumatic Waste Collection Systems….
o At the terminal, air separator removes the particles heavier than air from the waste stream and sends it
to the compactor for volume reduction
o The air, in which waste was separated, passes through the fabric filter where dust particles are retained
and is circulated through exhausters and out through the stacks
o Quite costly and has been tried in the industrialized countries for multi-story buildings & requires the
provision of transfer stations
o Not recommended for developing countries
o There are two kinds of pneumatic systems: stationary pneumatic collection system and mobile
pneumatic collection system

Fig.: Mobile pneumatic waste collection system (left) & Stationary pneumatic collection system (right)
o For the mobile pneumatic system, high capacity vacuum truck is required to suck the waste deposited
at the disposal points connected to the piping network
o The truck is also equipped with compaction mechanism which compacts the waste and transports 133
it to
 Transfer Station Design
o Type of transfer operation
 An adequate area is necessary in case of waste recovery
o Storage and throughput capacity requirements
 Collection vehicles do not have to wait too long to unload
o Equipment and accessory requirements
o Sanitation requirements
Fig.: Pneumatic transport system for solid wastes

134
 Example: Economic comparison of transport alternatives
o Determine, based on operating cost, the break-even points for a hauled and a stationary container system
as compared with a system using transfer and transport operations for transporting wastes collected from
a metropolitan area to landfill disposal site
 Assume that the following operating cost data are applicable:
 Haul container system using a hoist truck with an 8-yd 3 container = $25/h
 Stationary container system using a 20-yd 3 compactor = $40/h
 Tractor-unit with a capacity of 105-yd 3 = $40/h
 Transfer station operation cost = $2.75/yd 3
Solution
• Convert the haul cost data to units of dollars per cubic yard per minute (see comment at end of this
example)
 Hoist truck = $0.052/yd3.min
 Compactor = $0.033/yd3.min
 Transfer station transport equipment = $0.0063/yd 3.min
• Prepare a plot of the cost per cubic yard versus the round-up driving time expressed in minutes for the
three alternatives
• The required plot is presented on next slid

135
 Example 5: Economic comparison of transport alternatives, Solution…

o Determine break-even time (t) for HCS and SCS with transfer & transport (T&T)
 Cost of HCS = cost of T & T, at time 't 1’
 0.052 t1 = 2.75 + 0.0063t1
 t1 = 60.12 min ~ 60 min
 Also cost of SCS = Cost of T & T, at time 't2 ’
 0.033t2 = 2.75 + 0.0063t2
 t2 = 102.996 min ~ 103 min
Comments
• In this particular example, if we are using HCS and round trip to disposal site is less than 60 min, and then no T &
T facility is required because it would be uneconomical in this case. But if t > 60 minutes, then it is justified to
provide T & T facility. Similarly, if SCS is used and round trip time to disposal site is 103 min then no 136
T&T
facility is required. However, if round trip time to disposal site is > 103 min, then construction; of T&T facility will
 Separation and Processing of SW @ Source
o Recovery of Materials in SW
 The methods now used to recover source-separated waste materials include curbside separation and
homeowner delivery of separated materials to drop-off and buy-back centers
 The further separation and processing of wastes that have been source-separated as well as the
separation of the commingled wastes occur at Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) or at large
Integrated Materials Recovery/Transfer Facilities (IMR/TF)
 Materials recovery facility (MRF): physical facilities used for the further separation and processing of
wastes that have been separated at the source and for the separation of commingled wastes
 Drop-off and Buy-back
 Drop-off programs: require residents or businesses to separate recyclable materials at source and bring
them to a specified drop-off or collection center
o Inexpensive to implement
 Buy-back recycling refers to a drop-off program that provides a monetary incentive to participate
o Residents are paid for their recyclables either directly or indirectly through a reduction in monthly
collection and disposal fees

137
Fig. Drop-off site
 Materials Recovery and Transfer…

138
 Materials Recovery and Transfer Stations
 The functions of Integrated Materials Recovery/Transfer Facilities (MR/TFs) include:
o Drop-off center for separated wastes
o Materials separation facility
o Composting and bioconversion Facility for wastes
o Refuse-derived fuel production Facility
o Transfer and transport facility

Fig. MR/TFs
 Materials recovery/transfer facilities (MR/TFs): multipurpose facilities that may include the functions of a
drop-off center for separated wastes, a materials recovery facility, a facility for the composting and
bioconversion of wastes, a facility for the production of refuse-derived fuel and a transfer and transport
facility
 Separation of Materials in MSW
o Waste separation at source is usually accomplished by manual means
 MRFs and MR/ TFs are used for:
o Further processing of source-separated wastes obtained from curbside collection programs and drop-off, pay-
back centers w/o processing facilities
o Separation and recovery of reusable and recyclables from commingled MSW
o Improvements in the quality of recovered waste materials
 Uses of Recovered Materials
o Direct reuse
o Raw materials for remanufacturing and reprocessing
o Feedstock for the production of biological and chemical conversion products
139
o Fuel source for production of energy
 Materials Recovery and Transfer

140
 Example: Home separation and delivery to drop-off centers
A community of 1200 homes cannot pay for the initial and operating costs of the recycling collection
vehicles that were to be used. Instead, residents are to haul recycling containers to a drop-off center
operated by the community. Calculate the number of cars from which recyclable materials must be
unloaded per hour at the recycling drop-off center. Assume the center is open for eight hours per day, two
days per week and that 40% of the residents will deliver recycling containers. Also assume that 75% of
the participants will take their separated materials to the drop-off center once per week and that the
remaining 25% of the participants will bring their separated materials to the drop-off center once every 2
weeks

141
 PROCESSING TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENTS for SW
o Processing is any method, system or other means designated to change the physical form or chemical
content of solid wastes
o Processing techniques are employed for three different purposes
 Efficiency Improvement of SW collection, transportation and disposal
 Examples: Incineration and baling are used to reduce storage requirements at high-rise buildings
 To reduce transfer and transportation costs
 Before waste paper is reused, it is usually baled to reduce shipping and storage volume requirements
 In some cases waste is baled to reduce haul cost to the disposal site
 At disposal site, solid waste is compacted to use the available land effectively
 Shredding reduces the size of the waste ingredients and improves the bulk density of the waste so
reduces the land requirements for disposal
 Materials Recovery:
o Components for which markets exist present in the waste in sufficient quantity
o Examples: paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, ferrous metal, aluminum etc.
 Conversion and Transformation:
o Combustible organic matter can be converted to energy
(i) Incineration
(ii) Pyrolysis
(iii) Bio-digestion

142
Table: Transformation Processes
 PROCESSING TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENTS for SW
Fig. Biological conversion - Anaerobic Digestion

Fig. Biological conversion - Composting

143
 PROCESSING TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENTS for SW ….
o Techniques such as (1) densification (compaction) (2) Chemical volume reduction (3) Mechanical
Shredding (4) Component separation and (5) Drying and dewatering (Moisture reduction) are used to
achieve the goals of:
o Efficiency Improvement of SW collection, transportation and disposal
o Materials Recovery:
o Conversion and Transformation
 The principal equipment employed in processing materials @ MRFs:
o Manual sorting facilities
o Equipment and facilities for materials transport
o Equipment for size reduction
o Equipment for component separation
o Equipment for densification (compaction)
o Weighing facilities
o Movable equipment
o Storage facilities
 Chemical Volume Reduction
o Open burning, incineration and pyrolysis
o Incineration is both used for volume reduction and power production
o 80 to 90 % reduction in volume of the combustible waste can be
o Air pollution control is the major hindrance in wide utilization of the technology

144
Table: Unit operations for Processing of MSW at MRFs

145
 Manual Sorting Techniques and Facilities Employed @ MRFs

146
 Mechanical Size Reduction
o Size reflection is important in the design and operation of SWM systems, in the recovery of materials
for conversion to energy
o Equipments are utilized to rip, cut, tear and pulverize commingled recyclables, liberating materials that
are bound together to separate them from each other
o Equipment employed include: Grinders, jaw crushers, rasp mills, shredders, cutters, clippers, hammer
mills and hydro-pulpers
 The benefits of shredding include::
o Higher density at lower compaction pressure in bailing
o Recovery of materials and energy becomes easier
o Sanitary landfilling no more requires daily covers if waste is shredded

 Component Separation
o Performed to optimize the resource recovery process and recycling activities 147
 Grinding and Shredding Equipment for Size Reduction of SW

148
 Screening: Separation based on Size
 It is used to separate mixtures of materials of different sizes into two or more size fractions by means of
one or more screening surfaces e.g. vibrating screens, rotary screens, disc screens, etc.
 The basis of screening is the sizes of the items found in various waste streams
 The process may be wet or dry, later being common and for solid wastes
 Both vibrating and rotary drum screens are commonly used
 Typically screens are used for the removal, of glass and related materials from shredded solid waste
 The efficiency of a screen can be evaluated in terms of the percentage recovery of the material to be
separated from the feed stream by

149
Table: Size Separation Systems for MSWs

150
 Screening: Separation based on Size…..
o The screening efficiency is high when materials to be separated are divergent in sizes (either much larger or much
smaller than the screen opening)
o When a spherical particle of diameter d impinges on a square hole with side length (or round hole with diameter
of a, where a > d, the probability that it will pass through the hole is expressed as:
o Q is the ratio of the area of the openings to the total screen surface area
o As the ratio of d/a approaches 1, the probability of material falling through the screen approaches 0

o As the material to be screened approaches the size of the screen opening the screening efficiency becomes very
low and approaches 0
o Very large materials flow on top of the screen as if it were a solid surface and very fine materials fall through the
openings of the screen with a very high efficiency
 Factors to select screening equipment:
o Particle size, particle size distribution, bulk density, moisture content, particle shape and potential for the
material to stick together or entangle
 Screen design characteristics:
o Materials of construction
o Size of screen openings
o Shape of screen openings
o Total surface screening area
o Rotational speed for rotary drum screens and oscillation rate for vibrating screens
o Length and width for vibrating screens
o Length and diameter for rotary screens
o Separation efficiency and overall effectiveness
o 151
Operational characteristics (e.g., energy requirements, routine maintenance, simplicity of operation,
 Density separation (e.g., Air classification)
o A process of separating categories of materials by way of differences in their respective aerodynamic
characteristics
o The aerodynamic characteristic of a particular material is a function of the size, geometry and
density
o It is used to separate organic material “light fraction” from the inorganic material “heavy fraction”
o The process consists of the interaction of a moving stream of air, shredded waste material and the
gravitational force within a confined volume
 Density separation can be accomplished with:
o An airstream (air classification)
o Water or other dense fluid (flotation)
o By light material diversion (chain curtain)
o Air classification is the most commonly used density separation
o Mixed materials are subjected to a moving airstream, the more lightweight materials will be carried away
if the air current is large enough
o Used to separate light materials such as paper & plastics from heavier materials such as ferrous metals,
based on weight differences of materials in air stream
o Applications of air classifiers include separation of:
 Labels from granulated plastic bottles
 Lighter plastic bottles and cans from heavier glass bottles
 Paper and plastic films from bottles and cans
 Fine glass and dirt from coarse glass
Example: If an air velocity of 600 m/min is to be used to transport finally ground material with a specific gravity of
0.75 in a horizontal duct, estimate the maximum particle size that can be transported.
Fig. Density separation (Air classification)

153
 Magnetic Separation
 Ferrous metals are separated from other waste materials by utilizing their magnetic properties
 Magnets can be classified: electromagnets (use electricity to magnetize or polarize an iron core) or
permanent magnets (utilize permanently magnetized materials) to create a magnetic field
 Most common types of equipment are suspended magnet, magnetic pulley and the suspended
magnetic drum
Table: Magnetic Separation Systems used for the separation for MSW

154
 Magnetic Separation
Example: A binary separator, a magnet, is to separate a product, ferrous materials, from a feed stream of
shredded solid waste. The feed rate to the magnet is 1000 kg/h and contains 50 kg of ferrous materials. The
product stream weighs 40 kg, of which 35 kg are ferrous materials. What is the percent recovery of ferrous
materials, their purity and the overall efficiency?

Fig. Typical magnets used in removal of ferrous materials: (a) drum holding magnet, (b) belt holding magnet,
(c) suspended type magnetic separator

155
Fig.: Typical magnet separators

156
 Densification (Compaction)
 Reduce the space required for storage of materials
 The degree of compaction for a material is a function of the equipment operating pressure and
characteristics of the material
 The volume reduction and compaction ratio can be calculated using

 Compaction processes can occur at various locations of SWM: at the point of generation, collection,
processing and disposal
 It increases the density of waste materials so that they can be stored and transported more efficiently and
as a means of preparing densified refuse-derived fuels (dRDF) (balers, can crushers, etc.)
 The most common forms of compaction are can flatteners, can densifiers, pelletizers and balers

157
 Densification (Compaction)… Fig.: Stationary compactors
o Compaction processes can occur at various locations of SWM:
 Point of generation
 Collection
 Processing
 Disposal
 Types of Compaction Equipment
• Based on mobility, there are two types of compaction equipment i.e.
(1) stationary compactors
(2) mobile compactors
 A) Stationary compactors
o Remain at their place while the wastes are being fed to them for compaction
o Example: compactors used at storage locations and transfer stations
o Compaction mechanism installed in waste collection vehicles itself is a stationary compactor
o According to their applicability, stationary compactors can be classified as:
i) Light duty(for residential area)
Fig.: mobilecompactors
ii) Commercial or light industrial
iii) Heavy industrial
iv) Transfer station compactors

 B) Mobile compactors
o Those which traverse over the dumped solid wastes
o The example is bulldozers as used at the disposal sites
o Compactors may also be classified as low-2 pressure (up to 690 KN/m or 100 psi) and high 2 pressure
(above 690 KN/m or 100 psi and up to 2 34,500 KN/m or 5000 psi)
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Table: Types and applicability of different compaction equipment
 Selection of the Compaction Equipment
 Factors to be considered:
 Characteristics of wastes
 Size, composition, moisture content and bulk density
 Methods of transferring and feeding wastes to compactor
 Handling methods and uses for compacted wastes
 Compactor design and operational characteristics
 Site considerations
 space and height, access, noise etc

 Relationship between Compaction ratio and Volume Reduction

• As the compaction ratio increases the corresponding increase in volume reduction decreases
• Thus very high compaction ratios are not very beneficial in terms of corresponding volume reduction
• High compaction ratios are normally uneconomical due to high cost of compactors for achieving them

159
 Relationship between Compaction ratio and Volume Reduction…..
o Whenever high compaction ratios are used, cost of compactor is first compared with corresponding
reduction in transportation cost
o Normally a compaction ratio from 2 to 3 is used

o Increase in density, brought about by the application of pressure, is highly dependent on initial density of
waste to be compacted
o Moisture content is another variable that significantly affects degree of compaction
o In some stationary compactors, water is added during compaction process
o Despite of several benefits of compaction, following are the demerits:
 Biodegradable organic wastes on compaction destroy the market value of the recyclable
commodities such as plastic, paper, aluminum, cardboard etc.
 Due to compaction, it becomes difficult to sort out the recyclable items at the MRF facility as the
waste is mixed and compacted into the lumps
160
 Inertial Separation
o Rely on ballistic or gravity separation principles to separate shredded solid wastes into light and heavy
fraction
o Ballistic elements which allow the fraction of SW up or down based on gravity and form of the each
component
o The heavy components of SW moves to the lower side of the screen, lighter particles such as plastic
bottles moves in the opposite direction toward the upper side of the screen and the fine particles pass
through the perforation
Fig.: working principle of ballistic separator

161
 Solid Waste Collection
 Gathering of SWs and recyclables and transport of collected materials to location where collection
vehicle is emptied (MRF, a transfer station or a landfill)
 Of the total amount of money spent on SWM (collection, transport, processing, recycling and disposal),
about 50 – 70% is spent on the collection activity
 Many new devices and methods have been proposed to cut costs (e.g., careful design of collection
systems)
 Solid waste Collection operation includes :
o The gathering or picking up of SW from various sources
o Hauling the collected wastes to the location where the contents of the collection vehicles are emptied
o The unloading of collection vehicles at transfer station or landfill
 Phases of Solid Waste Collection
 Solid waste collection is a multiphase process
 Have at least five distinct phases
 Phase I: transferring the SW to waste collection bins placed inside or outside home by the individual
house owner
 Phase II: Transfer the SW from bins to collection truck, which is generally done by the collection crew
of SWM department
 Phase III: Collection of the SW from several homes, commercial and business centers, educational
institutions etc.

162
  SOLID WASTE COLLECTION….
 Phase IV: Truck routing
 Transfer of the collected waste on the planed routes in order to maximize the collection efficiency,
reducing the fuel consumption and reducing the haul distance.
 The route is planned in such a way that the last collection point is at minimum distance from the
waste disposal or processing facility
 Phase 5: Truck to Disposal: the transfer of SW to the disposal or processing facility as planned during
the siting stage of landfill or processing facility
 Hauling and unloading are similar for most collections systems
o The gathering or picking up will vary with the
 Characteristics of the facilities
 Locations where wastes are generated
 The ways and means used for on-site storage

Fig.: 5 phases of SW collection

163
 Solid Waste Collection …
o Solid Waste Collection operation is considered with respect to:
a) Types of pick-up services
b) Types of collection systems
c) Analysis of collection systems
d) Setting up of collection routes
 Types of pick-up services Curbside
o Types of pick-up services are different for non-separate (commingled) and separate waste
o This services further vary with respect of residential or commercial/industrial activities
 Pick-up services for Low Rise Detached Dwellings
o 5 different types of services are provided for such areas
a) Curbside service
b) Alley service
c) Setout-Setback
d) Setout service
e) Backyard carry service/door to door

164
Fig. Curbside collection
 Types of SW Collection Services….
 The principal types of collection services are:
o Commingled (unseparated) wastes
o Source-separated wastes
Table: Typical Collection Services for Commingled and Source-Separated SW

165
 Pick-up services for Low Rise Detached Dwelling…..
c) Setout-Setback service:
 Containers are set out from the homeowner’s property and setback after being emptied by crews that
work in conjunction with the collection crew responsible for loading the collection vehicle
 The same as setout-setback service, except that the homeowner is responsible for returning the
empty containers to their storage location
d) Setout service
 In this sevice the collection crew is responsible to bring out the loaded containers from within
dwellings but the empty containers will be left on the curbside
 The residents will take back the empty containers
e)Backyard Carry:
 Collection crew responsible for entering residents property, transporting containers to collection
vehicle and returning them to storage location
 The services are performed manually as well as mechanically
 The manual methods include:
a. Direct lifting and emptying into collection vehicle
b. Rolling of loaded containers on their rims up to the vehicle and emptying
c. Using small lifts for rolling loaded containers
d. Using tote containers or drop cloths

Fig.: Use of tote containers 166

 Pick-Up Services for Low and Medium Rise Apartments
o Curbside pick-up service is common in such areas
o The containers will be rolled on to the collection vehicle where they will be emptied manually or mechanically
o The collector is responsible for transporting containers from a storage location to the collection vehicle

Fig. Low and Medium Rise Apartments

167
Fig.: Manual emptying (left) & Mechanical emptying (right) of wastes containers placed at curb
Table: Comparison of Residential MSW Collection Services for Both Commingled and Source-Separated
SW according to the placement of containers for collection

168
 Collection of Commingled SWs From Low and Medium-Rise Apartments
 Curbside pick-up service is common in such areas.
 The containers will be rolled on to the collection vehicle where they will be emptied manually or
mechanically
 Transporting the container to the street for curbside collection by manual or mechanical means
 The collector is responsible for transporting containers from a storage location to collection vehicle
(see figure below at the right)

Fig.: Collection of wastes containers placed at curb by homeowner

169
 Pick-Up Services for High Rise Apartments (> 7 stories)
o Depending on the size and type of containers used, the waste from the containers is emptied into the
collection vehicle by mechanical system available with the vehicle
o The mechanical system can be attached to front or rear end of the vehicles

Fig.: High rise apartments

170
Fig.: Self-loading collection vehicle equipped with internal compactor: front loader (left) rear loader (right)
 Pick-Up Services for Commercial /Industrial Areas
o Depending on the size and type of container used, the contents of the containers may be emptied
manually or mechanically into the collection vehicle
o To minimize the difficulty due to traffic congestion, mechanized collection can also be performed
during the early morning or late evening hours

171
 Pick-Up Services for Commercial /Industrial Areas……

172
 Collection of Wastes Separated at Source
 Waste materials that have been separated at the source must be collected or gathered together before they
can be recycled
 The principal methods now used for the collection of these materials include curbside collection
 The three principal methods now used for the collection of recyclable materials from residential sources
include:
 Curbside collection using conventional and specially designed collection vehicles
 Incidental curbside collection by charitable organizations
 Delivery by residents to drop-off and buyback centers
o One, two, or more vehicles may be used where waste is separated at the source

173
 Collection of Source Separated SWs From Low-Rise Detached Dwellings
 In curbside system source-separated recyclables are collected separately from commingled waste at/in
o Curbside
o Alley
o Commercial facilities
 The method used to collect source-separated wastes will impact directly the layout and design of
separation and processing facilities
 The 2 principal types of collection vehicles used for the collection of separated wastes:
o Standard collection vehicles
o Specialized collection vehicles such as:
 Closed-body recycling trucks
 Recycling trailers
 Modified flatbed trucks
 Open-bin recycling trucks
 Compartmentalized trailers

Typical collection vehicles used for the collection of

source-separated waste

174
 Programs for Collection of source separated wastes from low rise apartment
 Residents separate several different materials (e.g., Newspaper, plastic, glass and metals) that are
stored in their own containers and collected separately
 Use only one container to store commingled recyclables or two containers, one for paper and the
other for “heavy” recyclables (e.g., glass, aluminum and tin cans)
Table: Characteristics of Vehicles Used for the Collection of SWs Separated at the Source

175
 Collection of Source Separated SWs From Low and Medium Rise Apartments
 Two principal methods:
o Curbside collection using conventional + mechanized collection vehicles
o Collection from storage areas (mechanized vehicles)
o Large waste storage containers for recyclable materials are located outdoors in special enclosures
 Collection of Source Separated SWs From High-Rise Apartments
 The most common methods of handling commingled and source-separated wastes involve:
 Recyclable and commingled wastes are picked up by building maintenance personnel from the
various floors and taken to the basement or service area and placed in separate containers
 Recyclable and commingled wastes are taken to the basement or service area by residents and placed
in separate containers
 Recyclable wastes are taken to the basement or service area by tenants or building maintenance
personnel and placed in separate containers
 Collection of Source Separated SWs From Commercial Facilities
o Collected by private haulers
o Haulers have contracts with the facility for the separated material
o Wastes to be recycled are stored in separate containers
 TYPES OF COLLECTION SYSTEMS, EQUIPMENT, AND PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS
o Collection systems may be categorized with respect to their mode of operation, the equipment used and
the type of waste collected
o With respect to mode of operation, the collection systems are of two types:
 (1) Hauled Container System (HCS)
 (2) Stationary Container System (SCS)
I. Hauled Container System (HCS)
o The containers used for the storage of wastes are hauled to a materials recovery facility (MRF), transfer
station or disposal site, emptied and returned to either their original location (conventional mode) or some
176
other location
I. Hauled Container System (HCS)…
o The container is carried by the truck
o A variation (exchange container mode) is start with an empty container
o Suited for the removal of wastes from sources where the rate of generation is high b/s large
containers are used

Table: Advantages and disadvantages of HCS

177
 Hauled container system (conventional mode)
• The emptied containers are brought back at the same locations, from where they were picked up

Fig.: HCS (Conventional mode)

178
 HCS (Conventional mode)…

179
 Hauled Container System (Exchange container mode)
o Storage containers are hauled to an MRF, transfer station or disposal site, emptied and returned to a
different location
o Works best when the containers are of a similar size
o Driver must begin the collection route with an empty container on the vehicle to be deposited at the
first collection site
Fig.: HCS (Exchange container mode)

180
 HCS (Exchange container mode)…..
o The collection vehicle carries one extra empty container, puts the empty container at first pick-up
location, picks the loaded container, hauls the loaded container to the disposal site, and returns the empty
container to the next pick up location and so on.
o At the end of the day's work, the last container, emptied by the vehicle is taken to the garage

181
 Types of Collection Vehicles Used in HCS
o Three different vehicles are used in HCS:
 Hoist truck
 Tilt-frame truck
 Trash-trailer truck
 Hoist truck systems
o Useful for demolition and construction waste or industrial rubbish or for pick up from a few places with
large accumulations
o Applicable in only a limited number of cases
 For the collection of wastes by a collector who has a small operation and collects from only a few
pickup points
 For the collection of bulky items and industrial rubbish not suitable for collection with compaction
vehicles
o The use of the tilt-frame HCS has become widespread due to the large volume that can be hauled

Fig. Collection vehicle used to haul and empty large containers. Container hoist and unloading mechanism is
mounted on truck frame 182
 Tilt frame container systems
 Also known as drop or debris boxes, are suitable for sites where generation rate warrants the use of large
containers
 Large containers in conjunction with stationary compactors are widely used in apartment complexes,
commercial services and transfer stations

Fig: Truck with tilt-frame loading mechanism (left) & Contents of large tilt-frame loaded container being
emptied at landfill (right)

183
 Trash-trailer system
o Such systems are used especially for heavy rubbish such as sand and metal scrap and for collection of
demolition waste
Contents of trash-trailer used for
demolition waste being unloaded
at landfill

Table: Comparison of Conventional Mode and Exchange Container Modes

184
 Collection Vehicles (average life 5-7 years)

185
 Collection Vehicles (average life 5-7 years)…

186
 Advantages of HCS
 Useful when generation rate is high and containers are large
 Eliminate spillage associated with multiple smaller containers
 Large containers eliminates handling time, unsightly accumulations and unsanitary conditions
associated with numerous smaller container s
 Flexibility: Containers of many different sizes and shapes are available for the collection of all types of
wastes
 Requires only one truck and driver to accomplish collection cycle
 Disadvantage of HCS
o If the containers are not filled, low container utilization rate
 Container utilization is defined as the fraction of the total container volume actually filled with
waste
o Each container that is picked up requires a round trip to an MRF, transfer station or disposal site
 Personnel Requirements for HCS
 A single collector-driver is used with the responsibility of:
o Driving the vehicle
o Loading full containers on to the collection vehicle
o Emptying the contents of the containers at the disposal site (or transfer point)
o Re-depositing (unloading) the empty containers
II. Stationary Container System (SCS)
o The loaded containers are emptied into the body of the collection vehicle, while the containers are put back
at their places
o A number of containers can thus be emptied per trip of collection vehicle
o The loaded vehicle then moves to the disposal site or transfer station, is unloaded there and starts its next
187
trip
 Stationary Container System (SCS)….
 Container size and utilization are important
 The container remains in the vicinity where waste is generated
 The waste is unloaded into a bigger truck
 A large container is an integral part of the truck
 The collection vehicles are usually compactor trucks
 When fully loaded from multiple waste containers, the truck travels to and from the landfill as
opposed to the waste container
 Two types:
 (i) With mechanically loaded vehicles
 (ii) With manually loaded vehicles

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 Stationary container system (SCS)…
 SCS with mechanically loaded vehicles
 Used in residential source-separated and commingled wastes and litter, small containers, residential
areas where the quantity picked up at each location is small and the loading time is short
 A variety of container sizes may be used with these systems
 These systems are very commonly used for collection of residential waste
 Not suitable for industrial or construction and demolition wastes

 SCS with manually loaded vehicles

• These systems are also normally employed for collection of residential wastes (along with litter)
• This system can compete with mechanically loaded vehicles, because in many residential areas
many individual pick up points may be inaccessible to mechanized self-loading collection vehicles
 Types of Vehicles used in SCS
 The types of vehicles used vary according to the type and quantity of wastes to be handled
 Self-loading compactors and manually loaded compactors are the two main types
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 Types of Vehicles used in SCS…
 Manually loaded compactors are used for residential collection because many individual pick-up
points are inaccessible for the self-loading compactors
 Advantages of SCS:
 Vehicle does not travel to disposal area until it is full yielding higher utilization rates
 Disadvantages SCS:
 System is not flexible in terms of picking up bulky goods
 Wastes e.g. demolition, that make damage the relatively delicate mechanisms
 Large volume generations may not have room for storing large containers
Table: Comparison of HCS and SCS

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 Analysis of Collection Systems
o Analysis refers to determining
 The number of vehicles required
 Capacity of vehicles required
 Crew size required
 Labor required
 Length of workday/week required
 Cost involved in a particular collection system
o For the purpose of analysis, the collection activities may be broken down into different unit operations
o Pick-up time
o Haul time
o On Site time
o Off-Route time
o Time per Trip
o Container capacity, waste volume generated
o Volume compaction factor

191
 Analysis of Collection Systems….
 The activities involved in the collection of SWs can be resolved into 4 unit operations:
1 . Pickup Time
 The time spent in pickup of container or
 The time required to load the collection vehicle
 Denoted by 'Pc'
 PHCS
 Time spent driving to the next container
 The time spent picking up the loaded container
 Time required to re-deposit the container after it has been emptied
 PSCS
 Time spent loading the vehicle, beginning with the first container and ending when the last container
has been loaded
2. Haul Time (h)
 Denoted by 'h'
 HCS: the time required to reach the location where the waste will be emptied
 SCS: the time required to reach the location where the full vehicle will be emptied and continuing
until the truck arrives at the location
 It is time for transporting SW to disposal site and coming back
Where: n is the number of trips from the collection route to the tip site
b is the travel time from the collection route to the disposal site (one-way travel time only)
3. On-site Time (s)
o The time spent at the disposal site (landfill, transfer station, processing facility)
o Includes unloading time and the waiting time o For multiple trips, the on-site time becomes ns
o Denoted by 's‘
o A fixed value for each trip to the disposal site 192
 Analysis of Collection Systems….
4. Off-Site Time (W)
o Non-productive activities (Check in, check out, relief time, dispatch time, route retracing, meeting
and breaks, Lunch,)
o It is denoted by 'W‘
o It is time spent on activities that are non-productive from the point of view of the overall collection
operation.
o They may be (a) necessary and (b) unnecessary
 Necessary off-route time includes:
i) Time spent checking in and out in the morning and at the end of day
ii) Time spent driving to the first pick-up point
iii) Time lost due to unavoidable traffic congestion
iv) Time spent on equipment repair and maintenance
 Unnecessary off-route time includes
i) Time spent on lunch in access of the stated lunch period
ii) Time spent on taking un-authorized tea breaks
iii) Time spent in talking to friends
o The off-route time factor varies from 0.1 to 0.25; average of 0.15 is representative of most SW operations
5. Time per Trip
• It is denoted by 'T‘
• It is time taken for one trip from container location to disposal site and back to the next container location
• It is equal to the sum of all above unit operations = (1 – 4 above)

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 Analysis of Hauled Container Collection System
o For one day's work, an empty truck comes from the garage to the work area, picks up the loaded
container from the first location, goes to the disposal site or transfer station or MRF, unloads the wastes
and hauls back the empty container to the original location, deposits the empty container and moves on to
the second location
o It repeats this process by performing a number of trips until at the end of the day's work it goes back to
the garage
o For the purpose of the system's analysis, the time spent in various activities will be counted as shown
below
Fig.: Time spent in various activities

194
 Analysis of Hauled Container Collection System…..
o Let Thcs = Average total time spent per trip (hrs) to serve one container (i.e. time taken by the vehicle from
start of picking up of one container to the starting of pick up of next container)
• pc = Average time spent in pick up of filled container (hrs)
• h = Average haul time to disposal site and back (hrs/trip)
• s = Average time spent at disposal site (hrs/trip)
• uc = Av e r a g e t i m e s p e n t i n redeposit/unloading of the emptied container (hours/trip)
• dbc= Average haul time spent in driving b/n two container locations
o Then,

o Due to human factors involved, some allowance is to be given for off-route activities, like traffic jams tea
breaks etc.
o Let W be the fraction of time spent in off-route activities then:

o Now if
• t1 = Time to travel from garage to work area
• t2 = Time to travel from work area to garage
• H = Total working hours per day
• Nd = Number of trips per day
Then

195
 Analysis of Hauled Container Collection System….
o Also haul time to disposal site depends upon the speed and distance traveled
o It can be expressed as:

Similarly,

 Collection and Disposal Time

• The time required for the collection and disposal of one load (either full or partial) during the working
day can be computed as:
L1 = pickup time + haul time + on-site time + off-route time
• The truck comes from the storage yard, collects the SW needed to fill it, drives to the disposal area and
unloads and then returns to the storage yard
• If a full working day is not required to collect one load, what happens to the vehicle after it has been
unloaded? 196
 Collection and Disposal Time…..
• This is determined by the restrictions placed on the allowable overtime
• Assume that the workday is 8 hours (480 minutes) and that the maximum overtime allowed on the
average is 30 minutes
• The following considerations will determine what happens to the vehicle after the first load
1. If L1 = 480 minutes, it is the end of the day
o This is the case where a full day is required to complete the task of collecting a load and unloading at the
tip site and returning to the storage yard
2. If L1 < 480 minutes and L1 + 2b + s < 510 minutes, it is the end of the day
o There may be more time left in the day to collect SW, but after the first load is unloaded, the round-trip
time from the disposal area to the collection area plus the unloading time exceeds the allowable overtime
 The crew has completed the workday and the time short of the 480 minutes is considered relief time
3. If L1 > 510 minutes, it is the end of the day with a partial load
The magnitude of the partial load, a, is calculated by the equation:
510 = aPc + b + s + w
4. If L1 + 2b + s < 510 minutes and L1 < 480 minutes, the truck returns for one or more additional loads
o The time required to collect the additional loads can be calculated as

197
 Example: Determination of haul-speed constants
o The following average speeds were obtained for various round-trip distances to a disposal site. Find the
hauled speed contants a and b and the round-trip haul time for site that is located 11 mi away.

198
 Example: Analysis of a hauled container system…

Fig: Correlation between haul speed and round-trip haul distance for waste collection vehicle
199
Example 4: Analysis of a hauled container system…
 Operational data on the collection vehicles used in HCS (Fig.)

200
Example: Analysis of a hauled container system…

201
Example: Analysis of a hauled container system
Solid waste from a new industrial park is to be collected in large containers (drop boxes),
some of which will be used in conjunction with stationary compactors. Based on traffic
studies at similar parks, it is estimated that the average time to drive from the garage to the
first container location (t1) and from the last container location (t 2) to the garage each day
will be 15 and 20 min, respectively. If the average time required to drive between containers
is 6 min and the one-way distance to the disposal site is 25 km (speed limit: 90 km/h),
determine the number of containers that can be emptied per day, based on an 8-hour
workday. Assume the off-route factor, W, is equal to 0.15. The missing data may be assumed

202
 Solved Example

203
 Analysis of Stationary Container Collection System
o As the loading process in mechanically loaded and manually loaded vehicles differs, both the systems are
dealt separately
A) Mechanically loaded collection vehicles
• For these systems the time per trip may be expressed as:

204
 Exercise: Comparison of solid waste collection systems
A private solid waste collector wishes to locate a disposal site near a commercial area. The
collector would like to use a hauled container system but fears that the haul costs might be
prohibitive. What is the maximum distance away from the commercial area that the disposal
site can be located so that the weekly costs of the hauled container system do not exceed
those of a stationary container system? Assume that one collector-driver will be used with
each system and that the following data are applicable

g) Overhead costs = 133.33 Birr/wk g) Overhead costs = 250 birr/wk

h) Operational costs = 5 Birr/h of operation h) Operational costs = 5 Birr/h of operation

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 B) Manually loaded vehicles
o In this system, the pick-up time per location tp depends on the time required to drive between the
container locations and the number of containers per pick up location

206
 Solved Example: Analysis of SCS with manual loading vehicle
The agency responsible for the collection of solid wastes presently allows two containers per service,
picked up at the backyard. Consideration is being given to limiting backyard service to one container
only; the remaining services would be allowed two containers at curbside. About 10 percent of all
services would be expected to ask for the backyard service. How many additional containers can be
collected per day? At present there are 300 collection stops per day

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 Design of Collection Routes
o To use both the collectors and equipment effectively
o A trial and error process
o It is a heuristic (common-sense) process
o There are no fixed rules that can be applied to all situations
o Following guidelines/factors should be kept in mind while laying out routes
 Guidelines and Considerations
o For efficient use of collection vehicles and the staff, design of collection routes is very necessary
1. Existing policies, regulations regarding S.W.M. must be identified (frequency of collection)
2. Existing system conditions such as crew sizes, vehicle types must be coordinated
3. All the vehicles should almost travel equal distances and carry equal amount of loads
4. When possible, begin and end near arterial streets (use topographic and physical barriers as
route boundaries)
5. The first container should be served from the farthest end and the last container from nearest to
disposal site
6. Sources that generate extremely large quantities of wastes should be serviced first
7. In hilly areas the route should start from the top of the grade and proceed downward as the
vehicle becomes loaded
8. Wastes generated at the traffic congested locations should be collected in early hours of the day
9. If both sides of the street are to be collected at the same time, route long, straight paths across
the grid before looping clockwise
10. If one side of the street is to be collected at a time, route clockwise (right) turns around blocks
11. Long straight paths should be routed before looping clockwise
12. U-turns can be avoided by never leaving one two-way street as the only access and exit to the
node
13. Dead-end streets should be collected when on the right side of the street
14. Routes should not overlap, should be compact, and should not be fragmented. 208
 Procedure for Developing Layout of Collection Routes
o The procedure of layout of collection routes involves four steps:
Step 1: Preparation of location map showing the pickup locations and the peculiar data for HCS or
SCS
Step 2: Data analysis and preparation of information summary table
Step 3: Preliminary layout of routes
Step 4: Evaluation of preliminary routes and development of balanced routes by hit and trial

209
A sample routing for a collection truck
 Procedure for Developing Layout of Collection Routes…..
 Exercise: Using heuristic routing, develop an efficient route for the map shown in Fig. below if
(a) both sides of the street are to be collected together
(b) one side of the street is collected at a time

210
 Biological Treatment and Composting of SW
o Composting is defined as “biological decomposition of the biodegradable organic fraction of MSW
under controlled conditions to a state sufficiently stable for nuisance-free storage and handling and for
safe use in land applications”
o With the exception of plastic, rubber and leather components, the organic fraction of MSW (OFMSW) is
composed of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, cellulose, lignin and ash
o The biodegradable organic fraction of MSW
 Vegetable and fruit peelings, Wasted food and garden trimmings
o The two common biological processes used to transform organic materials into gaseous, liquid and solid
conversion products :
 Aerobic degradation: degrades organic waste in presence of O2
 Anaerobic Digestion (AD): degrades organic waste in absence of O2
 One element of ISWM strategy
 Reduces volume up to 50% and consumes about 50% of the organic mass on a dry weight by releasing
CO2 and water
 Does not produce changes in difficult-to-degrade organics (wood, leather, polymers) or in in organics
(dirt, glass, ceramics and metals)
Fig. Organic solid waste Fruit vegetable peelings (left), Mixed organic waste (middle) and Garden trimmings (right)

211
 Biological Treatment and Composting of SW……..
o During the composting process, heat, various gases and water vapors are released, greatly reducing the
volume and mass of the pile
 Six broad groups of organisms are actively involved in composting are named in order of decreasing
abundance :
(1) Bacteria (consortia)
(2) Actinomycetes (play role in curing stage of the process)
(3) Fungi (important in later stages of the process)
(4) Protozoa
(5) Worms (nematodes and some earthworms)
(6) Some larvae (larvae of various types of flies)

212
Fig.: Composting process
 Biological Treatment and Composting of SW……..
o The end product remaining after bacterial activity is called “humus” or “compost”

o Decomposition of solid waste may be accomplished aerobically or anaerobically

o Anaerobic process however involves offensive odors and is extremely slow
o Most composting operations are therefore aerobic
Table: Characteristics of the compost

213
 Composting Process Description
o Composting process consists of four basic steps:
(1) preparation;
(2) digestion/
(3) curing
(4) finishing
 Preparation
o The material delivered to the composting facility is removed from the container transfer vehicles or bags
o The non-compostable materials such as plastics, textile, leather, bones, glass, metals etc are removed from
the feed stock to prevent any damage to the machines during the subsequent operations
o The compost quality will also improve due to the sorting of the non-compostable wastes from the organic
waste stream
 Typical preparation steps include:
(A) sorting of salvageable material
(b) removal of nonputrescibles
(C) grinding
(D) addition of wastewater sludge if necessary
 Conditions essential for effective composting
 For optimum results, the size of the waste should be reduced by shredding
 Sewage sludge is added to obtain Sufficient number of microorganisms to perform digestion
 C/N ratio should be 30 to 50
 C/P ratio should be 100 or less
 Moisture content should be 50 to 60%, add water if required
 pH should vary between 5.5 to 8.5 throughout the process
 Air should be thoroughly dispersed throughout the organic waste by frequently turning and mixing the
wastes
 Temperature should be maintained b/n 50 to 60 oC for active composting period 214
 Composting Process Description

Fig.: General process flow diagram for MSW composting facilities

 Digestion
• In modern composting plants digestion takes place within windrows (area method) or in turning, the
windrows may also be aerated through forced aeration

215
 Composting is the most commonly used biological process for the conversion of OFMSW to a stable
humus-like material known as compost

 Properties of compost
 The typical properties of compost are
 A brown to very dark brown color
 A low carbon-nitrogen (C/N) ratio
 A continually changing nature due to activities of MO’s
 A high capacity for cation exchange and water absorption
 When added to soil, compost has been found to lighten heavy soils, to improve the texture of light
sandy soils and to increase the water retention capacity of most soils

216
 Typical process flow diagram for the composting of MSW

217
 Preparation or Preprocessing of waste for composting
 The most important preprocessing steps are:
o Receiving
o Removal of contaminants and Recyclable materials
o Size reduction
o Some adjustment of the waste properties (e.g., C:N ratio, size reduction, seeding, nutrient addition
and addition of bulking agent)
 MSW composting begins with separating the biodegradable organic materials from the rest of the waste
 shredding or grinding the organics (the remaining is usually landfilled)
 The three composting methods used most commonly:
(1) Static windrows (Piles)
(2) Turned windrows
(3) In-vessel composting

218
 The compost process can be classified in terms of
 Cultural condition (Aerobic vs. Anaerobic), (Mesophylic (5 - 45°C) vs. Thermophylic
(45 - 75°C)
 Technology (windrows, Aerated static pile process and In-vessel processes
 Aeration mechanisms: provision of satisfactory aeration
 Aeration falls into 3 broad groups:
 Agitation (tumbling, stirring and/or mixing the composting mass)
 Forced aeration (air is either pushed or pulled through the composting mass)
 Periodic turning of the materials to be composted
 Composting occurs in three successive phases:
 Mesophilic: the temperature of the composting pile increases from ambient to 40°C & acid-producing
bacteria metabolize carbohydrates, sugars, and proteins
 Thermophilic: the temperature increases from 40°C to 70°C & thermophilic bacteria become active and
metabolize proteins, lipids and fats and responsible for much of the heat energy produced
 Curing phase (also known as the cooling phase), the microbial activity is reduced and the composting
process is completed. the compost matures through further microbial activity into a stable product
 All three categories of microorganisms are active during all three phases
 Actinomycetes and fungi are present at both the mesophilic and thermophilic stages and are responsible
for the destruction of a wide variety of complex organic compounds and cellulose

219
 Phases during composting (Fig.)

220
1. Windrow Composting
 A high-rate windrow composting are 1-2 m high & 3-4 m wide
 Requires organic material processing by shredding and screening to approximately 25-75 mm and
the moisture content is adjusted to 50-60%
 Windrows are turned up to twice per week while temperature is maintained at or slightly above 55
o C
 The turning serves to aerate the pile and allow moisture to escape
 Microbial O2 requirement is met by the air entrapped in the windrows (i.e., interstitial air)
 Air is renewed by turning the windrow or by forcing air through the windrow, (i.e., ventilating the
pile)
 Very little oxygen comes by diffusion of ambient air into the outer layer of the windrow
 Milling and stacking the raw waste accomplishes the initial aeration
 Complete composting may require 2 – 6 months
 Afterwards, the compost is allowed to cure for an additional 3-4 weeks without turning

221
 Windrow composting steps

222
 Windrow composting turning over  Aeration

223
2. Aerated static Windrow piles Composting
 Used to compost WW sludge, yard waste or separated MSW
 The system is composed of a grid of aeration or exhaust piping over which the processed solid
waste is placed
 Typical pile heights are 2-2.5 m
 The material to be composted is placed in a pile and O 2 is provided by mechanical aeration
 A layer of screened compost is placed on top of the newly formed pile for insulation and odor
control
 Air is introduced to provide the oxygen needed for biological conversion and to control the
temperature within the pile
 For improved process and odor control newer facilities are fully or partially covered

224
3. In-vessel composting
o Accomplished inside an enclosed container or vessel
o Different vessels (vertical towers, horizontal rectangular and circular tanks and circular
rotating tanks) have been used
o 2 Major categories: plug flow and dynamic (agitated bed)
o The relationship between particles in the composting mass stays the same throughout the
process & systems operate on a first-in, first-out principle
o In dynamic systems, the composting material is mixed mechanically during the
processing
o Mechanical systems are designed to minimize odors and process time by
controlling air flow, temperature and oxygen concentration
o The reasons for increasing its popularityare:
 Process and odor control
 Faster throughout
 Lower labor cost
 Smaller area requirement
o All systems employ a 4 -12 week curing period after the active composting period

225
 Plug flow In-vessel composting

226
 Dynamic In-vessel composting

227
 Compost Process Design and Operational Considerations
 Particle Size
o The smaller the particle size, the more rapid the rate of microbial attack
o There is a “minimum particle size” of the waste material below which it is difficult to maintain an adequate porosity in a composting
mass
o For optimum results the size of waste should be 25-75 mm
 C/N Ratio (Nutrient Concentration)
o Both C and N are required as energy sources for the growth of MOs
o ~ 30 parts by weight of biodegradable C are used by MOs for each part of N
o The most desirable C:N ratio is in the range 25 : 1 to 35 : 1 by weight
o Lower ratios increase the loss of N by volatilization as ammonia, resulting in the loss of nutrient value that
impedes biological activity and the emission of ammonia odor
o Higher ratios lead to longer composting time and the organic material remains active well into the curing
stage and N may be a limiting nutrient
 Blending & Seeding
o Composting time can be reduced by seeding with partially decomposed SW to the extent of about 1 - 5 %wt
o Sewage sludge can also be added to prepared solid wastes
o If sludge is added, the final moisture content is the controlling variable
 Moisture content
o < 40% moisture may limit the rate of decomposition
o Should be in the range of 50 – 60% during the composting process
o The optimum value appears to be about 55%
o also important for structural integrity and sufficient porosity of the composting pile
 Mixing/Turning
o To prevent drying, caking and air channeling 228
o
 Compost Process Design and Operational Considerations…
 Air requirement
o Oxygen should reach all the parts of composting material for optimum results
o Oxygen concentrations > 15% will result in a temp decrease b/s of the higher airflow
o Oxygen concentration in the composting mass should be maintained b/n 5 and 15%
by volume of gas mass
o A minimum of 5% is required for aerobic conditions
 Temperature
o 50-55 oC  for the first few days
o 55- 60 oC  for the remainder of the active composting period
o Temperatures > 65 oC reduce the biological activity significantly
o Moisture content, aeration rates, size and shape of pile, atmospheric conditions and nutrients
influence temperature in a composting pile
 pH Control
o Optimum pH range for most bacteria 6.0 -7.5 whereas optimum for fungi is 5.5 - 8.0
o Precipitation of essential nutrients out of solution establishes the upper pH limit for many
fungi
o pH 7-7.5  For optimum aerobic decomposition
o pH < 8.5  To minimize the loss of nitrogen in form of NH3 gas
 Control of Pathogens
o To kill all the pathogens, weeds and seeds during the composting process
o Temp maintained b/n 60 -70 oC for 24 hrs kills all pathogens, weeds and seeds 229
 Temperature and pH control

230
Table: Temperature and Time of Exposure Required for Destruction of Some Common Pathogens and
Parasites

231
 EPA requirements for pathogen control of compost process

232
 Important design considerations…
 Degree of decomposition can be measured by:
o Measuring the final drop in temperature
o Degree of self heating capacity
o Amount of decomposable and resistant organic matter in the composted material
o Rise in redox potential
o Oxygen uptake
o Growth of the fungus Chaetomium gracilis
o The starch-iodine test
 Land Requirement
 For a plant with a capacity of 50 ton/day  6,000-8,000 m2

233
 Important Design Considerations for Aerobic Composting Process

234
 Production of compost from commingled MSW

235
 Comparison of composting processes

236
 Issues in implementation of composting facilities
o Production of odors
o Blowing of papers and plastic materials in windrow composting
o Presence of pathogens and heavy metals in compost product
o Definition of what constitutes an acceptable compost
 Composting may not be a viable technology in the future if issues related to these questions
are not resolved
 Example 6: Leaves, with a C/N ratio of 50, are to blended with waste activated sludge from
a wastewater treatment plant, with a C/N ratio of 6.3 to achieve an optimum C/N ratio.
Determine the proportions of each component to achieve a blended C/N ratio of 25 .
 Assume that the following conditions apply:
o Moisture content of sludge = 75%
o Moisture content of leaves = 50%
o Nitrogen content of sludge = 5.6%
o Nitrogen content of leaves = 0.7%

237
 Example 6…

238
 Example 6…

239
 Example 7: Determine the amount of air required to compost 1 ton of MSW using in-vessel
composting with forced aeration. Assume that the composition of the organic fraction of the
MSW to be composted is given by C60.0H94.3O37.8N. Assume that the following conditions and
data apply:
o Moisture content of organic fraction of MSW = 25 %
o Volatile solids, VS = 0.93 * TS (total solids)
o Biodegradable volatile solids, BVS = 0.60 * VS
o Expected BVS conversion efficiency = 95%
o Composting time = 5 d
o Oxygen demand is 20, 35, 25, 15, 5 % for the successive days of the 5-day composting
period
o Air contains 23% O2 by mass and the specific weight of air is equal 1.2 kg /m 3
o A factor of 2 times the actual air supplied will be needed to be assumed that the oxygen
content of the air does not drop below 50 percent of its original value

240
241
 Anaerobic Digestion (AD)…

242
Microorganisms in AD (Fig.)

243
Anaerobic Digestion (AD)….

244
 Anaerobic Digestion (AD)….
 Anaerobic digestion offers several advantages
 The methane gas produced is a source of usable energy that can be used for heating
buildings, running engines for aeration blowers, or generating electricity
 Reduction in total solid mass through the conversion of organic matter primarily to
methane, carbon dioxide, and water (30 to 65% of the raw solids are destroyed that
can significantly reduce the cost of sludge disposal)
 The digested solids are generally free of objectionable odors
 The digested biosolids contain nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and
organic matter that can improve the fertility and texture of soils
 A high rate of pathogen distribution can be achieved, especially with the
thermophilic digestion process

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Anaerobic Digestion (AD)….
The principal disadvantages of anaerobic sludge
digestion are
 The capital cost is high because large closed digestion tanks fitted
with systems for feeding, heating and mixing the solids are required
 Large reactors are required to provide the hydraulic detention time in
excess of 10 days to stabilize the solid waste effectively
 This slow digestion process also limits the speed with which the
system can adjust to changes in waste loads, temperature, and
other environmental conditions
 Microorganisms involved in AD are sensitive to small changes in the
environment
 The process is susceptible to upsets
 Monitoring of performance and close process control are required
to prevent upsets
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 Biogas production

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 Low-solids (wet) AD

248
 Low-solids AD process

249
 Flow diagram for low-solids AD

250
 Low-solids anaerobic digesters

251
 Design considerations: Low-solids AD

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 High-Solids (dry) AD

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 Dranco process

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 Kompogas Process

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 Valorga process

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 High-solids anaerobic digesters

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 Design considerations: High-solids AD

258
 Comparison of Low & High-solids AD

259
 Combined High-Solids AD/Composting
 Flow diagram for high-solids AD/aerobic composting process (Figure)

260
 Combined High-Solids AD/Composting …

261
 Other biological processes

262
 Chemical Transformation of MSW

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 Chemical processes for the recovery of conversion products from SW

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 Example 8: Estimation of the amounts of biogas produced from the organic fraction of MSW under
anaerobic conditions

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 Example 8: Estimation of the amounts of biogas produced from the organic fraction of MSW under
anaerobic conditions…

266
 Example 8: Estimation of the amounts of biogas produced from the organic fraction of MSW under
anaerobic conditions…

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 Example 9: Methane recovery from the high solids AD of the organic fraction of MSW

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 Example 9: Methane recovery from the high solids AD of the organic fraction of MSW….

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 Management of Health-Care Wastes
 Special Wastes Collected from medical care or related facility
 Medical Wastes—Infectious and Pathological
 ‘‘Any SW generated in the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals in research
pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of biologicals
 Types of medical wastes:
o Surgical waste from a patient on isolation
o Obstetrical waste from a patient on isolation
o Biological waste from a patient on isolation
o Renal dialysis
o Discarded materials from treatment of a patient on isolation
o Discarded serums and vaccines that have not been autoclaved
o Discarded laboratory waste that has come in contact with pathogens & not autoclaved or sterilized

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 Types of Medical Waste…
o Animal carcasses exposed to pathogens in research, their bedding and other waste that is discarded
o Waste sharps such as hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpels, broken glass that might cause punctures
or cuts and that have not been autoclaved and rendered incapable of causing punctures or cuts
 Generally we can categorize health care wastes into the ff
 Cultures and stocks
 Pathological wastes
 Human blood and blood products
 Used sharps
 Animal waste
 Isolation waste
 Unused sharps
 Precautions while handling infectious waste
o Needs to be segregated at the source and clearly color (red) coded and marked
o The packaging is expected to maintain its integrity during handling, storage and transportation
o The storage time should be minimal (treated within 24 hr)
o The packaging must be moisture proof, puncture resistant and rodent and insect proof
o The storage places and containers clearly marked with the universal biological hazard symbol and
secured
o Packaged waste is placed in rigid or semi-rigid containers and transported in closed leak-proof trucks or
dumpsters
o Must be kept separate from regular MSW at all times
o Health care workers and SW handlers must be cautious
 Treatment & Disposal of Health-Care Wastes
 Favored treatment option is incineration
 The residue can be disposed of in a landfill
 Infectious waste may also be rendered innocuous by shredding–disinfection (sodium hypochlorite),
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thermal inactivation and gas–vapor treatment
 Solid Waste Treatment
 Treatment makes waste less threat to the environmental
 Entail any process that changes the physical, chemical or biological character of waste
 Treatment can neutralize waste, recover energy or material resources from waste or render waste safer to
transport, store or dispose
 Municipal solid waste is often treated by incineration or burning at high temperatures

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 SW Thermal Conversion Technologies
o The destruction of a waste material by the application of heat
o Reduce the harmful potential and convert wastes to an energy form
 Advantages:
o Waste volume and weight are reduced
o Waste reduction is immediate; it does not require long-term residence
o can be done on-site, without having to be carted to a distant area
o Air discharges can be effectively controlled to minimize air pollution
o Ash residue is usually nonputrescible or sterile
o Technology exists to destroy the most hazardous materials completely and effectively
o Requires a relatively small disposal area
o Cost of operation can be reduced/offset through heat-recovery techniques
 Some disadvantages:
o High capital cost
o Requirement of skilled operators
o Not all materials are incinerable (e.g., construction and demolition wastes)
o Requirement of supplemental fuel to initiate and maintain the process
 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies
o Fundamentals of Thermal Processing
o Thermal processing is the conversion of SWs into gaseous, liquid and solid conversion products
with the concurrent or subsequent release of heat energy by the process of combustion
 Incinerability depends the following factors:
o Waste moisture content
o Heating value (< 100Btu/lb)
o Inorganic salts
o High S or halogen content (generate acid-forming cpds in the off gas)
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o Radioactive waste
 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Thermal Conversion Technologies (Fig.)

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Potential energy of different materials (Fig.)

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 COMBUSTION
o can be defined as the thermal processing of solid fuels by chemical oxidation with
stoichiometric or excess amounts of air
o Because of the inconsistent nature (moisture) of solid waste, it is virtually impossible to
combust solid waste with stoichiometric amounts of air
o Excess air has to be used to promote mixing and turbelence, thus ensuring that air can reach
all parts of the waste
o The use of excess air for combustion affects the temperature and composition of the
combustion products
o End products include hot combustion gases, composed of primarily of N 2, CO2 and water
vapour (flue gas) and noncombustible residue (ash)
o Energy can be recovered by heat exchange from the hot combustion gases

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 COMBUSTION SYSTEMS
o SW combustion systems can be designed to operate with:
o Mass-fired (commingled SW)
 Minimal processing is given to SW before it is placed in the
charging hopper of the system
o Refuse derived fuel (RDF)-fired (Processed SW)
 RDF can be produced with fair consistency to meet
specifications for energy, moisture and ash content
 Preferred by recycling-oriented users (economic benefit from
sale of Al and cuts the incinerator residues that must be
landfilled)
 The RDF can be produced in shredded or fluff form or as
densified pellets or cubes
 RDF-fired boilers can respond faster to load variations, require
less excess air and can operate at higher efficiencies
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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
o Mass-fired (commingled SW)

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Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
o The grate (stoker) serves dual functions:
o Transports the SW and residue through the furnace to the point of residue
discharge
o Promotes combustion by providing proper waste agitation and permitting the
passage of underfire air through the fuel bed

Grate systems used in mass-

fired combustion
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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
2. RDF-fired boiler system

280
 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Comparison of combustion systems (Fig.)

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Fluidized Bed Combustion

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Typical fluidized bed combustion system (left) and Schematic of a FBC for wastewater
sludge, RDF and wood waste (right)

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Heat Recovery Systems
 Energy can be recovered from the hot flue gases generated by combusting MSW or RDF by:
o Waterwall combustion chambers
o Waste heat boilers
o Either hot water or steam can be generated
o Steam can be used for both heating and generation of electricity
o When heat recovery is applied, 50 to 100% excess air is adequate, thus reducing size of air pollution
control devices
 Pyrolysis of SW
 Thermal processing of waste in the complete absence of O 2
 Pyrolysis systems use an external source of heat to drive endothermic pyrolysis reactions in an O 2 free
environment
 Upon heating, most organic substances split through a combination of thermal cracking and condensation
reactions into gaseous, liquid and solid fractions
 The term destructive distillation is often used as an alternative term for pyrolysis

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
Fig. Pyrolysis System (Fig.)

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Products of pyrolysis

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Products of pyrolysis…
 The energy content of pyrolytic oils has been estimated to be 5000 kcal/kg
 Under conditions of maximum gas production (900 oC) it has been estimated that the energy contents of
the resulting gas (30-33% H2, 10-11% CH4, 2-3% C2H4 and ~1% C2H6) would be about 6200 kcal/m3
 Industrial uses of pyrolysis such as production of charcoal from wood, coke and coke gas from coal are
very common
 Pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste has high application potential

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Gasification
o Gasification process has only recently been applied to the processing of SW although it was discovered
in 19th C
o It is the process of partial combustion in which fuel is deliberately combusted with less than
stoichiometric air
o A combustible fuel gas rich in CO, H2 and some saturated hydrocarbons, principally CH4 is generated
o This fuel gas can then be combusted in an internal combustion engine, gas turbine or boiler under excess
air conditions

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Gasification theory

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Products of gasification
 Gasifiers operated at atmospheric pressure with air produce:
o A low calorific value (~1300 kcal/m3) gas containing 10% CO 2, 20% CO, 15% H2 and 2% CH4 with
the balance of N2
o A char containing carbon and inerts originally in SW
o Condensable liquids resembling pyrolytic oil
 Air blown gasifiers are quite stable with a fairly constant quality of gas produced over a broad range of
air input rates
 When pure O2 is used instead of air, a gas with an energy content of ~2700 kcal/m 3 is generated

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Types of gasifiers
 Vertical Fixed Bed Gasifiers
Fig. Schematic drawing of batch-fed vertical fixed bed gasifier

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Types of gasifiers…
 Horizontal Fixed Bed Gasifiers
o It is the most commercially available type
o Also known as starved air combustor, controlled air combustor, or pyrolytic combustor
o Composed of primary and secondary combustion chambers
o In primary combustion, waste is gasified by partial combustion under substoichiometric producing a
low-cal gas
o In secondary chamber, low-cal gas is combusted with excess air at high temperatures (650-900 oC)

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Horizontal Fixed Bed Gasifiers
o Modular combustion unit for MSW and selected industrial waste
(Fig.)

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Types of gasifiers…
 Fluidized Bed Gasifiers
o With minimal modifications, a FBC can be operated in substoichiometric mode as a FBG
o The low-cal gas generated may be used in boilers for the production of steam and electricity
o Some form of RDF processing to remove metals & other inerts is required to improve performance and
reduce air emissions
o Due to their lower emissions, as compared to excess-air combustion systems, FBG may hold the most
potential for future development

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Types of gasifiers…
 Fluidized Bed Gasifiers

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Types of gasifiers…
 Fluidized Bed Gasifiers

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Pyrolysis & Gasification compared
o Both systems are used to convert SW into gaseous, liquid and solid fuels
o Gasification process is highly exothermic and therefore self sustaining
o Pyrolysis process is highly endothermic and requires an external source of heat
o Pyrolysis reactions take place in an O2 free environment but gasification systems use air or O 2 for
the partial combustion of SW

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Combustion-Gasification-Pyrolysis summarized

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Environmental Control Systems
1. Air Emissions
 Criteria pollutants indentified include:
o Nitrogen oxides (NOx) is formed by rxns b/n N2 and O2 in
the air used for combustion
o Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is formed by the combustion of fuels containing sulfur
o Carbon monoxide (CO) is formed during the combustion of carbonaceous
materials when insufficient oxygen is present
o Particulate matter (PM) formed during incomplete combustion of fuel and
physical entrainment of non-combustables
o Metals. MSW is a heterogeneous mixture and contains metallic elements.
After combustion, metals are either emitted as PM or vaporized into their
gaseous form. Cd, Cr, Hg, and Pb are metals of particular concern from a
public health viewpoint
o Acid gases. The combustion of wastes containing fluorine and chlorine
leads to the generation of acid gases HF and HCl
o Dioxins and furans. PCDD (polychlorinated dibenzodioxins) and PCDF
(polychlorinated dibenzofuran) like cancer-causing organic compounds 299 are
 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Air pollution control systems
o PM control: Electrostatic precipitators, fabric filters,
electrostatic gravel bed filters
o NOx control: Source separation, combustion control,
flue gas treatment
o SO2 and acid gas control: Source separation, wet or
dry scrubbing
o CO and HC control: Combustion controls
o Non-criteria pollutant controls: Source separation,
combustion control, particulate control

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Energy Recovery Systems
 Principle components used for energy recovery:
 Steam turbines: Steam is produced in a boiler by burning MSW, RDF or gaseous
and liquid conversion products and used to drive the steam turbine which drives an
electrical generator. Used in larger systems (10 to 50 MW)
 Gas turbines: It is similar to a jet engine and consists of a compressor to increase
the density of gas/air mixture, a combustor, and a turbine connected to an
electrical generator to convert hot combustion gases to mechanical energy. Widely
used in landfill gas systems
 Internal combustion engine: ICEs using pistons and a crankshaft are an
alternative or gas turbines for gaseous or liquid for the thermal or biological
processing of SW. It is a modified version of industrial engines designed for
natural gas or propane
 Cogeneration is the generation of both thermal and electrical power.
Cogeneration systems are used widely in industry to generate electricity and
process or building heat at the same time. Applications in energy recovery
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from SW are limited because heat recovered must be used at the site
 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Energy Recovery Systems…

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 Incineration: Thermal Conversion Technologies…
 Energy Recovery Systems… (Cogeneration)

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 Example 10: Materials and heat balance for the combustion of solid waste

304
 Example 10: Materials and heat balance for the combustion of solid waste…

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 Example 10: Materials and heat balance for the combustion of solid waste…

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 Example 10: Materials and heat balance for the combustion of SW…

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 Example 10: Materials and heat balance for the combustion of solid waste…

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 Mineral and Mining Industry Wastes

READING ASSIGNMENT!

It will be part of your exam!!!

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 Stabilization/Solidification of Wastes
 Solidification: encapsulation of waste in cement or other monolithic material
 solid wastes are mechanically held within a solidified matrix of high
structural integrity
 Stablization: mixing of stabilizer with waste so as to alter the chemistry of the
waste and make it less toxic, less soluble, and/or less mobile (does not
necessarily alter physical character of waste)
 Objectives of S/S
 Improve handling characteristics for transport onsite or to an off-site TSD
facility
 Decrease active surface area for contaminant transfer or loss
 Limit the mobility or solubility of pollutants contained in the waste
 Detoxify contained pollutants
 S/S agents
 Organic agents:
o Urea formaldehyde, polyethylene, bitumen, asphalt
 Inorganic agents: 310
 Cement Solidification Processes:
o Direct mixing of waste with cement to form a hardened matrix
o The high pH of the cement mixture keeps the metals as insoluble hydroxide
o Most wastes are not chemically bound and thus subject to leaching
o Additives and coatings are used to reduce leaching potential
 Pozzolanic Solidification Processes (A silicate-based or lime-based Solidification
process)
o Depend on the reaction of lime with a fine-grained siliceous material and water to produce a
hardened material
o The most common pozzolanic materials are:
 Fly ash
 Ground blast-furnace slag
 Cement-kiln dust
o Better suited for stabilizing inorganic wastes rather than organic wastes
o Decomposition of organic material in sludge can result in increased permeability and decreased strength
of the material

311
 Thermoplastic Solidification Processes:
 Sealing wastes in a matrix such as asphalt bitumen, paraffin or
polyethylene
 The waste is dried and then mixed with bitumen, paraffin or
polyethylene (@ temp > 100°C)
 The mixture solidifies as it cools,  placed in a container such as a
steel drum or a thermoplastic coating, before disposal
 Organic Polymer Processes
 Urea–formaldehyde and several specialty organic polymers are mixed
with the waste
 Physically traps the waste by sealing it in a sponge-like polymer
matrix
 The mass is dried before disposal

312
 Common agents of Solidification Processes

313
 Life Cycle Analysis of Waste Management Options
 Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental management technique in which
the inputs and outputs of an activity are systematically identified and quantified
from ‘cradle to grave’
 Identifying and quantifying the inputs and outputs of a product from the extraction
of raw materials to their eventual assimilation back into the environment
 Consider the entire life cycle of a product from synthesis or manufacture through
Assessed in terms of impacts
distribution and use to waste and disposal (global warming, acidification,
ozone depletion, eutrophication
 The inputs and outputs include: and toxic effects)
 Raw material and energy consumption
 Emissions to air and water
 Production of solid waste
 There are environmental and human health effects associated with each stage of the life cycle
o Effective environmental protection requires that improvements in the environmental
performance at one stage not worsen the effects at another stage
o A life-cycle analysis is composed of an inventory of resource inputs and waste outputs for each
stage, as well as an assessment of risks associated with each of these inputs and outputs
o Used in solid waste management for comparing plastic to paper packaging and disposable to
reusable diapers
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o The concept opens up a broad awareness of the environmental impacts of products before they
 Alternative of WM Options

315
 LANDFILL DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION
 A controlled method of SW disposal
 Not an open dump
o Landfill is an engineered physical facility used for the disposal of SW and SW residuals in the surface
soils of Earth
o Solid waste residues are waste components that are not recycled, remain after processing at a MRF or
remain after the recovery of conversion products and/or energy
o Sanitary landfill refers to an engineered facility for the disposal of MSW designed and operated to
minimize public health and environmental impacts
o Monofills are landfills for designated wastes (e.g., combustion ash, asbestos and other similar wastes)
o Secure landfills are landfills for the disposal of hazardous wastes
o Disposal of solid wastes is placement of the waste so that it no longer impacts human health or the
environment
 Landfilling is the process by which SW and SW residuals are placed in a LF and includes:
 Monitoring incoming waste stream
 Placement and compaction of the waste
 Installation of monitoring and control facilities
 Landfill management incorporates the
 Planning landfill
 Design landfill
 Operating landfill
 Environmental Monitoring
 Closure and post-closure Care
 The use of LFs is most economical and environmentally acceptable method of SWs disposal
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 Definition of Landfilling Terms
 Cell (deposited solid waste and the daily cover material, 3-5m high) is the volume of material
placed in a landfill during one operating period (usually 1 day)
 Landfill liners are materials (both natural and man-made) that are used to line the bottom
area and below-grade sides of a landfill
 Daily cover (also called intermediate cover) is the native soil or alternative materials
such as compost, foundry sand or auto shredder fluff that are applied to the working faces
of the landfill at the end of each operating period
 The final cover is applied over the entire landfill surface after all landfilling operations are
completed
 Consist of successive layers of compacted clay and/or geosynthetic material designed to
prevent the migration of landfill gas and limit the entry of surface water into the landfill

317
 Definition of Landfilling Terms…
 A lift is a complete layer of cells over the active area of
the landfill
o Landfills comprise a series of lifts
o The final lift includes the landfill cover layer
 A bench (terrace): is used when the height of the landfill
exceed 50 to 75 ft to maintain the slope stability of the landfill, for
the placement of surface water drainage channels and for the
location of landfill gas recovery piping
 Leachate is liquid that forms at the bottom of a landfill
 It is a result of the percolation of precipitation, uncontrolled
runoff and irrigation water into the LF
 It will also include water initially contained in the waste
 Contains a variety of chemical constituents derived from the
solubilization of the materials deposited in the LF and products
of the chemical and biochemical reactions
318
 Definition of Landfilling Terms… (Fig.)

319
 Definition of Landfilling Terms … (Fig.)

320
 Definition of Landfilling Terms … (Fig.)

321
 Definition of Landfilling Terms …
 Environmental monitoring: the collection and analysis of water and air samples
used to monitor the movement of landfill gases and leachate at the landfill site
 Landfill closure is the steps that must be taken to close and secure a landfill site
once the filling operation has been completed
 Post-closure care refers to activities associated with the long-term maintenance of
the completed landfill (30 - 50 years)
 Remediation refers to those actions necessary to stop and clean up unplanned
contaminant releases to the environment

322
 Definition of Landfilling Terms … (Fig.)

323
 Definition of Landfilling Terms … (Fig.)

324
 Classification of Landfills
 Three classifications
 Class I: Secure landfill  disposal of HW
 Class II: Monofills  disposal of designated wastes
 Designated wastes are nonhazardous wastes that may release constituents in
concentrations in excess of water quality objectives
 Class III: sanitary landfill  disposal of MSW
 Accept limited amounts of nonhazardous industrial wastes and water and WWTPs sludge
 Liquid wastes will not be accepted

325
 Landfilling Methods
 The principal methods used for the landfilling of SW may be classified as :
(1) Excavated cell/Trench Method
(2) Area or ramp Method
(3) Canyon or Ravine Method
1. TRENCH METHOD
o Suited to areas where an adequate depth of cover material is available at the site and
where water table is not near the surface
o The soil excavated is used for daily and final cover
o Excavated cells are typically square and trenches are long ditches
o Synthetic membrane liners, low permeability clay or a combination of the 2 can be used
to limit the movement of LF gases and leachate

326
 Landfilling Methods….
 Trench Method (Fig.)

327
 Landfilling Methods….
2. AREA METHOD
 It is used when the terrain is unsuitable for excavation
 High-GW conditions necessitate the use of area-type LFs
 Utilize the existing natural slope of the land
 Cover material must be hauled by truck or earthmoving equipment from
adjacent land or borrow-pit areas
 Require site preparation like installation of a liners and leachate mgt system
 If material that can be used as cover is limited compost from yard wastes and
MSW, foundry sand and auto shredder fluff can be used as daily cover material
 Movable temporary cover materials (e.g., soil and geosynthetics) can be used as
daily cover material
 Constructed below the naturally occurring GW table surface
 Drainage systems control the entry of GW into the LF cell

328
 Landfilling Methods….
 Area Method (Fig.)

329
 Landfilling Methods….
3. CANYON/DEPRESSION METHOD
 Canyons, ravines, dry borrow pits and quarries are used for LFs
 Control of surface drainage often is critical factor
 The techniques to place and compact SWs vary with site geometry, characteristics of
cover material, site hydrology and geology, type of leachate and gas control facilities and
access to site
 Filling for each lift starts at the head end of the canyon and ends at the month, so as to
prevent the accumulation of water behind the LF
 Cover material is excavated from the canyon walls or floor before the liner is installed

330
 Reactions occuring in landfills
 SWs placed in a LF undergo a number of simultaneous and interrelated biological, chemical
and physical changes
 Biological Reactions
o Conversion of organic matter to the landfill gases and leachate
 Physical Reactions
o Lateral diffusion of gases in LF and emission of LF gases to the surrounding
environment
o Movement of leachate within LF & into underlying soils
o Settlement caused by consolidation and decomposition of landfilled material
 Chemical Reactions
o Dissolution and suspension of LF material and biological conversion products in leachate
o Evaporation and vaporization of chemical compounds into LF gas
o Sorption of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds into landfilled material
o Dehalogenetaion and decomposition of organic compounds
o Oxidation reduction reactions affecting metals and solubility of metal salts

331
 Concerns with Landfilling method of SW disposal
 Concerns with the landfilling of MSW disposal are related to:
 Uncontrolled release of LF gases might cause odor and other potential dangerous conditions
 Impact of uncontrolled discharge of landfill gases on greenhouse effect in the atmosphere
 Uncontrolled release of leachate might migrate down to underlying GW or to SW
 Breeding and harboring of disease vectors in improperly managed landfills
 Health and environmental impacts associated with the release of the trace gases arising from
hazardous materials placed in the landfills in the past
 The goal for the design and operation of a landfill is to eliminate or minimize the impacts
associated with these concerns

332
 Composition, Characteristics, Generation, Movement and Control of LF Gases
 A landfill can be conceptualized as a biochemical reactor, with solid waste and
water as the major inputs and with landfill gas and leachate as principle outputs
 Material stored in the landfill includes partially degraded organics and other
inorganic wastes originally placed in landfill
 Landfill gas control systems are employed to prevent unwanted movement of
landfill gas into the atmosphere or the lateral and vertical movement through the
surrounding soil
 Recovered landfill gas can be used to produce energy or can be flared under
controlled conditions to eliminate the discharge of harmful constituent to the
atmosphere

333
Anaerobic decomposition in landfill

334
 Generalized phases in the generation of landfill gases (I: Initial Adjustment, II:
Transition Phase; III: Acid Phase; IV: Methane Fermentation; V: Maturation Phase)

335
 Generalized Phases of A Landfill…
 Phase I: Initial Adjustment

336
 Transition phase (Phase II)

337
 Acid formation phase (Phase III)

338
 Acid formation phase (Phase III)….

339
 Methane formation phase (Phase IV)

340
 Maturation phase (Phase V)

341
 Variation in gas production with time

342
 Duration of phases in the generation of LF gases
 The duration of the individual phases in the production of landfill gas will vary depending on
the
o Distribution of the organic components in landfill
o Availability of nutrients
o Moisture content of waste
o Moisture routing through the waste material
o Degree of initial compaction

343
 Effect of reduced moisture content on the production of LF gas

344
 Composition of Landfill Gas
 Landfill gas comprises of:
o Principal gases
o Trace gases
1. Principal gases (present in large amounts):
o Produced from decomposition of the biodegradable OFMSW
o Include ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2),
hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methane (CH4), nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2)
o CH4 and CO2 are the principal gases produced from the anaerobic decomposition of the
biodegradable organic components
o CH4 present in concentrations b/n 5 & 15% in air is explosive
o There is little danger of landfill explosion b/s only limited amounts of O 2 present when
CH4 concentrations reach explosive level
o CH4 mixtures in the explosive range can be formed if landfill gas migrates off-site and
get mixed with air

345
 Composition of Landfill Gas…
 Typical Constituents Found in and Characteristics of Landfill Gas

346
 Composition of Landfill Gas…
2. Trace gases (present in very small amounts):
o Toxic and could present risks to public health
o Have two basic sources
 Brought to the landfill with the incoming waste (in liquid form, but tend to
volatilize)
 Produced by biotic and abiotic conversion reactions within the landfill (associated
with older landfills, which accepted industrial and commercial wastes containing
VOCs )
o Many of the compounds are classified as VOCs
o The concentrations of VOCs have been extremely low in newer landfills (disposal of
Hazardous Wastes banned)

347
 Typical Concentrations of Trace Compounds Found in Landfill Gas

348
 Composition of landfill gas…
 Molecular Weight and Density of Gases Found in Sanitary Landfill at Standard Conditions
(0°C, 1 atm)

349
 Movement of Landfill Gas
 In an active LF, the internal pressure is greater than atmospheric
pressure and landfill gas is released by:
o Convection (pressure-driven) flow
o Diffusion
 Other factors influencing the movement of landfill gases :
o Sorption of the gasses into liquid or solid components
o Generation or consumption of a gas component through chemical reactions
or biological activity
 Upward Migration of LF Gas
 Methane and carbon dioxide (principal gases) can be released through the
landfill cover into the atmosphere by convection and diffusion
 The diffusive flow through the cover can be estimated by using
where NA = gas flux of cpd A (g/cm2⋅s)
D = effective diffusion coefficient (cm2/s)
α = total porosity (cm3/cm3)
CAatm = concentration of cpd A at the surface of the landfill cover (g/cm3)
CAfill = concentration of cpd A at bottom of the landfill cover (g/cm3)
L = depth of the landfill cover (cm)
350
 Movement of Landfill Gas…
 Typical values for the coefficient of diffusion for methane and carbon dioxide are
0.20 cm2/s and 0.13 cm2/s respectively
 αgas = α under dry soil conditions
 Any infiltration of water into the landfill cover will reduce the gas-filled porosity
and thus reduce the vapor flux from the landfill
 Typically, porosity values for different types of clay vary from 0.010 - 0.30
 Downward Migration of Landfill Gas
 Because of its density CO2 ide can accumulate in the bottom of a landfill
 If a clay or soil liner is used, the carbon dioxide can move from bottom downward by
diffusive transport through the liner and the underlying formation until it reaches the GW
 The movement of CO2 can be limited with the use of a geomembrane liner
 Because CO2 is readily soluble in water, it usually lowers the pH, which in turn can increase
the hardness and mineral content of the GW through solubilization

351
 Movement of Landfill Gas…
 Movement of Trace Gases
o In a manner similar to the principal gases, the movement of trace
gases due to diffusion can be estimated using\

o Ci(s)Wi corresponds to the concentration of the compound

in question just below the cover at the top of the landfill
o The value of the term Ci(s)Wi can be estimated in the
field
o If field measurements are not available, the value of
Ci(s)Wi can be estimated using the data given in Table for
Ci(s) and a value of 0.001 as an estimate for Wi

352
 Active and Passive Control of LF Gases
 The movement of landfill gases is controlled to
 Reduce atmospheric emissions
 Minimize the release of odorous emissions
 Minimize subsurface gas migrations
 Allow the recovery of energy from methane
 Control systems can be classified as active or passive
 Passive control systems: the pressure of the gas generated within landfill
serves as the driving force for the movement of the gas
 Based on relieving gas pressure within the landfill interior to reduce the lateral
migration of landfill gas
 Vents are installed through the final landfill cover extending down into the SW
mass
 Active control systems: energy in the form of an induced vacuum is used to
control the flow of gas
 When the principal gases are being produced at a high rate, passive control
can be achieved by providing paths of lower permeability to guide the gas flow
in the desired direction
 Both vertical and horizontal gas wells have been used for353 the
 Passive control of LF gasses
 When the production of the principal gases is limited, passive controls are not
very effective because the weaker molecular diffusion mechanism will be the
primary transport mechanism

354
Passive control of LF gasses…

355
Passive control of LF gasses…

356
LF gas vents and flares

357
Active control of LF gasses

358
Active control of LF gasses…

359
Active control of LF gasses

360
Management of LF Gas

361
 FORMATION, COMPOSITION & MGT OF LEACHATE
o A liquid that has percolated through SW & has extracted dissolved/suspended materials
 Composed of the liquid that has entered the LF from external sources (e.g., surface drainage and rainfall)
and produced from the decomposition of the wastes
 Contains high concentrations of COD, BOD, nutrients, heavy metals and trace organics
 Must be collected and treated to avoid GW or SW contamination
 Formation of Leachate in LFs
 Water balance modeling on the LF is used to assess formation of leachate
 The WB is sum of amounts of water entering the LF minus the amount of water consumed in chemical
reactions plus the quantity of water leaving as water vapor
 The potential leachate quantity is the quantity of water in excess of the moisture-holding capacity of the
LF material
 Factors that influence leachate generation in LFs
o Precipitation (more precipitation  more infiltration  more leachate formation)
o Climate (temperature, rainfall intensity, rainfall frequency, wind)
o GW intrusion (GW table, flow direction)
o Moisture content of waste (If sludge/liquids are disposed)
o Daily cover (hydraulic conductivity + water content)
o Final LF cover material (hydraulic conductivity as low as the bottom composite liner)
o Site topography (affect amount of water entering/leaving the LF site)
o Vegetative cover (reduces infiltration by intercepting precipitation & encouraging
transpiration)
o Site phasing and operating procedures (Keeps the amount of exposed liner area small to
reduce collection of rainwater)
362
 LF Water Balance Modeling
 The principal components of WB for a LF cell
(+) The water entering the LF cell from above, the moisture in the SW, the moisture in the cover
material and the moisture in the sludge, if the disposal of sludge is allowed
(-) The water leaving the LF as part of the LF gas, as saturated water vapor in the LF gas and as
leachate
 The terms that constitute the water balance :

Where ∆SSW = change in the amount of water stored in SW in LF (kg/m3)

WSW = water (moisture) in incoming SW (kg/m3)

WTS = water (moisture) in incoming treatment plant sludge (kg/m3)
WCM = water (moisture) in cover material (kg/m3)
WA(R) = water from above (for upper LF layer water from above
corresponding to rainfall) (kg/m3)
WLG = water lost in the formation of LF gas (kg/m3)
WWV = water lost as saturated water vapor with landfill gas (kg/m3)
WE = water lost due to surface evaporation (kg/m3)
WB(L) = water leaving from bottom of element (for the cell placed directly
above a leachate collection system; water from bottom corresponds 363
 Sketch for water balance used to assess leachate formation in a LF

364
 Water in SW: the moisture inherent in the waste material and absorbed from
the atmosphere or rainfall where the storage containers are not sealed properly
 Water in cover material: depend on the type and source of the cover
material and the season of the year
 The maximum amount of moisture contained in the cover material is defined
by the field capacity (FC) of the material (the liquid that remains in the pore
space subject to the pull of gravity)
 Water from above: corresponds to the precipitation that has percolated
through the cover material, recirculated leachate if leachate recirculation is part
of LF & water that has percolated through the SW above the layer in question
 Water lost in the formation of LF gas: water is consumed during the
anaerobic decomposition of OFMSW
 Water lost as water vapor: the quantity of water vapor escaping the LF
with LF gas
 Water loss due to evaporation: loss of moisture to evaporation as the
waste is being landfilled (often ignored depending on local conditions)
 Water leaving from below: water leaving from the bottom of the first cell
of the LF is termed leachate
 Water leaving the bottom of the second and subsequent cells corresponds
365
to the water entering from above for the cell below the cell in question
Chemical Composition of Leachate
 Vary greatly depending on the age of LF and time of sampling
(phase when sample is taken)
o Acid phase  leachate has low pH and high concentrations of
BOD5, TOC, COD, nutrients and heavy metals
o Methane fermentation phase  leachate has pH value is 6.5 - 7.5 &
lower concentration of BOD5, TOC, COD, nutrient & heavy metals
 The concentrations of heavy metals will be lower because most
metals are less soluble at neutral pH
 The pH of the leachate will depend on the
o concentration of the acids
o Pressure of the CO2 in the LF gas that is in contact with the
leachate
o The design of leachate treatment systems is complicated
due to the variability in the characteristics of leachate
366
  The type of t’t plant designed to treat a leachate from a new LF
would be quite different from one designed to t’t the leachate
from a mature LF
 The leachate being generated at any point in time is a mixture
of leachate derived from SW of different ages
 The Biodegradability of Leachate
o Vary with time
o can be monitored using BOD5/COD ratio
o Initial BOD5/COD ratios are ~ 0.50
o Ratios of 0.40 - 0.60 indicate the OM in the leachate is biodegradable
o The ratio is in the range of 0.05 - 0.2 indicate mature LFs
o Ratio drops b/s leachate from mature LFs contains non-biodegradable humic and fulvic acids

367
Leachate Composition (*All units in milligrams per liter except pH)
 )

368
Movement of Leachate in LFs
o Leachate at bottom of unlined LFs move through the
underlying strata
o The material in the strata removes chemical & biological
constituents through filtration & adsorption processes
Control of Leachate in LFs
o Liners limit or eliminate the movement of leachate and LF gases
o Leachate can contaminate drinking water supplies if contact them
 Liners & leachate collection systems are used to minimize leachate migration from LFs
site
 The control system of leachate include:
o Final cover
o Liners
o Leachate collection system
o Leak detection system
o Leachate disposal system

369
 LFs Liner Systems
 The purpose of LF liners is to minimize the infiltration of leachate into subsurface soils
(reduce GW contamination)
 Liners make the bottom and sides of the LF less permeable to movement of water
 A composite liner, consisting of an HDPE geomembrane at least 0.60 inch over 2 ft of
compacted soil (clay) with a k of less than 1 x 10-7 cm/sec can be used as a liner
 A number of liner designs have been developed to minimize the movement of leachate
into soil subsurface below the LF
 Composite geosynthetic and clay liners are popular
 Multilayer LF liner designs have various layers each with a specific function
 Single composite barrier liner types
o Barrier layer is used to restrict the movement of leachate and LF gas
 Consists of Clay layer & geomembrane
o A geomembrane and clay layer provide more protection and are hydraulically more
effective than either type of liner alone

370
 LFs Liner Systems…
 Clay as a liner material has been favored in reducing or eliminating the seepage
(percolation) of leachate :
o Adsorb and retain chemical constituents of leachate
o Resistance to the flow of leachate
o Drainage liner layer serves to collect & drain any leachate generated within the LF
 Sand or gravel or geonet can be used as drainage layer
o Geotextile layer is used to minimize the intermixing of the soil and sand layers
o Protective soil layer is used to protect the drainage and barrier layers

371
 Single composite LFs Liner Systems

372
 Double composite barrier liner types
o Use 2 composite liners: primary and secondary composite liners
o Primary composite liner: used to collect leachate
o Secondary composite liner: serves as a leak detection system and a backup for the
primary composite liner

373
LF Liner Materials …
2. Geomembrane: Flexible membrane liner (FML)
o Thin sheets of flexible thermoplastic or thermoset polymeric materials
o Consist of polymers (plastics), fillers (reduce cost and ↑ stiffness),
plasticizers (↑ flexibility), carbon black (↑ stiffness & retards UV
degradation), additives (Uv degradation, swelling & aging) and scrim
reinforcement (↑ strength, reduce tears and punctures)
o Easily installed – needs only light equipment (+)
o Very low leakage rates if free of holes (+)
o Has high tensile & shear strength (flexibility–accommodates settlement)
(+)
o Thin – leaves volume for waste (+)
 Uv degradation (-)
 Slopes on geomembranes may be unstable (-)
 High leakage if punctured or poorly seamed (-)
 Some chemicals may be incompatible, permeable (-)
 Thin – subject to puncturing (-)
 No sorptive capacity (-)
 374
Unknown lifetime (-)
 LF Liner Materials
1. Compacted Clay Liner (CCL)
o Attenuate pollutants (+)
o Thickness provides resistance to penetration (+)
o Long-lived, self-healing (+)
o Inexpensive if locally available (+)
o Construction is difficult – requires heavy equipment (-)
o Thickness reduces volume for waste (-)
o Subject to freeze/thaw and desiccation cracking (-)
o Low tensile and shear strength (may shear/crack due to
settlement) (-)
o May be degraded by chemicals (-)
o Expensive if not available locally (-)
o Extensive field testing required (-)
o Difficult to compact on a soft foundation (-)
o Difficult to repair once damaged (-)
o Does not restrict the movement of LF gas to any extent 375
 LF Liner Materials …
3. Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL):
o Manufactured composite of bentonite and geotextile
o Easily installed (+)
o Self sealing: no seams required (+)
o Withstand settlement better than clay liner
o Some sorptive capacity (+)
o Low leakage rates (+)
o Small thickness conserves LF space for waste (+)
o Thin – easily punctured (-)
o Slopes on geosynthetic clay liners may be unstable (-)
o Limited experience (-)
o Less shear strength & attenuation capacity (-)
4. Composite Liners
o Composite liner  2 or more materials (usually clay & geomembrane)
o Combines desirable properties of the 2 materials
o Low leakage rates (+)
o Low contaminant mass flux (+)
o Provides sorptive capacity (+)
o Acceptable loss of waste storage space (+)
o Acceptable GW protection (+) 376
LF Liner Materials …
 Composite liners combine desirable properties of clay & geomembrane

377
 LF Liner Failure Modes
o Tension failure
o Liner slippage
o “Blowout” from water pressure
o Liner uplift by water pressure
o Liner uplift by wind
o At pipes, access ways, other structural details

378
 Design of LF Leachate Collection Systems
 LF leachate collection system include:
o LF liner
o Leachate collection system
o Leachate collection facilities
o Leachate removal facilities
o Leachate holding facilities
 Landfill liner:
 Selection depends on local geology and environment
o If there is no GW  a single compacted clay liner is enough
o If both leachate and gas migration must be controlled  a composite liner composed of a
clay liner and a geosynthetic liner with drainage and soil protection layers is required
 Protection of GW quality requires construction of liner equivalent to geomembrane and clay
composite liner or placing the LF over a soil formation that restrict leachate movement

379
 Design of LF Leachate Collection Systems
 Leachate Collection facilities:
 Leachate accumulates in the bottom of a LF is collected using:
o Series of sloped terraces (cross slope 1 to 5 %): the terraces are sloped so that the leachate
accumulates on their surface will drain to leachate collection channels
o System of collection pipes (cross slope 0.5 to 1.0 %): perforated pipe is used to convey the
collected leachate to a central location:
o Treatment
o Recirculation to the LF surface
o Depth of leachate above the liner is determined by cross slope and flow length of the terraces
o Flatter and longer slopes  higher head buildup
o The design objective is not to allow the leachate to pond in the bottom of the LF
o The depth of flow in the perforated pipe increases continually from the upper reaches to the
lower reaches
o In very large LFs, the drainage channels will be connected to a larger cross-collection system
o Leachate collection facilities are used where the leachate is to be recycled from or treated at a
central location

380
 Design of Leachate collection system with sloped terraces

381
 Design of Leachate Collection System…
 Leachate removal and holding Facilities
o 2 methods have been used for the removal of leachate accumulates within a LF
 A collection pipe that passes though the side of the LF: take great care to ensure
the seal where the collection pipe penetrates the LF liner is sound
 An inclined collection pipe locates within the LF
o Sometimes, the leachate removed from the landfill is collected in a holding tank
o Double walled tanks are preferred over a single-walled tank
o Tank materials must be corrosion resistant
o The capacity of the holding tank depends on the
 Type of T’T facilities
 Maximum discharge rate to T’T facility

382
 Design of Leachate collection systems…

383
Leachate Mgt options
 To eliminate the potential for a LF to pollute underground aquifers a number of alternatives
have been used to manage the leachate collected from LFs:
o Leachate Recycling: an effective method that recirculates the leachate through the LF
o Leachate evaporation: the simplest leachate mgt systems that involves the use of lined
leachate evaporation ponds
o Leachate Treatment: where leachate recycling and evaporation is not used and the direct
disposal of leachate to a WWTP is not possible, some form of pretreatment or complete
treatment will be required
 A number of options have been used for the treatment of leachate
o Wetlands treatment: constructed artificial wetlands reduce leachate pollutant concentrations
through natural processes
o Discharge to municipal WW collection systems: where a LF is located near a WW
collection system or where a pressure sewer can be used to connect the LF leachate collection
system to a WW collection system leachate is often discharged to the WW collection system

384
 Commonly Used Leachate Treatment Processes

385
 Commonly Used Leachate Treatment Processes…

386
Anaerobic processes for Leachate Treatment

387
 Aerobic processes (b) chemical treatment process (c) for
the removal of heavy metals and selected organics

388
 Intermediate and Final LF Cover
o Intermediate (Daily) Cover
o The greatest amount of water that enters a LF & becomes leachate enters LF when it is being
filled
o Daily cover is used to cover the wastes placed each day
 The purposes of daily cover are:
o Control litter (blowing of waste materials)
o Minimize wind blown-litter
o Control odours
o Reduce fire risk
o Improve aesthetics (provide a pleasing appearance)
o Improve vehicle access to active face
o Prevent birds from scavenging from scavenging
o Prevent unauthorised scavenging by humans
o Control the entry of surface water into the LF
o Materials and method of placement can limit the amount of water that enters the LF
o If the amount of native soil available for use as intermediate cover is limited, alternative materials
(Compost produced from yard waste and MSW, geosynthetic clay liner and clay) can be used

389
 Intermediate and Final LF Cover…
 Use of composted MSW increases the capacity of LF
 Size of yard waste is reduced to use as intermediate LF cover (left)
 Ground-up waste is applied to face of LF (right)

390
 Final Cover & Surface Water Mgt
 The mgt of all surface waters such as rainfall, storm water runoff, intermittent streams and
artesian springs is to reduce leachate generation and control its movement
 Surface Water control also reduces erosion of the final cover
 Surface Water mgt systems consist of:
o Surface water drainage facilities
o Storm water storage basins
o Intermediate cover layers
o Final cover layers
o Storm water runoff from the surrounding area must not be allowed to enter the LF
o Surface water runoff (from rainfall) must not be allowed to accumulate on the surface of the
LF

391
 Surface Water Pathways

392
 Surface Water Controls
o SW diversion, collection technologies are used to minimize SW entering active areas of site
o They include dikes and berms, ditches, benches and drainage ways, terraces, chutes &
downpipes (Fig.)
o SW can also be controlled by grading and re-vegetation
o Areas need to be re-vegetated to enhance evapotranspiration and to minimize erosion and
sediment transport

Landfill section showing

surface water control 393
 Final LF Cover Design
 A modern LF final cover is made up of a series of layers, each with a
special function
 The primary purposes of final cover are:
(1) Minimize the infiltration of water from rainfall after the LF has
been completed
(2) Limit the uncontrolled release of LF gases
(3) Suppress the proliferation of Vectors (e.g., rodents)
(4) Limit the potential for fires
(5) Provides a suitable surface for revegetation of the site
(6) Serve as the central element in the reclamation of the site

394
 To meet these purposes final LF cover must:
o Withstand climatic extremes (e.g., hot/cold, wet/dry and
freeze/thaw cycles)
o Resist water and wind erosion
o Have stability against slumping, cracking and slope failure and
down slope slippage
o Resist the effects of differential LF settlement caused by the
release of LF gas and compression of the waste and foundation
soil
o Resist failure due to surcharge loads resulting from the
stockpiling of cover material and the travel of collection vehicles
across completed portions of the landfill
o Resist deformations caused by earthquakes
o Withstand alterations to cover materials caused by constituents
in the LF gas
o Resist the disruptions caused by plants, burrowing animals,
worms and insects

395
 LFfinal Cover Configurations

Typical components that

constitute
a landfill cover

396
Final LF Cover Design …
 Erosion (Vegetation) Layer
o Reduces erosion
o Improve aesthetics of LF
o Reduces infiltration by evapotranspiration
o Shallow rooted plants
o Locally adapted perennials
o Low nutrient needs Vegetation
o Drought and heat resistant
o Sufficient plant density to minimize cover erosion
 Surface Soil Layer (60-cm thick)
o The uppermost soil layer
o Support the growth of vegetation
o Contour the surface of the LF
o An organic sandy loam better support the
vegetation
397
 Final LF Cover Design …
 Protection Soil Layer (“Biotic Layer”)
o 90-cm layer
o Stop burrowing animals & deep rooted plants
o Crushed stone or cobbles may be used
o Geosynthetic products with herbicide
o Protect the drainage and barrier layers
o Optional
 Filter Layer
o Prevents clogging of drainage layer by fines from soil layer
o Must not clog over decades of use and post-closure
o composed of either a 30-cm low-nutrient soil or
geosynthetic filter fabric material
o Placed beneath the protection soil layer &
above drainage layer
o Geotextile is used to maintain separation b/n layers
o Act as a filter to minimize migration of materials

398
 Final LF Cover Design …
 Drainage Layer
o Minimizes contact b/n infiltrated water and barrier layer
o Prevents ponding of water on geomembrane liner
o Drains by gravity to toe drains (3%)
o At least 30 cm of sand with K = 10-2 cm/sec or equivalent geosynthetic material may be
used
o Constructed of either natural granular materials (sand & gravel) or synthetic material
(geonet)

399
 Final LF Cover Design …
 Barrier (Low K) Layer
o “Composite liner”: geomembrane, GCLs and low-K soil (clay)
o Low K prevents infiltration of water into waste: hydraulic barrier
o Restrict the movement of liquids into the LF and release of LF gas
through the cover
o Geomembrane: at least 0.5 mm thick
o Compacted clay: at least 60 cm with K≤10-7 cm/s
 Subbase Soil Layer:
o Contour the surface of the LF
o Serve as a subbase for the barrier layer
o A minimum slope of 2% for effective gravity drainage
o compacted or graded native soil
o The lowermost layer

400
 Final LF Cover Design …
 Gas vent layer
o Needed if waste will generate CH4 (explosive) or toxic gas
o Similar to drainage layer: 30 cm of sand or equivalent
geosynthetic may be used
o Connected to horizontal venting pipes (minimal number to
maintain cap integrity)

401
 STRUCTURAL & SETTLEMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF LFs
o Considered in the design of gas collection and surface water drainage facilities, during filling
operations and before a decision is reached on the final use to be made of a completed landfill
 Landfill Stability
o LFs must be stable during construction, operations and after closure
o LF is considered stable if waste stays within the containment system or if there are no mass
movements down slope
o The sliding of cover soils on the geomembrane barrier layer represents one potential for failure
surface
 Structural Characteristics
o SW in LF behaves quite similar as other fill material initially
o Waste must have a nominal angle of ~ 1.5:1 when placed in a LF
o Too steep slope angle cause waste to slip
o A completed portions will have 2.5:1 - 4:1 slopes (3:1 is the most common)
o The placement of waste at steep slopes due to uncontrolled dumping and at heights in excess of 100 ft
 Slope stability
o Consider able as size of LFs increase
o Uncontrolled dumping results in steep slopes & heights > 100 ft
o Slope stability analysis is part of LF design process
o Slope failure occurs if more waste is placed than anticipated which results
 Foundation-type failure
 Slopes becoming too steep
 Sign of slope failure  cracks open within the waste 402
 Determination of slope stability of LF needs analysis soil & waste mechanics
 The analysis of soil & waste mechanics considers:
o Arrangement of waste placement
o Angle of repose of the waste
o Stress-strain characteristics of liner and cover materials
o Ability of the foundation soils to support the LF
o Use benching where height > 50 ft to maintain slope stability of LF
o Benches are also used for the:
o Placement of SW drainage channels
o Location of LF gas recovery pipes
o In seismic active areas, conduct a seismic analysis so as to prevent slope failure
during an earthquake
o Seismic failures are due to ground motion being transmitted through waste
o Portion of the LF experiencing a slope failure
o Displacement of cover materials from waste material
o Waste and soil mechanics analysis is required at any site where side slopes > 3:1

403
 Landfill Settlement
 Landfill settles as:
o Decomposition of organic material & subsequent weight loss as LF gas and leachate components
o Overburden mass increases as lifts are added and water percolates into and out of the LF

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 Landfill Settlement…
o Ruptures of the LF surface and cover
o Breaks and misalignments of gas recovery facilities
o Cracking of manholes & interference with use of LF after closure
 Effect of Waste Decomposition on LF Settlement
o Decomposition of organic components of waste placed in a LF will result in loss of 30 –
40% of original mass
o The rate is directly related to the moisture content of waste (wet waste decomposes
faster)
o The loss of mass results in a loss of volume (must be refilled with new waste)
o Weight and volume loss will occur after closure of LF too

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 Landfill Settlement…
 Effect of Overburden Pressure (Height) on LF Settlement
o The density of the material placed in the LF will increase with the weight of the
material placed above it
o The average specific weight of waste in a lift depends on the depth of the lift
o Increase in specific weight of the waste as a function of overburden pressure
can be estimated:

 DWp= specific weight of the LF material at pressure p (kg/m3)

 DWi = initial compacted specific weight of the waste (kg/m3)
 p = overburden pressure (kg/m2)
 a = empirical constant (m3/m2)
 b = empirical constant (m3/kg)
 The weight of the overlying materials may cause crushing,
rearranging, bending and distortion of the waste materials in LF
 Effect of Raveling: the movement of finer materials from the
material matrix into larger voids within the matrix and can occur
anytime throughout the long-term life of the LF 406
 Extent of LF Settlement depends on the:
o Initial compaction of waste
o Characteristics of the wastes
o Degree of decomposition of the wastes
o Effects of consolidation when water & air are forced out
o Height of the completed fill

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 Landfill Settlement…
 Several methods have been proposed for predicting settlement rates in LFs due to waste
decomposition
 A one-dimensional model for LF settlement is described as:

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 LF Design Considerations
 Landfill design considers the ff important aspects:
o Layout of LF site
o Types of wastes that must be handled
o The need for a convenience transfer station
o Estimation of LF capacity
o Evaluation of the Geology & Hydrogeology of the site
o Selection of LF gas and leachate control facilities
o Layout of surface drainage facilities
o Aesthetic design considerations
o Environmental Monitoring facilities
o Public Participation
o Determination of equipment requirements
o Development of an operations plan
o Closure and postclosure care

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Fig. Design components of a landfill
 LANDFILL DESIGN FACTORS

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 LF Design Considerations…
 Layout of Landfills
o In planning the layout of a LF site, location of the ff must be determined:
 Access roads, office space and plantings
 Equipment shelters and scales (if used)
 Storage and/or disposal sites for special wastes
 Areas to be used for waste processing (e.g., composting)
 Areas for stockpiling of cover material
 Drainage facilities (divert surface water runoff)
 Location of landfill gas mgt facilities
 Location of leachate treatment facilities
 Location of monitoring wells

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 Layout of Landfill Sites

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 LF Design Considerations…
 Types of Wastes
o Important in the design and layout of a LF
o Separate disposal for designated & special wastes (need special T’T & high disposal
costs)
o Use demolition wastes for embankment stabilization
o Avoid daily cover if demolition wastes are to be handled
 The need for a convenience transfer station
 Unload wastes brought to the site by individuals & small-quantity
haulers
o Reduce accidents
o Enhances operation efficiency
o Recovery of recyclables
 Estimation of LF Capacity
o Determine nominal volume by laying LF configurations (-thickness of liner and final
cover)
o Determine the surface area for each lift
o Multiply the average area b/n 2 adjacent contours by the height of the lift & sum the
volume of successive lifts to get nominal volume of LF
o Cover material excavated from the site, computed volume = volume of SW
o cover material imported  computed volume  reduced by a factor to account for
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the volume occupied by the cover material
 LF Design Considerations…
 Estimation of Landfill Capacity…
 The actual total capacity of LF to accept waste will depend on
o Initial density of SW placed in the LF
o Subsequent compaction due to overburden pressure
o Loss of mass to biological decomposition
 Hydrogeologic Principles
o Hydrogeologic information is crucial to the final site selection
o LF should be located only on stable geologic formations
o landfills should be located well above high GW tables
o The type of liner system depends on hydrogeology of the site
o The suitability of soils available at the site for use as liner and cover materials
o The general direction of GW movement under the site
o Direct hydraulic connection of the proposed LF site with any unconsolidated or bedrock aquifers

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 LF Design Considerations…
 Environmental Monitoring Facilities
 Conducted to ensure that no contaminants are released
 The monitoring required may be divided into three categories
o Vadose zone release of gases and liquids
o Groundwater monitoring (both upstream and downstream)
o Air quality monitoring at the boundary of the LF and from any processing facilities (e.g.,
flares)
 Aesthetic Design Considerations
o Minimizing the impact of the landfilling operation on nearby residents & public passing
by the LF
o Screening of Landfilling Areas

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 LF Design Considerations…
(Fig.) Aesthetic considerations in landfill design: (a) view of landscaped
LF in which filling operations are not visible from nearby freeway (b)
overhead wire system used to control seagulls at landfills (c) wire
screen used to control blowing papers and plastic (d) daily cover used to
control vectors at landfills

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 LF Siting Considerations
 Factors that must be considered in evaluating sites for the long-
term disposal of SW :
o Haul distance (10 - 15 miles)
o Location Restrictions
o Site access (near major highways to facilitate use of existing arterial roads)
o Soil conditions and topography
o Climatalogical conditions
o Surface-water hydrology
o Geologic and hydrogeologic conditions
o Existing land use patterns
o Local environmental conditions
o Potential ultimate uses for the completed site

 Final selection of LF sitting is based on:

o A detailed site survey
o Engineering design and cost studies
o EIA
o Outcome of public hearings (LFs are often viewed as LULUs = locally undesirable land uses)

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 LF Siting Restrictions
 Restrictions or bans of locating and operating new and existing MSWLFs in six
unsuitable areas
1. Airports: prohibit the placement of new, existing and lateral expansions to existing
MSWLFs near an airport because of dangers from scavenging birds to aircraft
2. Floodplains: new, existing and lateral expansions at MSWLFs located in the 100-
year floodplain should not restrict the flow of the 100-year flood,reduce the
temporary water storage capacity of the floodplain or result in washout of SW so as
to pose a hazard to human health and the environment
3. Wetlands: prohibit the placement of a new landfill or expansion of an existing
landfill into or on a wetland
4. Fault areas: Prohibit the placement of a landfill within 200 feet of an earthquake
fault
5. Seismic impact zones: new and lateral expansions of MSWLFs are prohibited in
seismic impact zones, unless all containment structures (liners, leachate collection
systems, and surface water control systems) are designed to resist the maximum
horizontal acceleration in lithified earth material for the site

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LF Siting Restrictions…
6. Unstable areas: (poor foundation conditions, areas susceptible to
mass movements and karst terranes): prohibit the placement of
new, existing and lateral expansions of MSWLFs in an area with
unstable soil unless engineering measures ensure the integrity of
structural components will not be disrupted
Existing landfills which cannot meet the above requirements should
be closed within 5 years

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 LF Approval Regulatory Process

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 Preparation of site for Landfilling
 Site drainage is modified to route any runoff away from the intended LF area
 Access roads and weighing facilities are constructed and fences are installed
 Landfill bottom and subsurface sides are excavated and prepared
 Excavations are carried out over time, rather than preparing the entire landfill bottom at once
 The bottom is shaped to provide drainage of leachate and a low-permeability (clay, geomembrane)
liner is installed
 Leachate collection and extraction facilities are placed within or top of the liner

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 Preparation of site for Landfilling

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 Placement of SWs in LF
 Waste is placed in cells beginning along the compaction face, continuing outward and upward from
the face
 Wastes deposited by transfer vehicles are spread out in 50-60cm layers and compacted
 Successive lifts are placed on top of one another until the final design grade is reached
 As organic materials within the landfill decompose, completed sections may settle
 Refilling until the design grade is possible
 Final cover is designed to minimize infiltration of precipitation and to route drainage away from the
active section of landfill
 Finally, the site is landscaped and prepared for other uses

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 Placement of SWs in LF

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 LF Operational Requirements
o Exclusion of HW from the LF
o Provide at least 6 inches daily cover over new SW placed in the LF to control disease vectors,
fires, odor, blowing litter and scavenging
o Control disease vectors such as rodents and insects
o Monitor CH4 concentrations in the LF and buildings (CH4 is explosive when combined with
the O2 in air)
o Eliminate open burning
o Control public access and prevent unauthorized traffic and illegal dumping of wastes through
the use of artificial barriers, natural barriers or both
o Construct run-on and run-off controls for 25 year rainfall events
o Meet water quality discharge requirements to SW
o Prohibit all liquid wastes except small quantities of household liquid wastes
o Maintain records indicating compliance

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 Landfill Closure and Post closure Care
 What is to happen to a completed LF in the future
 Development of Long-Term Closure Plan
o Cover and landscape design
o Control of LF gases
o Collection and treatment of leachate
o Environmental monitoring systems
 Postclosure Care
o Routine inspection of the completed LF site
o Maintenance of the infrastructure
o Environmental monitoring systems
o Owner must demonstrate financial resources to provide long-term care as part of LF
licensing process
o Post-closure care is a major expense since it continues for 30- 40 Yrs

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 Sanitary landfill

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 LF Postclosure Care Requirements
 Primary requirements of postclosure care address:
o Maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of any final cover systems
o Maintaining and operating the leachate collection system
o Monitoring GW and maintaining the GW monitoring system
o Maintaining and operating the gas monitoring system
o Quarterly inspection of cover for cracks, erosion, settlement &b undesired vegetation
o Repair of cover to maintain grades if needed
o Inspection and repair of drainage and runoff control systems
o Leachate collection system inspection and cleaning

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LF Postclosure Care Requirements…
 Primary requirements of postclosure
o Repair and replacement of pumps, etc.
o Leachate collection, pumping and treatment must be continued until leachate quality does not pose a
threat human health & the environment
o Monitoring conducted on regular schedule established in the plan
o Both GW and gas Monitoring for COD, TDS, TOC, pH, various ions, metals and VOCs
o Regulations require monitoring of the “uppermost aquifer” both upgradient and downgradient
o Multiple downgradient wells required: enough to assess effect of entire facility

Financial Assurance Criteria

 Owners and operators of MSWLFs are required to show financial
assurance for
o Closure
o Postclosure care
o Known corrective actions

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 “One-up, three-down” monitoring system

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