SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

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 What is Solid Waste?
Solid waste comprises of all the wastes arising from human and animal activities that are
typically solid and that are discarded as useless or unwanted.
It is all-inclusive of the heterogeneous mass from the urban community, as well as more
homogeneous accumulation of agriculture and industrial wastes

Some of the commonly used synonyms for solid waste are:

Refuse: This is a more appropriate term for solid waste as

most waste can be reused as raw material for some other
purposes
Garbage: It consists of kitchen/wet waste

Rubbish: Waste with high ash content

Scrap: Wastes with high metal content

Debris: Bulky waste such as construction waste

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 Classification of Solid Waste

Solid Waste

Source-based Type-based Property-based

➢ Municipal Solid Waste ➢ Garbage ➢ Bio-degradable/Organic Waste
➢ Rubbish
➢ Industrial Waste ➢ Bulk Waste ➢ Non-biodegradable Waste
➢ Institutional/Commercial Waste ➢ Ashes ➢ Hazardous Waste
➢ Construction and Demolition Waste
➢ Agricultural Waste ➢ Plastic ➢ Non-Hazardous Waste
➢ Biomedical Waste ➢ Mining Waste
➢ Radioactive Waste

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 Characteristics of Solid Waste

Physical Characteristics

I. Moisture Content

(𝑎−𝑏)
m.c = x 100% Where a = Initial weight of the sample
𝑎
b = Weight of sample after drying

➢ Typical moisture content of MSW varies between 15-40%

➢ Moisture content is a critical determinant in the economic feasibility of waste treatment by incineration
since energy must be supplied for evaporation of this moisture.
➢ Moisture content also plays an important role in other processing methods, such as composting and
anaerobic digestion.

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 Characteristics of Solid Waste
Physical Characteristics

II. Density

➢ Expressed as mass per unit volume (kg/m3)

➢ It is essential for the design of all elements of the solid waste management system from storage to
transportation to final disposal.

III. Particle Size and Distribution

➢ This knowledge is useful in the utilization of mechanical separators and shredders for waste stream
processing.
➢ However, the particle size and shape of MSW are challenging to measure due to reasons such as their
complex shape, difficulty in the movement of MSW particles along the sieve surface and variation in their
area depending on the forces acting on it

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 Characteristics of Solid Waste
Physical Characteristics

IV. Field Capacity

The field capacity of solid waste is the amount of moisture that can be retained in a waste sample subject to the
downward pull of gravity

➢ The field capacity of waste materials is of critical importance in determining the formation of leachate in
landfills.
➢ Water in excess of the field capacity will be released as leachate.

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 Characteristics of Solid Waste
Physical Characteristics

IV. Permeability
Permeability is defined as the hydraulic conductivity of compacted waste. It is an important physical property and
it governs movement of liquid and gases in landfill.

Chemical Characteristics

Proximate Analysis

➢ Moisture content
➢ Volatile matter
➢ Ash
➢ Fixed carbon

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 Characteristics of Solid Waste
Chemical Characteristics
CHNS Analyzer
Ultimate Analysis
➢ Carbon
➢ Hydrogen
➢ Oxygen
➢ Nitrogen
➢ Sulfur Bomb Calorimeter
➢ Ash

Heat Content

➢ Calorific value is the amount of heat

generated from combustion of a unit
weight of a substance, expressed as
kcal/kg
➢ The calorific value is determined
experimentally using a Bomb calorimeter

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 Solid Waste Management
Solid Waste management is the process of collection, transportation, and disposal of solid waste in a systematic,
economic, and hygienic manner

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 Collection of Solid Waste
Waste Collection does not mean merely the gathering of waste, and the process includes, as well, the
transporting of wastes to transfer stations and/or disposal sites

Collection

Primary Secondary
Collection Collection

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Storage
➢ Waste storage encompasses proper containers to store wastes and efficient transport of wastes without
any spillage to transfer stations/disposal sites
➢ The design of an efficient waste collection system requires careful consideration of the type, size and
location of containers at the point of generation for storage of wastes until they are collected

Primary Collection
Primary collection of solid waste refers to the collection of waste from the source of generation
The collection points that can be located outside individual or community serving a number of households

The different collection services are:

➢ Curb services
➢ Alley services
➢ Setout-setback services
➢ Backyard services

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 Secondary Collection

Secondary collection refers to the collection of solid wastes from storage points or transfer stations to the
final disposal site

Types of secondary collection system

➢ Stationary container system

These are used for contents to be transferred to collection vehicles at the site of storage.
➢ Hauled container system
These are used for contents to be directly transferred to a processing plant, transfer station or disposal
site for emptying before being returned to the storage site

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 Haul containers
Stationary
containers

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 Stationary Container System

➢ In stationary container system, the

containers used for storage of the
waste remain at the point of
generation except when they are
moved to the curb or other locations
to be emptied
➢ The main advantage of SCS is that the
vehicle doesn’t travel to the disposal
site until it is full, resulting in higher
utilization rate
➢ The system varies according to the
type and quantity of wastes to be
handled as well as the number of
generation points

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 Hauled Container System
➢ These are the collection systems in which the containers used for storage of wastes are hauled to a
material recovery facility, transfer station, or disposal site, emptied and returned to their original location
➢ HCS are ideally suited for the removal of wastes from sources where the rate of generation is high

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 Vehicles for Transportation
➢ The collection vehicle selected must be appropriate to the terrain, type and density of waste generation
points, the way it travels and type and kind of material (UNEP, 1996)
➢ The collection vehicle may be small and simple (e.g., two-wheeled cart pulled by an individual) or large,
complex and energy intensive (e.g., rear loading compactor truck). The most commonly used collection
vehicle is the dump truck fitted with a hydraulic lifting mechanism

Small-scale vehicles
These are common vehicles used for
waste collection in many countries and
are generally used in rural hilly areas.

They are suitable for densely populated

areas with narrow lanes, and squatter
settlements, where there is relatively
low volume of waste generated.

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Non-compactor Trucks
Non-compactor trucks are efficient and cost effective in small cities and in areas where wastes tend to be very
dense and have little potential for compaction

When these trucks are used for waste collection, they need a dumping system to easily discharge the waste. It
is generally required to cover the trucks in order to prevent residue flying off or rain soaking the wastes

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Compactor Trucks
Compaction vehicles are more common these days, generally having 12 – 15 m3 capacities due to limitations
imposed by narrow roads.

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 Processing of Solid Waste

The processing of wastes helps in achieving the best possible benefit from every functional element of the solid
waste management (SWM) system and, therefore, requires the proper selection of techniques and equipment
for every element

Purpose of Processing
➢ Improving efficiency of SWM system
Various processing techniques are available to improve the efficiency of SWM system
For example, before waste papers are reused, they are usually baled to reduce transporting and storage
volume requirements.

➢ Recovering material for reuse

Usually, materials having a market, when present in wastes in sufficient quantity to justify their
separation, are most amenable to recovery and recycling. Materials that can be recovered from solid
wastes include paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, ferrous metal, aluminium and other residual metals.

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➢ Recovering conversion products and energy
Combustible organic materials can be converted to intermediate products and ultimately to usable
energy. This can be done either through incineration, pyrolysis, composting or bio-digestion.

Processing Techniques
Volume reduction
Volume reduction or compaction refers to densifying wastes in order to reduce their volume

Advantages of volume reduction

➢ Reduction in the quantity of materials to be handled at the disposal site;

➢ Improved efficiency of collection and disposal of wastes;
➢ Increased life of landfills;
➢ Economically viable waste management system

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Disadvantages of volume reduction
➢ Poor quality of recyclable materials sorted out of the compaction vehicle
➢ Difficulty in segregation or sorting (since the various recyclable materials are mixed and
compressed in lumps)
➢ Bio-degradable materials (e.g., leftover food, fruits and vegetables) destroy the value of paper and
plastic material

Types of compactor

Stationary compactor

This represents the equipment in which wastes are

brought to, and loaded into, either manually or
mechanically
Example: compaction mechanism used to compress
waste in a collection vehicle

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 Movable compactor

This represents the wheeled and tracked equipment

used to place and compact solid wastes, as in a
sanitary landfill

Selection of compaction equipment

➢ Characteristics such as size, composition, moisture content, and bulk density of the waste to be
compacted.
➢ Method of transferring and feeding wastes to the compactor, and handling.
➢ Potential uses of compacted waste materials.
➢ Design characteristics such as the size of loading chamber, compaction pressure, compaction ratio,
etc.
➢ Operational characteristics such as energy requirements, routine and specialised maintenance
requirement, simplicity of operation, reliability, noise output, and air and water pollution control
requirement.
➢ Site consideration, including space and height, access, noise and related environmental limitations.

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 Size reduction or Shredding
Size reduction helps in obtaining the final product in a reasonably uniform and considerably reduced size
in comparison to the original form.

Size reduction is implemented ahead of

➢ Landfilling to provide a more homogeneous product. This may require less cover material and less
frequent covering than that without shredding. This can be of economic importance, where cover
material is scarce or needs to be brought to the landfill site from some distance.
➢ Recovering materials from the waste stream for recycling.
➢ Baling the wastes – a process sometimes used ahead of long-distance transport of solid wastes – to
achieve a greater density.
➢ Making the waste a better fuel for incineration and waste energy recovery facilities. (The size reduction
techniques, coupled with separation techniques such as screening, result in a more homogeneous
mixture of relatively uniform size, moisture content and heating value, and thereby improving the steps
of incineration and energy recovery. We will discuss incineration in Unit 8.)
➢ Reducing moisture, i.e., drying and dewatering of wastes (see Section 5.4 for a discussion on drying
and dewatering).

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Shredding Equipment
Hammer mill

Hammer mill is an impact device consisting

of a number of hammers, fastened flexibly
to an inner disk which rotates at a very high
speed

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Shredding Equipment
Hydropulper

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Selection of size reduction equipment

➢ The properties of materials before and after shredding.

➢ Size requirements for shredded material by component.
➢ Method of feeding shredders, provision of adequate shredder hood capacity (to avoid bridging)
and clearance requirement between feed and transfer conveyors and shredders.
➢ Types of operation (continuous or intermittent).
➢ Operational characteristics including energy requirements, routine and specialised maintenance
requirement, simplicity of operation, reliability, noise output, and air and water pollution control
requirements.
➢ Site considerations, including space and height, access, noise and environmental limitations.
➢ Metal storage after size reduction for the next operation.

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 Component separation

Component separation is a necessary operation in which the waste components are identified and
sorted either manually or mechanically to aid further processing.

Why component separation?

➢ Recovery of valuable materials for recycling;

➢ Preparation of solid wastes by removing certain components prior to incineration, energy
recovery, composting and biogas production

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 Component separation techniques
Air Separation
Air separation is primarily used to separate
lighter materials (usually organic) from
heavier (usually inorganic) ones. The lighter
material may include plastics, paper and
paper products and other organic materials.

Air Separation Techniques

Conventional chute type

When the processed solid wastes are

dropped into the vertical chute, the
lighter material is carried by the airflow
to the top while the heavier materials
fall to the bottom of the chute.

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Zigzag air classifier

Shredded wastes are introduced at the top

of the column at a controlled rate, and air is
introduced at the bottom of the column. As
the wastes drop into the air stream, the
lighter fraction is fluidized and moves
upward and out of the column, while the
heavy fraction falls to the bottom

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Open inlet vibrator type

In this type of air classifier, the separation is

accomplished by a combination of the following
actions:
Vibration: Due to this agitation, the heavier particles
tend to settle at the bottom as the shredded waste is
conveyed down the length of the separator.
Inertial force: In this action, the air pulled in through
the feed inlet imparts an initial acceleration to the
lighter particle, while the wastes travel down the
separator as they are being agitated.
Air pressure: This action refers to the injection of
fluidising air in two or more high velocity and low
mass flow curtains across the bed. A final stripping of
light particles is accomplished at the point where the
heavy fraction discharges from the elutriators.

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Selection of air separation equipment

➢ Characteristics of the material produced by shredding equipment including particle size,

shape, moisture content and fibre content.
➢ Material specification for light fraction.
➢ Methods of transferring wastes from the shredders to the air separation units and feeding
wastes into the air separator.
➢ Characteristics of separator design including solids-to-air ratio, fluidising velocities, unit
capacity, total airflow and pressure drop.
➢ Operational characteristics including energy requirement, maintenance requirement, simplicity
of operation, proved performance and reliability, noise output, and air and water pollution
control requirements.
➢ Site considerations including space and height access, noise and environmental limitations.

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Magnetic Separation
The most common method of recovering ferrous scrap from shredded solid wastes involves the use of
magnetic recovery systems. Ferrous materials are usually recovered either after shredding or before
air classification.

Equipments used for Magnetic Separation

Suspended Magnets

In this type of separator, a permanent magnet is

used to attract the ferrous metal from the waste
stream. When the attracted metal reaches the
area, where there is no magnetism, it falls away
freely. This ferrous metal is then collected in a
container. This type of separation device is
suitable for processing raw refuse.

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Magnetic Pulley

This consists of a drum type device

containing permanent magnets or
electromagnets over which a conveyor
or a similar transfer mechanism
carries the waste stream. The
conveyor belt conforms to the rounded
shape of the magnetic drum and the
magnetic force pulls the ferrous
material away from the falling stream
of solid waste.

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 Screening
➢ Screening is the most common form of separating solid wastes, depending on their size by the use
of one or more screening surfaces
➢ Screens can be used before or after shredding and after air separation of wastes in various
applications dealing with both light and heavy fraction materials.

Rotary Drum Screen

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 Other Separation Techniques
Inertial Separator

Inertial methods rely on ballistic or gravity

separation principles to separate shredded
solid wastes into light (i.e., organic) and
heavy (i.e., inorganic) particles.

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 Waste Disposal

It is the ultimate fate of all solid wastes, be they residential wastes collected and transported
directly to a landfill site, semisolid waste (sludge) from municipal and industrial treatment plants,
incinerator residue, compost or other substances from various solid waste processing plants
that are of no further use to society. It is, therefore, imperative to have a proper plan in place for
safe disposal of solid wastes, which involves appropriate handling of residual matter after solid
wastes have been processed and the recovery of conversion products/energy has been
achieved

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 Disposal options
➢ Uncontrolled Dumping
This is the most common method being practised in many parts of the world, and India is no exception. In
this method, wastes are dumped at a designated site without any environmental control. They tend to
remain there for a long period of time, pose health risks and cause environmental degradation. Due to the
adverse health and environmental impact associated with it, the non-engineered disposal is not
considered a viable and safe option.

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➢ Composting
➢ Incineration

➢ Gasification
This is the partial combustion of carbonaceous material (through combustion) at high temperature
(roughly 1000C) forming a gas, comprising mainly carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, hydrogen,
water vapour and methane, which can be used as fuel.

➢ Pyrolysis
This is the thermal degradation of carbonaceous material to gaseous, liquid and solid fraction in the
absence of oxygen. This occurs at a temperature between 200 and 900C. The product of pyrolysis is a
gas of relatively high calorific value of 20,000 joules per gram with oils, tars and solid burned residue

➢ Sanitary Landfill

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Relative Merits of Disposal Options

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 Composting

Composting is the biological decomposition and stabilization of organic substrate under conditions that
allow development of thermophilic temperatures as a result of biologically produced heat, to produce a
final product that is stable, free of pathogens, plant seeds and can be beneficially applied to land

Organic matter + O2 + aerobic bacteria CO2 + NH3 + H2O + other end products + energy

Phases of Composting

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Factors affecting the Composting process

➢ Temperature
➢ Moisture content
➢ Particle size
Types of Composting
➢ Aeration

Open • Windrow
Process • Static pile

• Vertical flow
Reactor • Horizontal flow
Process • Batch

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 Incineration
Incineration is the process of controlled and complete combustion of solid wastes in the presence of oxygen.

Incineration Objectives

➢ Volume reduction

Depending on its composition, incineration reduces the volume of solid waste to be disposed of
by an average of 90%. The weight of the solid wastes to be dealt with is reduced by 70 – 75%.

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➢ Stabilization of waste

Incinerator output (i.e., ash) is considerably more inert than incinerator input (i.e., solid wastes), mainly
due to the oxidation of the organic components of the waste stream. This leads to a reduction of landfill
management problems

➢ Energy recovery from waste

Energy recovered from burning the wastes is used to generate steam for use in on-site electricity
generation or export to local factories or district heating schemes. Combined heat and power plants
increase the efficiency of energy recovery by producing electricity as well as utilising the residual heat.
Solid waste incineration can replace the use of fossil fuels for energy generation.

➢ Sterilization of waste

This is of primary importance in the incineration of clinical or biomedical waste. Incineration of solid
wastes will also ensure destruction of pathogens prior to final disposal in a landfill.

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Incineration Technologies

Mass-burning system

➢ Mass-burn systems generally consist

of either two or three incineration
units ranging in capacity from 50 to
1,000 tonnes per day.
➢ These facilities can accept refuse
that has undergone little
preprocessing other than the
removal of oversized items.
➢ This versatility makes mass-burn
facilities convenient and flexible

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Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) system

➢ The term RDF is commonly used to

refer to solid waste that has been
mechanically processed to produce
a storable, transportable and more
homogeneous fuel for combustion.
RDF systems have two basic
components: RDF production and
RDF incineration.
➢ RDF production facilities make RDF
in various forms through material
separation, size reduction and
pelletising

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Shred and Burn system
The process system typically consists of shredding the MSW to the desired particle size that allows
effective feeding to the combustor and magnetic removal of ferrous metal, with the remaining portion
delivered to the combustor. There is no attempt to remove other non-combustible materials in the
MSW before combustion

Simplified process system

A simplified process system involves processing the MSW to produce an RDF with a significant portion
of the non-combustibles removed before combustion

Modular Incineration

Modular incinerator units are usually prefabricated units with relatively small capacities between 5
and 120 tonnes of solid waste per day.
The majority of modular units produce steam as the sole energy product. Due to their small capacity,
modular incinerators are generally used in small communities or for commercial and industrial
operations

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Fluidised Bed Incineration

A bed of limestone or sand that can withstand high temperatures, fed by an air distribution
system, replaces the grate. The heating of the bed and an increase in the air velocities cause the
bed to bubble, which gives rise to the term fluidised. There are two types of fluidised-bed
technologies, viz., bubbling bed and circulating bed.

Unlike mass-burn incinerators, fluidised-bed incinerators require front-end pre-processing, also

called fuel preparation. They are generally associated with source separation because glass and
metals do not fare well in these systems and also they can successfully burn wastes of widely
varying moisture and heat content, so that the inclusion of paper and wood, which are both
recyclable and burnable, is not a crucial factor in their operation.

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 Sanitary Landfill

➢ The term landfill generally refers to an engineered deposit of wastes either in pits/trenches or on the
surface.
➢ A sanitary landfill is essentially a landfill where proper mechanisms are available to control the
environmental risks associated with the disposal of wastes and to make available the land,
subsequent to disposal, for other purposes.

Principle of Sanitary Landfill

➢ The purpose of land filling is to bury or alter the chemical composition of the wastes so that they do
not pose any threat to the environment or public health.
➢ Landfills are not homogeneous and are usually made up of cells in which a discrete volume of waste
is kept isolated from adjacent waste cells by a suitable barrier.
➢ The barriers between cells generally consist of a layer of natural soil (i.e., clay), which restricts
downward or lateral escape of the waste constituents or leachate.
➢ Landfill relies on containment rather than treatment (for control) of wastes

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Schematic Diagram of Sanitary Landfill

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 Landfill Gas and Leachate

Leachate and landfill gas comprise the major hazards associated with a landfill. While leachate may
contaminate the surrounding land and water, landfill gas can be toxic and lead to global warming and
explosion leading to human catastrophe

Factors affecting the production of landfill gas and leachate

➢ Nature of waste
The deposition of waste containing biodegradable matter invariably leads to the production of gas and
leachate, and the amount depends on the content of biodegradable material in the waste.
➢ Moisture content
Most micro-organisms require a minimum of approximately 12% (by weight) moisture for growth, and thus
the moisture content of landfill waste is an important factor in determining the amount and extent of
leachate and gas production.
➢ pH
The methanogenic bacteria within a landfill produce methane gas, which will grow only at low pH range
around neutrality.

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➢ Particle size and density
The size of waste particle affects the density that can be achieved upon compaction and affects
the surface area and hence volume.
➢ Temperature
An increase in temperature tends to increase gas production. The temperature affects the
microbial activity to the extent that it is possible to segregate bacteria, according to their optimum
temperature operating conditions.

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 Landfill Gas Emission
➢ Methane: This is a colourless, odourless and flammable gas with a density lighter than air,
typically making up 50 – 60% of the landfill gas.
➢ Carbon dioxide: This is a colourless, odourless and non-inflammable gas that is denser than air,
typically accounting for 30 – 40%.
➢ Oxygen: The flammability of methane depends on the percentage of oxygen. It is, therefore,
important to control oxygen levels, where gas abstraction is undertaken.
➢ Nitrogen: This is essentially inert and will have little effect, except to modify the explosive range of
methane.

Hazards

➢ Explosion and Fire

➢ Trace components
➢ Global warming

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 Landfill Leachate Formation
Leachate can pollute both groundwater and surface water supplies. The degree of pollution will depend
on local geology and hydrogeology, nature of waste and the proximity of susceptible receptors. Once
groundwater is contaminated, it is very costly to clean it up. Landfills, therefore, undergo siting, design
and construction procedures that control leachate migration.

The amount of leachate generated depends on:

➢ water availability;
➢ landfill surface condition;
➢ refuse state;
➢ condition of surrounding strata

Common toxic components in leachate are ammonia and heavy metals, which can be hazardous even
at low levels, if they accumulate in the food chain. The presence of ammoniacal nitrogen means that
leachate often has to be treated off-site before being discharged to a sewer, since there is no natural
bio-chemical path for its removal

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54
Thank You

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