SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT (21CV734)

Module 1 : INTRODUCTION

Definition
The discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport,
processing and disposal of solid waste in a manner i.e. in accordance with best principle of public
health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics and other environmental considerations
and that is also responsive to public health.

Solid waste: Solid waste is all the waste arising from human and animal activities that are
normally solid and that are discarded as useless or unwanted.
 It encompasses the heterogeneous mass of throwaways from residences and commercial
activities as well as more homogenous accumulation of a single industrial activity.

Land pollution – “It refers to any physical or chemical alteration of land, rendering it incapable of
beneficial use without treatment.”
Functional Elements of Solid waste management:

Waste Generation

Waste Handling,
Separation, Storage &
processing

Collection

Transfer & Separation, processing &

Transport Transformation

Disposal

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i)Waste generation: Waste generation encompasses activities in which materials are identified as
no longer being of value and are either thrown away or gathered together for disposal. Wastes are
generated at the start of any process, and thereafter, at every stage as raw materials are converted
into goods for consumption. For example, wastes are generated from households, commercial
areas, industries, institutions, street cleaning and other municipal services. The most important
aspect of this part of the SWM system is the identification of waste.

(ii) Waste handling, storage, sorting, storage and processing at the source: Waste handling
and sorting involves the activities associated with the management of waste until they are placed in
storage for collection.

 Handling also encompasses the movement of loaded container to the point of collection.
 Sorting of waste components is an important step in handling and storage of solid waste at
the source. For example, the best place to separate waste materials for reuse and recycling
is at the source of generation. Households are becoming more aware of the importance of
separating newspaper and cardboard, bottle/glass, kitchen wastes and ferrous and non
ferrous materials.
 Onsite storage is of primary importance because of public concerns and aesthetic
consideration. Unsightly makeshift containers and even open ground storage, both of which
are undesirable, are often seen are any residential and commercial sites.
 Processing at the source involves activities such as backyard waste composting.
(iii) Waste collection: The functional element of collection includes not only the gathering of
solid waste and recycling materials, but also the transport of these materials, after collection, to the
location where the collection vehicle is emptied. This location may be materials processing
facility, a transfer station or a landfill disposal site.

iv) Sorting, Processing and transportation of solid waste: The sorting, processing and
transformation of solid waste materials is the fourth of the functional elements. The recovery of
sorted materials, processing of solid waste and transformation of solid waste that occurs primarily
in the locations away from the source of waste generation are encompassed by this functional
element.

 Sorting of mixed waste usually occurs at a material recovery facility, transfer station
combustion facilities and disposal sites. Sorting often includes the separation of bulky

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items, separation of waste components by size using screen, manual separation of waste
components and separation of ferrous and non ferrous metals.
 Waste processing is undertaken to recover conversion products and energy.
 The solidwaste can be transformed by a variety of biological and thermal process. The
most commonly used biological transformation process is aerobic composting. The most
commonly used thermal transformation is incineration. Waste transformation is undertaken
to reduce the volume, weight, size of waste without resources recovery.
(iv) Transfer and transport: This functional element involves:

 The transfer of wastes from smaller collection vehicles to the larger transport
equipment.
 The subsequent transport of waste usually over long distances of processing or disposal
site. The transfer usually takes place at a transfer station.
(vii) Waste disposal: Today the Disposal of waste by landfilling or uncontrolled dumping is the
ultimate fate of all solid wastes, whether they are residential wastes collected and transported
directly to a landfill site, residual materials from material recovery facilities, residue from the
combustion of solid wastes. Thus, land use planning becomes a primary determinant in the
selection, design and operation of landfill operations. A modern sanitary landfill is a method of
disposing solid waste without creating a nuisance and hazard to public health.

 Classifications of solid waste

Solid wastes are classified into Municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste and Hazardous solid
waste.

1. Municipal solid waste: includes Municipal solid waste consists of household waste,
construction and demolition debris, sanitation residue, and waste from streets. This garbage is
generated mainly from residential and commercial complexes. Some of the components of solid
wastes are:

 Rubbish: Combustible and non combustible solid waste, excluding food waste or other
putrescible materials. Typically combustible waste consist of materials such as paper,
cardboard, plastics, textiles, rubber leather, wood and garden trimmings. Non combustible
includes items such as glass, crockery, tincans, and aluminum, ferrous and nonferrous
metals.
 Ashes and residues – materials remaining from burning of food coke and other

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combustible wastes. Residues from power plants normally are not included in this
category. Ashes and residues are normally composed of fine powdery materials, cinders
cum clinkers and small amount of burnt and unburnt materials.
 Construction and demolition waste: Wastes from residential building and other
structures are classified as demolition waste. Waste from remodeling and repairing of
residential and commercial and industrial building and similar structures are classified as
construction waste. These waste includes dirt, stones, concrete, bricks, plasters and
plumbering, heating and electrical parts.
 Special wastes: Wastes such as street sweepings, road side litters, catch basin debris, dead
animals and abundant vehicles are classified as special waste.
 Treatment plant waste: The solid and semi-solid waste water, waste water from industrial
areas is included in this classification.
2. Industrial solid waste: ISW are those waste arising from industrial activities and typically
include rubbish, ashes demolition waste and special waste.

3. Hazardous waste: Waste that pose a substantial danger immediately or over a period of time to
human, plants are classified as hazardous waste.

A waste is classified as hazardous if it exhibits any of the following

characteristics’.
 Ignitibility
 Corrosivity
 Reactivity
 Toxicity

In the past , hazardous waste were often grouped into following categories

 Radioactive substances
 Chemicals
 Biological wastes
 Flammable waste
 Explosives

The principal sources of hazardous bio waste are hospitals and biological research
institutes. Hazardous waste are generated in limited amounts throughout most of the
industrial activities.

General Sources of Municipal Solid waste

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Sl. Source Typical facilities, activities Types of Solid waste
No or location where wastes are
generated
1. Residential Single family & multifamily Food waste, rubbish,
dwellings, low, medium and ashes special waste
high
rise apartment
2. Commercial Stores, restaurants, markets, Food waste, rubbish,
office buildings, hotels, print ashes, demolition &
shops, medical facilities and construction waste,
institutions etc special waste,
occasionally
hazardous waste
3. Open areas Streets, parks, play ground, Special wastes and
beaches, highways etc. rubbish
4. Treatment plant sites Water,Waste water from Treatment plant
treatment processes etc. waste principally
composed of residual
sludge

SALIENT FEATURES OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT RULES 2016

The Government has revamped the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling)
Rules 2000 and notified the new Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 on April 8, 2016.

The salient features of the SWM Rules, 2016 are as under;

1. Areas Cover:

These rules are applicable to;

 Every urban local body (Mega city to Panchayat level),
 outgrowths in urban agglomerations,
 census towns as declared by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of
India,
 notified areas,
 notified industrial townships,
 areas under the control of Indian Railways,
 airports/ airbases,
 Ports and harbors,
 defence establishments,
 special economic zones,
 State and Central government organizations,
 places of pilgrims,religious and historical importance as may be notified by

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respective State government from time to time and
 every domestic, institutional, commercial and any other non residential solid
waste generator situated in the areas.

2. The Waste Generators

 Every household
 Event organizers
 Street Vendors
 RWAs & Market Associations
 Gated Community having more than area 5000 sq.m.
 Hotels & restaurants, etc.

3. Duties of Waste generators and Authorities

 Every Waste Generators shall segregate waste and store separately and hand over
to Municipal workers or authorized waste pickers.
 Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change shall constitute ‘Central
Monitoring Committee’ to monitor and review every year.
 MoUD (Ministry of urban Development) shall frame National Policy on SWM
and coordinate with States/UTs, provide technical guidelines, financial support,
training to local bodies, etc.
 Departments of Fertilizers & Chemicals shall assist in market development for
city compost and make available to companies (3/4 bags compost: 6/7 bags
Fertilizers).
 Ministry of Agriculture shall make flexible Fertilizer Control Order, promote
utilization of compost, testing facility for compost and issue guidelines.
 Ministry of Power shall fix tariff of power generation from W-T-E project and
ensure distribution through companies.
 MNRE (Ministry of new & renewable energy) shall facilitate infrastructure for
waste-to-Energy plants and provide subsidy.
 Secy- Incharge, UD (sate/UT) shall prepare State Policy/Strategy, coordinate for
state planning, identification of common/regional landfills, notify guidelines of
buffer zones.
 District Collector/Magistrate shall facilitate identification of landfill site, quarterly
review the performance of local bodies
 Secretary, Panchayats: same as Secy. UD at Panchayat level.
 CPCB shall coordinate with SPCBs/PCCs for monitoring and Annual Reports,
formulation of standards, review new technologies, prepare guidelines for buffer
zones restricting from residential, commercial and construction activities areas;
and inter-state movement of waste.
 Local Authority/Panchayats shall prepare SWM plan with time line and its
implementation, segregate, material recovery, processing/ disposal of Waste, user
fee and levy spot fine.
 SPCBs/PCCs shall monitor, issue authorization and regulate.
 Manufacturers/Brand owners shall facilitate collect back wastes of their products

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and provide pouch for packaging sanitary wastes, etc.
 Industry (cement, power plant, etc.) shall use RDF within 100 km.
 Operator of facilities shall follow guidelines/standards

4. Criteria for Hilly Region

Avoid landfill, make waste transfer stations, strict action for littering and construct
landfill at plain areas.

5. Waste to Energy plant for waste with 1500 Kcal/kg and above for co-incineration
in cement and power plants.

6. Time Frame for Implementation of SWM Rules:

 Landfill Identification : 1 year
 Procurement of waste processing facilities : 2 years
 Ensure segregation of waste : 2 years
 Cities up to 1 million population : 2 Years
 Million plus cities : 3 years
 Setting up sanitary landfills : 3 years
 Bioremediation/capping of old landfills : 5 years

7. Review of implementation of rules at Various levels

 MoEF (Ministry of Environmental& Forest)&CC, Central Monitoring
Committee : Every year
 District Collector review performance of Local authorities : Quarterly
 SPCBs(State pollution control board)/PCCs (Pollution control committee)
view implementation of Rules with DMA(Directorate of municipal
administration) : half yearly
 Secretary Incharge, UD- State level AdvisoryCommittee : half yearly

PROPERTIES / COMPOSITION OF SOLID WASTE

Information on properties of solid waste is important in evaluating alternative equipment

needs, system and management programmes and plans especially w.r.t to implementation
of disposal and resource and energy recovery operations.

I. Physical Composition or Properties

 Specific Weight (Density)
 Moisture Content
 Particle Size and Distribution
 Field Capacity
 Permeability of Compacted Waste

1. Specific Weight (Density):

 Specific weight is defined as the weight of a material per unit volume (e.g. kg/m3).
 Usually it refers to uncompacted waste.

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 It varies with geographic location, season of the year, and length of time in
storage.

Typical Specific Weight Values

Components Density (kg/m3)

Range Typical
Food wastes 130-480 290
Paper 40-130 89
Plastics 40-130 64
Yard Wastes 65-225 100
Glass 160-480 194
Tin cans 50-160 89
Aluminum 65-240 160

2. Moisture Content:
The moisture content of solid waste usually expressed as the mass of moisture per
unit mass of wet or dry materials. In the wet mass method of measurement, the
moisture in a sample is expressed as a percentage of the wet mass of the material.
In dry mass method, it is expressed as a percentage of the dry mass of the
materials

The wet mass Moisture content is expressed as follows

a −b
×100
Moisture Content = a

Where a = Initial mass of sample

b = mass of sample after drying
To obtain the dry mass, the solid waste material is dried in an oven at 77°c
for 24hrs. This temperature and time used to dehydrate the materials completely
and to limit the vaporization of volatile materials.

3. Particle Size and 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
trammel screens and magnetic separators.

The size of waste components can be determined using the following equations:
 Sc = L
 Sc = (L+w)/2
 Sc= (L+w+h)/3
Where Sc : size of component, mm
L : length, mm
W : width, mm
h : height, mm

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4. Field Capacity
The total amount of moisture that can be retained in a waste sample subject to the
downward pull of gravity.
Field capacity is critically important in determining the formation of leachate in
landfills.
It varies with the degree of applied pressure and the state of decomposition of
wastes, but typical values for uncompacted commingled wastes from residential
and commercial sources are in the range of 50 60%.

5. Permeability of Compacted Waste

The permeability (hydraulic conductivity) of compacted solid waste is an
important physical property because it governs the movement of liquids &gases in
a landfill.
Permeability depends on: • Pore size distribution • Surface area • Porosity

I. Chemical Composition
 Chemical properties of MSW are very important in evaluating the alternative
processing and recovery options.
 Used primarily for combustion and waste to energy (WTE) calculations but
can also be used to estimate biological and chemical behaviours.
 Waste consists of combustible (i.e. paper) and non-combustible materials (i.e.
glass).

If solid wastes are to be used as fuel, the four most important properties to be known are:
Chemical Composition or Properties

1 Proximate Analysis
 Moisture
 Volatile Matter
 Ash
 Fixed Carbon
2 Fusing Point of Ash
3 Ultimate Analysis (% C, H, O, N,S & Ash)
4 Heating Value (Energy Value)

1. Proximate Analysis
 Loss of moisture (temp held at 105ºC)
 Volatile Combustible Matter (VCM) (temp increased to 950ºC, closed
crucible)
 Fixed Carbon (residue from VCM)
 Ash (temp = 950ºC, open crucible)

2. Fusing Point of Ash

Clinker (agglomerations of carbon and metals) formation at a temperature 1100-
1200ºC.

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3. Ultimate Analysis
Analysis has been made to determine the percentage of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
sulphur and ash in solid waste.
Molecular composition (C, H, N, O, P, etc.)

4. Energy Content
Knowledge of the energy content of an organic fraction of solid waste is essential
for evaluating its potential for use as a fuel in a combustion system.
 Depends on the constituents of a sample
 Can be estimated by modified Dulong formula

Energy Content (KJ/Kg) = 338.2C+1430 (H-O/8) + 95.4S

: Energy values may be converted to a dry basis by the following equation

100
Kj/kg ( Dry basis) = 100− moisture

The corresponding equation on ash free dry basis is

100
Kj/kg (ash free dry basis) = 100−%ash− moisture

Factors affecting Waste generation rate

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 Source Reduction & Recycling Activities

 Public Attitudes and Legislation
 Geographic location and physical factors on generation of Solid waste

1. Source Reduction & Recycling Activities

Waste reduction may occur through the design, manufacture and packing of
products with the minimum toxic content, minimum volume of materials and with
minimum materials of longer useful life.
 Waste reduction may also occur at the household, commercial or industrial
facility through selective buying patterns and by the use of recyclable
materials.
 Source reduction is not considered an important element at the present
time, because it is difficult to estimate the impact of reduction on the total
quantity of waste generated. Never the less, source reduction will likely
become an importment factor in reducing the quantity of waste generated.

Some of the other ways in which source reduction can be achieved can be follows

a) Use fewer resources

b) Develop rate structures that encourages to produce less waste
c) Decrease unnecessary and excessive packing materials
d) Substitute recyclable products for disposal

2. Public Attitudes and Legislation

Public attitudes: Ultimately significant reduction in the quantity of waste
generated when and only if people are willing to change their habits, lifestyle and
to reduce burden associated with management of solid waste. A program of
continuing education is essential to bring about change in the public attitude.

Legislation: The most important factors affecting the generation of certain type of
waste is the existence of local, state and regulation concerning the use of specific
materials. Legislation dealing with packing of products is an example.

3. Geographic location and physical factors on generation of Solid waste

Geographic location and physical factors that affect the quantities of waste
generation and collection include location season of the year, waste collection
frequency and characteristics of the service area.

Geographic location – The influence of geographic location, different climates

that influences both the amount of certain types of solid waste generated and the
time period over which waste is generated. For example substantial variation in
the amount of yard and garden waste generated in various parts of the country are
related to climates. That is in warmer southern areas, where the growing season is

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longer than northern areas, yard wastes are collected not in considerable amounts
but also over longer time.

Season of the year: The quantity of certain type of waste are also affected by the
season of the year.

The environmental implications of open dumping of municipal solid waste (MSW) include:

 Contamination: Open dumping can contaminate soil, water, and air.

 Leachate: Leachate, a liquid that oozes from the waste, can percolate into the soil and contaminate
it with toxic pollutants.
 Biodiversity loss: Open dumping can affect the microbial diversity of the soil and vegetation of
the area.
 Greenhouse gases: Open dumping can emit greenhouse gases.
 Breeding grounds: Non-biodegradable waste can collect water and create breeding grounds for
mosquitoes.
 Air pollution: Open burning of MSW can emit pollutants into the atmosphere.
 Health hazards: Open dumping can lead to health hazards, including nose and throat infections,
inhalation difficulties, bacterial infections, anaemia, reduced immunity, allergies, and asthma.
 Reproductive and developmental defects: Incineration and landfilling can be associated with
reproductive defects in women and developmental defects in children.

Here are some guidelines for managing and handling construction debris, also known as
construction and demolition (C&D) waste:

1. Separate collection C&D waste should be collected and disposed of separately from other
waste.

2. Container arrangements Local authorities should ensure that appropriate containers are
available for C&D waste collection.

3. Transportation C&D waste should be transported to processing and disposal facilities in

covered vehicles.

4. Landfill site protection Landfill sites should be protected from unauthorized people and
animals. They should also have facilities for inspecting waste, keeping records, and storing
equipment and machinery.

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5. Pollution prevention

To prevent pollution, landfills should:

 Divert storm water to reduce leachate generation

 Construct non-permeable linings at the base and walls of the waste disposal area
 Collect and treat leachate as per the standards specified in Schedule-IV
6. Safety provisions

Safety provisions should be made at the landfill site, including periodic health inspections of
workers.

MODULE II

COLLECTION

Collection of Solid Waste:

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Collection of separated or unseparated solid waste in urban areas is difficult and
complex because of the generation of residential, commercial or industrial solid waste
takes take place in every home, apartment, commercial or industrial facility, streets,
parks and even in vacant areas.

❖ Types of Collection Service

The Various types of collection service are

1. Municipal Collection service / Residential collection service

A. From low rise detached dwellings
B. From low and medium rise apartment
C. From high rise apartment
2. Commercial and Industrial collection service

a. Municipal Collection service / Residential collection service

Collection service varies depending upon the type of dwelling unit, collection for
low rise detached dwellings and collection for medium and high rise apartments are
considered separately.

The most common types of residential services in various parts of the country include

1. Curb
2. Alley
3. Set out – Set back
4. Set out
5. Backyard carrying

1. Curb – is used for low rise detached dwelling. This is a manual type of collection
system where in the waste are collected in a curb on a collection day and the
containers are returned back to their storage location until the next collection.
2. Alley - are part of the basic layout of a city or a given residential area. Alleys are
storage of container used for solid waste collection.
3. Set out – Set back – Containers are set out from the owner’s property and set
back after being emptied by additional crew.
4. Set out – this service is essentially the same as set-out & set-back, except that the
home owner is responsible for returning the container back their storage location.
5. Backyard Carrying – The collection crew is responsible for entering the owners’
property and removing the waste from their storage location.

2. Commercial and Industrial collection service

 Both manual and mechanical means are used to collect waste from commercial
and industrial areas. To avoid traffic congestion during the day time, solid waste
from commercial establishment in many cities are collected in the late evening
and early morning.
 Where manual collection is used, Wastes are put in plastic bags, cardboard boxes and

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other disposable containers that are placed at curbs for collection.

 The Collection services provided to large apartment buildings, residential

complexes, commercial and industrial areas are provided to these centers on the
use of movable containers, stationery containers, and large stationery compactors.
 Compactors are of the type that can be used to compress materials into large
containers.

❖ Types of Collection Systems

Based on the mode of operation, collection systems are classified in to two

categories:

1. Hauled container systems

2. Stationery container systems

1. Hauled Container system: Drive to next loaded container

Collection system in which the containers used for the storage of waste are hauled
to the processing, transfer or disposal site, emptied and returned to either their original
location or some other location are defined as hauled container system. The collector is
responsible for driving the vehicle, loading the containers and emptying the contents of
containers at disposal site.

There are two main types of hauled container systems

1. Tilt Frame container

2. Trash-trailors

Systems that use tilt frame loaded vehicles often called drop boxes are ideally suited for
collection of all types of solid waste and rubbish from locations where generation rates
warrants the use of large containers. Because of large volume that can be hauled, the use
of tilt frame hauled container systems has become widespread, especially among private
services.

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Trash trailers are better for collection of especially heavy rubbish such as sand, timber
and metal scrap and often are used for collection of demolition waste at construction sites.

Advantages

1. Hauled container systems are flexible containers of many different shapes and
sizes are available for collection of all types of wastes.

Disadvantages

1. Because the container used in this system must be filled, usually the use of very
large containers often lead to low volume utilization.
2. Through this system requires only one truck and driver to accomplish the
collection cycle, each container picked up requires a round trip to disposal site.

2. Stationary Collection system

Collection system in which the container used for the storage of waste remains at
the point of waste generation, except when moved for collection are defined as stationery
container system.

There are two main types of stationery container systems

1. Those in which self loading compactors used

2. Those in which manually loaded vehicles are used.

Trips to the disposal site, transfer station, or processing station are made after the contents
of a no of containers have been collected and compacted and collection vehicle is full.
Because a variety of container sizes and types are available, these systems may be used
for collection of all types of wastes.

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❖ Transfer Means and Methods (Transport Methods)

Motor vehicles, rail road’s and ocean going vessels are the principle means used to
transport waste. Pneumatic and hydraulic systems have also been used.

1. Motor Vehicle Transport - Motor vehicles used to transport solid wastes on highway
should satisfy the following requirement.

 The vehicles must transport wastes at minimum costs

 Wastes must be covered during haul operation
 Vehicles must be designed for highway traffic
 Vehicle capacity must be such that allowable weight limits are not
exceeded
 Methods used for unloading must be simple and dependable.

In the recent years because of their simplicity and dependability, open top trailers and
semitrailers have found wide acceptance for the transport of waste. Some trailers are
equipped with sumps to collect any liquid that accumulate from the solid waste.

2.Rail Road Transport - Although Rail road’s were commonly used for the transport of
solid waste in the past, they are now used by a few communities. However renewed
interest is again developing in the use of rail road for hauling solid waste especially to
remote areas where highway travel is difficult and rail lines now exist.

3. Water Transport – Barges, scows and special boats have been used in the past to
transport solid wastes to processing location and to seasides and ocean disposal sites, but
ocean disposal is no longer practiced by developing countries.

4. Pneumatic Transport – Both low pressure air and vacuum conduit transport systems
are used to transport solid waste.

 The most common application is the transport of waste from high density
apartment or commercial activities to central location for processing or for loading
into transport vehicles.

Transfer Station

Important factors that must be considered in the design of transfer station include:

1. Type of transfer operation

2. Capacity Requirement
3. Equipment and accessory requirement
4. Environmental requirement

1. Type of transfer operation : Depending on the method to load the transport vehicles,
transfer stations may be classified into three types:

A. Direct Discharge

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B. Storage Discharge
C. Combined direct and storage discharge.

A. Direct discharge – In a direct discharge transfer station, wastes from the collection
vehicles usually are emptied directly into the vehicle to be used to transport them to a
place of final disposal.

 To accomplish this, these stations are constructed in a two level arrangement. The
unloading platform from which the wastes from collection vehicles are discharged
into the transport trailers are elevated. Direct discharge transfer stations
employing stationery compactors are popular.

B. Storage discharge – In this transfer station, wastes are emptied either into a storage
pit or onto a platform from which they are loaded into transfer vehicles by various types
of auxiliary equipment.

 In a storage discharge transfer station, the various processing techniques like

shredding, separation, magnetic separation of ferrous scraps, compaction are
employed by using various types of auxiliary equipment.

C. Combined direct and storage discharge – In some transfer station, both the methods
are used. Usually these are multipurpose facilities designed to service a broader range of
users than a single purpose facility.

2. Capacity Requirement – The operational capacity of a transfer station must be such

that the collection vehicles do not have to wait too long to unload.

 In most cases it will not be cost effective to design the station to handle the
ultimate peak no of hourly loads. An economic analysis should be made between
the annual cost for the time spent by the collection vehicle waiting to unload
against the incremental annual cost of a transfer station or the use of more
transport equipment.
 Because of the increased cost of transport equipment, trade off analysis must also
be made between the capacity of transfer station and the cost of the transport
operation including both equipment and labor components.

3. Equipment and Accessory Requirements - The types and amounts of equipment

required vary with the capacity of a station and its function in the waste management
system.

 Specifically scales should be provided at all medium and large transfer station
both to monitor the operation and to develop meaningful management and
engineering data.

4. Environmental Requirements – Most of the large transfer stations are enclosed and
are constructed of materials that can be maintained and cleaned easily.

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 For direct discharge transfer stations with open loading areas, special attention
must be given to the problem of blowing papers. Wind screens or other barriers
are to be used.
 Regardless of the type of transfer station, the design and construction should be
such that all accessible areas where rubbish or paper can accumulate or
eliminated.

❖ Factors affecting the location of transfer station

Whenever possible, transfer station should be located

1. As near as possible, the weighted center of the individual solid waste production
areas to be served
2. Within easy access of major arterial highway routes as well as near secondary or
supplemental means of transportation.
3. Where there will be minimum public and environmental objections to the transfer
operations.
4. Where construction and operation will be economical
5. Additionally if the transfer station site is to be used for processing techniques
involving materials recovery and energy production, the requirement for those
operation must be considered.

❖ Route Optimization

Once the equipment and labor requirements are determined, collection routes must
be laid out so both the collectors and equipments are used effectively. In general the
layout of collection route involves a series of trial. There is no universal set of route
that can be applied for all the situations.

Some guidelines that should be taken into consideration when laying out routes are as
follows.

1. Existing policies and regulation related to such items as the point of collection
and frequency of collection must be identified.
2. Existing system characteristics such as crew, size and vehicle type must be co-
ordinated.
3. Whenever possible route should be laid down so that they begin and end near
arterial roads using topographical and physical barriers as route boundaries.
4. In hilly areas, route should start at the top of the grade and proceed downhill
as the vehicle is loaded.
5. Routes should be laid out so that the last container to be collected on the route
B located nearest to the disposal site.
6. Waste generated at traffic congested location should be collected as early as
possible.
7. Sources at which extremely large quantities should be serviced during the first
part of the day.

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8. Scattered pick up points where small quantities of solid waste generation that
receive the same collection frequency should if possible be serviced during
one trip or on the same day.

MODULE III

TREATMENT / PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

Processing Techniques

Processing techniques is used in solid waste

management. The purposes of processing essentially are

1. Improving efficiency of SWM system:

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 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.
 In some cases, wastes are baled to reduce the haul costs at disposal site where solid
wastes are compacted to use the available land effectively.

2. Recovering material for reuse:

Materials that have a market, when present in wastes in sufficient quantity can be
recovered from solid wastes include paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, ferrous metal,
aluminum and other residual metals.

3. 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
biodigestion.
Initially, the combustible organic matter is separated from the other solid waste components.
Once separated, further processing like shredding and drying is necessary before the
waste material can be used for power generation.

Processes used routinely to improve the efficiency of solid waste systems and to recover
materials are

1. Mechanical Volume Reduction (Compaction)

2. Chemical Volume Reduction ( Incineration)
3. Mechanical size reduction (Shredding)
4. Component Separation (Manual or Mechanical)

1. Mechanical Volume Reduction (Compaction)

Mechanical volume reduction is perhaps the most important factor in the development &
operation of solid waste management systems. Volume reduction is nothing but the
reduction of initial volume of waste by the application of force or pressure. In most cases
vehicles equipped with compaction mechanism are used for the compaction of the waste.

Some of the benefits of compaction include:

 To increase the useful life of landfills, wastes are compacted.

 Reduction in the quantity of materials to be handled at the disposal site;
 Improved efficiency of collection and disposal of wastes

Disadvantages associated with compaction:

 Poor quality of recyclable materials sorted out of compaction vehicle.

 Difficulty in segregation or sorting (since the various recyclable materials are
mixed and compressed in lumps)

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 Bio-degradable materials (e.g., leftover food, fruits and vegetables) destroy the
value of paper and plastic material.

Paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, tin cans are removed from solid waste for recycling and
baled to reduce the storage, handling and shipping costs.

Equipment used for compaction based on their mobility Stationary equipment

Movable equipment

1. Stationary equipment: Equipment in which wastes are brought to and loaded into
either manually or mechanically. The compaction mechanism used to compress waste in
a collection vehicle, is a stationary compactor.
 According to their application, stationary compactors can be described as light
duty (e.g., those used for residential areas), commercial or light industrial, heavy
industrial and transfer station compactors.
 Large stationary compactors are necessary, when wastes are to be compressed
into:
Steel containers that can be subsequently moved manually or mechanically; Chambers
where they are compressed into a block and then released and hauled away untied;
transport vehicles directly.

2. Movable equipment: This represents the wheeled and tracked equipment used to
place and compact solid wastes as in a sanitary landfill.
According to their compaction pressure, we can divide the compactors used at transfer
stations as follows:

High pressure compaction — recently a number of high pressure compaction systems have
been developed.

 In most of these systems specialized compaction equipment is used to produce compressed

solid waste blocks or bales of various sizes.
 In one system the size of the completed block is about 4inc*4inc*16inch.
 In other system pulverized wastes are extracted after compaction in the form of logs
approximately 9inch diameter.
 The Volume reduction achieved with this high pressure compaction system varies
with the characteristics of waste.

Low Pressure compaction — typically low pressure compactors include those used at
apartments and commercial establishment.
 Bailing equipment’s is used for waste papers, cardboard while stationery compactors
are used at transfer station.
 Portable stationery compactors are used increasingly by no of industries with
material recovery operation.

2. Mechanical size Reduction (Shredding)

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This is required to convert large sized wastes (as they are collected) into smaller pieces.
Size reduction helps in obtaining the final product in a reasonably uniform and
considerably reduced size in comparison to the original form.

 The objective of size reduction is to get a final product that is reasonably uniform and
considerably reduced when compared to its original form. In some situations the total
volume of the materials after size reduction may be greater than that of original volume.

Size Reduction Equipment

The types of equipment that can be used for reducing the size of homogenous solid waste includes
small grinder, chippers, big grinder, jaw crushers, hammer mills, shredders etc..

Types, mode of action and applications of equipment’s used for mechanical size
reduction.
Sl No Type Mode of action Application
1 Small Grinding, Organic residential solid waste
Grinder mashing
2 Chipper Cutting & slicing Paper, cardboard, tree trimming &
plastic
3 Large Grinding, Brittle materials ,used mostly in
grinder mashing inorganic operations

4 Jaw Crushing & Large solids

Crusher breaking
5 Rasp mills Shredding & Moistened solid waste most
tearing commonly used in municipal solid
waste.
6 Cutters, Shredding & All types of municipal waste
clippers tearing
7 Hammer Breaking, All types of municipal
mill tearing, cutting, waste, most common equipment for
crushing reducing size and homogenizing solid
waste.
8 Hydropul Shearing, tearing Ideally suited for use with pulpable
per waste like paper, wood chips etc
used primarily in the paper industry.

The most frequently used shredding equipment are the following:

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(i) Hammer mill:
 These are used most often in large commercial operations for reducing the size of
wastes.
 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.
 Solid wastes, as they enter the mill, are hit by sufficient force, which crush or
tearthem with a velocity so that they do not adhere to the hammers.
 Wastes are further reduced in size by being struck between breaker plates and/or
cutting bars fixed around the periphery of the inner chamber.
 This process of cutting and striking action continues, until the required size
ofmaterial is achieved and after that it falls out of the bottom of the mill.

ii.Hydro pulper
• An alternative method of size reduction involves the use of a hydropulper
• Solid wastes and recycled water are added to the hydropulper. The high speed
cutting blades, mounted on a rotor in the bottom of the unit, convert pulp able and
friable materials into slurry with a solid content varying from 2.5 to 3.5%.
• Metal, tins, cans and other non-pulp able or non-friable materials are rejected from
the side of the hydropulper tank.
• The rejected material passes down a chute that is connected to a bucket elevator,
while the solid slurry passes out through the bottom of the pulper tank and is pumped
to the next processing operation

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3. Component Separation
It is necessary operation in the recovery of resources from solid waste and where
energy and conversion product are to be recovered from processed waste. The required
separation may be accomplished manually or mechanically. When manual separation is used
preprocessing of waste is not required in most techniques, however some form of size
reduction is required as a first step.

A. Air separation
 This technique has been in use for a number of years in industrial operations for
segregating various components from dry mixture.
 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. Generally, there is also a need to separate the light fraction of
organic material from the conveying air streams, which is usually done in a
cyclone separator. In this technique, the heavy fraction is removed from the air
classifier (i.e., equipment used for air separation) to the recycling stage or to
land disposal, as appropriate.
 The light fraction may be used, with or without further size reduction, as fuel for
incinerators or as compost material. There are various types of air classifiers
commonly used, some of which are listed below:

1. Conventional chute type

 In this 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.
 The control of the percentage split between the light and heavy fraction is
accomplished by varying the waste loading rate, airflow rate and the cross
section of chute.

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 A rotary air lock feed mechanism is required to introduce the shredded wastes
into the classifier.

2. 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 column, while the heavy fraction falls to the bottom.
 Best separation can be achieved through proper design of the separation
chamber, airflow rate and influent feed rate.

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B. 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. When wastes are mass-fired in incinerators, the magnetic
separator is used to remove the ferrous material from the incinerator residue.
Magnetic recovery systems have also been used at landfill disposal sites.
 The specific locations, where ferrous materials are recovered will depend on the
objectives to be achieved, such as reduction of wear and tear on processing and
separation equipment, degree of product purity achieved and the required
recovery efficiency.

Equipment used for magnetic separation

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Various types of equipment are in use for the magnetic separation of ferrous materials.
The most common types are the following:

a) Suspended magnet: 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, where separators can
remove large pieces of ferrous metal easily from the waste stream.

a) 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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C. Screening
Screening is the most common form of separating solid wastes, depending on their size
by the use of one or more screening surfaces.
 Screening has a number of applications in solid waste resource and energy
recovery systems. 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.
 The most commonly used screens are rotary drum screens and various forms of
vibrating screens.
 Note that rotating wire screens with relatively large openings are used for
separation of cardboard and paper products, while vibrating screens and rotating
drum screens are typically used for the removal of glass and related materials
from the shredded solid wastes.

D. Heavy Media Separation — Although the removal of aluminum can be

accomplished in a number of different ways. Heavy media separation is the best
process for which the, greatest operating experience exists principally in the
automobile recovery industry.
 In this process the feedstock i.e. rich in aluminum such .as air classified solid waste
where in ferrous metals and glass has been removed, is dumped into a liquid
which has a high specific gravity.
 The specific gravity is maintained at higher level that will permit aluminum to float
and other materials remain submerged.
 At present the major disadvantage of this process is that the optimum size plant
requires about 2000 — 3000 tons per day of feed stock

E. Optical sorting - Optical sorting is used mostly to separate glass from the waste
stream, and this can be accomplished by identification of the transparent
properties of glass to sort it from opaque materials (e.g., stones, ceramics, bottle
caps, corks, etc.) in the waste stream.
 Optical sorting involves a compressed air blast that removes or separates the
glasses – plain or coloured.
 An optical sorting machinery is, however, complex and expensive

F. Hand Sorting- The manual separation of solid waste components are

accomplished at a source where solid waste is generated or at the disposal site.
 The number and types of components sorted depend on the location and the
resale market.
 Typically the components include newspaper, aluminum, and glass from
residential sources, cardboard, & high quality paper, metals, wood from
commercial & industrial source, metals, wood & bulky items of value from transfer
station & disposal site.
 Previewing of the waste stream and manual removal of large sized materials is

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necessary, prior to most types of separation or size reduction techniques.
 This is done to prevent damage or stoppage of equipment such as shredders or
screens, due to items such as rugs, pillows, mattresses, large metallic or
plastic objects, wood or other construction materials, paint cans, etc.

G. Electro Static Separation - High voltage electro static fields can be used to
separate glass from the heavy fraction of air classified waste.
A vibrating feedometer feeds waste to a negatively charged rotating drum.
Positive electrode near the drum and the feeder induces a charge in the waste
particles.
Nonconductors such as glass and clay retain the charge where as crystalline
materials such as rock loose it rapidly.
The drum holds nonconductor and the remaining materials drops off.

CHEMICAL VOLUME REDUCTION (INCINERATION)

Incineration can be defined as the controlled combustion process for burning of solid,
liquid waste to residue containing non-combustible materials.

Incineration is one of the chemical process used to reduce the volume of the solid waste
This process is also called as chemical volume reduction.

Incineration is a chemical reaction in which carbon, hydrogen and other elements in the
waste mix with oxygen in the combustion zone and generates heat.

At present it is one of the common method used to reduce the volume of waste
chemically, chemical process such as pyrolysis, hydrolysis and chemical conversion are
also effective in reducing the volume of waste.

Normally all the combustible matters such as garbage rubbish and dead animals are burnt
and the incombustible matters like chinaware, glass, metals etc. are left unburnt or
separated out for recycling and reuse before the burning of solid wastes.
The air requirements for combustion of solid wastes are considerable. For example,
approximately 5000 kg of air is required for each ton of solid wastes burned. Usually,
excess air is supplied to the incinerator to ensure complete mixing and combustion and to
regulate operating temperature and control emissions. Excess air requirements, however,
differ with moisture content of waste, heating values and the type of combustion
technology employed. The principal gas products of combustion are carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide, water, oxygen and oxides of nitrogen.

Many incinerators are designed to operate in the combustion zone of 900°C – 1100°C.
This temperature is selected to ensure good combustion, complete elimination of odors
and protection of the walls of the incinerator. Incinerator systems are designed to
maximize waste burn out and heat output, while minimizing emissions by balancing the

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oxygen (air) and the three “Ts”, i.e., time, temperature and turbulence. Complete
incineration of solid wastes produces virtually an inert residue, which constitutes about
10% of the initial weight and perhaps a larger reduction in volume. The residue is
generally landfilled.

Advantages of Incineration
 It is the only practical method of disposing of certain wastes such as unwanted
chemicals and contaminated material which cannot go to landfill. If incineration is
not available locally such material has to be exported.

 Significantly reduces the quantity of material that must go to landfill and

associated pollution risks.

 Produces useful energy from waste, reducing fossil fuel consumption and
resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emission.

 The costs, energy usage and GHG emissions can be lower than those in the
collection, transport and processing involved in recycling.

 Building incinerators in or close to urban areas reduces the cost of and emissions
from waste transport and means the waste is treated where it is generated.

Disadvantages of Incineration
 If incorrectly operated can lead to the release of harmful levels of pollutants.
Even in proper operation small amounts of fine particles and pollutants are
released. As the technology has matured emission levels have reduced
dramatically – in Germany in 2000 dioxin emissions were ~1/1000 th of the 1990
levels.

 Incineration of MSW produces relatively large amounts of fly ash (approximately

4% of original waste weight) which must be dumped in secure landfills.

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 Incineration could reduce the incentive to recycle. The energy content of waste
with all recyclable components removed is much less than unsegregated waste.
Incineration plants could compete with recycling for some materials.

 Incineration plants have a large initial capital cost and require long term contracts
to be viable. This could hamper the deployment of future more efficient waste
treatment technology.

3T'S of Incineration process

 Tim e
 Tem p eratu re
 Turb u l en ce

Time: some wastes are exposed for sufficient time to atmosphere for complete combustion.
Sufficient residence time must be allowed to achieve efficiency as well as to assure conversion
of products of incomplete combustion to desirable incinerator product.

Temperature: In any combustion process the temperature is the most significant factor in
ensuring proper disposal of the hazardous waste.

 The temperature that will ensure the destruction of was e & at the same time will allow for
cost effective operation.
 The temperature for incineration process varies from 550 to 1000°C. Temperature range is
controlled to be above 750°C to ensure adequate combustion and below 1000°C to prevent ash melting
and clogging the grate.
 The temperature is controlled by the addition of diluted air to the furnace as required.

Turbulence- Turbulence ensure the mixing of each volume of gas with sufficient air for
complete burning of combustible matter and suspended particulates The degree of
turbulence may be used effectively to attain desirable efficiency and decrease the operating
temperature and time requirement.

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COMPOSTING

1. Briefly explain the disposal methods of E-waste

2. List and explain the physical and chemical parameters affecting the energy recovery in
SWM
3. What are the gases generated in landfills? Explain the methods for control of gas
movement in landfills.
4. Briefly explain the hazards associated with poor biomedical waste management.
5. Write a note on collection of E-waste and its recycling.

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