SUPERFUND TREATABILITY CLEARINGHOUSE: ADVANCED ELECTRIC REACTOR (AER) FOR THE TREATMENT OF DIOXIN- CONTAMINATED SOILS

EPA Science Inventory

This newsletter reports on the Huber Technology Groups (HTG) high temperature advanced hazardous waste treatment technology capable of very high destruction and removal efficiencies of various hazardous wastes. This newsletter addresses the destruction of PCBs in an EPA certifi...

Managing resources and reducing waste in healthcare settings.

PubMed

Minogue, Virginia; Wells, Bill

2016-05-18

The NHS is under pressure to increase its effectiveness and productivity. Nurses are tasked with delivering effective and efficient care, as well as improving patient safety, experiences and results. The reduction of waste in service delivery, care and treatment can release time and resources for nurses to engage in direct patient care. Nurses have an important role in reducing waste and influencing other professionals in the healthcare environment to increase their efficiency and productivity.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Belsher, Jeremy D.; Pierson, Kayla L.; Gimpel, Rod F.

The Hanford site in southeast Washington contains approximately 207 million liters of radioactive and hazardous waste stored in 177 underground tanks. The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of River Protection is currently managing the Hanford waste treatment mission, which includes the storage, retrieval, treatment and disposal of the tank waste. Two recent studies, employing the modeling tools managed by the One System organization, have highlighted waste cleanup mission sensitivities. The Hanford Tank Waste Operations Simulator Sensitivity Study evaluated the impact that varying 21 different parameters had on the Hanford Tank Waste Operations Simulator model. It concluded that inaccuracies in themore » predicted phase partitioning of a few key components can result in significant changes in the waste treatment duration and in the amount of immobilized high-level waste that is produced. In addition, reducing the efficiency with which tank waste is retrieved and staged can increase mission duration. The 2012 WTP Tank Utilization Assessment concluded that flowsheet models need to include the latest low-activity waste glass algorithms or the waste treatment mission duration and the amount of low activity waste that is produced could be significantly underestimated. (authors)« less

The cost benefit and efficiency of waste water treatment using domestic ponds—the ultimate solution in Southern Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ntengwe, F. W.

Wastewater treatment has become a challenge to most countries in Southern Africa because of the fluctuating economies that have been hit by high levels of debts. The treatment of domestic wastewater using ponds, if carefully utilized, as has been observed in most countries in the world, is the most cost effective means of handling wastewaters. When compared to the conventional use of treatment plants, the ponds have been observed to be the ultimate solution for the countries in Southern Africa especially those that are classified as Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) because of little or no operating costs associated with the treatment. The study conducted on Kitwe Waste Water Treatment Ponds to evaluate the cost benefit and efficiencies has revealed low levels of operating cost and high removal efficiencies of oxygen demanding wastes (BOD removal of 86% and TSS removal of 75%), pH values ranged from 7 to 8 indicating an increasing alkalinity from facultative to maturation ponds while other parameters such as nitrates, phosphates and temperature were found to be within acceptable levels thereby releasing effluent that makes the environment sustainable. The overall social benefit was found to be much higher than the operating costs.

Bioelectricity production from food waste leachate using microbial fuel cells: effect of NaCl and pH.

PubMed

Li, Xiao Min; Cheng, Ka Yu; Wong, Jonathan W C

2013-12-01

Microbial fuel cells are a promising technology for simultaneous treatment and energy recovery from food waste leachate. This study evaluates the effects of NaCl (0-150 mM) and pH on the treatment of food waste leachate using microbial fuel cells. The food waste leachate amended with 100mM NaCl enabled the highest maximum power density (1000 mW/m(3)) and lowest internal resistance (371Ω). Increasing the anodic pH gradually from acidic to alkaline conditions (pH 4-9) resulted in a gradual increase in maximum power density to 9956 mW/m(3) and decrease in internal cell resistance to 35.3Ω. The coulombic efficiency obtained under acidic conditions was only 17.8%, but increased significantly to 60.0% and 63.4% in the neutral and alkaline pH's MFCs, respectively. Maintaining a narrow pH window (6.3-7.6) was essential for efficient bioelectricity production and COD removal using microbial fuel cells for the treatment of food waste leachate. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incineration or autoclave? A comparative study in isfahan hospitals waste management system (2010).

PubMed

Ferdowsi, Ali; Ferdosi, Masoud; Mehrani, Mohammd Javad

2013-03-01

Medical wastes are among hazardous wastes and their disposal requires special methods prior to landfilling. Medical wastes are divided into infected and non-infected wastes and the infected wastes require treatment. Incineration is one of the oldest methods for treatment of medical wastes, but their usage have faced wide objections due to emission of hazardous gases such as CO2 and CO as well as Carcinogenic gases such as Dioxins and Furans which are generated as a result of incomplete combustion of compositions like PVCs. Autoclave is one the newest methods of medical wastes treatment which works based on wet disinfection. The statistical population in this descriptive, comparative study includes hospitals located in Isfahan city and the sample hospitals were selected randomly. To environmentally evaluate the Autoclave method, TST (time, steam, temperature) and Spore tests were used. Also, samples were made from incinerator's stack gases and their analyses results were compared with WHO standards. TST and spore tests results were negative in all cases indicating the success of treatment process. The comparison of incinerator's stack gases with WHO standards showed the high concentration of CO in some samples indicating the incomplete combustion. Also, the incineration efficiency in some cases was less than 99.5 percent, which is the efficiency criterion according to the administrative regulations of wastes management law of Iran. No needle stick was observed in Autoclave method during the compaction of bags containing wastes, and the handlers were facing no danger in this respect. The comparison of costs indicated that despite higher capital investment for purchasing autoclave, its current costs (e.g. maintenance, etc) are much less than the incineration method. Totally, due to inappropriate operation of incinerators and lack of air pollution control devices, the use of incinerators doesn't seem rational anymore. Yet, despite the inefficiency of autoclaves in treatment of bulky wastes such as Anatomical wastes, their usage seems logic considering the very low amounts of such wastes. Also, considering the amount of generated wastes in Isfahan hospitals, a combination of centralized and non-centralized autoclaves is recommended for treatment of infected wastes. Mobile autoclaves may also be considered according to technical and economical conditions. It must not be forgotten that the priority must be given to the establishment of waste management systems particularly to personnel training to produce less wastes and to well separate them.

Efficiency of energy recovery from municipal solid waste and the resultant effect on the greenhouse gas balance.

PubMed

Gohlke, Oliver

2009-11-01

Global warming is a focus of political interest and life-cycle assessment of waste management systems reveals that energy recovery from municipal solid waste is a key issue. This paper demonstrates how the greenhouse gas effects of waste treatment processes can be described in a simplified manner by considering energy efficiency indicators. For evaluation to be consistent, it is necessary to use reasonable system boundaries and to take the generation of electricity and the use of heat into account. The new European R1 efficiency criterion will lead to the development and implementation of optimized processes/systems with increased energy efficiency which, in turn, will exert an influence on the greenhouse gas effects of waste management in Europe. Promising technologies are: the increase of steam parameters, reduction of in-plant energy consumption, and the combined use of heat and power. Plants in Brescia and Amsterdam are current examples of good performance with highly efficient electricity generation. Other examples of particularly high heat recovery rates are the energy-from-waste (EfW) plants in Malmö and Gothenburg. To achieve the full potential of greenhouse gas reduction in waste management, it is necessary to avoid landfilling combustible wastes, for example, by means of landfill taxes and by putting incentives in place for increasing the efficiency of EfW systems.

Experimental digester facility modifications and digester gas upgrading research

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Srivastava, V.J.; Biljetina, R.; Akin, C.

1989-01-01

The Institute of Gas Technology (IGT) has been participating in an experimental program at the Community Waste Research Facility (CWRF) located at the Walt Disney World Resort Complex, Orlando, Florida. Four institutions have formed a team to provide solutions to community waste treatment and disposal programs. Of primary importance to this research effort is the implementation of low-cost, energy-efficient waste treatment and recovery technologies and the net production of energy (methane) from biomass and waste resources. The production of methane is being studied in a novel, high-rate digester. During 1988, we were responsible for modifying the Experimental Test Unit (ETU)more » to permit dry solids feeding of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and for conducting bench-scale experiments to evaluate techniques for efficient removal of carbon dioxide produced during anaerobic digestion.« less

The occurrence of cyanobacteria in pulp and paper waste-treatment systems.

PubMed

Kirkwood, A E; Nalewajko, C; Fulthorpe, R R

2001-08-01

Pulp and paper secondary waste-treatment systems in Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S.A. contained dynamic cyanobacterial communities, some of which exceeded heterotrophic bacterial biomass. No other viable photoautotrophic populations were detected in the ponds. Regardless of geographical location, Oscillatoriales including Phormidium, Geitlerinema, and Pseudanabaena were the dominant taxa. As well, Chroococcus (Chroococcales) was an important genus in Brazil and New Zealand. The possible impact of cyanobacteria on waste-treatment efficiency deserves further study given their large biomass and diverse metabolic characteristics.

Destruction kinetic of PCDDs/Fs in MSWI fly ash using microwave peroxide oxidation.

PubMed

Chang, Yu-Min; Fang, Wen-Bin; Tsai, Kuo-Sheng; Kao, Jimmy C M; Lin, Kae-Long; Chen, Ching-Ho

2015-01-01

Microwave peroxide oxidation is a less greenhouse gas emission and energy-efficient technology to destroy toxic organic compounds in hazardous waste. The research novelty is to adopt the innovative microwave peroxide oxidation in H2SO4/HNO3 solution to efficiently destroy the polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs)/Fs in municipal solid waste incineration fly ash. The major objective of this paper is to study dynamic destruction of PCDDs/Fs using the microwave peroxide oxidation. Almost all PCDDs/Fs in the raw fly ash can be destructed in 120 min at a temperature of 423 K using the microwave peroxide oxidation treatment. It was found that the microwave peroxide oxidation provides the potential to destruct the PCDDs/Fs content in municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) fly ash to a low level as a function of treatment time. A useful kinetic correlation between destruction efficiency and treatment conditions is proposed on the basis of the experimental data obtained in this study. The significance of this work in terms of practical engineering applications is that the necessary minimum treatment time can be solved using a proposed graphic illustration method, by which the minimum treatment time is obtained if the desired destruction efficiency and treatment temperature are known. Because of inorganic salt dissolution, the temperature would be a critical factor facilitating the parts of fly ash dissolution. Material loss problem caused by the microwave peroxide oxidation and the effects of treatment time and temperature are also discussed in this paper.

Integration of Cleaner Production and Waste Water Treatment on Tofu Small Industry for Biogas Production using AnSBR Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahayu, Suparni Setyowati; Budiyono; Purwanto

2018-02-01

A research on developing a system that integrates clean production and waste water treatment for biogas production in tofu small industry has been conducted. In this research, tofu waste water was turned into biogas using an AnSBR reactor. Mud from the sewage system serves as the inoculums. This research involved: (1) workshop; (2) supervising; (3) technical meeting; (4) network meeting, and (5) technical application. Implementation of clean production integrated with waste water treatment reduced the amount of waste water to be treated in a treatment plant. This means less cost for construction and operation of waste water treatment plants, as inherent limitations associated with such plants like lack of fund, limited area, and technological issues are inevitable. Implementation of clean production prior to waste water treatment reduces pollution figures down to certain levels that limitations in waste water treatment plants can be covered. Results show that biogas in 16 days HRT in an AnSBR reactor contains CH4(78.26 %) and CO2 (20.16 %). Meanwhile, treatments using a conventional bio-digester result in biogas with 72.16 % CH4 and 18.12 % CO2. Hence, biogas efficiency for the AnSBR system is 2.14 times greater than that of a conventional bio-digester.

Post-anaerobic digestion thermal hydrolysis of sewage sludge and food waste: Effect on methane yields, dewaterability and solids reduction.

PubMed

Svensson, Kine; Kjørlaug, Oda; Higgins, Matthew J; Linjordet, Roar; Horn, Svein J

2018-04-01

Post-anaerobic digestion (PAD) treatment technologies have been suggested for anaerobic digestion (AD) to improve process efficiency and assure hygenization of organic waste. Because AD reduces the amount of organic waste, PAD can be applied to a much smaller volume of waste compared to pre-digestion treatment, thereby improving efficiency. In this study, dewatered digestate cakes from two different AD plants were thermally hydrolyzed and dewatered, and the liquid fraction was recirculated to a semi-continuous AD reactor. The thermal hydrolysis was more efficient in relation to methane yields and extent of dewaterability for the cake from a plant treating waste activated sludge, than the cake from a plant treating source separated food waste (SSFW). Temperatures above 165 °C yielded the best results. Post-treatment improved volumetric methane yields by 7% and the COD-reduction increased from 68% to 74% in a mesophilic (37 °C) semi-continuous system despite lowering the solid retention time (from 17 to 14 days) compared to a conventional system with pre-treatment of feed substrates at 70 °C. Results from thermogravimetric analysis showed an expected increase in maximum TS content of dewatered digestate cake from 34% up to 46% for the SSFW digestate cake, and from 17% up to 43% in the sludge digestate cake, after the PAD thermal hydrolysis process (PAD-THP). The increased dewatering alone accounts for a reduction in wet mass of cake leaving the plant of 60% in the case of sludge digestate cake. Additionaly, the increased VS-reduction will contribute to further reduce the mass of wet cake. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Demonstration of Plasma Arc Environmental Technology Applications for the Demilitrization of DOD Stockpiles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Ed; Dee, P. E.; Zaghloul, Hany; Filius, Krag; Rivers, Tim

2000-01-01

Since 1989 the US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories (USACERL) have been active participants in the research and development towards establishing Plasma Arc Technology (PAT) as an efficient, economical, and safe hazardous waste immobilization tool. A plasma torch capable of generating high temperatures makes this technology a viable and powerful tool for the thermal destruction of various military industrial waste streams into an innocuous ceramic material no longer requiring hazardous waste landfill disposal. The emerging plasma environmental thermal treatment process has been used to safely and efficiently meet the waste disposal needs for various demilitarized components disposal needs, such as: (1) pyrotechnic smoke assemblies, (2) thermal batteries, (3) proximity fuses, (4) cartridge actuated devices (CADs), and (5) propellant actuated devices (PADs). MSE Technology Applications, Inc., (MSE) has proposed and fabricated a Mobile Plasma Treatment System to be a technology demonstrator for pilotscale mobile plasma waste processing. The system is capable of providing small-scale waste remediation services, and conducting waste stream applicability demonstrations. The Mobile Plasma Treatment System's innovative concept provides the flexibility to treat waste streams at numerous sites and sites with only a limited quantity of waste, yet too hazardous to transport to a regional fixed facility. The system was designed to be operated as skid mounted modules; consisting of a furnace module, controls module, offgas module, and ancillary systems module. All system components have been integrated to be operated from a single control station with both semi-continuous feeding and batch slag-pouring capability.

Demonstration of Plasma Arc Environmental Technology Applications for the Demilitarization of DOD Stockpiles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Ed; Zaghloul, Hany; Filius, Krag; Rivers, Tim

2000-01-01

Since 1989 the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories (USACERL) have been active participants in the research and development toward establishing Plasma Arc Technology (PAT) as an efficient, economical, and safe hazardous waste immobilization tool. A plasma torch capable of generating high temperatures makes this technology a viable and powerful tool for the thermal destruction of various military industrial waste streams into an innocuous ceramic material no longer requiring hazardous waste landfill (Class 1) disposal. The emerging pl asma environmental thermal treatment process, has been used to safely and efficiently meet the waste disposal needs for various demilitarized components disposal needs, such as: pyrotechnic smoke assemblies, thermal batteries, proximity fuses, cartridge actuated devices (CAD's), and propellant actuated devices (PAD's). MSE Technology Applications, Inc., (MSE) has proposed and fabricated a Mobile Plasma Treatment System to be a technology demonstrator for pilot-scale mobile plasma waste processing. The system is capable of providing small-scale waste remediation services, and conducting waste stream applicability demonstrations. The Mobile Plasma Treatment System's innovative concept provides the flexibility to treat waste streams at numerous sites and sites with only a limited quantity of waste, yet too hazardous to transport to a regional fixed facility. The system was designed to be operated as skid mounted modules; consisting of a furnace module, controls module, offgas module, and ancillary systems module. All system components have been integrated to be operated from a single control station with both semi-continuous feeding and batch slag-pouring capability.

Greenhouse gas emissions of different waste treatment options for sector-specific commercial and industrial waste in Germany.

PubMed

Helftewes, Markus; Flamme, Sabine; Nelles, Michael

2012-04-01

This article investigates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from commercial and industrial (C&I) waste treatment considering five sector-specific waste compositions and four different treatment scenarios in Germany. Results show that the highest share of CO₂-equivalent emissions can be avoided in each of the analysed industrial sectors if solid recovered fuel (SRF) is produced for co-incineration in cement kilns. Across all industries, emissions of approximately 680 kg CO₂-eq. Mg⁻¹ C&I waste can be avoided on average under this scenario. The combustion of C&I waste in waste incineration plants without any previous mechanical treatment generates the lowest potential to avoid GHG emissions with a value of approximately 50 kg CO₂-eq. Mg⁻¹ C&I waste on average in all industries. If recyclables are sorted, this can save emissions of approximately 280 kg CO₂-eq. Mg⁻¹ C&I waste while the treatment in SRF power plants amounts to savings of approximately 210 kg CO₂-eq. Mg⁻¹ C&I waste. A comparison of the treatment scenarios of the waste from these five sectors shows that waste treatment of the craft sector leads to the lowest CO₂-equivalent reduction rates of all scenarios. In contrast, the treatment of waste from catering sector leads to the highest CO₂-equivalent reduction rates except for direct incineration in waste incineration plants. The sensitivity analysis of the different scenarios for this paper shows that the efficiency and the substitution factor of energy have a relevant influence on the result. Changes in the substitution factor of 10% can result in changes in emissions of approximately 55 to 75 kg CO₂-eq. Mg⁻¹ in waste incineration plants and approximately 90 kg CO₂-eq. Mg⁻¹ in the case of cement kilns.

Treatment of electronic waste to recover metal values using thermal plasma coupled with acid leaching--a response surface modeling approach.

PubMed

Rath, Swagat S; Nayak, Pradeep; Mukherjee, P S; Roy Chaudhury, G; Mishra, B K

2012-03-01

The global crisis of the hazardous electronic waste (E-waste) is on the rise due to increasing usage and disposal of electronic devices. A process was developed to treat E-waste in an environmentally benign process. The process consisted of thermal plasma treatment followed by recovery of metal values through mineral acid leaching. In the thermal process, the E-waste was melted to recover the metal values as a metallic mixture. The metallic mixture was subjected to acid leaching in presence of depolarizer. The leached liquor mainly contained copper as the other elements like Al and Fe were mostly in alloy form as per the XRD and phase diagram studies. Response surface model was used to optimize the conditions for leaching. More than 90% leaching efficiency at room temperature was observed for Cu, Ni and Co with HCl as the solvent, whereas Fe and Al showed less than 40% efficiency. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Purification of complicated industrial organic waste gas by complex absorption].

PubMed

Chen, Ding-Sheng; Cen, Chao-Ping; Tang, Zhi-Xiong; Fang, Ping; Chen, Zhi-Hang

2011-12-01

Complicated industrial organic waste gas with the characteristics of low concentration,high wind volume containing inorganic dust and oil was employed the research object by complex absorption. Complex absorption mechanism, process flow, purification equipment and engineering application were studied. Three different surfactants were prepared for the composite absorbent to purify exhaust gas loaded with toluene and butyl acetate, respectively. Results show that the low surface tension of the composite absorbent can improve the removal efficiency of toluene and butyl acetate. With the advantages of the water film, swirl plate and fill absorption device, efficient absorption equipment was developed for the treatment of complicated industrial organic waste gas. It is with superiorities of simple structure, small size, anti-jam and high mass transfer. Based on absorption technology, waste gas treatment process integrated with heating stripping, burning and anaerobic and other processes, so that emissions of waste gas and absorption solution could meet the discharge standards. The technology has been put into practice, such as manufacturing and spraying enterprises.

Simultaneous improvement of waste gas purification and nitrogen removal using a novel aerated vertical flow constructed wetland.

PubMed

Zhang, Xinwen; Hu, Zhen; Ngo, Huu Hao; Zhang, Jian; Guo, Wenshan; Liang, Shuang; Xie, Huijun

2018-03-01

Insufficient oxygen supply is identified as one of the major factors limiting organic pollutant and nitrogen (N) removal in constructed wetlands (CWs). This study designed a novel aerated vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW) using waste gas from biological wastewater treatment systems to improve pollutant removal in CWs, its potential in purifying waste gas was also identified. Compared with unaerated VFCW, the introduction of waste gas significantly improved NH 4 + -N and TN removal efficiencies by 128.48 ± 3.13% and 59.09 ± 2.26%, respectively. Furthermore, the waste gas ingredients, including H 2 S, NH 3 , greenhouse gas (N 2 O) and microbial aerosols, were remarkably reduced after passing through the VFCW. The removal efficiencies of H 2 S, NH 3 and N 2 O were 77.78 ± 3.46%, 52.17 ± 2.53%, and 87.40 ± 3.89%, respectively. In addition, the bacterial and fungal aerosols in waste gas were effectively removed with removal efficiencies of 42.72 ± 3.21% and 47.89 ± 2.82%, respectively. Microbial analysis results revealed that the high microbial community abundance in the VFCW, caused by the introduction of waste gas from the sequencing batch reactor (SBR), led to its optimized nitrogen transformation processes. These results suggested that the VFCW intermittently aerated with waste gas may have potential application for purifying wastewater treatment plant effluent and waste gas, simultaneously. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy performance of an integrated bio-and-thermal hybrid system for lignocellulosic biomass waste treatment.

PubMed

Kan, Xiang; Yao, Zhiyi; Zhang, Jingxin; Tong, Yen Wah; Yang, Wenming; Dai, Yanjun; Wang, Chi-Hwa

2017-03-01

Lignocellulosic biomass waste, a heterogeneous complex of biodegradables and non-biodegradables, accounts for large proportion of municipal solid waste. Due to limitation of single-stage treatment, a two-stage hybrid AD-gasification system was proposed in this work, in which AD acted as pre-treatment to convert biodegradables into biogas followed by gasification converting solid residue into syngas. Energy performance of single and two-stage systems treating 3 typical lignocellulosic wastes was studied using both experimental and numerical methods. In comparison with conventional single-stage gasification treatment, this hybrid system could significantly improve the quality of produced gas for all selected biomass wastes and show its potential in enhancing total gas energy production by a maximum value of 27% for brewer's spent grain treatment at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 3gVS/L/day. The maximum overall efficiency of the hybrid system for horticultural waste treatment was 75.2% at OLR of 11.3gVS/L/day, 5.5% higher than conventional single-stage system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards increased recycling of household waste: Documenting cascading effects and material efficiency of commingled recyclables and biowaste collection.

PubMed

Cimpan, Ciprian; Rothmann, Marianne; Hamelin, Lorie; Wenzel, Henrik

2015-07-01

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management remains a challenge, even in Europe where several countries now possess capacity to treat all arising MSW, while others still rely on unsustainable disposal pathways. In the former, strategies to reach higher recycling levels are affecting existing waste-to-energy (WtE) treatment infrastructure, by inducing additional overcapacity and this in turn rebounds as pressure on the waste and recyclable materials markets. This study addresses such situations by documenting the effects, in terms of resource recovery, global warming potential (GWP) and cumulative energy demand (CED), of a transition from a self-sufficient waste management system based on minimal separate collection and efficient WtE, towards a system with extended separate collection of recyclable materials and biowaste. In doing so, it tackles key questions: (1) whether recycling and biological treatment are environmentally better compared to highly efficient WtE, and (2) what are the implications of overcapacity-related cascading effects, namely waste import, when included in the comparison of alternative waste management systems. System changes, such as the implementation of kerbside separate collection of recyclable materials were found to significantly increase material recovery, besides leading to substantial GWP and CED savings in comparison to the WtE-based system. Bio-waste separate collection contributed with additional savings when co-digested with manure, and even more significantly when considering future renewable energy background systems reflecting the benefits induced by the flexible use of biogas. Given the current liberalization of trade in combustible waste in Europe, waste landfilling was identified as a short-to-medium-term European-wide waste management marginal reacting to overcapacity effects induced by the implementation of increased recycling strategies. When waste import and, consequently, avoided landfilling were included in the system boundary, additional savings of up to 700 kg CO2 eq. and 16 GJ eq. of primary energy per tonne of imported waste were established. Conditions, such as energy recovery efficiency, and thresholds beyond which import-related savings potentially turn into GWP burdens were also determined. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incineration or Autoclave? A Comparative Study in Isfahan Hospitals Waste Management System (2010)

PubMed Central

Ferdowsi, Ali; Ferdosi, Masoud; Mehrani, Mohammd Javad

2013-01-01

Introduction: Medical wastes are among hazardous wastes and their disposal requires special methods prior to landfilling. Medical wastes are divided into infected and non-infected wastes and the infected wastes require treatment. Incineration is one of the oldest methods for treatment of medical wastes, but their usage have faced wide objections due to emission of hazardous gases such as CO2 and CO as well as Carcinogenic gases such as Dioxins and Furans which are generated as a result of incomplete combustion of compositions like PVCs. Autoclave is one the newest methods of medical wastes treatment which works based on wet disinfection. Methods: The statistical population in this descriptive, comparative study includes hospitals located in Isfahan city and the sample hospitals were selected randomly. To environmentally evaluate the Autoclave method, TST (time, steam, temperature) and Spore tests were used. Also, samples were made from incinerator’s stack gases and their analyses results were compared with WHO standards. Findings: TST and spore tests results were negative in all cases indicating the success of treatment process. The comparison of incinerator’s stack gases with WHO standards showed the high concentration of CO in some samples indicating the incomplete combustion. Also, the incineration efficiency in some cases was less than 99.5 percent, which is the efficiency criterion according to the administrative regulations of wastes management law of Iran. No needle stick was observed in Autoclave method during the compaction of bags containing wastes, and the handlers were facing no danger in this respect. The comparison of costs indicated that despite higher capital investment for purchasing autoclave, its current costs (e.g. maintenance, etc) are much less than the incineration method. Discussion: Totally, due to inappropriate operation of incinerators and lack of air pollution control devices, the use of incinerators doesn’t seem rational anymore. Yet, despite the inefficiency of autoclaves in treatment of bulky wastes such as Anatomical wastes, their usage seems logic considering the very low amounts of such wastes. Also, considering the amount of generated wastes in Isfahan hospitals, a combination of centralized and non-centralized autoclaves is recommended for treatment of infected wastes. Mobile autoclaves may also be considered according to technical and economical conditions. It must not be forgotten that the priority must be given to the establishment of waste management systems particularly to personnel training to produce less wastes and to well separate them. PMID:23678340

Synthesis of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS)-modified activated carbon from risk husk for waste lead (Pb) removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Latief, D. N.; Arnelli, Astuti, Y.

2015-12-01

Surfactant-modified active carbon (SMAC) has been successfully synthesized from waste rice husk using a series of treatments i.e. carbonization, activation with H3PO4 and surface modification using sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). The synthesized SMAC was characterized using SEM-EDX and FTIR. The adsorption results show that the SMAC synthesized using H3PO4 treatment for 8 hours followed with SLS treatment for 5 hours had efficiency and capacity of the waste lead removal of 99.965% and 0.499825 mg.g-1, respectively.

Dangerous Waste Characteristics of Waste from Hanford Tank 241-S-109

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tingey, Joel M.; Bryan, Garry H.; Deschane, Jaquetta R.

2004-11-05

Existing analytical data from samples taken from Hanford Tank 241-S-109, along with process knowledge of the wastes transferred to this tank, are reviewed to determine whether dangerous waste characteristics currently assigned to all waste in Hanford underground storage tanks are applicable to this tank waste. Supplemental technologies are examined to accelerate the Hanford tank waste cleanup mission and to accomplish the waste treatment in a safer and more efficient manner. The goals of supplemental technologies are to reduce costs, conserve double-shell tank space, and meet the scheduled tank waste processing completion date of 2028.

Geographic information system-based healthcare waste management planning for treatment site location and optimal transportation routeing.

PubMed

Shanmugasundaram, Jothiganesh; Soulalay, Vongdeuane; Chettiyappan, Visvanathan

2012-06-01

In Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), a growth of healthcare centres, and the environmental hazards and public health risks typically accompanying them, increased the need for healthcare waste (HCW) management planning. An effective planning of an HCW management system including components such as the treatment plant siting and an optimized routeing system for collection and transportation of waste is deemed important. National government offices at developing countries often lack the proper tools and methodologies because of the high costs usually associated with them. However, this study attempts to demonstrate the use of an inexpensive GIS modelling tool for healthcare waste management in the country. Two areas were designed for this study on HCW management, including: (a) locating centralized treatment plants and designing optimum travel routes for waste collection from nearby healthcare facilities; and (b) utilizing existing hospital incinerators and designing optimum routes for collecting waste from nearby healthcare facilities. Spatial analysis paved the way to understand the spatial distribution of healthcare wastes and to identify hotspots of higher waste generating locations. Optimal route models were designed for collecting and transporting HCW to treatment plants, which also highlights constraints in collecting and transporting waste for treatment and disposal. The proposed model can be used as a decision support tool for the efficient management of hospital wastes by government healthcare waste management authorities and hospitals.

Recycling acetic acid from polarizing film of waste liquid crystal display panels by sub/supercritical water treatments.

PubMed

Wang, Ruixue; Chen, Ya; Xu, Zhenming

2015-05-19

Waste liquid crystal display (LCD) panels mainly contain inorganic materials (glass substrate) and organic materials (polarizing film and liquid crystal). The organic materials should be removed first since containing polarizing film and liquid crystal is to the disadvantage of the indium recycling process. In the present study, an efficient and environmentally friendly process to obtain acetic acid from waste LCD panels by sub/supercritical water treatments is investigated. Furthermore, a well-founded reaction mechanism is proposed. Several highlights of this study are summarized as follows: (i) 99.77% of organic matters are removed, which means the present technology is quite efficient to recycle the organic matters; (ii) a yield of 78.23% acetic acid, a quite important fossil energy based chemical product is obtained, which can reduce the consumption of fossil energy for producing acetic acid; (iii) supercritical water acts as an ideal solvent, a requisite reactant as well as an efficient acid-base catalyst, and this is quite significant in accordance with the "Principles of Green Chemistry". In a word, the organic matters of waste LCD panels are recycled without environmental pollution. Meanwhile, this study provides new opportunities for alternating fossil-based chemical products for sustainable development, converting "waste" into "fossil-based chemicals".

Effect of aeration rate and waste load on evolution of volatile fatty acids and waste stabilization during thermophilic aerobic digestion of a model high strength agricultural waste.

PubMed

Ugwuanyi, J Obeta; Harvey, L M; McNeil, B

2005-04-01

Thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) is a relatively new, dynamic and versatile low technology for the economic processing of high strength waste slurries. Waste so treated may be safely disposed of or reused. In this work a model high strength agricultural waste, potato peel, was subjected to TAD to study the effects of oxygen supply at 0.1, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 vvm (volume air per volume slurry per minute) under batch conditions at 55 degrees C for 156 h on the process. Process pH was controlled at 7.0 or left unregulated. Effects of waste load, as soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD), on TAD were studied at 4.0, 8.0, 12.0 and 16.0 gl(-1) (soluble COD) at pH 7.0, 0.5 vvm and 55 degrees C. Efficiency of treatment, as degradation of total solids, total suspended solids and soluble solid, as well as soluble COD significantly increased with aeration rate, while acetate production increased as the aeration rate decreased or waste load increased, signifying deterioration in treatment. Negligible acetate, and no other acids were produced at 1.0 vvm. Production of propionate and other acids increased after acetate concentration had started to decrease and, during unregulated reactions coincided with the drop in the pH of the slurry. Acetate production was more closely associated with periods of oxygen limitation than were other acids. Reduction in oxygen availability led to deterioration in treatment efficiency as did increase in waste load. These variables may be manipulated to control treated waste quality.

SUPERFUND TREATABILITY CLEARINGHOUSE ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This newsletter reports on the Huber Technology Groups (HTG) high temperature advanced hazardous waste treatment technology capable of very high destruction and removal efficiencies of various hazardous wastes. This newsletter addresses the destruction of PCBs in an EPA certification test of the HTG Advanced Electric Reactor. provide information

Evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of the thermo-treatment process to dispose of recombinant DNA waste from biological research laboratories.

PubMed

Li, Meng-Nan; Zheng, Guang-Hong; Wang, Lei; Xiao, Wei; Fu, Xiao-Hua; Le, Yi-Quan; Ren, Da-Ming

2009-01-01

The discharge of recombinant DNA waste from biological laboratories into the eco-system may be one of the pathways resulting in horizontal gene transfer or "gene pollution". Heating at 100 degrees C for 5-10 min is a common method for treating recombinant DNA waste in biological research laboratories in China. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness and the safety of the thermo-treatment method in the disposal of recombinant DNA waste. Quantitative PCR, plasmid transformation and electrophoresis technology were used to evaluate the decay/denaturation efficiency during the thermo-treatment process of recombinant plasmid, pET-28b. Results showed that prolonging thermo-treatment time could improve decay efficiency of the plasmid, and its decay half-life was 2.7-4.0 min during the thermo-treatment at 100 degrees C. However, after 30 min of thermo-treatment some transforming activity remained. Higher ionic strength could protect recombinant plasmid from decay during the treatment process. These results indicate that thermo-treatment at 100 degrees C cannot decay and inactivate pET-28b completely. In addition, preliminary results showed that thermo-treated recombinant plasmids were not degraded completely in a short period when they were discharged into an aquatic environment. This implies that when thermo-treated recombinant DNAs are discharged into the eco-system, they may have enough time to re-nature and transform, thus resulting in gene diffusion.

Treatment of hazardous waste landfill leachate using Fenton oxidation process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singa, Pradeep Kumar; Hasnain Isa, Mohamed; Ho, Yeek-Chia; Lim, Jun-Wei

2018-03-01

The efficiency of Fenton's oxidation was assessed in this study for hazardous waste landfill leachate treatment. The two major reagents, which are generally employed in Fenton's process are H2O2 as oxidizing agent and Fe2+ as catalyst. Batch experiments were conducted to determine the effect of experimental conditions viz., reaction time, molar ratio, and Fenton reagent dosages, which are significant parameters that influence the degradation efficiencies of Fenton process were examined. It was found that under the favorable experimental conditions, maximum COD removal was 56.49%. The optimum experimental conditions were pH=3, H2O2/Fe2+ molar ratio = 3 and reaction time = 150 minutes. The optimal amount of hydrogen peroxide and iron were 0.12 mol/L and 0.04 mol/L respectively. High dosages of H2O2 and iron resulted in scavenging effects on OH• radicals and lowered degradation efficiency of organic compounds in the hazardous waste landfill leachate.

Performance of mechanical biological treatment of residual municipal waste in Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

den Boer, Emilia; Jędrczak, Andrzej

2017-11-01

The number and capacity of mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) plants in Europe increased significantly in the past two decades as a response to the legal obligation to limit the landfilling of biodegradable waste in landfills and to increase recycling and energy recovery from waste. The aim of these plants is to prepare residual municipal waste for recovery and disposal operations, including especially separation and stabilization of the easily biodegradable fraction (the biofraction). The final products of MBP technology are recyclables, stabilate, high calorific fraction which is used for the production of refuse derived fuel (RDF) and the remaining residual fraction. The shares of the output fractions, especially of the recyclables and RDF determine the overall efficiency of MBT technology in diverting waste from landfills. In this paper results of an assessment of one exemplary MBT plant are provided. The analysis was performed within a comparative study in which 20 selected MBT plants in Poland were subject to a detailed analysis, focusing, both at the design parameters as well as operational ones. The selected plant showed relatively higher overall materials recovery efficiency. With the view to circular economy targets, increased automation of the mechanical waste treatment will be required to support achieving high level diversion from landfills. The study reviled that stabilisation of biofraction should be improved by a better control of process conditions, especially moisture content.

Effects of storage environment on the moisture content and microbial growth of food waste.

PubMed

Chen, Ying-Chu; Hsu, Yi-Cheng; Wang, Chung-Ting

2018-05-15

Food waste (FW) has become a critical issue in sustainable development as the world's population has increased. Direct incineration of FW remains the primary treatment option. The moisture content of FW may affect the energy efficiency of incineration. In Taiwan, FW, which includes raw (r-FW) and post-consumer (p-FW) waste, is often stored in freezers before pretreatment. This study evaluated the effects of storage environment on the moisture content and microbial growth of FW. Storage at 263 K was associated with the largest reduction in moisture content in both r-FW and p-FW. At 263 K, the moisture content of r-FW and p-FW was lowest at 96 and 72 h, respectively. The E.coli and total bacteria counts were steady over 120 h when stored at 263 K. Storage at 253 K required the greatest electricity consumption, followed by 263 K and 258 K. Based on the reduction of moisture content and increase in energy efficiency, it is suggested that FW is placed in temporary storage at 263 K before (pre)treatment. The results of this study will help waste-to-energy plants, incinerators, and waste management enterprises to implement proper (pre)treatment of FW for sustainable waste management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficiency Assessment of Using Flammable Compounds from Water Treatment and Methanol Production Waste for Plasma Synthesis of Iron-Containing Pigments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shekhovtsova, Anastasia P.; Karengin, Alexander G.

2016-08-01

This article describes the possibility of applying the low-temperature plasma for obtaining iron-containing pigments from water purification and flammable methanol production waste. In this paper were calculated combustion parameters of water-saltorganic compositions (WSOC) with different consists. Authors determined the modes of energy- efficient processing of the previously mentioned waste in an air plasma. Having considered the obtained results there were carried out experiments with flammable dispersed water-saltorganic compositions on laboratory plasma stand. All the experimental results are confirmed by calculations.

Waste Management in the Circular Economy. The Case of Romania.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iuga, Anca N.

2016-11-01

Applying the principles of sustainable development in Romania involves a new approach to ecological waste using basic concepts of circular economy to weigh accurately the proposed projects in this area taking into account existing environmental resources and zero waste objectives. The paper is focused on: quantitative and qualitative measures of waste prevention in Romania, the changing status of the waste by selling it as product, the mechanisms for paying for treatment and / or disposal which discourage waste generation and the use of financial resources obtained from secondary raw materials for the efficiency of waste management.

Mechanical-biological treatment: performance and potentials. An LCA of 8 MBT plants including waste characterization.

PubMed

Montejo, Cristina; Tonini, Davide; Márquez, María del Carmen; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

2013-10-15

In the endeavour of avoiding presence of biodegradable waste in landfills and increasing recycling, mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) plants have seen a significant increase in number and capacity in the last two decades. The aim of these plants is separating and stabilizing the quickly biodegradable fraction of the waste as well as recovering recyclables from mixed waste streams. In this study the environmental performance of eight MBT-based waste management scenarios in Spain was assessed by means of life cycle assessment. The focus was on the technical and environmental performance of the MBT plants. These widely differed in type of biological treatment and recovery efficiencies. The results indicated that the performance is strongly connected with energy and materials recovery efficiency. The recommendation for upgrading and/or commissioning of future plants is to optimize materials recovery through increased automation of the selection and to prioritize biogas-electricity production from the organic fraction over direct composting. The optimal strategy for refuse derived fuel (RDF) management depends upon the environmental compartment to be prioritized and the type of marginal electricity source in the system. It was estimated that, overall, up to ca. 180-190 kt CO2-eq. y(-1) may be saved by optimizing the MBT plants under assessment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhancement of biogas production from food waste and sewage sludge - Environmental and economic life cycle performance.

PubMed

Eriksson, Ola; Bisaillon, Mattias; Haraldsson, Mårten; Sundberg, Johan

2016-06-15

Management of municipal solid waste is an efficient method to increase resource efficiency, as well as to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources due to that (1) waste to a large extent is renewable as it consists of food waste, paper, wood etc. and (2) when energy and materials are recovered from waste treatment, fossil fuels can be substituted. In this paper results from a comprehensive system study of future biological treatment of readily degradable waste in two Swedish regions are presented. Different collection and separation systems for food waste in households have been applied as well as technical improvements of the biogas process as to reduce environmental impact. The results show that central sorting of a mixed fraction into recyclables, combustibles, biowaste and inert is a competitive option compared to source separation. Use of pellets is beneficial compared to direct spreading as fertiliser. Fuel pellets seem to be the most favourable option, which to a large extent depends on the circumstances in the energy system. Separation and utilisation of nitrogen in the wet part of the digestion residue is made possible with a number of technologies which decreases environmental impact drastically, however to a substantial cost in some cases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemically pretreating slaughterhouse solid waste to increase the efficiency of anaerobic digestion.

PubMed

Flores-Juarez, Cyntia R; Rodríguez-García, Adrián; Cárdenas-Mijangos, Jesús; Montoya-Herrera, Leticia; Godinez Mora-Tovar, Luis A; Bustos-Bustos, Erika; Rodríguez-Valadez, Francisco; Manríquez-Rocha, Juan

2014-10-01

The combined effect of temperature and pretreatment of the substrate on the anaerobic treatment of the organic fraction of slaughterhouse solid waste was studied. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effect of pretreating the waste on the efficiency of anaerobic digestion. The effect was analyzed at two temperature ranges (the psychrophilic and the mesophilic ranges), in order to evaluate the effect of temperature on the performance of the anaerobic digestion process for this residue. The experiments were performed in 6 L batch reactors for 30 days. Two temperature ranges were studied: the psychrophilic range (at room temperature, 18°C average) and the mesophilic range (at 37°C). The waste was pretreated with NaOH before the anaerobic treatment. The result of pretreating with NaOH was a 194% increase in the soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) with a dose of 0.6 g NaOH per g of volatile suspended solids (VSS). In addition, the soluble chemical oxygen demand/total chemical oxygen demand ratio (sCOD/tCOD) increased from 0.31 to 0.7. For the anaerobic treatment, better results were observed in the mesophilic range, achieving 70.7%, 47% and 47.2% removal efficiencies for tCOD, total solids (TS), and volatile solids (VS), respectively. Copyright © 2014 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Greenhouse gas emissions during MSW landfilling in China: influence of waste characteristics and LFG treatment measures.

PubMed

Yang, Na; Zhang, Hua; Shao, Li-Ming; Lü, Fan; He, Pin-Jing

2013-11-15

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment can be highly cost-effective in terms of GHG mitigation. This study investigated GHG emissions during MSW landfilling in China under four existing scenarios and in terms of seven different categories: waste collection and transportation, landfill management, leachate treatment, fugitive CH4 (FM) emissions, substitution of electricity production, carbon sequestration and N2O and CO emissions. GHG emissions from simple sanitary landfilling technology where no landfill gas (LFG) extraction took place (Scenario 1) were higher (641-998 kg CO2-eq·t(-1)ww) than those from open dump (Scenario 0, 480-734 kg CO2-eq·t(-1)ww). This was due to the strictly anaerobic conditions in Scenario 1. LFG collection and treatment reduced GHG emissions to 448-684 kg CO2-eq·t(-1)ww in Scenario 2 (with LFG flare) and 214-277 kg CO2-eq·t(-1)ww in Scenario 3 (using LFG for electricity production). Amongst the seven categories, FM was the predominant contributor to GHG emissions. Global sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the parameters associated with waste characteristics (i.e. CH4 potential and carbon sequestered faction) and LFG management (i.e. LFG collection efficiency and CH4 oxidation efficiency) were of great importance. A further learning on the MSW in China indicated that water content and dry matter content of food waste were the basic factors affecting GHG emissions. Source separation of food waste, as well as increasing the incineration ratio of mixed collected MSW, could effectively mitigate the overall GHG emissions from landfilling in a specific city. To increase the LFG collection and CH4 oxidation efficiencies could considerably reduce GHG emissions on the landfill site level. While, the improvement in the LFG utilization measures had an insignificant impact as long as the LFG is recovered for energy generation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficient and low-cost alternative of lipase concentration aiming at the application in the treatment of waste cooking oils.

PubMed

Preczeski, Karina P; Kamanski, Angela B; Scapini, Thamarys; Camargo, Aline F; Modkoski, Tatiani A; Rossetto, Vanusa; Venturin, Bruno; Mulinari, Jéssica; Golunski, Simone M; Mossi, Altemir J; Treichel, Helen

2018-06-01

In this study, we evaluated the concentration of lipases from Aspergillus niger using efficient and low-cost methods aiming at application in the treatment of waste cooking oils. The change in ionic strength of the medium by the addition of salt and precipitation with ethanol increased the specific activity from 2.90 to 28.50 U/mg, resulting in a purification factor of 9.82-fold. The use of acetone resulted in a specific activity of 33.63 U/mg, resulting in a purification factor of 11.60-fold. After that, the concentrated lipase was used in the hydrolysis of waste cooking oil and 753.07 and 421.60 µmol/mL of free fatty acids were obtained for the enzyme precipitated with ethanol and acetone, respectively. The hydrolysis of waste cooking oil catalyzed by homemade purified lipase in ultrasonic media can be considered a pretreatment of oil by converting a significant amount of triglycerides into free fatty acids.

Environmental Impacts and Hotspots of Food Losses: Value Chain Analysis of Swiss Food Consumption.

PubMed

Beretta, Claudio; Stucki, Matthias; Hellweg, Stefanie

2017-10-03

Reducing food losses and waste is crucial to making our food system more efficient and sustainable. This is the first paper that quantifies the environmental impacts of food waste by distinguishing the various stages of the food value chain, 33 food categories that represent the whole food basket in Switzerland, and including food waste treatment. Environmental impacts are expressed in terms of climate change and biodiversity impacts due to water and land use. Climate change impacts of food waste are highest for fresh vegetables, due to the large amounts wasted, while the specific impact per kg is largest for beef. Biodiversity impacts are mainly caused by cocoa and coffee (16% of total) and by beef (12%). Food waste at the end of the food value chain (households and food services) causes almost 60% of the total climate impacts of food waste, because of the large quantities lost at this stage and the higher accumulated impacts per kg of product. The net environmental benefits from food waste treatment are only 5-10% of the impacts from production and supply of the wasted food. Thus, avoiding food waste should be a first-line priority, while optimizing the method of treatment is less relevant.

Washing of waste prior to landfilling.

PubMed

Cossu, Raffaello; Lai, Tiziana

2012-05-01

The main impact produced by landfills is represented by the release of leachate emissions. Waste washing treatment has been investigated to evaluate its efficiency in reducing the waste leaching fraction prior to landfilling. The results of laboratory-scale washing tests applied to several significant residues from integrated management of solid waste are presented in this study, specifically: non-recyclable plastics from source separation, mechanical-biological treated municipal solid waste and a special waste, automotive shredded residues. Results obtained demonstrate that washing treatment contributes towards combating the environmental impacts of raw wastes. Accordingly, a leachate production model was applied, leading to the consideration that the concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), parameters of fundamental importance in the characterization of landfill leachate, from a landfill containing washed wastes, are comparable to those that would only be reached between 90 and 220years later in the presence of raw wastes. The findings obtained demonstrated that washing of waste may represent an effective means of reducing the leachable fraction resulting in a consequent decrease in landfill emissions. Further studies on pilot scale are needed to assess the potential for full-scale application of this treatment. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced wastewater treatment simplified through research

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Souther, R.H.

A waste water treatment plant was built based on results of a small-scale pilot plant study, conducted largely in a search for efficiency as well as economy. Results were that 98 percent carbonaceous BOD (BOD/sub C/) and nitrogenous BOD (BOD/sub N/) were removed in a simplified, low-cost, single-stage advanced treatment process surpassing even some of the most sophisticated advanced complex waste treatment methods. The single-stage process treats domestic waste alone or combined with very high amounts of textile, electroplating, chemical, food, and other processing industrial wastewater. The process removed 100 percent of the sulfides above 98 percent of NH/sub 3/-N,more » over 90 percent of COD and phenols; chromium was converted from highly toxic hexavalent CrVI to nearly nontoxic trivalent chrome (CrIII). A pH up to 12 may be tolerated if no free hydroxyl (OH) ions are present. Equalization ponds, primary settling tanks, trickling filters, extra nitrogen removal tanks, carbon columns, and chemical treatment are not required. Color removal is excellent with clear effluent suitable for recycling after chlorination to water supply lakes. The construction cost of the single-stage advanced treatment plant is surprisingly low, about /sup 1///sub 2/ to /sup 1///sub 6/ as much as most conventional ineffective complex plants. This simplified, innovative process developed in independent research at Guilford College is considered by some a breakthrough in waste treatment efficiency and economy. (MU)« less

DATA QUALITY OBJECTIVES FOR SELECTING WASTE SAMPLES FOR THE BENCH STEAM REFORMER TEST

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

BANNING DL

2010-08-03

This document describes the data quality objectives to select archived samples located at the 222-S Laboratory for Fluid Bed Steam Reformer testing. The type, quantity and quality of the data required to select the samples for Fluid Bed Steam Reformer testing are discussed. In order to maximize the efficiency and minimize the time to treat Hanford tank waste in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, additional treatment processes may be required. One of the potential treatment processes is the fluid bed steam reformer (FBSR). A determination of the adequacy of the FBSR process to treat Hanford tank waste is required.more » The initial step in determining the adequacy of the FBSR process is to select archived waste samples from the 222-S Laboratory that will be used to test the FBSR process. Analyses of the selected samples will be required to confirm the samples meet the testing criteria.« less

Integrated bioleaching of copper metal from waste printed circuit board-a comprehensive review of approaches and challenges.

PubMed

Awasthi, Abhishek Kumar; Zeng, Xianlai; Li, Jinhui

2016-11-01

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste) is the most rapidly growing waste stream in the world, and the majority of the residues are openly disposed of in developing countries. Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) make up the major portion of e-waste, and their informal recycling can cause environmental pollution and health risks. Furthermore, the conventional disposal and recycling techniques-mechanical treatments used to recover valuable metals, including copper-are not sustainable in the long term. Chemical leaching is rapid and efficient but causes secondary pollution. Bioleaching is a promising approach, eco-friendly and economically feasible, but it is slower process. This review considers the recycling potential of microbes and suggests an integrated bioleaching approach for Cu extraction and recovery from WPCBs. The proposed recycling system should be more effective, efficient and both technically and economically feasible.

LCA of local strategies for energy recovery from waste in England, applied to a large municipal flow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tunesi, Simonetta, E-mail: s.tunesi@ucl.ac.uk

An intense waste management (WM) planning activity is currently undergoing in England to build the infrastructure necessary to treat residual wastes, increase recycling levels and the recovery of energy from waste. From the analyses of local WM strategic and planning documents we have identified the emerging of three different energy recovery strategies: established combustion of residual waste; pre-treatment of residual waste and energy recovery from Solid Recovered Fuel in a dedicated plant, usually assumed to be a gasifier; pre-treatment of residual waste and reliance on the market to accept the 'fuel from waste' so produced. Each energy recovery strategy willmore » result in a different solution in terms of the technology selected; moreover, on the basis of the favoured solution, the total number, scale and location of thermal treatment plants built in England will dramatically change. To support the evaluation and comparison of these three WM strategy in terms of global environmental impacts, energy recovery possibilities and performance with respect to changing 'fuel from waste' market conditions, the LCA comparison of eight alternative WM scenarios for a real case study dealing with a large flow of municipal wastes was performed with the modelling tool WRATE. The large flow of waste modelled allowed to formulate and assess realistic alternative WM scenarios and to design infrastructural systems which are likely to correspond to those submitted for approval to the local authorities. The results show that all alternative scenarios contribute to saving abiotic resources and reducing global warming potential. Particularly relevant to the current English debate, the performance of a scenario was shown to depend not from the thermal treatment technology but from a combination of parameters, among which most relevant are the efficiency of energy recovery processes (both electricity and heat) and the calorific value of residual waste and pre-treated material. The contribution and relative importance of recycling and treatment/recovery processes change with the impact category. The lack of reprocessing plants in the area of the case study has shown the relevance of transport distances for recyclate material in reducing the efficiency of a WM system. Highly relevant to the current English WM infrastructural debate, these results for the first time highlight the risk of a significant reduction in the energy that could be recovered by local WM strategies relying only on the market to dispose of the 'fuel from waste' in a non dedicated plant in the case that the SRF had to be sent to landfill for lack of treatment capacity.« less

LCA of local strategies for energy recovery from waste in England, applied to a large municipal flow.

PubMed

Tunesi, Simonetta

2011-03-01

An intense waste management (WM) planning activity is currently undergoing in England to build the infrastructure necessary to treat residual wastes, increase recycling levels and the recovery of energy from waste. From the analyses of local WM strategic and planning documents we have identified the emerging of three different energy recovery strategies: established combustion of residual waste; pre-treatment of residual waste and energy recovery from Solid Recovered Fuel in a dedicated plant, usually assumed to be a gasifier; pre-treatment of residual waste and reliance on the market to accept the 'fuel from waste' so produced. Each energy recovery strategy will result in a different solution in terms of the technology selected; moreover, on the basis of the favoured solution, the total number, scale and location of thermal treatment plants built in England will dramatically change. To support the evaluation and comparison of these three WM strategy in terms of global environmental impacts, energy recovery possibilities and performance with respect to changing 'fuel from waste' market conditions, the LCA comparison of eight alternative WM scenarios for a real case study dealing with a large flow of municipal wastes was performed with the modelling tool WRATE. The large flow of waste modelled allowed to formulate and assess realistic alternative WM scenarios and to design infrastructural systems which are likely to correspond to those submitted for approval to the local authorities. The results show that all alternative scenarios contribute to saving abiotic resources and reducing global warming potential. Particularly relevant to the current English debate, the performance of a scenario was shown to depend not from the thermal treatment technology but from a combination of parameters, among which most relevant are the efficiency of energy recovery processes (both electricity and heat) and the calorific value of residual waste and pre-treated material. The contribution and relative importance of recycling and treatment/recovery processes change with the impact category. The lack of reprocessing plants in the area of the case study has shown the relevance of transport distances for recyclate material in reducing the efficiency of a WM system. Highly relevant to the current English WM infrastructural debate, these results for the first time highlight the risk of a significant reduction in the energy that could be recovered by local WM strategies relying only on the market to dispose of the 'fuel from waste' in a non dedicated plant in the case that the SRF had to be sent to landfill for lack of treatment capacity. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The efficacy of subsurface flow reed bed treatment in the removal of Campylobacter spp., faecal coliforms and Escherichia coli from poultry litter.

PubMed

Duggan, J; Bates, M P; Phillips, C A

2001-06-01

The use of poultry waste as a fertiliser on arable land is an accepted method of waste treatment. However, run-off from such practices may result in contamination of the watercourse by human pathogens. In this study the effectiveness of using constructed wetlands as an alternative treatment for poultry manure waste was evaluated. Enumeration of Campylobacter spp., Escherichia coli, total coliforms and total aerobes were carried out on influent and effluent samples from reed beds loaded with poultry waste. For both sequential loading and continuous loading there was a statistically significant mean log reduction of 3.56 and 4.25 for E. coli, 3.2 and 3.88 for coliforms, 3.85 and 4.2 for total aerobic counts and 3.13 and 2.96 for Campylobacter spp., respectively. This method, which has been previously recognised as cost-effective and environmentally acceptable, provides an efficient method for reducing numbers of these bacteria in poultry waste and therefore an effective alternative treatment for such waste or waters containing run off from land previously spread with poultry manure.

Technical and economic feasibility of a solar-bio-powered waste utilization and treatment system in Central America.

PubMed

Aguilar Alvarez, Ronald Esteban; Bustamante Roman, Mauricio; Kirk, Dana; Miranda Chavarria, Jose Alberto; Baudrit, Daniel; Aguilar Pereira, Jose Francisco; Rodriguez Montero, Werner; Reinhold, Dawn; Liao, Wei

2016-12-15

The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate a pilot-scale and closed-loop system that synergistically combines solar thermal collector, anaerobic digester, and constructed treatment wetland to simultaneously treat and utilize organic wastes. The system utilizes 863 kg of mixed animal and food wastes to generate 263 MJ renewable energy, produced 28 kg nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer, and reclaimed 550 kg water per day. The net revenue considering electricity and fertilizer was $2436 annually. The payback period for the system is estimated to be 17.8 years for a relatively dilute waste stream (i.e., 2% total solids). The implemented system has successfully demonstrated a self-efficient and flexible waste utilization and treatment system. It creates a win-win solution to satisfy the energy needs of the community and address environmental concerns of organic wastes disposal in the region. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agricultural waste material as potential adsorbent for sequestering heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions - a review.

PubMed

Sud, Dhiraj; Mahajan, Garima; Kaur, M P

2008-09-01

Heavy metal remediation of aqueous streams is of special concern due to recalcitrant and persistency of heavy metals in environment. Conventional treatment technologies for the removal of these toxic heavy metals are not economical and further generate huge quantity of toxic chemical sludge. Biosorption is emerging as a potential alternative to the existing conventional technologies for the removal and/or recovery of metal ions from aqueous solutions. The major advantages of biosorption over conventional treatment methods include: low cost, high efficiency, minimization of chemical or biological sludge, regeneration of biosorbents and possibility of metal recovery. Cellulosic agricultural waste materials are an abundant source for significant metal biosorption. The functional groups present in agricultural waste biomass viz. acetamido, alcoholic, carbonyl, phenolic, amido, amino, sulphydryl groups etc. have affinity for heavy metal ions to form metal complexes or chelates. The mechanism of biosorption process includes chemisorption, complexation, adsorption on surface, diffusion through pores and ion exchange etc. The purpose of this review article is to provide the scattered available information on various aspects of utilization of the agricultural waste materials for heavy metal removal. Agricultural waste material being highly efficient, low cost and renewable source of biomass can be exploited for heavy metal remediation. Further these biosorbents can be modified for better efficiency and multiple reuses to enhance their applicability at industrial scale.

Application and Prospect of Superconducting High Gradient Magnetic Separation in Disposal of Micro-fine Tailings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Changqiao; Li, Suqin; Guo, Zijie; Kong, Jiawei

2017-12-01

Magnetic separation technology is playing an increasingly important role in the field of environmental protection such as waste gas, waste water and solid waste treatment. As a new type of solid waste treatment technology, superconducting high gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) is mainly applied in the separation of micro-fine weakly magnetic particles because of the advantages of high separation efficiency, energy saving, simple equipment and easy automation. In this paper, the basic principle of superconducting HGMS was firstly introduced, then the research status of scholars at home and aboard on the disposal of micro-fine tailings were summarized. Finally, the direction of development for HGMS was put forward.

Importance of storage time in mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste.

PubMed

Lü, Fan; Xu, Xian; Shao, Liming; He, Pinjing

2016-07-01

Storage was used as a pretreatment to enhance the methanization performance of mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste. Food wastes were separately stored for 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 12days, and then fed into a methanogenic reactor for a biochemical methane potential (BMP) test lasting up to 60days. Relative to the methane production of food waste stored for 0-1day (285-308mL/g-added volatile solids (VSadded)), that after 2-4days and after 5-12days of storage increased to 418-530 and 618-696mL/g-VSadded, respectively. The efficiency of hydrolysis and acidification of pre-stored food waste in the methanization reactors increased with storage time. The characteristics of stored waste suggest that methane production was not correlated with the total hydrolysis efficiency of organics in pre-stored food waste but was positively correlated with the storage time and acidification level of the waste. From the results, we recommend 5-7days of storage of food waste in anaerobic digestion treatment plants. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Comparison of ozone and thermal hydrolysis combined with anaerobic digestion for municipal and pharmaceutical waste sludge with tetracycline resistance genes.

PubMed

Pei, Jin; Yao, Hong; Wang, Hui; Ren, Jia; Yu, Xiaohua

2016-08-01

Biosolids from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) are environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes, which attract great concerns on their efficient treatments. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is widely used for sewage sludge treatment but its effectiveness is limited due to the slow hydrolysis. Ozone and thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment were employed to improve AD efficiency and reduce antibiotic-resistant genes in municipal and pharmaceutical waste sludge (MWS and PWS, respectively) in this study. Sludge solubilization achieved 15.75-25.09% and 14.85-33.92% after ozone and thermal hydrolysis, respectively. Both pre-treatments improved cumulative methane production and the enhancements were greater on PWS than MWS. Five tetracycline-resistant genes (tet(A), tet(G), tet(Q), tet(W), tet(X)) and one mobile element (intI1) were qPCR to assess pre-treatments. AD of pre-treated sludge reduced more tet genes than raw sludge for both ozonation and thermal hydrolysis in PWS and MWS. Thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment was more efficient than ozone for reduction after AD. Results of this study help support management options for reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance from biosolids. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

CHEMICAL REMOVAL OF BIOMASS FROM WASTE AIR BIOTRICKLING FILTERS: SCREENING CHEMICALS OF POTENTIAL INTEREST. (R825392)

EPA Science Inventory

A protocol was developed to rapidly assess the efficiency of chemical washing for the removal of excess biomass from biotrickling filters for waste air treatment. Although the experiment was performed on a small scale, conditions were chosen to simulate application in full-scale ...

Carbon sorbent based on flax boon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abramov, M.V.; Tyulina, R.M.; Yaroslavtsev, V.T.

1994-11-10

Flax-fiber production wastes such as boon can be used effectively as the starting material for producing carbon sorbents. Activated carbons are among the most widely used sorbents in industrial wastewater and waste gas treatment. A single-stage process has been developed for producing an efficient, cheap carbon sorbent based on flax boon.

Plasma for environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Oost, G.

2017-11-01

Human activity is associated with the permanent emergence of a very wide range of waste streams. The most widely used treatment of waste is thermal processing such as incineration. An alternative environmentally friendly process is based on thermal plasma technology which is a very flexible tool because it allows to operate in a wide temperature range with almost any chemical composition of waste and chemicals needed for processing this waste, and to convert organic waste into energy or chemical substances as well as to destroy toxic organic compounds, and to vitrify radioactive waste in a scenario that for each specific type of waste can be considered optimal, both in terms of energy efficiency and environmental safety.

Behavior of pharmaceuticals in waste water treatment plant in Japan.

PubMed

Matsuo, H; Sakamoto, H; Arizono, K; Shinohara, R

2011-07-01

The fate of pharmaceuticals in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Kumamoto, Japan with activated sludge treatment is reported. Selected pharmaceuticals were detected in influent. Results from the present study confirmed that Acetaminophen, Amoxicillin, Ampicillin and Famotidine were removed at a high rate (>90% efficiency). In contrast, removal efficiency of Ketoprofen, Losartan, Oseltamivir, Carbamazepine, and Diclofenac was relatively low (<50%). The selected pharmaceuticals were also detected in raw sludge. In digestive process, Indomethacin, Atenolol, Famotidine, Trimethoprim and Cyclofosamide were removed at a high (>70% efficiency). On the other hand, removal of Carbamazepine, Ketoprofen and Diclofenac was not efficient (<50%).

Steam gasification of tyre waste, poplar, and refuse-derived fuel: a comparative analysis.

PubMed

Galvagno, S; Casciaro, G; Casu, S; Martino, M; Mingazzini, C; Russo, A; Portofino, S

2009-02-01

In the field of waste management, thermal disposal is a treatment option able to recover resources from "end of life" products. Pyrolysis and gasification are emerging thermal treatments that work under less drastic conditions in comparison with classic direct combustion, providing for reduced gaseous emissions of heavy metals. Moreover, they allow better recovery efficiency since the process by-products can be used as fuels (gas, oils), for both conventional (classic engines and heaters) and high efficiency apparatus (gas turbines and fuel cells), or alternatively as chemical sources or as raw materials for other processes. This paper presents a comparative study of a steam gasification process applied to three different waste types (refuse-derived fuel, poplar wood and scrap tyres), with the aim of comparing the corresponding yields and product compositions and exploring the most valuable uses of the by-products.

Treatment of hospital waste water by ozone technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indah Dianawati, Rina; Endah Wahyuningsih, Nur; Nur, Muhammad

2018-05-01

Conventional treatment hospital wastewater need high cost, large area, long time and the final result leaves a new waste known as sludge. Alternative to more efficient and new technologies for treated hospital wastewaters was ozonation. Ozonation is able to oxidized pollutant materials in wastewater. This research is to know the decrease of COD and TDS levels with ozone. Waste water samples used by dr. Adhyatma, MPH Hospitals Semarang. Kruskal-Wallis test for COD and TDS with variation of concentration p-value = 0,029 and 0,001 (p≤0,05) or there is significantly difference between COD and TDS with level of concentration but there were no different between levels of COD, and TDS with reactions time variations p-value = 0,735, and 0,870 (p≥0.05). Ozone efficiently reduction of COD and TDS at a concentration of 100 mg/liter, the lowest mean value at COD 17.47 mg/liter and TDS 409.75 mg/liter.

Improving efficiency of transport fuels production by thermal hydrolysis of waste activated sludge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulshin, Igor

2017-10-01

The article deals with issues of transport biofuels. Transport biofuels are an important element of a system of energy security. Moreover, as part of a system it is inextricably linked to the urban, rural or industrial infrastructure. The paper discusses methods of increasing the yield of biogas from anaerobic digesters at wastewater treatment plants. The thermal hydrolysis method was considered. The main advantages and drawbacks of this method were analyzed. The experimental biomass (from SNDOD-bioreactor) and high-organic substrate have been previously studied by respirometry methods. A biomethane potential of the investigated organic substrate has high rates because of substrate composition (the readily biodegradable substrate in the total composition takes about 85%). Waste activated sludge from SNDOD-bioreactor can be used for biofuel producing with high efficiency especially with pre-treatment like a thermal hydrolysis. Further studies have to consider the possibility of withdrawing inhibitors from waste activated sludge.

Simultaneous stack-gas scrubbing and waste water treatment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poradek, J. C.; Collins, D. D.

1980-01-01

Simultaneous treatment of wastewater and S02-laden stack gas make both treatments more efficient and economical. According to results of preliminary tests, solution generated by stack gas scrubbing cycle reduces bacterial content of wastewater. Both processess benefit by sharing concentrations of iron.

Modeling Vertical Flow Treatment Wetland Hydraulics to Optimize Treatment Efficiency

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-24

ammonia, such as landfill leachate and food processing wastes (Kadlec and Wallace, 2009). Figure 2: Typical Horizontal Subsurface Flow Treatment...51(9): 165-171, 2005. Williams, J.B. Phytoremediation in wetland ecosystems: Progress, problems, and potential. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences

The effects of anionic and non-ionic surfactant on anaerobic co-digestion of sludge, food wastes and green wastes.

PubMed

Sun, Jian; Zhang, Yuchi; Pan, Xiaofang; Zhu, Gefu

2018-03-05

Surfactants are widely used and discharged into wastewater treatment plants, which might influence the anaerobic digestion (AD) treatment of municipal waste. In this study, the effects of typical anionic surfactants sodium dodecyl benzene6 sulfonate (SDBS) and non-ionic surfactants APG, on mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of sludge, food waste, and green waste were investigated. Results indicated that at 5 mg/g, the biogas production was inhibited in SDBS supplemented systems while stimulated in APG-added reactors, with the methane yield of 146.58 L/g VS consumed. At 15 mg/g, the biogas production in both SDBS and APG supplemented reactors was both inhibited. It means the negative or positive effect of APG on AD depends on the dose of APG supplementation. The 16S rRNA gene analysis demonstrated the microbial community structure in the digester was changed due to the addition of surfactant. Bacteroidia significantly increased with the addition of APG and SBDS, while the increase of Clostridia only occurred in APG-added system. The variation of microbial Communities' structure in APG and SDBS-added digesters might give an explanation for the different efficiencies in these two systems. Thus, the effects of surfactants on the efficiency of AD should be considered during the disposal of municipal organic waste.

Life cycle inventory and mass-balance of municipal food waste management systems: Decision support methods beyond the waste hierarchy.

PubMed

Edwards, Joel; Othman, Maazuza; Crossin, Enda; Burn, Stewart

2017-11-01

When assessing the environmental and human health impact of a municipal food waste (FW) management system waste managers typically rely on the principles of the waste hierarchy; using metrics such as the mass or rate of waste that is 'prepared for recycling,' 'recovered for energy,' or 'sent to landfill.' These metrics measure the collection and sorting efficiency of a waste system but are incapable of determining the efficiency of a system to turn waste into a valuable resource. In this study a life cycle approach was employed using a system boundary that includes the entire waste service provision from collection to safe end-use or disposal. A life cycle inventory of seven waste management systems was calculated, including the first service wide inventory of FW management through kitchen in-sink disposal (food waste disposer). Results describe the mass, energy and water balance of each system along with key emissions profile. It was demonstrated that the energy balance can differ significantly from its' energy generation, exemplified by mechanical biological treatment, which was the best system for generating energy from waste but only 5 th best for net-energy generation. Furthermore, the energy balance of kitchen in-sink disposal was shown to be reduced because 31% of volatile solids were lost in pre-treatment. The study also confirmed that higher FW landfill diversion rates were critical for reducing many harmful emissions to air and water. Although, mass-balance analysis showed that the alternative end-use of the FW material may still contain high impact pollutants. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultivation of oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus on date-palm leaves mixed with other agro-wastes in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Alananbeh, Kholoud M; Bouqellah, Nahla A; Al Kaff, Nadia S

2014-12-01

Promoting the use of agricultural waste is one of the newly prepared water and environment friendly agriculture strategies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The objective of this research was to study the efficiency of cultivating oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) on date palm wastes mixed with other agricultural wastes available in KSA. Four agricultural wastes were mixed with date palm leaves at different ratios, with two supplements and three spawn rates were used. Wheat straw mixed with date palm at ratio of 25 (date palm): 75 (agro-waste) showed the best results in most of the parameters measured. Corn meal was superior over wheat bran as a supplement in all treatments. Parameter values increased with the increase of the spawn rate of P. ostreatus. Treatments with date palm leave wastes contained higher carbohydrates and fibers. No significant differences were found among the fruiting bodies produced on the different agro-wastes studied for the different proximates analyzed. Analyses of metal concentration showed that potassium was the highest in all the treatments tested followed by Na, Mg, Ca, and Zn. This is the first study that reported the success of growing oyster mushroom on date palm leaf wastes mixed with other agro-wastes obtainable in KSA.

Cultivation of oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus on date-palm leaves mixed with other agro-wastes in Saudi Arabia

PubMed Central

Alananbeh, Kholoud M.; Bouqellah, Nahla A.; Al Kaff, Nadia S.

2014-01-01

Promoting the use of agricultural waste is one of the newly prepared water and environment friendly agriculture strategies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The objective of this research was to study the efficiency of cultivating oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) on date palm wastes mixed with other agricultural wastes available in KSA. Four agricultural wastes were mixed with date palm leaves at different ratios, with two supplements and three spawn rates were used. Wheat straw mixed with date palm at ratio of 25 (date palm): 75 (agro-waste) showed the best results in most of the parameters measured. Corn meal was superior over wheat bran as a supplement in all treatments. Parameter values increased with the increase of the spawn rate of P. ostreatus. Treatments with date palm leave wastes contained higher carbohydrates and fibers. No significant differences were found among the fruiting bodies produced on the different agro-wastes studied for the different proximates analyzed. Analyses of metal concentration showed that potassium was the highest in all the treatments tested followed by Na, Mg, Ca, and Zn. This is the first study that reported the success of growing oyster mushroom on date palm leaf wastes mixed with other agro-wastes obtainable in KSA. PMID:25473372

VOCs elimination and health risk reduction in e-waste dismantling workshop using integrated techniques of electrostatic precipitation with advanced oxidation technologies.

PubMed

Chen, Jiangyao; Huang, Yong; Li, Guiying; An, Taicheng; Hu, Yunkun; Li, Yunlu

2016-01-25

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted during the electronic waste dismantling process (EWDP) were treated at a pilot scale, using integrated electrostatic precipitation (EP)-advanced oxidation technologies (AOTs, subsequent photocatalysis (PC) and ozonation). Although no obvious alteration was seen in VOC concentration and composition, EP technology removed 47.2% of total suspended particles, greatly reducing the negative effect of particles on subsequent AOTs. After the AOT treatment, average removal efficiencies of 95.7%, 95.4%, 87.4%, and 97.5% were achieved for aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons, as well as nitrogen- and oxygen-containing compounds, respectively, over 60-day treatment period. Furthermore, high elimination capacities were also seen using hybrid technique of PC with ozonation; this was due to the PC unit's high loading rates and excellent pre-treatment abilities, and the ozonation unit's high elimination capacity. In addition, the non-cancer and cancer risks, as well as the occupational exposure cancer risk, for workers exposed to emitted VOCs in workshop were reduced dramatically after the integrated technique treatment. Results demonstrated that the integrated technique led to highly efficient and stable VOC removal from EWDP emissions at a pilot scale. This study points to an efficient approach for atmospheric purification and improving human health in e-waste recycling regions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simplified greywater treatment systems: Slow filters of sand and slate waste followed by granular activated carbon.

PubMed

Zipf, Mariah Siebert; Pinheiro, Ivone Gohr; Conegero, Mariana Garcia

2016-07-01

One of the main actions of sustainability that is applicable to residential, commercial, and public buildings is the rational use of water that contemplates the reuse of greywater as one of the main options for reducing the consumption of drinking water. Therefore, this research aimed to study the efficiencies of simplified treatments for greywater reuse using slow sand and slow slate waste filtration, both followed by granular activated carbon filters. The system monitoring was conducted over 28 weeks, using analyses of the following parameters: pH, turbidity, apparent color, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), surfactants, total coliforms, and thermotolerant coliforms. The system was run at two different filtration rates: 6 and 2 m(3)/m(2)/day. Statistical analyses showed no significant differences in the majority of the results when filtration rate changed from 6 to 2 m(3)/m(2)/day. The average removal efficiencies with regard to the turbidity, apparent color, COD and BOD were 61, 54, 56, and 56%, respectively, for the sand filter, and 66, 61, 60, and 51%, respectively, for the slate waste filter. Both systems showed good efficiencies in removing surfactants, around 70%, while the pH reached values of around 7.80. The average removal efficiencies of the total and thermotolerant coliforms were of 61 and 90%, respectively, for the sand filter, and 67 and 80%, respectively, for the slate waste filter. The statistical analysis found no significant differences between the responses of the two systems, which attest to the fact that the slate waste can be a substitute for sand. The maximum levels of efficiency were high, indicating the potential of the systems, and suggesting their optimization in order to achieve much higher average efficiencies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Investigation and countermeasures analysis of catering waste in southern city in China].

PubMed

Xu, Dong; Shen, Dong-Sheng; Feng, Hua-Jun; Wang, Mei-Zhen; Deng, You-Hua

2011-07-01

To find out a suitable way for catering food waste treatment, the waste characteristics from Chinese restaurant, Chinese canteen and western-style canteen in 4 seasons have been investigated. The results showed the average moisture content of the food waste was more than 60%, with more than 87% of VS/TS and the pH range of 4.64-6.98. The contents of organic components were high, the contents of fat and protein and carbohydrate were 16.98% - 38.92%, 6.58% - 11.65% and 46.27% - 68.28%, respectively. It implied the food waste could be easily bio-degraded. The salt content was 0.69% - 2.44%, with total P content of 0.13% - 0.30%. It suggested high content of salt could limit the efficiency of bio-degradation. Based on all above characteristics, separated collection and two-phase anaerobic digestion were considered to be a suitable ways for catering food waste treatment.

Ultrasound assisted biogas production from co-digestion of wastewater sludges and agricultural wastes: Comparison with microwave pre-treatment.

PubMed

Aylin Alagöz, B; Yenigün, Orhan; Erdinçler, Ayşen

2018-01-01

This study investigates the effect of ultrasonication and microwave sludge disintegration/pre-treatment techniques on the anaerobic co-digestion efficiency of wastewater sludges with olive and grape pomaces. The effects of both co-digestion and sludge pre-treatment techniques were evaluated in terms of the organic removal efficiency and the biogas production. The "co-digestion" of wastewater sludge with both types of pomaces was revealed to be a much more efficient way for the biogas production compared to the single (mono) sludge digestion. The ultrasonication and microwave pre-treatments applied to the sludge samples caused to a further increase in biogas and methane yields. Based on applied specific energies, ultrasonication pre-treatment was found much more effective than microwave irradiation. The specific energy applied in microwave pre-treatment (87,000kj/kgTS) was almost 9 times higher than that of used in ultrasonication (10,000kj/kgTS), resulting only 10-15% increases in biogas/methane yield. Co-digestion of winery and olive industry residues with pre-treated wastewater sludges appears to be a suitable technique for waste management and energy production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

N-SINK - reduction of waste water nitrogen load

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aalto, Sanni; Tiirola, Marja; Arvola, Lauri; Huotari, Jussi; Tulonen, Tiina; Rissanen, Antti; Nykänen, Hannu

2014-05-01

Protection of the Baltic Sea from eutrophication is one of the key topics in the European Union environmental policy. One of the main anthropogenic sources of nitrogen (N) loading into Baltic Sea are waste water treatment plants, which are currently capable in removing only 40-70% of N. European commission has obliged Finland and other Baltic states to reduce nitrate load, which would require high monetary investments on nitrate removal processes in treatment plants. In addition, forced denitrification in treatment plants would increase emissions of strong greenhouse gas N2O. In this project (LIFE12 FI/ENV/597 N-SINK) we will develop and demonstrate a novel economically feasible method for nitrogen removal using applied ecosystem services. As sediment is known to have enormous capacity to reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas through denitrification, we predict that spatial optimization of the waste water discharge would be an efficient way to reduce nitrate-based load in aquatic systems. A new sediment filtration approach, which will increase both the area and time that nitrified waste water will be in contact with the reducing microbes of the sediment, is tested. Compared to the currently implemented practice, where purified waste water is discharged though one-point outlet system, we expect that sediment filtration system will result in more efficient denitrification and decreased N load to aquatic system. We will conduct three full-scale demonstrations in the receiving water bodies of waste water treatment plants in Southern and Central Finland. The ecosystem effects of sediment filtration system will be monitored. Using the most advanced stable isotope techniques will allow us accurately measure denitrification and unfavoured DNRA (reduction of nitrite to ammonium) activity.

Thermochemical valorization and characterization of household biowaste.

PubMed

Vakalis, S; Sotiropoulos, A; Moustakas, K; Malamis, D; Vekkos, K; Baratieri, M

2017-12-01

Valorization of municipal solid waste (MSW), by means of energy and material recovery, is considered to be a crucial step for sustainable waste management. A significant fraction of MSW is comprised from food waste, the treatment of which is still a challenge. Therefore, the conventional disposal of food waste in landfills is being gradually replaced by recycling aerobic treatment, anaerobic digestion and waste-to-energy. In principle, thermal processes like combustion and gasification are preferred for the recovery of energy due to the higher electrical efficiency and the significantly less time required for the process to be completed when compared to biological process, i.e. composting, anaerobic digestion and transesterification. Nonetheless, the high water content and the molecular structure of biowaste are constraining factors in regard to the application of thermal conversion pathways. Investigating alternative solutions for the pre-treatment and more energy efficient handling of this waste fraction may provide pathways for the optimization of the whole process. In this study, by means of utilizing drying/milling as an intermediate step, thermal treatment of household biowaste has become possible. Household biowaste has been thermally processed in a bench scale reactor by means of torrefaction, carbonization and high temperature pyrolysis. According to the operational conditions, fluctuating fractions of biochar, bio-oil (tar) and syngas were recovered. The thermochemical properties of the feedstock and products were analyzed by means of Simultaneous Thermal Analysis (STA), Ultimate and Proximate analysis and Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR). The analysis of the products shows that torrefaction of dried household biowaste produces an energy dense fuel and high temperature pyrolysis produces a graphite-like material with relatively high yield. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical processing of solid waste

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bockris, J. OM.; Hitchens, G. D.; Kaba, L.

1988-01-01

The investigation into electrolysis as a means of waste treatment and recycling on manned space missions is described. The electrochemical reactions of an artificial fecal waste mixture was examined. Waste electrolysis experiments were performed in a single compartment reactor, on platinum electrodes, to determine conditions likely to maximize the efficiency of oxidation of fecal waste material to CO2. The maximum current efficiencies for artificial fecal waste electrolysis to CO2 was found to be around 50 percent in the test apparatus. Experiments involving fecal waste oxidation on platinum indicates that electrodes with a higher overvoltage for oxygen evolution such as lead dioxide will give a larger effective potential range for organic oxidation reactions. An electrochemical packed column reactor was constructed with lead dioxide as electrode material. Preliminary experiments were performed using a packed-bed reactor and continuous flow techniques showing this system may be effective in complete oxidation of fecal material. The addition of redox mediator Ce(3+)/Ce(4+) enhances the oxidation process of biomass components. Scientific literature relevant to biomass and fecal waste electrolysis were reviewed.

Effects of pre-treatment technologies on quantity and quality of source-sorted municipal organic waste for biogas recovery.

PubMed

Hansen, Trine Lund; Jansen, Jes la Cour; Davidsson, Asa; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

2007-01-01

Source-sorted municipal organic waste collected from different dwelling types in five Danish cities and pre-treated at three different plants was sampled and characterized several times during one year to investigate the origin of any differences in composition of the pre-treated waste introduced by city, pre-treatment technology, dwelling type or annual season. The investigated pre-treatment technologies were screw press, disc screen and shredder+magnet. The average quantity of pre-treated organic waste (biomass) produced from the incoming waste varied between the investigated pre-treatment technologies: 59%, 66% and 98% wet weight, respectively (41%, 34% and 2% reject, respectively). The pre-treatment technologies showed differences with respect to distribution of the chemical components in the waste between the biomass and the rejected material (reject), especially for dry matter, ash, collection bag material (plastic or paper) and easily degradable organic matter. Furthermore, the particle size of the biomass was related to the pre-treatment technology. The content of plastic in the biomass depended both on the actual collection bag material used in the system and the pre-treatment technology. The sampled reject consisted mostly of organic matter. For cities using plastic bags for the source-separated organic waste, the expected content of plastic in the reject was up to 10% wet weight (in some cases up to 20%). Batch tests for methane potential of the biomass samples showed only minor variations caused by the factors city, pre-treatment technology, dwelling type and season when based on the VS content of the waste (overall average 459STPm(3)/tVS). The amount of methane generated from 1t of collected waste was therefore mainly determined by the efficiency of the chosen pre-treatment technology described by the mass distribution of the incoming waste between biomass and reject.

Energy implications of mechanical and mechanical–biological treatment compared to direct waste-to-energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cimpan, Ciprian, E-mail: cic@kbm.sdu.dk; Wenzel, Henrik

2013-07-15

Highlights: • Compared systems achieve primary energy savings between 34 and 140 MJ{sub primary}/100 MJ{sub input} {sub waste.} • Savings magnitude is foremost determined by chosen primary energy and materials production. • Energy consumption and process losses can be upset by increased technology efficiency. • Material recovery accounts for significant shares of primary energy savings. • Direct waste-to-energy is highly efficient if cogeneration (CHP) is possible. - Abstract: Primary energy savings potential is used to compare five residual municipal solid waste treatment systems, including configurations with mechanical (MT) and mechanical–biological (MBT) pre-treatment, which produce waste-derived fuels (RDF and SRF), biogasmore » and/or recover additional materials for recycling, alongside a system based on conventional mass burn waste-to-energy and ash treatment. To examine the magnitude of potential savings we consider two energy efficiency levels (state-of-the-art and best available technology), the inclusion/exclusion of heat recovery (CHP vs. PP) and three different background end-use energy production systems (coal condensing electricity and natural gas heat, Nordic electricity mix and natural gas heat, and coal CHP energy quality allocation). The systems achieved net primary energy savings in a range between 34 and 140 MJ{sub primary}/100 MJ{sub input} {sub waste}, in the different scenario settings. The energy footprint of transportation needs, pre-treatment and reprocessing of recyclable materials was 3–9.5%, 1–18% and 1–8% respectively, relative to total energy savings. Mass combustion WtE achieved the highest savings in scenarios with CHP production, nonetheless, MBT-based systems had similarly high performance if SRF streams were co-combusted with coal. When RDF and SRF was only used in dedicated WtE plants, MBT-based systems totalled lower savings due to inherent system losses and additional energy costs. In scenarios without heat recovery, the biodrying MBS-based system achieved the highest savings, on the condition of SRF co-combustion. As a sensitivity scenario, alternative utilisation of SRF in cement kilns was modelled. It supported similar or higher net savings for all pre-treatment systems compared to mass combustion WtE, except when WtE CHP was possible in the first two background energy scenarios. Recovery of plastics for recycling before energy recovery increased net energy savings in most scenario variations, over those of full stream combustion. Sensitivity to assumptions regarding virgin plastic substitution was tested and was found to mostly favour plastic recovery.« less

Micro-scale Plasma Arc Gasification for Waste Treatment and Energy Production Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caraccio, Anne

2015-01-01

As NASA continues to develop technology for spaceflight beyond low earth orbit, we must develop the right systems for sustaining human life on a long duration or planetary mission. Plasma arc gasification (PAG) is an energy efficient mechanism of waste management for power generation and synthetic gas(syngas) production.

Treatment of Radioactive Metallic Waste from Operation of Nuclear Power Plants by Melting - The German Way for a Consistent Recycling to Minimize the Quantity of Radioactive Waste from Operation and Dismantling for Disposal - 12016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wegener, Dirk; Kluth, Thomas

2012-07-01

During maintenance of nuclear power plants, and during their decommissioning period, a large quantity of radioactive metallic waste will accrue. On the other hand the capacity for final disposal of radioactive waste in Germany is limited as well as that in the US. That is why all procedures related to this topic should be handled with a maximum of efficiency. The German model of consistent recycling of the radioactive metal scrap within the nuclear industry therefore also offers high capabilities for facilities in the US. The paper gives a compact overview of the impressive results of melting treatment, the currentmore » potential and further developments. Thousands of cubic metres of final disposal capacity have been saved. The highest level of efficiency and safety by combining general surface decontamination by blasting and nuclide specific decontamination by melting associated with the typical effects of homogenization. An established process - nationally and internationally recognized. Excellent connection between economy and ecology. (authors)« less

Novel Cleanup Agents Designed Exclusively for Oil Field Membrane Filtration Systems Low Cost Field Demonstrations of Cleanup Agents in Controlled Experimental Environments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David Burnett; Harold Vance

2007-08-31

The goal of our project is to develop innovative processes and novel cleaning agents for water treatment facilities designed to remove fouling materials and restore micro-filter and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane performance. This project is part of Texas A&M University's comprehensive study of the treatment and reuse of oilfield brine for beneficial purposes. Before waste water can be used for any beneficial purpose, it must be processed to remove contaminants, including oily wastes such as residual petroleum hydrocarbons. An effective way of removing petroleum from brines is the use of membrane filters to separate oily waste from the brine. Texasmore » A&M and its partners have developed highly efficient membrane treatment and RO desalination for waste water including oil field produced water. We have also developed novel and new cleaning agents for membrane filters utilizing environmentally friendly materials so that the water from the treatment process will meet U.S. EPA drinking water standards. Prototype micellar cleaning agents perform better and use less clean water than alternate systems. While not yet optimized, the new system restores essentially complete membrane flux and separation efficiency after cleaning. Significantly the amount of desalinated water that is required to clean the membranes is reduced by more than 75%.« less

Population dynamics in controlled unsteady-state systems: An application to the degradation of glyphosate in a sequencing batch reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Devarakonda, M.S.

1988-01-01

Control over population dynamics and organism selection in a biological waste treatment system provides an effective means of engineering process efficiency. Examples of applications of organism selection include control of filamentous organisms, biological nutrient removal, industrial waste treatment requiring the removal of specific substrates, and hazardous waste treatment. Inherently, full scale biological waste treatment systems are unsteady state systems due to the variations in the waste streams and mass flow rates of the substrates. Some systems, however, have the capacity to impose controlled selective pressures on the biological population by means of their operation. An example of such a systemmore » is the Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) which was the experimental system utilized in this research work. The concepts of organism selection were studied in detail for the biodegradation of a herbicide waste stream, with glyphosate as the target compound. The SBR provided a reactor configuration capable of exerting the necessary selective pressures to select and enrich for a glyphosate degrading population. Based on results for bench scale SBRs, a hypothesis was developed to explain population dynamics in glyphosate degrading systems.« less

Effects of treatment time and temperature on the DC corona pretreatment performance of waste activated sludge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, GAO; Ning, ZHAO; Yongdi, DENG; Minghang, WANG; Boxue, DU

2018-02-01

In order to improve the anaerobic digestion efficiency of waste activated sludge (WAS), a pretreatment procedure should be carried out so as to disrupt the microbial cell structure, thus releasing intracellular organic matters. In this paper, a corona discharge triggered by a DC voltage was employed to pre-treat WAS for various time periods under different temperatures. The magnitude of the DC voltage was 4 kV at both negative and positive polarities. The changes in the soluble chemical oxygen demand, phosphorus and nitrogen content, and pH value within the WAS were utilized to estimate the pretreatment performance of the DC corona. It was found that with increasing treatment time, the pretreatment efficiency tends to be reduced. With increased temperature, the pretreatment efficiency appears to be better. It is suggested that the oxidative species and the active particles generated in the corona discharge play an important role in disrupting the microbial cell structure, which is dependent upon the treatment time and the temperature.

Performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Svojitka, Jan; Dvořák, Lukáš; Studer, Martin; Straub, Jürg Oliver; Frömelt, Heinz; Wintgens, Thomas

2017-04-01

Anaerobic treatment of wastewater and waste organic solvents originating from the pharmaceutical and chemical industries was tested in a pilot anaerobic membrane bioreactor, which was operated for 580days under different operational conditions. The goal was to test the long-term treatment efficiency and identify inhibitory factors. The highest COD removal of up to 97% was observed when the influent concentration was increased by the addition of methanol (up to 25gL -1 as COD). Varying and generally lower COD removal efficiency (around 78%) was observed when the anaerobic membrane bioreactor was operated with incoming pharmaceutical wastewater as sole carbon source. The addition of waste organic solvents (>2.5gL -1 as COD) to the influent led to low COD removal efficiency or even to the breakdown of anaerobic digestion. Changes in the anaerobic population (e.g., proliferation of the genus Methanosarcina) resulting from the composition of influent were observed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Leaching of Au, Ag, and Pd from waste printed circuit boards of mobile phone by iodide lixiviant after supercritical water pre-treatment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xiu, Fu-Rong, E-mail: xiu_chem@hotmail.com; Qi, Yingying; Zhang, Fu-Shen

Highlights: • We report a novel process for recovering Au, Ag, and Pd from waste PCBs. • The effect of SCWO on the leaching of Au, Ag, and Pd in waste PCBs was studied. • SCWO was highly efficient for enhancing the leaching of Au, Ag, and Pd. • The optimum leaching parameters for Au, Ag, and Pd in iodine–iodide were studied. - Abstract: Precious metals are the most attractive resources in waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) of mobile phones. In this work, an alternative process for recovering Au, Ag, and Pd from waste PCBs of mobile phones by supercriticalmore » water oxidation (SCWO) pre-treatment combined with iodine–iodide leaching process was developed. In the process, the waste PCBs of mobile phones were pre-treated in supercritical water, then a diluted hydrochloric acid leaching (HL) process was used to recovery the Cu, whose leaching efficiency was approximately 100%, finally the resulting residue was subjected to the iodine–iodide leaching process for recovering the Au, Ag, and Pd. Experimental results indicated that SCWO pre-treatment temperature, time, and pressure had significant influence on the Au, Ag, and Pd leaching from (SCWO + HL)-treated waste PCBs. The optimal SCWO pre-treatment conditions were 420 °C and 60 min for Au and Pd, and 410 °C and 30 min for Ag. The optimum dissolution parameters for Au, Pd, and Ag in (SCWO + HL)-treated PCBs with iodine–iodide system were leaching time of 120 min (90 min for Ag), iodine/iodide mole ratio of 1:5 (1:6 for Ag), solid-to-liquid ratio (S/L) of 1:10 g/mL (1:8 g/mL for Ag), and pH of 9, respectively. It is believed that the process developed in this study is environment friendly for the recovery of Au, Ag, and Pd from waste PCBs of mobile phones by SCWO pre-treatment combined with iodine–iodide leaching process.« less

Plasma for environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Oost, G.

2017-12-01

Human activity is associated with the permanent emergence of a very wide range of waste streams. The most widely used treatment of waste is thermal processing such as incineration. An alternative environmentally friendly process is based on thermal plasma technology which is a very flexible tool because it allows to operate in a wide temperature range with almost any chemical composition of waste and chemicals needed for processing this waste. It allows the conversion of organic waste into energy or chemical substances as well as the destruction of toxic organic compounds in a scenario that for each specific type of waste can be considered optimal, both in terms of energy efficiency and environmental safety.

Assessment of different pre-treatment methods for the removal of limonene in citrus waste and their effect on methane potential and methane production rate.

PubMed

Ruiz, Begoña; de Benito, Amparo; Rivera, José Daniel; Flotats, Xavier

2016-12-01

The objective of this study was to assess the limonene removal efficiency of three pre-treatment methods when applied to citrus waste and to evaluate their effects on the biochemical methane potential and the methane production rate using batch anaerobic tests. The methods tested were based on removal (biological pretreatment by fungi) or recovery (steam distillation and ethanol extraction) of limonene. All the treatments decreased the concentration of limonene in orange peel, with average efficiencies of 22%, 44% and 100% for the biological treatment, steam distillation and ethanol extraction, respectively. By-products from limonene biodegradation by fungi exhibited an inhibitory effect also, not making interesting the biological pretreatment. The methane potential and production rate of the treated orange peel increased significantly after applying the recovery strategies, which separated and recovered simultaneously other inhibitory components of the citrus essential oil. Apart from the high recovery efficiency of the ethanol extraction process, it presented a favourable energy balance. © The Author(s) 2016.

Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant U. S. Department of Energy Office of River Protection Submerged Bed Scrubber Condensate Disposition Project - 13460

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yanochko, Ronald M.; Corcoran, Connie

The Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) will generate an off-gas treatment system secondary liquid waste stream [submerged bed scrubber (SBS) condensate], which is currently planned for recycle back to the WTP Low Activity Waste (LAW) melter. This SBS condensate waste stream is high in Tc-99, which is not efficiently captured in the vitrified glass matrix [1]. A pre-conceptual engineering study was prepared in fiscal year 2012 to evaluate alternate flow paths for melter off-gas secondary liquid waste generated by the WTP LAW facility [2]. This study evaluated alternatives for direct off-site disposal of this SBS without pre-treatment, whichmore » mitigates potential issues associated with recycling. This study [2] concluded that SBS direct disposal is a viable option to the WTP baseline. The results show: - Off-site transportation and disposal of the SBS condensate is achievable and cost effective. - Reduction of approximately 4,325 vitrified WTP Low Activity Waste canisters could be realized. - Positive WTP operational impacts; minimal WTP construction impacts are realized. - Reduction of mass flow from the LAW Facility to the Pretreatment Facility by 66%. - Improved Double Shell Tank (DST) space management is a benefit. (authors)« less

Sterols indicate water quality and wastewater treatment efficiency.

PubMed

Reichwaldt, Elke S; Ho, Wei Y; Zhou, Wenxu; Ghadouani, Anas

2017-01-01

As the world's population continues to grow, water pollution is presenting one of the biggest challenges worldwide. More wastewater is being generated and the demand for clean water is increasing. To ensure the safety and health of humans and the environment, highly efficient wastewater treatment systems, and a reliable assessment of water quality and pollutants are required. The advance of holistic approaches to water quality management and the increasing use of ecological water treatment technologies, such as constructed wetlands and waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs), challenge the appropriateness of commonly used water quality indicators. Instead, additional indicators, which are direct measures of the processes involved in the stabilisation of human waste, have to be established to provide an in-depth understanding of system performance. In this study we identified the sterol composition of wastewater treated in WSPs and assessed the suitability of human sterol levels as a bioindicator of treatment efficiency of wastewater in WSPs. As treatment progressed in WSPs, the relative abundance of human faecal sterols, such as coprostanol, epicoprostanol, 24-ethylcoprostanol, and sitostanol decreased significantly and the sterol composition in wastewater changed significantly. Furthermore, sterol levels were found to be correlated with commonly used wastewater quality indicators, such as BOD, TSS and E. coli. Three of the seven sterol ratios that have previously been used to track sewage pollution in the environment, detected a faecal signal in the effluent of WSPs, however, the others were influenced by high prevalence of sterols originating from algal and fungal activities. This finding poses a concern for environmental assessment studies, because environmental pollution from waste stabilisation ponds can go unnoticed. In conclusion, faecal sterols and their ratios can be used as reliable indicators of treatment efficiency and water quality during wastewater treatment in WSPs. They can complement the use of commonly used indicators of water quality, to provide essential information on the overall performance of ponds and whether a pond is underperforming in terms of stabilising human waste. Such a holistic understanding is essential when the aim is to improve the performance of a treatment plant, build new plants or expand existing infrastructure. Future work should aim at further establishing the use of sterols as reliable water quality indicators on a broader scale across natural and engineered systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parametric and kinetic study of adsorptive removal of dyes from aqueous solutions using an agriculture waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bencheikh, imane; el hajjaji, souad; abourouh, imane; Kitane, Said; Dahchour, Abdelmalek; El M'Rabet, Mohammadine

2017-04-01

Wastewater treatment is the subject of several studies through decades. Interest is continuously oriented to provide cheaper and efficient methods of treatment. Several methods of treatment exit including coagulation flocculation, filtration, precipitation, ozonation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, advanced oxidation process. The use of these methods proved limited because of their high investment and operational cost. Adsorption can be an efficient low-cost process to remove pollutants from wastewater. This method of treatment calls for an solid adsorbent which constitutes the purification tool. Agricultural wastes have been widely exploited in this case .As we know the agricultural wastes are an important source of water pollution once discharged into the aquatic environment (river, sea ...). The valorization of such wastes and their use allows the prevention of this problem with an economic and environment benefits. In this context our study aimed testing the wastewater treatment capacity by adsorption onto holocellulose resulting from the valorization of an agriculture waste. In this study, methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) are selected as models pollutants for evaluating the holocellulose adsorbent capacity. The kinetics of adsorption is performed using UV-visible spectroscopy. In order to study the effect of the main parameters for the adsorption process and their mutual interaction, a full factorial design (type nk) has been used.23 full factorial design analysis was performed to screen the parameters affecting dye removal efficiency. Using the experimental results, a linear mathematical model representing the influence of the different parameters and their interactions was obtained. The parametric study showed that efficiency of the adsorption system (Dyes/ Holocellulose) is mainly linked to pH variation. The best yields were observed for MB at pH=10 and for MO at pH=2.The kinetic data was analyzed using different models , namely , the pseudo-first- order kinetic model the pseudo-second-order kinetic model , and the Intraparticule diffusion model . It was observed that the pseudo -second -order model was the best model describing the adsorption behavior of MB and MO onto holocellulose. This suggested that the adsorption mechanism might be a chemisorptions process. In general, the results indicated that holocellulose is suitable as sorbent material for adsorption of MO and MB from aqueous solutions for its high effectiveness and low cost.

Treatment of the Bleaching Effluent from Sulfite Pulp Production by Ceramic Membrane Filtration

PubMed Central

Ebrahimi, Mehrdad; Busse, Nadine; Kerker, Steffen; Schmitz, Oliver; Hilpert, Markus; Czermak, Peter

2015-01-01

Pulp and paper waste water is one of the major sources of industrial water pollution. This study tested the suitability of ceramic tubular membrane technology as an alternative to conventional waste water treatment in the pulp and paper industry. In this context, in series batch and semi-batch membrane processes comprising microfiltration, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration, ceramic membranes were developed to reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and remove residual lignin from the effluent flow during sulfite pulp production. A comparison of the ceramic membranes in terms of separation efficiency and performance revealed that the two-stage process configuration with microfiltration followed by ultrafiltration was most suitable for the efficient treatment of the alkaline bleaching effluent tested herein, reducing the COD concentration and residual lignin levels by more than 35% and 70%, respectively. PMID:26729180

Treatment of the Bleaching Effluent from Sulfite Pulp Production by Ceramic Membrane Filtration.

PubMed

Ebrahimi, Mehrdad; Busse, Nadine; Kerker, Steffen; Schmitz, Oliver; Hilpert, Markus; Czermak, Peter

2015-12-31

Pulp and paper waste water is one of the major sources of industrial water pollution. This study tested the suitability of ceramic tubular membrane technology as an alternative to conventional waste water treatment in the pulp and paper industry. In this context, in series batch and semi-batch membrane processes comprising microfiltration, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration, ceramic membranes were developed to reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and remove residual lignin from the effluent flow during sulfite pulp production. A comparison of the ceramic membranes in terms of separation efficiency and performance revealed that the two-stage process configuration with microfiltration followed by ultrafiltration was most suitable for the efficient treatment of the alkaline bleaching effluent tested herein, reducing the COD concentration and residual lignin levels by more than 35% and 70%, respectively.

A multi-objective model for sustainable recycling of municipal solid waste.

PubMed

Mirdar Harijani, Ali; Mansour, Saeed; Karimi, Behrooz

2017-04-01

The efficient management of municipal solid waste is a major problem for large and populated cities. In many countries, the majority of municipal solid waste is landfilled or dumped owing to an inefficient waste management system. Therefore, an optimal and sustainable waste management strategy is needed. This study introduces a recycling and disposal network for sustainable utilisation of municipal solid waste. In order to optimise the network, we develop a multi-objective mixed integer linear programming model in which the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability are concurrently balanced. The model is able to: select the best combination of waste treatment facilities; specify the type, location and capacity of waste treatment facilities; determine the allocation of waste to facilities; consider the transportation of waste and distribution of processed products; maximise the profit of the system; minimise the environmental footprint; maximise the social impacts of the system; and eventually generate an optimal and sustainable configuration for municipal solid waste management. The proposed methodology could be applied to any region around the world. Here, the city of Tehran, Iran, is presented as a real case study to show the applicability of the methodology.

Extraction and recovery of pectic fragments from citrus processing waste for co-production with ethanol

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Steam treatment of citrus processing waste (CPW) at 160°C followed by a rapid decompression (steam explosion) at either pH 2.8 or 4.5 provides an efficient and rapid fragmentation of protopectin in CPW and renders a large fraction of fragmented pectins, arabinans, galactans and arabinogalactans solu...

Electrochemical decomposition of fluorinated wetting agents in plating industry waste water.

PubMed

Fath, Andreas; Sacher, Frank; McCaskie, John E

2016-01-01

Electrochemical decomposition of fluorinated surfactants (PFAS, perfluorinated alkyl substances) used in the plating industry was analyzed and the decomposition process parameters optimized at the laboratory scale and production scale of a 500-liter reactor using lead electrodes. The method and system was successfully demonstrated under production conditions to treat PFAS) with up to 99% efficiency in the concentration range of 1,000-20,000 μg/l (1 ppm-20 ppm). The treatment also reduced hexavalent chromium (Cr(6+)) ions to trivalent chromium (Cr(3+)) ions in the wastewater. If the PFAS-containing wastewater is mixed with other wastewater streams, specifically from nickel plating drag out solution or when pH values >5, the treatment process is ineffective. For the short chain PFAS, (perfluorobutylsulfonate) the process was less efficient than C6-C8 PFAS. The process is automated and has safety procedures and controls to prevent hazards. The PFAS were decomposed to hydrogen fluoride (HF) under the strong acid electrochemical operating conditions. Analytical tests showed no evidence of organic waste products remaining from the process. Conventional alternative PFAS removal systems were tested on the waste streams and compared with each other and with the-E-destruct (electrochemical oxidation) process. For example, ion exchange resin (IX resin) treatment of wastewater to complex and remove PFAS was found to be seven times more efficient when compared to the conventional activated carbon absorption (C-treat) process. However, the E-destruct process is higher in capacity, exhibits longer service life and lower operating costs than either IX or C-treat methods for elimination of PFAS from these electroplating waste streams.

Treatment of electronic waste to recover metal values using thermal plasma coupled with acid leaching - A response surface modeling approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rath, Swagat S., E-mail: swagat.rath@gmail.com; Nayak, Pradeep; Mukherjee, P.S.

2012-03-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Sentences/phrases were modified. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Necessary discussions for different figures were included. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer More discussion have been included on the flue gas analysis. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Queries to both the reviewers have been given. - Abstract: The global crisis of the hazardous electronic waste (E-waste) is on the rise due to increasing usage and disposal of electronic devices. A process was developed to treat E-waste in an environmentally benign process. The process consisted of thermal plasma treatment followed by recovery of metal values through mineral acid leaching. In the thermal process, the E-waste was melted to recover the metal values asmore » a metallic mixture. The metallic mixture was subjected to acid leaching in presence of depolarizer. The leached liquor mainly contained copper as the other elements like Al and Fe were mostly in alloy form as per the XRD and phase diagram studies. Response surface model was used to optimize the conditions for leaching. More than 90% leaching efficiency at room temperature was observed for Cu, Ni and Co with HCl as the solvent, whereas Fe and Al showed less than 40% efficiency.« less

[Application of microbial fuel cell (MFC) in solid waste composting].

PubMed

Cui, Jinxin; Wang, Xin; Tang, Jingchun

2012-03-01

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a new technology that can recover energy from biomass with simultaneous waste treatment. This technique has been developed fast in recent years in combining with environmental techniques such as wastewater treatment, degradation of toxic pollutants and desalination. With the increase of solid waste, applying MFC in composting is promising due to its property of waste disposal with simultaneous energy generation. In this paper, the microbial community of MFCs during composting was summarized. Four major influencing factors including electrodes, separators, oxygen supplement and configurations on the performance of composting MFCs were discussed. The characteristics of composting MFC as a new technique for reducing solid waste were as follows: high microbial biomass resulted in the high current density; adaptable to different environmental conditions; self-adjustable temperature with high energy efficiency; the transportation of proton from anode to cathode were limited by different solid substrates.

The Integrated Waste Tracking System - A Flexible Waste Management Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, Robert Stephen

2001-02-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has fully embraced a flexible, computer-based tool to help increase waste management efficiency and integrate multiple operational functions from waste generation through waste disposition while reducing cost. The Integrated Waste Tracking System (IWTS)provides comprehensive information management for containerized waste during generation,storage, treatment, transport, and disposal. The IWTS provides all information necessary for facilities to properly manage and demonstrate regulatory compliance. As a platformindependent, client-server and Web-based inventory and compliance system, the IWTS has proven to be a successful tracking, characterization, compliance, and reporting tool that meets themore » needs of both operations and management while providing a high level of management flexibility.« less

Biogasification of Walt Disney World biomass waste blend. Annual report Jan-Dec 82

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biljetina, R.; Chynoweth, D.P.; Janulis, J.

1983-05-01

The objective of this research is to develop efficient processes for conversion of biomass-waste blends to methane and other resources. To evaluate the technical and economic feasibility, an experimental test facility (ETU) is being designed and installed at the Reedy Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. The facility will integrate a biomethanogenic conversion process with a waste-water treatment process employing water hyacinth ponds for secondary and tertiary treatment of sewage produced at Walt Disney World. The ETU will be capable of feeding 1-wet ton per day of water hyacinth-sludge blends to the digestion system for productionmore » of methane and other byproducts. The detailed design of the facility has been completed and procurement of equipment is in progress.« less

Preliminary evaluation of evaluation of the efficiency of aircraft liquid waste treatment using resolvable sanitizing liquid: a case study in Changchun.

PubMed

Xu, Jianling; Yang, Jiaqi; Zhao, Nan; Sheng, Lianxi; Zhao, Yuanhui; Tang, Zhanhui

2011-12-01

The physical, chemical, and biological indices of aircraft liquid wastes collected from multiple airplanes at Longjia Airport, Changchun, China were measured according to "Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard," evaluating treatment efficiency of resolvable sanitizing liquid. The results indicate that, after being treated by the resolvable sanitizing liquid, the indices of all first-class pollutants met the requirements of the standard, while among the second-class pollutants, the suspension content, biochemical oxygen demand after 5 days, and chemical oxygen demand as well as the contents of amino nitrogen, total phosphorus, anionic surfactants, total copper, absorbable organic halogen, and phenolic compounds did not reach the discharge standard. Particularly, the level of fecal coliform bacteria in the aircraft liquid wastes can meet the standard specification by adding more than 1 mL/L resolvable sanitizing liquid. The aircraft wastewater treated by resolvable sanitizing liquid cannot be directly discharged back into the environment as well as urban drainage systems.

Environmental impact assessment of solid waste management in Beijing City, China

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao Yan; Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety, Ministry of Education of China, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing; Christensen, Thomas H.

2011-04-15

The environmental impacts of municipal solid waste management in Beijing City were evaluated using a life-cycle-based model, EASEWASTE, to take into account waste generation, collection, transportation, treatment/disposal technologies, and savings obtained by energy and material recovery. The current system, mainly involving the use of landfills, has manifested significant adverse environmental impacts caused by methane emissions from landfills and many other emissions from transfer stations. A short-term future scenario, where some of the landfills (which soon will reach their capacity because of rising amount of waste in Beijing City) are substituted by incinerators with energy recovery, would not result in significantmore » environmental improvement. This is primarily because of the low calorific value of mixed waste, and it is likely that the incinerators would require significant amounts of auxiliary fuels to support combustion of wet waste. As for the long-term future scenario, efficient source separation of food waste could result in significant environmental improvements, primarily because of increase in calorific value of remaining waste incinerated with energy recovery. Sensitivity analysis emphasized the importance of efficient source separation of food waste, as well as the electricity recovery in incinerators, in order to obtain an environmentally friendly waste management system in Beijing City.« less

Efficiency of inductively torch plasma operating at atmospheric pressure on destruction of chlorinated liquid wastes- A path to the treatment of radioactive organic halogen liquid wastes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamgang-Youbi, G.; Poizot, K.; Lemont, F.

2012-12-01

The performance of a plasma reactor for the degradation of chlorinated hydrocarbon waste is reported. Chloroform was used as a target for a recently patented destruction process based using an inductive plasma torch. Liquid waste was directly injected axially into the argon plasma with a supplied power of ~4 kW in the presence of oxygen as oxidant and carrier gas. Decomposition was performed at CHCl3 feed rates up to 400 g·h-1 with different oxygen/waste molar ratios, chloroform destruction was obtained with at least 99% efficiency and the energy efficiency reached 100 g·kWh-1. The conversion end products were identified and assayed by online FTIR spectroscopy (CO2, HCl and H2O) and redox titration (Cl2). Considering phosgene as representative of toxic compounds, only very small quantities of toxics were released (< 1 g·h-1) even with high waste feed rates. The experimental results were very close to the equilibrium composition predicted by thermodynamic calculations. At the bottom of the reactor, the chlorinated acids were successfully trapped in a scrubber and transformed into mineral salts, hence, only CO2 and H2O have been found in the final off-gases composition.

Multi-phased anaerobic baffled reactor treating food waste.

PubMed

Ahamed, A; Chen, C-L; Rajagopal, R; Wu, D; Mao, Y; Ho, I J R; Lim, J W; Wang, J-Y

2015-04-01

This study was conducted to identify the performance of a multi-phased anaerobic baffled reactor (MP-ABR) with food waste (FW) as the substrate for biogas production and thereby to promote an efficient energy recovery and treatment method for the wastes with high organic solid content through phase separation. A four-chambered ABR was operated at an HRT of 30 days with an OLR of 0.5-1.0 g-VS/Ld for a period of 175 days at 35 ± 1°C. Consistent overall removal efficiencies of 85.3% (CODt), 94.5% (CODs), 89.6% (VFA) and 86.4% (VS) were observed throughout the experiment displaying a great potential to treat FW. Biogas generated was 215.57 mL/g-VS removed d. Phase separation was observed and supported by the COD and VFA trends, and an efficient recovery of bioenergy from FW was achieved. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility: Environmental Information Document

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haagenstad, H.T.; Gonzales, G.; Suazo, I.L.

1993-11-01

At Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the treatment of radioactive liquid waste is an integral function of the LANL mission: to assure U.S. military deterrence capability through nuclear weapons technology. As part of this mission, LANL conducts nuclear materials research and development (R&D) activities. These activities generate radioactive liquid waste that must be handled in a manner to ensure protection of workers, the public, and the environment. Radioactive liquid waste currently generated at LANL is treated at the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility (RLWTF), located at Technical Area (TA)-50. The RLWTF is 30 years old and nearing the end ofmore » its useful design life. The facility was designed at a time when environmental requirements, as well as more effective treatment technologies, were not inherent in engineering design criteria. The evolution of engineering design criteria has resulted in the older technology becoming less effective in treating radioactive liquid wastestreams in accordance with current National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and Department of Energy (DOE) regulatory requirements. Therefore, to support ongoing R&D programs pertinent to its mission, LANL is in need of capabilities to efficiently treat radioactive liquid waste onsite or to transport the waste off site for treatment and/or disposal. The purpose of the EID is to provide the technical baseline information for subsequent preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the RLWTF. This EID addresses the proposed action and alternatives for meeting the purpose and need for agency action.« less

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) waste as an adsorbent for phosphorus removal from swine wastewater.

PubMed

Chen, Xi; Chen, Xiuxia; Wan, Xianwei; Weng, Boqi; Huang, Qin

2010-12-01

Both live plants and dried straw of water hyacinth were applied to a sequential treatment of swine wastewater for nitrogen and phosphorus reduction. In the facultative tank, the straw behaved as a kind of adsorbent toward phosphorus. Its phosphorus removal rate varied considerably with contact time between the straw and the influent. In the laboratory, the straw displayed a rapid total phosphorus reduction on a KH(2)PO(4) solution. The adsorption efficiency was about 36% upon saturation. At the same time, the water hyacinth straw in the facultative tank enhanced NH(3)-N removal efficiency as well. However, no adsorption was evident. This study demonstrated an economically feasible means to apply water hyacinth phosphorus straw for the swine wastewater treatment. The sequential system employed significantly reduced the land use, as compared to the wastewater stabilization pond treatment, for pollution amelioration of swine waste. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New approach of depollution of solid chromium leather waste by the use of organic chelates: economical and environmental impacts.

PubMed

Malek, Ammar; Hachemi, Messaoud; Didier, Villemin

2009-10-15

Herein, we describe an original novel method which allows the decontamination of the chromium-containing leather wastes to simplify the recovery of its considerable protein fractions. Organic salts and acids such as potassium oxalate, potassium tartrate, acetic and citric acids were tested for their efficiency to separate the chromium from the leather waste. Our investigation is based on the research of the total reversibility of the tanning process, in order to decontaminate the waste without its previous degradation or digestion. The effect of several influential parameters on the treatment process was also studied. Therefore, the action of chemical agents used in decontamination process seems very interesting. The optimal yield of chromium extraction about 95% is obtained. The aim of the present study is to define a preliminary processing of solid leather waste with two main impacts: Removing with reusing chromium in the tanning process with simple, ecological and economic treatment process and potential valorization of the organic matrix of waste decontaminated.

Indigenous Halomonas spp., the Potential Nitrifying Bacteria for Saline Ammonium Waste Water Treatment.

PubMed

Sangnoi, Yutthapong; Chankaew, Sunipa; O-Thong, Sompong

2017-01-01

Toxic nitrogen compounds are one cause decreasing of shrimp production and water pollution. Indigenous Halomonas spp., isolated from Pacific white shrimp farm are benefitted for saline ammonium waste water treatment. This study aimed to isolate the heterotrophic-halophilic Halomonas spp. and investigate their ammonium removal efficiency. Halomonas spp., were isolated by culturing of samples collected from shrimp farm into modified Pep-Beef-AOM medium. Ammonium converting ability was tested and monitored by nitrite reagent. Ammonium removal efficiency was measured by the standard colorimetric method. Identification and classification of Halomonas spp., were studied by morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics as well as molecular information. There were 5 strains of heterotrophic-halophilic nitrifying bacteria including SKNB2, SKNB4, SKNB17, SKNB20 and SKNB22 were isolated. The identification result based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis indicated that all 5 strains were Halomonas spp., with sequence similarity values of 91-99 %. Ammonium removal efficiency of all strains showed a range of 23-71%. The production of nitrite was low detected of 0.01-0.15 mg-N L-1, while the amount of nitrate was almost undetectable. This might suggest that the indigenous Halomonas spp., as nitrifying bacteria involved biological nitrification process for decreasing and transforming of ammonia. Due to being heterotrophic, halophilic and ammonium removing bacteria, these Halomonas spp., could be developed for use in treatment of saline ammonium waste water.

Radiation protection challenges in the management of radioactive waste from high-energy accelerators.

PubMed

Ulrici, Luisa; Algoet, Yvon; Bruno, Luca; Magistris, Matteo

2015-04-01

The European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) has operated high-energy accelerators for fundamental physics research for nearly 60 y. The side-product of this activity is the radioactive waste, which is mainly generated as a result of preventive and corrective maintenance, upgrading activities and the dismantling of experiments or accelerator facilities. Prior to treatment and disposal, it is common practice to temporarily store radioactive waste on CERN's premises and it is a legal requirement that these storage facilities are safe and secure. Waste treatment typically includes sorting, segregation, volume and size reduction and packaging, which will depend on the type of component, its chemical composition, residual activity and possible surface contamination. At CERN, these activities are performed in a dedicated waste treatment centre under the supervision of the Radiation Protection Group. This paper gives an overview of the radiation protection challenges in the conception of a temporary storage and treatment centre for radioactive waste in an accelerator facility, based on the experience gained at CERN. The CERN approach consists of the classification of waste items into 'families' with similar radiological and physical-chemical properties. This classification allows the use of specific, family-dependent techniques for radiological characterisation and treatment, which are simultaneously efficient and compliant with best practices in radiation protection. The storage was planned on the basis of radiological and other possible hazards such as toxicity, pollution and fire load. Examples are given of technical choices for the treatment and radiological characterisation of selected waste families, which could be of interest to other accelerator facilities. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Need for improvements in physical pretreatment of source-separated household food waste.

PubMed

Bernstad, A; Malmquist, L; Truedsson, C; la Cour Jansen, J

2013-03-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficiency in physical pretreatment processes of source-separated solid organic household waste. The investigation of seventeen Swedish full-scale pretreatment facilities, currently receiving separately collected food waste from household for subsequent anaerobic digestion, shows that problems with the quality of produced biomass and high maintenance costs are common. Four full-scale physical pretreatment plants, three using screwpress technology and one using dispergation technology, were compared in relation to resource efficiency, losses of nitrogen and potential methane production from biodegradable matter as well as the ratio of unwanted materials in produced biomass intended for wet anaerobic digestion. Refuse generated in the processes represent 13-39% of TS in incoming wet waste. The methane yield from these fractions corresponds to 14-36Nm(3)/ton separately collected solid organic household waste. Also, 13-32% of N-tot in incoming food waste is found in refuse. Losses of both biodegradable material and nutrients were larger in the three facilities using screwpress technology compared to the facility using dispersion technology.(1) Thus, there are large potentials for increase of both the methane yield and nutrient recovery from separately collected solid organic household waste through increased efficiency in facilities for physical pretreatment. Improved pretreatment processes could thereby increase the overall environmental benefits from anaerobic digestion as a treatment alternative for solid organic household waste. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Renewable Natural Gas Clean-up Challenges and Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-13

produced from digesters ─ Animal manure (dairy cows, swine) ─ Waste water treatment facilities > Methane from Landfills > RNG produced from...AGR used in process • Two stage + trim methanation reactor • Dehydration to achieve gas pipeline specifications ~ 70% conversion efficiency 21... digestion of agricultural waste for on-site electricity generation ─Altamont Landfill—Landfill gas (LFG) cleanup for production of liquefied natural gas

Land Application of Wastes: An Educational Program. Non-Crop and Forest Systems - Module 13, Objectives, and Script.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarkson, W. W.; And Others

This module discusses the characteristics of alternate sites and management schemes and attempts to evaluate the efficiency of each alternative in terms of waste treatment. Three types of non-crop land application are discussed: (1) forest lands; (2) park and recreational application; and (3) land reclamation in surface or strip mined areas. (BB)

Recycling of indium from waste LCD: A promising non-crushing leaching with the aid of ultrasonic wave.

PubMed

Zhang, Kaihua; Li, Bin; Wu, Yufeng; Wang, Wei; Li, Rubing; Zhang, Yi-Nan; Zuo, Tieyong

2017-06-01

The tremendous amount of end-of-life liquid crystal displays (LCDs) has become one of the prominent sources of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in recent years. Despite the necessity of safe treatment, recycling indium is also a focus of waste LCD treatment because of the scarcity of indium. Based on the analyses of the structure of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) glass, crushing is demonstrated to be not required. In the present research, a complete non-crushing leaching method was firstly adopted to recycle indium from waste LCDs, and the ultrasonic waves was applied in the leaching process. The results demonstrated that indium can be leached efficiently with even a low concentration of chloride acid (HCl) without extra heating. About 96.80% can be recovered in 60mins, when the ITO glass was leached by 0.8MHCl with an enhancement of 300W ultrasonic waves. The indium leaching process is abridged free from crushing, and proves to be of higher efficiency. In addition, the ultrasonic wave influence on leaching process was also explained combing with micron-scale structure of ITO glass. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Removal of organic impurities in waste glycerol from biodiesel production process through the acidification and coagulation processes.

PubMed

Xie, Qiao-Guang; Taweepreda, Wirach; Musikavong, Charongpun; Suksaroj, Chaisri

2012-01-01

Treatment of waste glycerol, a by-product of the biodiesel production process, can reduce water pollution and bring significant economic benefits for biodiesel facilities. In the present study, hydrochloric acid (HCl) was used as acidification to convert soaps into salts and free fatty acids which were recovered after treatment. The pH value, dosages of polyaluminum chloride (PACl) and dosage of polyacrylamide (PAM) were considered to be the factors that can influence coagulation efficiency. The pH value of waste glycerol was adjusted to a pH range of 3-9. The PACl and PAM added were in the range of 1-6 g/L and 0.005-0.07 g/L. The results showed best coagulation efficiency occurs at pH 4 when dosage of PACl and PAM were 2 and 0.01 g/L. The removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD(5)), total suspended solids (TSS) and soaps were 80, 68, 97 and 100%, respectively. The compositions of organic matters in the treated waste glycerol were glycerol (288 g/L), methanol (3.8 g/L), and other impurities (0.3 g/L).

Supercritical waste oxidation of aqueous wastes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Modell, M.

1986-01-01

For aqueous wastes containing 1 to 20 wt% organics, supercritical water oxidation is less costly than controlled incineration or activated carbon treatment and far more efficient than wet oxidation. Above the critical temperature (374 C) and pressure (218 atm) of water, organic materials and gases are completely miscible with water. In supercritical water oxidation, organics, air and water are brought together in a mixture at 250 atm and temperatures above 400 C. Organic oxidation is initiated spontaneously at these conditions. The heat of combustion is released within the fluid and results in a rise in temperature 600 to 650 C. Under these conditions, organics are destroyed rapidly with efficiencies in excess of 99.999%. Heteroatoms are oxidized to acids, which can be precipitated out as salts by adding a base to the feed. Examples are given for process configurations to treat aqueous wastes with 10 and 2 wt% organics.

Products derived from waste plastics (PC, HIPS, ABS, PP and PA6) via hydrothermal treatment: Characterization and potential applications.

PubMed

Zhao, Xuyuan; Zhan, Lu; Xie, Bing; Gao, Bin

2018-09-01

In this study, hydrothermal method was applied for the treatment of five typical waste plastics (PC, HIPS, ABS, PP and PA6). The hydrothermal products of oils and solid residues were analyzed for the product slate and combustion behaviors. Some predominant chemical feedstock were detected in the oils, such as phenolic compounds and bisphenol A (BPA) in PC oils, single-ringed aromatic compounds and diphenyl-sketetons compounds in HIPS and ABS oils, alkanes in PP oils, and caprolactam (CPL) in PA6 oils. The hydrothermal solid residues were subjected to DSC analysis. Except the solid residues of PA6, all the solid residues had enormous improvement on the enthalpy of combustion. The solid residues of PC had the maximum promotion up to 576.03% compared to the raw material. The hydrothermal treatment significantly improved the energy density and facilitated effective combustion. Meanwhile, the glass fiber was recovered from the PA6 plastics. In addition, the combustion behaviors of the uplifting residues were investigated to provide the theoretical foundation for further study of combustion optimization. All the results indicated that the oils of waste plastics after hydrothermal treatment could be used as chemical feedstock; the solid residues of waste plastics after hydrothermal treatment could be used as potentially clean and efficient solid fuels. The hydrothermal treatment for various waste plastics was verified as a novel waste-to-energy technique. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DATA QUALITY OBJECTIVES FOR SELECTING WASTE SAMPLES FOR BENCH-SCALE REFORMER TREATABILITY STUDIES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

BANNING DL

2011-02-11

This document describes the data quality objectives to select archived samples located at the 222-S Laboratory for Bench-Scale Reforming testing. The type, quantity, and quality of the data required to select the samples for Fluid Bed Steam Reformer testing are discussed. In order to maximize the efficiency and minimize the time to treat Hanford tank waste in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, additional treatment processes may be required. One of the potential treatment processes is the fluidized bed steam reformer. A determination of the adequacy of the fluidized bed steam reformer process to treat Hanford tank waste is required.more » The initial step in determining the adequacy of the fluidized bed steam reformer process is to select archived waste samples from the 222-S Laboratory that will be used in a bench scale tests. Analyses of the selected samples will be required to confirm the samples meet the shipping requirements and for comparison to the bench scale reformer (BSR) test sample selection requirements.« less

Economic evaluation of radiation processing in urban solid wastes treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carassiti, F.; Lacquaniti, L.; Liuzzo, G.

During the last few years, quite a number of studies have been done, or are still in course, on disinfection of urban liquid wastes by means of ionizing radiations. The experience gained by SANDIA pilot plant of irradiation on dried sewage sludge, together with the recently presented conceptual design of another plant handling granular solids, characterized by high efficiency and simple running, have shown the possibility of extending this process to the treatment of urban solid wastes. As a matter of fact, the problems connected to the pathogenic aspects of sludge handling are often similar to those met during the disposal of urban solid wastes. This is even more so in the case of their reuse in agriculture and zootechny. The present paper introduces the results of an analysis carried out in order to evaluate the economical advantage of inserting irradiation treatment in some process scheme for management of urban solid wastes. Taking as an example a comprehensive pattern of urban solid wastes management which has been analysed and estimated economically in previous works, we first evaluated the extra capital and operational costs due to the irradiation and then analysed economical justification, taking into account the increasing commercial value of the by-products.

Environmental application of gamma technology: Update on the Canadian sludge irradiator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swinwood, Jean F.; Fraser, Frank M.

1993-10-01

Waste treatment and disposal technologies have recently been subjected to increasing public and regulatory scrutiny. Concern for the environment and a heightened awareness of potential health hazards that could result from insufficient or inappropriate waste handling methods have combined to push waste generators in their search for new treatment alternatives. Gamma technology can offer a new option for the treatment of potentially infectious wastes, including municipal sewage sludge. Sewage sludge contains beneficial plant nutrients and a high organic component that make it ideal as a soil conditioning agent or fertilizer bulking material. It also carries potentially infectious microorganisms which limit opportunities for beneficial recycling of sludges. Gamma irradiation-disinfection of these sludges offers a reliable, fast and efficient method for safe sludge recycling. Nordion International's Market Development Division was created in 1987 as part of a broad corporate reorganization. It was given an exclusive mandate to develop new applications of gamma irradiation technology and markets for these new applications. Nordion has since explored and developed opportunities in food irradiation, pharmaceutical/cosmetic products irradiation, biomedical waste sterilization, airline waste disinfection, and sludge disinfection for recycling. This paper focuses on the last of these -a proposed sludge recycling facility that incorporates a cobalt 60 sludge irradiator.

Behavior of radioactive iodine and technetium in the spray calcination of high-level waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knox, C. A.; Farnsworth, R. K.

1981-08-01

The Remote Laboratory-Scale Waste Treatment Facility (RLSWTF) was designed and built as a part of the High-Level Waste Immobilization Program (now the High-Level Waste Process Development Program) at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. In facility, installed in a radiochemical cell, is described in which installed in a radiochemical cell is described in which small volumes of radioactive liquid wastes can be solidified, the process off gas can be analyzed, and the methods for decontaminating this off gas can be tested. During the spray calcination of commercial high-level liquid waste spiked with Tc-99 and I-131 and 31 wt% loss of I-131 past the sintered-metal filters. These filters and venturi scrubber were very efficient in removing particulates and Tc-99 from the the off-gas stream. Liquid scrubbers were not efficient in removing I-131 as 25% of the total lost went to the building off-gas system. Therefore, solid adsorbents are needed to remove iodine. For all future operations where iodine is present, a silver zeolite adsorber is to be used.

Environmental audits and process flow mapping to assess management of solid waste and wastewater from a healthcare facility: an Italian case study.

PubMed

Vaccari, Mentore; Montasser, Waleed; Tudor, Terry; Leone, Luigi

2017-05-01

In Europe, there are an increasing number of policy and legislative drivers for a more sustainable approach to the management of natural resources as well as for the mitigation of environmental health risks. However, despite significant progress in recent years, there is still some way to go to achieve circularity of process, as well as risk mitigation within organisations. Using a case study of the Gardone Val Trompia hospital in northern Italy, this manuscript offers a novel holistic examination of strategies to enhance resource efficiency and environmental health within a key sector, i.e. the healthcare sector. Through the use of environmental audits and process flow mapping, trends in waste and wastewater arisings and the associated financial and environmental costs and risks were identified. Recommendations for developing more resource efficient approaches as well as mitigating the environmental and public health risks are suggested. These include strategies for improved resource efficiency (including reduction in the hazardous waste) and reduced environmental impacts during the containment, transport and treatment of the waste.

Applications of life cycle assessment and cost analysis in health care waste management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Soares, Sebastiao Roberto, E-mail: soares@ens.ufsc.br; Finotti, Alexandra Rodrigues, E-mail: finotti@ens.ufsc.br; Prudencio da Silva, Vamilson, E-mail: vamilson@epagri.sc.gov.br

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Three Health Care Waste (HCW) scenarios were assessed through environmental and cost analysis. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer HCW treatment using microwave oven had the lowest environmental impacts and costs in comparison with autoclave and lime. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Lime had the worst environmental and economic results for HCW treatment, in comparison with autoclave and microwave. - Abstract: The establishment of rules to manage Health Care Waste (HCW) is a challenge for the public sector. Regulatory agencies must ensure the safety of waste management alternatives for two very different profiles of generators: (1) hospitals, which concentrate the production of HCW and (2) small establishments, such as clinics, pharmacies and other sources, that generate dispersed quantities of HCW and are scattered throughout the city. To assist in developing sector regulations for the small generators, we evaluated three management scenarios using decision-making tools. They consisted of a disinfection technique (microwave, autoclave and lime) followed by landfilling, where transportation was also included. The microwave, autoclave and lime techniques were tested at the laboratory to establish the operating parameters to ensure their efficiency in disinfection. Using a life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost analysis, the decision-making tools aimed to determine the technique with the best environmental performance. This consisted of evaluating the eco-efficiency of each scenario. Based on the life cycle assessment, microwaving had the lowest environmental impact (12.64 Pt) followed by autoclaving (48.46 Pt). The cost analyses indicated values of USmore » $$ 0.12 kg{sup -1} for the waste treated with microwaves, US$$ 1.10 kg{sup -1} for the waste treated by the autoclave and US$ 1.53 kg{sup -1} for the waste treated with lime. The microwave disinfection presented the best eco-efficiency performance among those studied and provided a feasible alternative to subsidize the formulation of the policy for small generators of HCW.« less

Investigation of some process parameters using microwave plasma technology for the treatment of radioactive waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trnovcevic, J.; Schneider, F.; Scherer, U. W.

2017-02-01

The production of nuclear energy and the application of other nuclear technologies produce large volumes of low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes. To investigate a novel means of treating such wastes, plasma is investigated for its efficacy. Plasma treatment promises to simultaneously treat all waste types without any previous sorting or pre-treatment. Microwave-driven plasma torches have the advantage of high-energy efficiency and low-electrode wear. In small-scale experiments, several design variations of an open plasma oven were assembled in order to investigate constraints caused by the materials and oven geometry. The experimental set-up was modified several times in order to test the design characteristics and the variation of plasma-specific proprieties related to the radioactive waste treatment and in order to find a suitable solution with the minimum complexity that allows a representative reproducibility of the results obtained. A plasma torch controlled by a 2.45 GHz microwave signal of up to 200 W was used, employing air as the primary plasma gas with a flow rate of ∼2 L/min. Different organic and inorganic materials in different shapes and sizes were treated besides a standardized mixture resembling mixed wastes from nuclear plants. The results prove that the chosen microwave plasma torch is suitable for a combined combustion and melting of organic and in-organic materials. Investigation of the specimen size to be treated is influential in this process: the power is still too low to melt larger samples, but the temperature is sufficient to treat all kinds of material. When glass particles are added, materials melt together to form an amorphous substance, proving the possibility to vitrify material with this plasma torch. By optimization of the oven configuration, the time needed to combust 25 g of standard sample was reduced by ∼50%. Typical energy efficiencies were found in the range of 8-20% for melting of metal chipping, and ∼90% for melting of zinc powder.

Treatment of waste water by coagulation and flocculation using biomaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muruganandam, L.; Saravana Kumar, M. P.; Jena, Amarjit; Gulla, Sudiv; Godhwani, Bhagesh

2017-11-01

The present study deals with the determination of physical and chemical parameters in the treatment process of waste water by flocculation and coagulation processes using natural coagulants and assessing their feasibility for water treatment by comparing the performance with each other and with a synthetic coagulant. Initial studies were done on the synthetic waste water to determine the optimal pH and dosage, the activity of natural coagulant, followed by the real effluent from tannery waste. The raw tannery effluent was bluish-black in colour, mildly basic in nature, with high COD 4000mg/l and turbidity in the range 700NTU, was diluted and dosed with organic coagulants, AloeVera, MoringaOleifera and Cactus (O.ficus-indica). The study observed that coagulant Moringa Oleifera of 15 mg/L dose at 6 pH gave the best reduction efficiencies for major physicochemical parameters followed by Aloe Vera and Cactus under identical conditions. The study reveals that the untreated tannery effluents can be treated with environmental confirmative naturally occurring coagulants.

PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT MEASURES TO UPDATING RESOURCES RECYCLING EQUIPMENTS IN COLLABORATION WITH SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS AND WASTE INCINERATION PLANTS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakakubo, Toyohiko; Tokai, Akihiro; Ohno, Koichi

This study aims to assess two biomass utilization policies: the integration of food waste treatment in a sewerage treatment plant with an anaerobic digestion tank, and the pruned branch usage as heat source for drying sludge. We focused on two points in our analysis that the impact of the increase of dewatered sludge on sludge treatment processes after digestion and the improvement of the efficiency of waste power generation plants. A developed model was applied to the case study in Kobe city and evaluated the impact until 2030 by four indicators: energy consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, phosphorus-recovery, and cost. The results showed that case 3-C, which introducing the combined sludge and food waste digestion system, pyrolysis gasification with gas engine and wood-chip boiler, could supply additional 452 TJ/y of energy, recovery 93 t-P/y of phosphorus, and reduce 38 kt-CO2eq./y of GHG while shrinking the cost by 88 million yen/y compared to business as usual types-update case.

Ecotoxicity tests using the green algae Chlorella vulgaris--a useful tool in hazardous effluents management.

PubMed

Silva, Aurora; Figueiredo, Sónia A; Sales, M Goreti; Delerue-Matos, Cristina

2009-08-15

The treatment efficiency of laboratory wastewaters was evaluated and ecotoxicity tests with Chlorella vulgaris were performed on them to assess the safety of their environmental discharge. For chemical oxygen demand wastewaters, chromium (VI), mercury (II) and silver were efficiently removed by chemical treatments. A reduction of ecotoxicity was achieved; nevertheless, an EC50 (effective concentration that causes a 50% inhibition in the algae growth) of 1.5% (v/v) indicated still high level of ecotoxicity. For chloride determination wastewaters, an efficient reduction of chromium and silver was achieved after treatment. Regarding the reduction of ecotoxicity observed, EC50 increased from 0.059% to 0.5%, only a 0.02% concentration in the aquatic environment would guarantee no effects. Wastewaters containing phenanthroline/iron (II) complex were treated by chemical oxidation. Treatment was satisfactory concerning chemical parameters, although an increase in ecotoxicity was observed (EC50 reduced from 0.31% to 0.21%). The wastes from the kinetic study of persulphate and iodide reaction were treated with sodium bisulphite until colour was removed. Although they did not reveal significant ecotoxicity, only over 1% of the untreated waste produced observable effects over algae. Therefore, ecotoxicity tests could be considered a useful tool not only in laboratory effluents treatment, as shown, but also in hazardous wastewaters management.

Simulation of municipal solid waste degradation in aerobic and anaerobic bioreactor landfills.

PubMed

Patil, Bhagwan Shamrao; C, Agnes Anto; Singh, Devendra Narain

2017-03-01

Municipal solid waste generation is huge in growing cities of developing nations such as India, owing to the rapid industrial and population growth. In addition to various methods for treatment and disposal of municipal solid waste (landfills, composting, bio-methanation, incineration and pyrolysis), aerobic/anaerobic bioreactor landfills are gaining popularity for economical and effective disposal of municipal solid waste. However, efficiency of municipal solid waste bioreactor landfills primarily depends on the municipal solid waste decomposition rate, which can be accelerated through monitoring moisture content and temperature by using the frequency domain reflectometry probe and thermocouples, respectively. The present study demonstrates that these landfill physical properties of the heterogeneous municipal solid waste mass can be monitored using these instruments, which facilitates proper scheduling of the leachate recirculation for accelerating the decomposition rate of municipal solid waste.

Assessing recycling versus incineration of key materials in municipal waste: The importance of efficient energy recovery and transport distances.

PubMed

Merrild, Hanna; Larsen, Anna W; Christensen, Thomas H

2012-05-01

Recycling of materials from municipal solid waste is commonly considered to be superior to any other waste treatment alternative. For the material fractions with a significant energy content this might not be the case if the treatment alternative is a waste-to-energy plant with high energy recovery rates. The environmental impacts from recycling and from incineration of six material fractions in household waste have been compared through life cycle assessment assuming high-performance technologies for material recycling as well as for waste incineration. The results showed that there are environmental benefits when recycling paper, glass, steel and aluminium instead of incinerating it. For cardboard and plastic the results were more unclear, depending on the level of energy recovery at the incineration plant, the system boundaries chosen and which impact category was in focus. Further, the environmental impact potentials from collection, pre-treatment and transport was compared to the environmental benefit from recycling and this showed that with the right means of transport, recyclables can in most cases be transported long distances. However, the results also showed that recycling of some of the material fractions can only contribute marginally in improving the overall waste management system taking into consideration their limited content in average Danish household waste. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

US - European Workshop on Thermal Waste Treatment for Naval Vessels

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-01-01

REGULATION 2 Definitions REGULATION 3.: GENERAL EXCEPTIONS REGULATION 4.: EQUIVALENTS REGULATION 5.: SURVEYS AND INSPECTIONS REUGLATION 6.: ISSUE OF...item Shampoo /Lotion PAPER OR REFILLABLE DISPENSERS Plates. Plastic coated PAPER PLATES Coffe cups. styrofoam PAPER CUPS Plastic clear portion cups...shipboard operation and has demonstrated that it can efficiently destroy liquid wastes when properly maintained and operated. A survey of marine and

Wasting and stunting--similarities and differences: policy and programmatic implications.

PubMed

Briend, André; Khara, Tanya; Dolan, Carmel

2015-03-01

Wasting and stunting are often presented as two separate forms of malnutrition requiring different interventions for prevention and/or treatment. These two forms of malnutrition, however, are closely related and often occur together in the same populations and often in the same children. Wasting and stunting are both associated with increased mortality, especially when both are present in the same child. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of these two different forms of malnutrition is needed to design efficient programs. A greatly reduced muscle mass is characteristic of severe wasting, but there is indirect evidence that it also occurs in stunting. A reduced muscle mass increases the risk of death during infections and also in many other different pathological situations. Reduced muscle mass may represent a common mechanism linking wasting and stunting with increased mortality. This suggests that to decrease malnutrition-related mortality, interventions should aim at preventing both wasting and stunting, which often share common causes. Also, this suggests that treatment interventions should focus on children who are both wasted and stunted and therefore have the greatest deficits in muscle mass, instead of focusing on one or the other form of malnutrition. Interventions should also focus on young infants and children, who have a low muscle mass in relation to body weight to start with. Using mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) to select children in need of treatment may represent a simple way to target young wasted and stunted children efficiently in situations where these two conditions are present. Wasting is also associated with decreased fat mass. A decreased fat mass is frequent but inconsistent in stunting. Fat secretes multiple hormones, including leptin, which may have a stimulating effect on the immune system. Depressed immunity resulting from low fat stores may also contribute to the increased mortality observed in wasting. This may represent another common mechanism linking wasting and stunting with increased mortality in situations where stunting is associated with reduced fat mass. Leptin may also have an effect on bone growth. This may explain why wasted children with low fat stores have reduced linear growth when their weight-for-height remains low. It may also explain the frequent association of stunting with previous episodes of wasting. Stunting, however, can occur in the absence of wasting and even in overweight children. Thus, food supplementation should be used with caution in populations where stunting is not associated with wasting and low fat stores.

Systematic exploration of efficient strategies to manage solid waste in U.S. municipalities: perspectives from the solid waste optimization life-cycle framework (SWOLF).

PubMed

Levis, James W; Barlaz, Morton A; Decarolis, Joseph F; Ranjithan, S Ranji

2014-04-01

Solid waste management (SWM) systems must proactively adapt to changing policy requirements, waste composition, and an evolving energy system to sustainably manage future solid waste. This study represents the first application of an optimizable dynamic life-cycle assessment framework capable of considering these future changes. The framework was used to draw insights by analyzing the SWM system of a hypothetical suburban U.S. city of 100 000 people over 30 years while considering changes to population, waste generation, and energy mix and costs. The SWM system included 3 waste generation sectors, 30 types of waste materials, and 9 processes for waste separation, treatment, and disposal. A business-as-usual scenario (BAU) was compared to three optimization scenarios that (1) minimized cost (Min Cost), (2) maximized diversion (Max Diversion), and (3) minimized greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Min GHG) from the system. The Min Cost scenario saved $7.2 million (12%) and reduced GHG emissions (3%) relative to the BAU scenario. Compared to the Max Diversion scenario, the Min GHG scenario cost approximately 27% less and more than doubled the net reduction in GHG emissions. The results illustrate how the timed-deployment of technologies in response to changes in waste composition and the energy system results in more efficient SWM system performance compared to what is possible from static analyses.

Biological denitrification from mature landfill leachate using a food-waste-derived carbon source.

PubMed

Yan, Feng; Jiang, Jianguo; Zhang, Haowei; Liu, Nuo; Zou, Quan

2018-05-15

The mature landfill leachate containing high ammonia concentration (>1000 mg/L) is a serious threat to environment; however, the low COD to TN ratio (C/N, <3) strongly inhibits the denitrification process and poses a severe obstacle for efficient treatment. Herein, two kinds of acidogenic liquids, fermented from oil-removed food waste and oil-added food waste, were first applied as external carbon sources for the biological nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate in an aerobic/anoxic membrane bioreactor. "Acidogenic liquid b" served quite better than commercial sodium acetate, considering the higher denitrification efficiency and the slightly rapider denitrification rate. The effect of C/N and temperature were investigated under hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 7 d, which showed that C/N ≥ 7 (25 °C) was enough to meet the general discharge standards of NH 4 + -N, TN and COD in China. Even for some special areas of China, the more stringent discharge standards (NH 4 + -N ≤ 8 mg/L, TN ≤ 20 mg/L) could also be achieved under longer HRT of 14 d and C/N ≥ 6. Notably, the COD concentration in effluent could also be well reduced to 50-55 mg/L, without further physical-chemical treatment. This proposed strategy, involving the high-value utilization of food waste, is thus promising for efficient nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biological treatment of closed landfill leachate treatment by using Brevibacillus panacihumi strain ZB1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Er, X. Y.; Seow, T. W.; Lim, C. K.; Ibrahim, Z.; Mat Sarip, S. H.

2018-04-01

Landfills are widely used for solid waste disposal due to cost effectiveness and ease of operation. Poor landfill management generally accompanied with production of toxic leachate. Leachate refers to heavily polluted liquid produced due to waste decomposition and rainwater percolation. Direct discharge of untreated leachate into the environment will lead to environmental degradation and health hazards. The aim of this study was to study the efficiency of leachate biological treatment by B. panacihumi strain ZB1. In this study, leachate wastewater was treated by B. panacihumi strain ZB1 via 42-days anaerobic-aerobic treatment. Leachate characterization of both raw and treated samples was carried out based on ammonia nitrogen content, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and heavy metal content. Through leachate characterization, raw leachate carried high concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (1977 mg/L), COD (5320 mg/L) and certain heavy metals exceeding discharge standard. From this study, B. panacihumi strain ZB1 able to remove COD nearly 40%, ammonia nitrogen nearly 50% and different degrees of heavy metals from the leachate sample after combined anaerobic-aerobic treatment. As a result, B. panacihumi strain ZB1was expected to treat the leachate wastewater with certain treatment efficiency via combined anaerobic-aerobic treatment.

Efficiency of a novel "Food to waste to food" system including anaerobic digestion of food waste and cultivation of vegetables on digestate in a bubble-insulated greenhouse.

PubMed

Stoknes, K; Scholwin, F; Krzesiński, W; Wojciechowska, E; Jasińska, A

2016-10-01

At urban locations certain challenges are concentrated: organic waste production, the need for waste treatment, energy demand, food demand, the need for circular economy and limited area for food production. Based on these factors the project presented here developed a novel technological approach for processing organic waste into new food. In this system, organic waste is converted into biogas and digester residue. The digester residue is being used successfully as a stand-alone fertilizer as well as main substrate component for vegetables and mushrooms for the first time - a "digeponics" system - in a closed new low energy greenhouse system with dynamic soap bubble insulation. Biogas production provides energy for the process and CO2 for the greenhouse. With very limited land use highly efficient resource recycling was established at pilot scale. In the research project it was proven that a low energy dynamic bubble insulated greenhouse can be operated continuously with 80% energy demand reduction compared to conventional greenhouses. Commercial crop yields were achieved based on fertilization with digestate; in individual cases they were even higher than the control yields of vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce among others. For the first time an efficient direct use of digestate as substrate and fertilizer has been developed and demonstrated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental performance evaluation of large-scale municipal solid waste incinerators using data envelopment analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, H.-W.; Chang, N.-B., E-mail: nchang@mail.ucf.ed; Chen, J.-C.

2010-07-15

Limited to insufficient land resources, incinerators are considered in many countries such as Japan and Germany as the major technology for a waste management scheme capable of dealing with the increasing demand for municipal and industrial solid waste treatment in urban regions. The evaluation of these municipal incinerators in terms of secondary pollution potential, cost-effectiveness, and operational efficiency has become a new focus in the highly interdisciplinary area of production economics, systems analysis, and waste management. This paper aims to demonstrate the application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) - a production economics tool - to evaluate performance-based efficiencies of 19more » large-scale municipal incinerators in Taiwan with different operational conditions. A 4-year operational data set from 2002 to 2005 was collected in support of DEA modeling using Monte Carlo simulation to outline the possibility distributions of operational efficiency of these incinerators. Uncertainty analysis using the Monte Carlo simulation provides a balance between simplifications of our analysis and the soundness of capturing the essential random features that complicate solid waste management systems. To cope with future challenges, efforts in the DEA modeling, systems analysis, and prediction of the performance of large-scale municipal solid waste incinerators under normal operation and special conditions were directed toward generating a compromised assessment procedure. Our research findings will eventually lead to the identification of the optimal management strategies for promoting the quality of solid waste incineration, not only in Taiwan, but also elsewhere in the world.« less

One System Integrated Project Team: Retrieval And Delivery Of The Hanford Tank Wastes For Vitrification In The Waste Treatment Plant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harp, Benton J.; Kacich, Richard M.; Skwarek, Raymond J.

The One System Integrated Project Team (IPT) was formed in late 2011 as a way for improving the efficiency of delivery and treatment of highly radioactive waste stored in underground tanks at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) 586-square-mile Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The purpose of the One System IPT is to improve coordination and integration between the Hanford's Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) contractor and the Tank Operations Contractor (TOC). The vision statement is: One System is a WTP and TOC safety conscious team that, through integrated management and implementation of risk-informed decision and mission-based solutions, will enablemore » the earliest start of safe and efficient treatment of Hanford's tank waste, to protect the Columbia River, environment and public. The IPT is a formal collaboration between Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI), which manages design and construction of the WTP for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of River Protection (DOEORP), and Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), which manages the TOC for ORP. More than fifty-six (56) million gallons of highly radioactive liquid waste are stored in one hundred seventy-seven (177) aging, underground tanks. Most of Hanford's waste tanks - one hundred forty-nine (149) of them - are of an old single-shell tank (SST) design built between 1944 and 1964. More than sixty (60) of these tanks have leaked in the past, releasing an estimated one million gallons of waste into the soil and threatening the nearby Columbia River. There are another twenty-eight (28) new double-shelled tanks (DSTs), built from 1968 to 1986, that provide greater protection to the environment. In 1989, DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) signed a landmark agreement that required Hanford to comply with federal and state environmental standards. It also paved the way for agreements that set deadlines for retrieving the tank wastes and for building and operating the WTP. The tank wastes are the result of Hanford's nearly fifty (50) years of plutonium production. In the intervening years, waste characteristics have been increasingly better understood. However, waste characteristics that are uncertain and will remain as such represent a significant technical challenge in terms of retrieval, transport, and treatment, as well as for design and construction ofWTP. What also is clear is that the longer the waste remains in the tanks, the greater the risk to the environment and the people of the Pacific Northwest. The goal of both projects - tank operations and waste treatment - is to diminish the risks posed by the waste in the tanks at the earliest possible date. About two hundred (200) WTP and TOC employees comprise the IPT. Individual work groups within One System include Technical, Project Integration & Controls, Front-End Design & Project Definition, Commissioning, Nuclear Safety & Engineering Systems Integration, and Environmental Safety and Health and Quality Assurance (ESH&QA). Additional functions and team members will be added as the WTP approaches the operational phase. The team has undertaken several initiatives since its formation to collaborate on issues: (1) alternate scenarios for delivery of wastes from the tank farms to WTP; (2) improvements in managing Interface Control Documents; (3) coordination on various technical issues, including the Defense Nuclear Facilities Nuclear Safety Board's Recommendation 2010-2; (4) deployment of the SmartPlant Foundation-configuration Management System; and (5) preparation of the joint contract deliverable of the Operational Readiness Support Plan.« less

Prospects of banana waste utilization in wastewater treatment: A review.

PubMed

Ahmad, Tanweer; Danish, Mohammed

2018-01-15

This review article explores utilization of banana waste (fruit peels, pseudo-stem, trunks, and leaves) as precursor materials to produce an adsorbent, and its application against environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, dyes, organic pollutants, pesticides, and various other gaseous pollutants. In recent past, quite a good number of research articles have been published on the utilization of low-cost adsorbents derived from biomass wastes. The literature survey on banana waste derived adsorbents shown that due to the abundance of banana waste worldwide, it also considered as low-cost adsorbents with promising future application against various environmental pollutants. Furthermore, raw banana biomass can be chemically modified to prepare efficient adsorbent as per requirement; chemical surface functional group modification may enhance the multiple uses of the adsorbent with industrial standard. It was evident from a literature survey that banana waste derived adsorbents have significant removal efficiency against various pollutants. Most of the published articles on banana waste derived adsorbents have been discussed critically, and the conclusion is drawn based on the results reported. Some results with poorly performed experiments were also discussed and pointed out their lacking in reporting. Based on literature survey, the future research prospect on banana wastes has a significant impact on upcoming research strategy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic digestion and co-digestion of slaughterhouse waste (SHW): influence of heat and pressure pre-treatment in biogas yield.

PubMed

Cuetos, M J; Gómez, X; Otero, M; Morán, A

2010-10-01

Mesophilic anaerobic digestion (34+/-1 degrees C) of pre-treated (for 20 min at 133 degrees C, >3 bar) slaughterhouse waste and its co-digestion with the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) have been assessed. Semi-continuously-fed digesters worked with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 36 d and organic loading rates (OLR) of 1.2 and 2.6 kg VS(feed)/m(3)d for digestion and co-digestion, respectively, with a previous acclimatization period in all cases. It was not possible to carry out an efficient treatment of hygienized waste, even less so when OFMSW was added as co-substrate. These digesters presented volatile fatty acids (VFA), long chain fatty acids (LCFA) and fats accumulation, leading to instability and inhibition of the degradation process. The aim of applying a heat and pressure pre-treatment to promote splitting of complex lipids and nitrogen-rich waste into simpler and more biodegradable constituents and to enhance biogas production was not successful. These results indicate that the temperature and the high pressure of the pre-treatment applied favoured the formation of compounds that are refractory to anaerobic digestion. The pre-treated slaughterhouse wastes and the final products of these systems were analyzed by FTIR and TGA. These tools verified the existence of complex nitrogen-containing polymers in the final effluents, confirming the formation of refractory compounds during pre-treatment. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Best-of-2-Worlds philosophy: developing local dismantling and global infrastructure network for sustainable e-waste treatment in emerging economies.

PubMed

Wang, Feng; Huisman, Jaco; Meskers, Christina E M; Schluep, Mathias; Stevels, Ab; Hagelüken, Christian

2012-11-01

E-waste is a complex waste category containing both hazardous and valuable substances. It demands for a cost-efficient treatment system which simultaneously liberates and refines target fractions in an environmentally sound way. In most developing countries there is a lack of systems covering all steps from disposal until final processing due to limited infrastructure and access to technologies and investment. This paper introduces the 'Best-of-2-Worlds' philosophy (Bo2W), which provides a network and pragmatic solution for e-waste treatment in emerging economies. It seeks technical and logistic integration of 'best' pre-processing in developing countries to manually dismantle e-waste and 'best' end-processing to treat hazardous and complex fractions in international state-of-the-art end-processing facilities. A series of dismantling trials was conducted on waste desktop computers, IT equipment, large and small household appliances, in order to compare the environmental and economic performances of the Bo2W philosophy with other conventional recycling scenarios. The assessment showed that the performance of the Bo2W scenario is more eco-efficient than mechanical separation scenarios and other local treatment solutions. For equipment containing substantial hazardous substances, it demands the assistance from domestic legislation for mandatory removal and safe handling of such fractions together with proper financing to cover the costs. Experience from Bo2W pilot projects in China and India highlighted key societal factors influencing successful implementation. These include market size, informal competitors, availability of national e-waste legislation, formal take-back systems, financing and trust between industrial players. The Bo2W philosophy can serve as a pragmatic and environmentally responsible transition before establishment of end-processing facilities in developing countries is made feasible. The executive models of Bo2W should be flexibly differentiated for various countries by adjusting to local conditions related to operational scale, level of centralized operations, dismantling depth, combination with mechanical processing and optimized logistics to international end-processors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Complex electronic waste treatment - An effective process to selectively recover copper with solutions containing different ammonium salts.

PubMed

Sun, Z H I; Xiao, Y; Sietsma, J; Agterhuis, H; Yang, Y

2016-11-01

Recovery of valuable metals from electronic waste has been highlighted by the EU directives. The difficulties for recycling are induced by the high complexity of such waste. In this research, copper could be selectively recovered using an ammonia-based process, from industrially processed information and communication technology (ICT) waste with high complexity. A detailed understanding on the role of ammonium salt was focused during both stages of leaching copper into a solution and the subsequent step for copper recovery from the solution. By comparing the reactivity of the leaching solution with different ammonium salts, their physiochemical behaviour as well as the leaching efficiency could be identified. The copper recovery rate could reach 95% with ammonium carbonate as the leaching salt. In the stage of copper recovery from the solution, electrodeposition was introduced without an additional solvent extraction step and the electrochemical behaviour of the solution was figured out. With a careful control of the electrodeposition conditions, the current efficiency could be improved to be 80-90% depending on the ammonia salts and high purity copper (99.9wt.%). This research provides basis for improving the recyclability and efficiency of copper recovery from such electronic waste and the whole process design for copper recycling. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Waste Management Strategy for Dismantling Waste to Reduce Costs for Power Plant Decommissioning - 13543

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Larsson, Arne; Lidar, Per; Bergh, Niklas

2013-07-01

Decommissioning of nuclear power plants generates large volumes of radioactive or potentially radioactive waste. The proper management of the dismantling waste plays an important role for the time needed for the dismantling phase and thus is critical to the decommissioning cost. An efficient and thorough process for inventorying, characterization and categorization of the waste provides a sound basis for the planning process. As part of comprehensive decommissioning studies for Nordic NPPs, Westinghouse has developed the decommissioning inventories that have been used for estimations of the duration of specific work packages and the corresponding costs. As part of creating the designmore » basis for a national repository for decommissioning waste, the total production of different categories of waste packages has also been predicted. Studsvik has developed a risk based concept for categorization and handling of the generated waste using six different categories with a span from extremely small risk for radiological contamination to high level waste. The two companies have recently joined their skills in the area of decommissioning on selected market in a consortium named 'ndcon' to further strengthen the proposed process. Depending on the risk for radiological contamination or the radiological properties and other properties of importance for waste management, treatment routes are proposed with well-defined and proven methods for on-site or off-site treatment, activity determination and conditioning. The system is based on a graded approach philosophy aiming for high confidence and sustainability, aiming for re-use and recycling where found applicable. The objective is to establish a process where all dismantled material has a pre-determined treatment route. These routes should through measurements, categorization, treatment, conditioning, intermediate storage and final disposal be designed to provide a steady, un-disturbed flow of material to avoid interruptions. Bottle-necks in the process causes increased space requirements and will have negative impact on the project schedule, which increases not only the cost but also the dose exposure to personnel. For these reasons it is critical to create a process that transfers material into conditioned waste ready for disposal as quickly as possible. To a certain extent the decommissioning program should be led by the waste management process. With the objective to reduce time for handling of dismantled material at site and to efficiently and environmental-friendly use waste management methods (clearance for re-use followed by clearance for recycling), the costs for the plant decommissioning could be reduced as well as time needed for performing the decommissioning project. Also, risks for delays would be reduced with a well-defined handling scheme which limits surprises. Delays are a major cost driver for decommissioning projects. (authors)« less

Coal fly ash and lime addition enhances the rate and efficiency of decomposition of food waste during composting.

PubMed

Wong, Jonathan W-C; Fung, Shun On; Selvam, Ammaiyappan

2009-07-01

To evaluate the use of coal fly ash (CFA) on the decomposition efficiency of food waste, synthetic food waste was mixed with lime at 1.5% and 3% (equivalent to 0.94% and 1.88% CaCO(3), respectively), CFA at 5%, 10% and 15% with lime so as to achieve CaCO(3) equivalent of 1.88% and composted for 42 days in a thermophilic 20 l composter with two replicates each. Alkaline materials at 1.88% CaCO(3) equivalent successfully buffered the pH during the composting and enhanced the decomposition efficiency. When these buffering was achieved with CFA+lime, the composting period could be shortened to approximately 28 days compared with approximately 42 days in 3% lime. Organic decomposition in terms of CO(2) loss, carbon turnover and nitrogen transformation were significantly higher for treatments with 1.88% CaCO(3) equivalent. Nutrient transformations and compost maturity parameters indicated that addition of CFA (5-10%) with lime at 1.88% CaCO(3) equivalent enhances the decomposition efficiency and shortens the composting period by 35%.

Effect of organic matter to nitrogen ratio on membrane bioreactor performance.

PubMed

Hao, L; Liao, B Q

2015-01-01

Effect of chemical oxygen demand (COD) to nitrogen (COD:N) ratio in feed on the performance of aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR) for treating a synthetic high-strength industrial waste water containing glucose was studied for over 370 days. The widely recommended nutrients ratio (COD:N:P = 100:5:1) is not necessary for aerobic biological industrial waste water treatment. An increased COD:N ratio from 100:5 to 100:2.5 and 100:1.8 had a limited impact on COD removal efficiency and further led to a significant improvement in membrane performance, a reduced sludge yield, and improved effluent quality in terms of residual nutrients. An increased COD:N ratio will benefit the industrial waste water treatment using MBRs by reducing membrane fouling and sludge yield, saving chemical costs, and reducing secondary pollution by nutrients addition. Optimization of nutrients usage should be conducted for specific industrial waste water streams.

Fate of pharmaceuticals and pesticides in fly larvae composting.

PubMed

Lalander, C; Senecal, J; Gros Calvo, M; Ahrens, L; Josefsson, S; Wiberg, K; Vinnerås, B

2016-09-15

A novel and efficient organic waste management strategy currently gaining great attention is fly larvae composting. High resource recovery efficiency can be achieved in this closed-looped system, but pharmaceuticals and pesticides in waste could potentially accumulate in every loop of the treatment system and spread to the environment. This study evaluated the fate of three pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, roxithromycin, trimethoprim) and two pesticides (azoxystrobin, propiconazole) in a fly larvae composting system and in a control treatment with no larvae. It was found that the half-life of all five substances was shorter in the fly larvae compost (<10% of control) and no bioaccumulation was detected in the larvae. Fly larvae composting could thus impede the spread of pharmaceuticals and pesticides into the environment. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Laboratory plant study on the melting process of asbestos waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sakai, Shinichi; Terazono, Atsushi; Takatsuki, Hiroshi

The melting process was studied as a method of changing asbestos into non-hazardous waste and recovering it as a reusable resource. In an initial effort, the thermal behaviors of asbestos waste in terms of physical and chemical structure have been studied. Then, 10 kg/h-scale laboratory plant experiments were carried out. By X-ray diffraction analysis, the thermal behaviors of sprayed-on asbestos waste revealed that chrysotile asbestos waste change in crystal structure at around 800 C, and becomes melted slag, mainly composed of magnesium silicate, at around 1,500 C. Laboratory plant experiments on the melting process of sprayed-on asbestos have shown thatmore » melted slag can be obtained. X-ray diffraction analysis of the melted slag revealed crystal structure change, and SEM analysis showed the slag to have a non-fibrous form. And more, TEM analysis proved the very high treatment efficiency of the process, that is, reduction of the asbestos content to 1/10{sup 6} as a weight basis. These analytical results indicate the effectiveness of the melting process for asbestos waste treatment.« less

Treatment and disposal alternatives for health-care waste in developing countries--a case study in Istanbul, Turkey.

PubMed

Alagöz, B Aylin Zeren; Kocasoy, Günay

2007-02-01

Efficient health-care waste management is crucial for the prevention of the exposure of health-care workers, patients, and the community to infections, toxic wastes and injuries as well as the protection of the environment (Safe Management of Wastes from Health-care Activities. World Health Organization, Geneva). The amount of health-care waste produced in the Istanbul Metropolitan City in Turkey is 30 ton day(-1) in total. The method used for the final disposal of most of the health-care waste of Istanbul is incineration. However, a great portion of the infectious waste is disposed of with the domestic waste into the sanitary landfill because of improper segregation practices applied in the health-care institutions. Therefore the alternatives for the treatment and disposal of health-care waste were evaluated. The technical information related to the available treatment technologies including incineration, microwave irradiation, mobile or stationary sterilization, etc. were also investigated. The capital investment cost, transportation/operational costs for each alternative method and the different locations for installation were compared. When the data collected were evaluated, it was found that separate handling and disposal of health-care waste generated on the European and the Asian sides of the city was the most economic and practicable solution. As a result, it was concluded that the capacity of the Kemerburgaz-Odayeri incineration plant is enough to incinerate the health-care waste generated on the European side of Istanbul, the construction of a new incineration plant or a stationary sterilization unit for the disposal of health-care waste generated on the Asian side was the most effective alternative.

Microwave-driven asbestos treatment and its scale-up for use after natural disasters.

PubMed

Horikoshi, Satoshi; Sumi, Takuya; Ito, Shigeyuki; Dillert, Ralf; Kashimura, Keiichiro; Yoshikawa, Noboru; Sato, Motoyasu; Shinohara, Naoki

2014-06-17

Asbestos-containing debris generated by the tsunami after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, was processed by microwave heating. The analysis of the treated samples employing thermo gravimetry, differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, and phase-contrast microscopy revealed the rapid detoxification of the waste by conversion of the asbestos fibers to a nonfibrous glassy material. The detoxification by the microwave method occurred at a significantly lower processing temperature than the thermal methods actually established for the treatment of asbestos-containing waste. The lower treatment temperature is considered to be a consequence of the microwave penetration depth into the waste material and the increased intensity of the microwave electric field in the gaps between the asbestos fibers resulting in a rapid heating of the fibers inside the debris. A continuous treatment plant having a capacity of 2000 kg day(-1) of asbestos-containing waste was built in the area affected by the earthquake disaster. This treatment plant consists of a rotary kiln to burn the combustible waste (wood) and a microwave rotary kiln to treat asbestos-containing inorganic materials. The hot flue gas produced by the combustion of wood is introduced into the connected microwave rotary kiln to increase the energy efficiency of the combined process. Successful operation of this combined device with regard to asbestos decomposition is demonstrated.

Lyophilization -Solid Waste Treatment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litwiller, Eric; Flynn, Michael; Fisher, John; Reinhard, Martin

2004-01-01

This paper discusses the development of a solid waste treatment system that has been designed for a Mars transit exploration mission. The technology described is an energy-efficient lyophilization technique that is designed to recover water from spacecraft solid wastes. Candidate wastes include feces, concentrated brines from water processors, and other solid wastes that contain free water. The system is designed to operate as a stand-alone process or to be integrated into the International Space Station Waste Collection System. In the lyophilization process, water in an aqueous waste is frozen and then sublimed, separating the waste into a dried solid material and liquid water. The sublimed water is then condensed in a solid ice phase and then melted to generate a liquid product. In the subject system the waste solids are contained within a 0.2 micron bio-guard bag and after drying are removed from the system and stored in a secondary container. This technology is ideally suited to applications such as the Mars Reference Mission, where water recovery rates approaching 100% are desirable but production of CO2 is not. The system is designed to minimize power consumption through the use of thermoelectric heat pumps. The results of preliminary testing of a prototype system and testing of the final configuration are provided. A mathematical model of the system is also described.

Indicators of waste management efficiency related to different territorial conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Passarini, Fabrizio, E-mail: fabrizio.passarini@unibo.it; Vassura, Ivano, E-mail: ivano.vassura@unibo.it; Monti, Francesco, E-mail: fmonti84@gmail.com

2011-04-15

The amount of waste produced and the control of separate collection are crucial issues for the planning of a territorial Integrated Waste Management System, enabling the allocation of each sorted waste fraction to the proper treatment and recycling processes. The present study focuses on assessing indicators of different waste management systems in areas characterized by different territorial conditions. The investigated case study concerns the municipalities of Emilia Romagna (northern Italy), which present a rather uniform socioeconomic situation, but a variety of geographic, urban and waste management characteristics. A survey of waste generation and collection rates was carried out, and correlatedmore » with the different territorial conditions, classifying the municipalities according to altitude and population density. The best environmental performances, in terms of high separate collection rate, were found on average in rural areas in the plain, while the lowest waste generation was associated with rural hill towns.« less

Simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation of unprocessed food waste into ethanol using thermophilic anaerobic bacteria.

PubMed

Dhiman, Saurabh Sudha; David, Aditi; Shrestha, Namita; Johnson, Glenn R; Benjamin, Kenneth M; Gadhamshetty, Venkataramana; Sani, Rajesh K

2017-11-01

The one-pot CRUDE (Conversion of Raw and Untreated Disposal into Ethanol) process was developed for simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation of unprocessed food waste into ethanol using thermophilic (growing at 65°C) anaerobic bacteria. Unlike existing waste to energy technologies, the CRUDE process obviates the need for any pre-treatment or enzyme addition. A High-Temperature-High-Pressure (HTHP) distillation technique was also applied that facilitated efficient use of fermentation medium, inoculum recycling, and in-situ ethanol collection. For material balancing of the process, each characterized component was represented in terms of C-mol. Recovery of 94% carbon at the end confirmed the operational efficiency of CRUDE process. The overall energy retaining efficiency calculated from sugars to ethanol was 1262.7kJdryweightkg -1 of volatile solids using HTHP. These results suggest that the CRUDE process can be a starting point for the development of a commercial ethanol production process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of ultrasonic and ozone pre-treatments on pharmaceutical waste activated sludge's solubilisation, reduction, anaerobic biodegradability and acute biological toxicity.

PubMed

Pei, Jin; Yao, Hong; Wang, Hui; Shan, Dan; Jiang, Yichen; Ma, Lanqianya; Yu, Xiaohua

2015-09-01

Ultrasonic and ozone pre-treatment technologies were employed in this study to improve the anaerobic digestion efficiency of pharmaceutical waste activated sludge. The sludge solubilisation achieved 30.01% (150,000 kJ/kg TS) and 28.10% (0.1g O3/g TS) after ultrasonic treatment and ozone treatment. The anaerobic biodegradability after ultrasonic treatment was higher compared to ozonation due to the higher cumulative methane volume observed after 6 days (249 ml vs 190 ml). The ozonated sludge released the highest concentration of Cu(2+) into the liquid phase (6.640 mg L(-1)) compared to 0.530 mg/L for untreated sludge and 0.991 mg/L for sonicated sludge. The acute toxicity test measured by luminescent bacteria showed that anaerobic digestion could degrade toxic compounds and result in a reduction in toxicity. The main mechanism of action led to some differences in the treated sludge exhibiting higher potential for methane production from pharmaceutical waste sludge with ultrasonic treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Treating contaminated organics using the DETOX process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elsberry, K.D.; Dhooge, P.M.

1993-05-01

Waste matrices containing organics, radionuclides, and metals pose difficult problems in waste treatment and disposal when the organic compounds and/or metals are considered to be hazardous. This paper describes the results of bench-scale studies of DETOX applied to the components of liquid mixed wastes, with the goal of establishing parameters for designing a prototype waste treatment unit. Apparent organic reaction rate orders and the dependence of apparent reaction rate on solution composition and the contact area were measured for vacuum pump oil scintillation fluids, and trichloroethylene. Reaction rate was superior in chloride-based solutions and was proportional to the contact areamore » above about 2% w/w loading of organic. Oxidations in a 4-liter volume, mixed bench-top reactor have given destruction efficiencies of 99.9999 + % for common organics. Reaction rates achieved in the mixed bench-top reactor were one to two orders of magnitude greater than had been achieved in unmixed reactions; a thoroughly mixed reactor should be capable of oxidizing 10 to 100 + grams of organic per liter-hour. Results are also presented on the solvation efficiency of DETOX for mercury, cerium, and neodymium, and for removal/destruction of organics sorbed on vermiculite. The next stage of development will be converting the bench-top unit to continuous processing.« less

Severe situation of rural nonpoint source pollution and efficient utilization of agricultural wastes in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area.

PubMed

Zhang, Tong; Ni, Jiupai; Xie, Deti

2015-11-01

Rural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution caused by agricultural wastes has become increasingly serious in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA), significantly affecting the reservoir water quality. The grim situation of rural NPS pollution in the TGRA indicated that agrochemicals (chemical fertilizer and pesticide) were currently the highest contributor of rural NPS pollution (50.38%). The harmless disposal rates of livestock excrement, crop straws, rural domestic refuse, and sewage also cause severe water pollution. More importantly, the backward agricultural economy and the poor environmental awareness of farmers in the hinterland of the TGRA contribute to high levels of rural NPS pollution. Over the past decade, researchers and the local people have carried out various successful studies and practices to realize the effective control of rural NPS pollution by efficiently utilizing agricultural wastes in the TGRA, including agricultural waste biogas-oriented utilization, crop straw gasification, decentralized land treatment of livestock excrement technology, and crop straw modification. These technologies have greatly increased the renewable resource utilization of agricultural wastes and improved water quality and ecological environment in the TGRA.

Utilization of Waste Biomass (Kitchen Waste) Hydrolysis Residue as Adsorbent for Dye Removal: Kinetic, Equilibrium, and Thermodynamic Studies.

PubMed

Li, Panyu; Chen, Xi; Zeng, Xiaotong; Zeng, Yu; Xie, Yi; Li, Xiang; Wang, Yabo; Xie, Tonghui; Zhang, Yongkui

2018-02-02

Kitchen waste hydrolysis residue (KWHR), which is produced in the bioproduction process from kitchen waste (KW), is usually wasted with potential threats to the environment. Herein, experiments were carried out to evaluate the potential of KWHR as adsorbent for dye (methylene blue, MB) removal from aqueous solution. The adsorbent was characterized using FT-IR and SEM. Adsorption results showed that the operating variables had great effects on the removal efficiency of MB. Kinetic study indicated pseudo-second-order model was suitable to describe the adsorption process. Afterwards, the equilibrium data were well fitted by using Langmuir isotherm model, suggesting a monolayer adsorption. The Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacity was calculated to be 110.13 mg/g, a level comparable to some other low-cost adsorbents. It was found that the adsorption process of MB onto KWHR was spontaneous and exothermic through the estimation of thermodynamic parameters. Thus, KWHR was of great potential to be an alternative adsorbent material to improve the utilization efficiency of bioresource (KW) and lower the cost of adsorbent for color treatment.

Electrical efficiency in modern waste to energy plants -- The advanced solutions adopted in a new Italian plant (Milan)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lucchini, F.M.; Pezzella, B.

1998-07-01

The paper has the goal to give a general overview of the current approach for the design of modern Waste to Energy (WtE) plants. The thermal treatment of solid waste is an environmentally sound method to get rid of the garbage produced by everyone and to recover energy simultaneously. A typical waste to energy plant is divided in four segments: incineration/boiler, air pollution control, residues treatment and power generation. Still in the 80's a WtE plant was simply consisting of a these four segments without any particular effort in putting them together into a coordinated plant; therefore the results weremore » very poor in term of overall plant performances even if the single segments were properly designed. This paper shows how this approach is changing and how the synergism between the segments allows to reach interesting performances in term of electric efficiency, always keeping in mind that power must be considered a by-product of the incinerator. Therefore all these efforts have to be done without affecting the burning capacity of the station. The new Milan WtE plant is taken as example throughout the paper. The first section of the paper tries to consider the Municipal Solid Waste as standard fuel; then focal point becomes the electrical efficiency of the plant. In the fourth section the flue gas cleaning system is approached, pointing out the gas quality at stack. Then in the fifth and sixth paragraphs all most important and innovative technical solutions of the Milan plant are shown with some details on water/steam cycle, giving also some availability results. Chapter seven shows some interesting key-figures, related to the combustion of 1,000 kg of MSW at 11 MJ/kg, with also some economical evaluations in term of investment cost per ton of waste per day.« less

Accelerated In-vessel Composting for Household Waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhave, Prashant P.; Joshi, Yadnyeshwar S.

2017-12-01

Composting at household level will serve as a viable solution in managing and treating the waste efficiently. The aim of study was to design and study household composting reactors which would treat the waste at source itself. Keeping this aim in mind, two complete mix type aerobic reactors were fabricated. A comparative study between manually operated and mechanically operated reactor was conducted which is the value addition aspect of present study as it gives an effective option of treatment saving the time and manpower. Reactors were loaded with raw vegetable waste and cooked food waste i.e. kitchen waste for a period of 30 days after which mulch was allowed to mature for 10 days. Mulch was analyzed for its C/N ratio, nitrate, phosphorous, potassium and other parameters to determine compost quality, every week during its period of operation. The results showed that compost obtained from both the reactors satisfied almost all compost quality criteria as per CPHEEO manual on municipal solid waste management and thus can be used as soil amendment to increase the fertility of soil.In terms of knowledge contribution, this study puts forth an effective way of decentralized treatment.

Life cycle assessment of urban waste management: Energy performances and environmental impacts. The case of Rome, Italy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cherubini, Francesco; Bargigli, Silvia; Ulgiati, Sergio

2008-12-15

Landfilling is nowadays the most common practice of waste management in Italy in spite of enforced regulations aimed at increasing waste pre-sorting as well as energy and material recovery. In this work we analyse selected alternative scenarios aimed at minimizing the unused material fraction to be delivered to the landfill. The methodological framework of the analysis is the life cycle assessment, in a multi-method form developed by our research team. The approach was applied to the case of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Rome, with a special focus on energy and material balance, including global and local scale airbornemore » emissions. Results, provided in the form of indices and indicators of efficiency, effectiveness and environmental impacts, point out landfill activities as the worst waste management strategy at a global scale. On the other hand, the investigated waste treatments with energy and material recovery allow important benefits of greenhouse gas emission reduction (among others) but are still affected by non-negligible local emissions. Furthermore, waste treatments leading to energy recovery provide an energy output that, in the best case, is able to meet 15% of the Rome electricity consumption.« less

Life cycle assessment of urban waste management: energy performances and environmental impacts. The case of Rome, Italy.

PubMed

Cherubini, Francesco; Bargigli, Silvia; Ulgiati, Sergio

2008-12-01

Landfilling is nowadays the most common practice of waste management in Italy in spite of enforced regulations aimed at increasing waste pre-sorting as well as energy and material recovery. In this work we analyse selected alternative scenarios aimed at minimizing the unused material fraction to be delivered to the landfill. The methodological framework of the analysis is the life cycle assessment, in a multi-method form developed by our research team. The approach was applied to the case of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Rome, with a special focus on energy and material balance, including global and local scale airborne emissions. Results, provided in the form of indices and indicators of efficiency, effectiveness and environmental impacts, point out landfill activities as the worst waste management strategy at a global scale. On the other hand, the investigated waste treatments with energy and material recovery allow important benefits of greenhouse gas emission reduction (among others) but are still affected by non-negligible local emissions. Furthermore, waste treatments leading to energy recovery provide an energy output that, in the best case, is able to meet 15% of the Rome electricity consumption.

Waste management strategy for cost effective and environmentally friendly NPP decommissioning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Per Lidar; Arne Larsson; Niklas Bergh

2013-07-01

Decommissioning of nuclear power plants generates large volumes of radioactive or potentially radioactive waste. The proper management of the dismantling waste plays an important role for the time needed for the dismantling phase and thus is critical to the decommissioning cost. An efficient and thorough process for inventorying, characterization and categorization of the waste provides a sound basis for the planning process. As part of comprehensive decommissioning studies for Nordic NPPs, Westinghouse has developed the decommissioning inventories that have been used for estimations of the duration of specific work packages and the corresponding costs. As part of creating the designmore » basis for a national repository for decommissioning waste, the total production of different categories of waste packages has also been predicted. Studsvik has developed a risk based concept for categorization and handling of the generated waste using six different categories with a span from extremely small risk for radiological contamination to high level waste. The two companies have recently joined their skills in the area of decommissioning on selected market in a consortium named ndcon to further strengthen the proposed process. Depending on the risk for radiological contamination or the radiological properties and other properties of importance for waste management, treatment routes are proposed with well-defined and proven methods for on-site or off-site treatment, activity determination and conditioning. The system is based on a graded approach philosophy aiming for high confidence and sustainability, aiming for re-use and recycling where found applicable. The objective is to establish a process where all dismantled material has a pre-determined treatment route. These routes should through measurements, categorization, treatment, conditioning, intermediate storage and final disposal be designed to provide a steady, un-disturbed flow of material to avoid interruptions. Bottle-necks in the process causes increased space requirements and will have negative impact on the project schedule, which increases not only the cost but also the dose exposure to personnel. For these reasons it is critical to create a process that transfers material into conditioned waste ready for disposal as quickly as possible. To a certain extent the decommissioning program should be led by the waste management process. With the objective to reduce time for handling of dismantled material at site and to efficiently and environmental-friendly use waste management methods (clearance for re-use followed by clearance for recycling), the costs for the plant decommissioning could be reduced as well as time needed for performing the decommissioning project. Also, risks for delays would be reduced with a well-defined handling scheme which limits surprises. Delays are a major cost driver for decommissioning projects. (authors)« less

Efficient conversion of polyamides to ω-hydroxyalkanoic acids: a new method for chemical recycling of waste plastics.

PubMed

Kamimura, Akio; Ikeda, Kosuke; Suzuki, Shuzo; Kato, Kazunari; Akinari, Yugo; Sugimoto, Tsunemi; Kashiwagi, Kohichi; Kaiso, Kouji; Matsumoto, Hiroshi; Yoshimoto, Makoto

2014-09-01

An efficient transformation of polyamides to ω-hydroxy alkanoic acids was achieved. Treatment of nylon-12 with supercritical MeOH in the presence of glycolic acid gave methyl ω-hydroxydodecanoate in 85% yield and the alcohol/alkene selectivity in the product was enhanced to up to 9.5:1. The use of (18)O-enriched acetic acid for the reaction successfully introduced an (18)O atom at the alcoholic OH group in the product. This strategy may provide a new and economical solution for the chemical recycling of waste plastics. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Treatment of highly concentrated tannery wastewater using electrocoagulation: Influence of the quality of aluminium used for the electrode.

PubMed

Elabbas, S; Ouazzani, N; Mandi, L; Berrekhis, F; Perdicakis, M; Pontvianne, S; Pons, M-N; Lapicque, F; Leclerc, J-P

2016-12-05

This paper deals with the ability of electrocoagulation (EC) to remove simultaneously COD and chromium from a real chrome tanning wastewater in a batch stirred electro-coagulation cell provided with two aluminium-based electrodes (aluminium/copper/magnesium alloy and pure aluminium). Effects of operating time, current density and initial concentration of Cr(III) and COD have been investigated. The concentrations of pollutants have been successfully reduced to environmentally acceptable levels even if the concentrated effluent requires a long time of treatment of around 6h with a 400A/m(2) current density. The aluminium alloy was found to be more efficient than pure aluminium for removal of COD and chromium. Dilution of the waste has been tested for treatment: high abatement levels could be obtained with shorter time of treatment and lower current densities. Energy consumption of the electrocoagulation process was also discussed. The dilution by half of the concentrated waste leads to a higher abatement performance of both COD and chromium with the best energy efficiency. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microbial electrolysis cells for waste biorefinery: A state of the art review.

PubMed

Lu, Lu; Ren, Zhiyong Jason

2016-09-01

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) is an emerging technology for energy and resource recovery during waste treatment. MECs can theoretically convert any biodegradable waste into H2, biofuels, and other value added products, but the system efficacy can vary significantly when using different substrates or are operated in different conditions. To understand the application niches of MECs in integrative waste biorefineries, this review provides a critical analysis of MEC system performance reported to date in terms of H2 production rate, H2 yield, and energy efficiency under a variety of substrates, applied voltages and other crucial factors. It further discusses the mutual benefits between MECs and dark fermentation and argues such integration can be a viable approach for efficient H2 production from renewable biomass. Other marketable products and system integrations that can be applied to MECs are also summarized, and the challenges and prospects of the technology are highlighted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Treatment of organic waste gas by adsorption rotor].

PubMed

Zhu, Run-Ye; Zheng, Liang-Wei; Mao, Yu-Bo; Wang, Jia-De

2013-12-01

The adsorption rotor is applicable to treating organic waste gases with low concentration and high air volume. The performance of adsorption rotor for purifying organic waste gases was investigated in this paper. Toluene was selected as the simulative gaseous pollutant and the adsorption rotor was packed with honeycomb modified 13X molecular sieves (M-13X). Experimental results of the fixed adsorption and the rotor adsorption were analyzed and compared. The results indicated that some information on the fixed adsorption was useful for the rotor adsorption. Integrating the characteristics of the adsorbents, waste gases and the structures of the rotor adsorption, the formulas on optimal rotor speed and cycle removal efficiency of the adsorption rotor were deduced, based on the mass and heat balances of the adsorbing process. The numerical results were in good agreement with the experimental data, which meant that the formulas on optimal rotor speed and cycle removal efficiency could be effectively applied in design and operation of the adsorption rotor.

Livestock waste-to-bioenergy generation opportunities.

PubMed

Cantrell, Keri B; Ducey, Thomas; Ro, Kyoung S; Hunt, Patrick G

2008-11-01

The use of biological and thermochemical conversion (TCC) technologies in livestock waste-to-bioenergy treatments can provide livestock operators with multiple value-added, renewable energy products. These products can meet heating and power needs or serve as transportation fuels. The primary objective of this work is to present established and emerging energy conversion opportunities that can transform the treatment of livestock waste from a liability to a profit center. While biological production of methanol and hydrogen are in early research stages, anaerobic digestion is an established method of generating between 0.1 to 1.3m3m(-3)d(-1) of methane-rich biogas. The TCC processes of pyrolysis, direct liquefaction, and gasification can convert waste into gaseous fuels, combustible oils, and charcoal. Integration of biological and thermal-based conversion technologies in a farm-scale hybrid design by combining an algal CO2-fixation treatment requiring less than 27,000m2 of treatment area with the energy recovery component of wet gasification can drastically reduce CO2 emissions and efficiently recycle nutrients. These designs have the potential to make future large scale confined animal feeding operations sustainable and environmentally benign while generating on-farm renewable energy.

Environmental performance evaluation of large-scale municipal solid waste incinerators using data envelopment analysis.

PubMed

Chen, Ho-Wen; Chang, Ni-Bin; Chen, Jeng-Chung; Tsai, Shu-Ju

2010-07-01

Limited to insufficient land resources, incinerators are considered in many countries such as Japan and Germany as the major technology for a waste management scheme capable of dealing with the increasing demand for municipal and industrial solid waste treatment in urban regions. The evaluation of these municipal incinerators in terms of secondary pollution potential, cost-effectiveness, and operational efficiency has become a new focus in the highly interdisciplinary area of production economics, systems analysis, and waste management. This paper aims to demonstrate the application of data envelopment analysis (DEA)--a production economics tool--to evaluate performance-based efficiencies of 19 large-scale municipal incinerators in Taiwan with different operational conditions. A 4-year operational data set from 2002 to 2005 was collected in support of DEA modeling using Monte Carlo simulation to outline the possibility distributions of operational efficiency of these incinerators. Uncertainty analysis using the Monte Carlo simulation provides a balance between simplifications of our analysis and the soundness of capturing the essential random features that complicate solid waste management systems. To cope with future challenges, efforts in the DEA modeling, systems analysis, and prediction of the performance of large-scale municipal solid waste incinerators under normal operation and special conditions were directed toward generating a compromised assessment procedure. Our research findings will eventually lead to the identification of the optimal management strategies for promoting the quality of solid waste incineration, not only in Taiwan, but also elsewhere in the world. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Color removal from dye-containing wastewater by magnesium chloride.

PubMed

Gao, Bao-Yu; Yue, Qin-Yan; Wang, Yan; Zhou, Wei-Zhi

2007-01-01

Color removal by MgCl(2) when treating synthetic waste containing pure dyes was studied. The color removal efficiency of MgCl(2)/Ca(OH)(2) was compared with that of Al(2)(SO(4))(3), polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and FeSO(4)/Ca(OH)(2). The mechanism of color removal by MgCl(2) was also investigated. The experimental results show that the color removal efficiency of MgCl(2) is related to the type of dye and depends on the pH of the waste and the dosage of the coagulants used. Treatment of waste containing reactive dye or dispersed dye with MgCl(2) yielded an optimum color removal ratio when the pH of the solution was equal to or above 12.0. For both the reactive and dispersed dye waste, MgCl(2)/Ca(OH)(2) was shown to be superior to MgCl(2)/NaOH, Al(2)(SO(4))(3), PAC and FeSO(4)/Ca(OH)(2) for color removal. A magnesium hydroxide precipitate formed at pH values greater than 12.0, which provided a large adsorptive surface area and a positive electrostatic surface charge, enabling it to remove the dyes through charge neutralization and an adsorptive coagulating mechanism. So, the MgCl(2)/Ca(OH)(2) system is a viable alternative to some of the more conventional forms of chemical treatment, especially for treating actual textile waste with high natural pH.

Evaluation of two different alternatives of energy recovery from municipal solid waste in Brazil.

PubMed

Medina Jimenez, Ana Carolina; Nordi, Guilherme Henrique; Palacios Bereche, Milagros Cecilia; Bereche, Reynaldo Palacios; Gallego, Antonio Garrido; Nebra, Silvia Azucena

2017-11-01

Brazil has a large population with a high waste generation. The municipal solid waste (MSW) generated is deposited mainly in landfills. However, a considerable fraction of the waste is still improperly disposed of in dumpsters. In order to overcome this inadequate deposition, it is necessary to seek alternative routes. Between these alternatives, it is possible to quote gasification and incineration. The objective of this study is to compare, from an energetic and economic point of view, these technologies, aiming at their possible implementation in Brazilian cities. A total of two configurations were evaluated: (i) waste incineration with energy recovery and electricity production in a steam cycle; and (ii) waste gasification, where the syngas produced is used as fuel in a boiler of a steam cycle for electricity production. Simulations were performed assuming the same amount of available waste for both configurations, with a composition corresponding to the MSW from Santo André, Brazil. The thermal efficiencies of the gasification and incineration configurations were 19.3% and 25.1%, respectively. The difference in the efficiencies was caused by the irreversibilities associated with the gasification process, and the additional electricity consumption in the waste treatment step. The economic analysis presented a cost of electrical energy produced of 0.113 (US$ kWh -1 ) and 0.139 (US$ kWh -1 ) for the incineration and gasification plants respectively.

Separation of motor oils, oily wastes and hydrocarbons from contaminated water by sorption on chrome shavings.

PubMed

Gammoun, A; Tahiri, S; Albizane, A; Azzi, M; Moros, J; Garrigues, S; de la Guardia, M

2007-06-25

In this paper, the ability of chrome shavings to remove motor oils, oily wastes and hydrocarbons from water has been studied. To determine amount of hydrocarbons sorbed on tanned wastes, a FT-NIR methodology was used and a multivariate calibration based on partial least squares (PLS) was employed for data treatment. The light density, porous tanned waste granules float on the surface of water and remove hydrocarbons and oil films. Wastes fibers from tannery industry have high sorption capacity. These tanned solid wastes are capable of absorbing many times their weight in oil or hydrocarbons (6.5-7.6g of oil and 6.3g of hydrocarbons per gram of chrome shavings). The removal efficiency of the pollutants from water is complete. The sorption of pollutants is a quasi-instantaneous process.

Green technology innovation in a developing country

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Treesubsuntorn, Chairat; Dolphen, Rujira; Dhurakit, Prapai; Siswanto, Dian; Thiravetyan, Paitip

2017-11-01

Developing countries rapidly grow when green technology, which is referred to as eco-friendly processes or methods, is developed in parallel. Here, some examples of green technology research and development in Thailand will be overviewed. A huge amount of agricultural waste is generated during agricultural processes. Applying these agricultural wastes in order to maximize the benefits for environmental cleanups of water, soil and air has been studied and commercialized. For example: 1) Application of agricultural waste and/or biochar developed from agricultural waste as biological adsorbents for wastewater treatment in some industries, such as textile/dye industries, and printing industries. In addition, this agricultural waste can also be applied in decolorization of sugar syrup from sugar industries; 2) The research on modified biomaterials as adsorbents and packing materials in biofilters would also be presented, and now, pilot scale biofilters have been developed and applied to solve air pollution problems in the field for future commercialization; 3) Some agricultural waste and/or biochar developed from agricultural waste in our laboratory can promote rice growth and improve rice quality via the reduction of Cd uptake and translocation in rice. Phytoremediation technology, in which plants are used to improve the environmental quality in water and air, has also been studied and would be presented. 1) Some species of native Thai plants can effectively remove heavy metals and dye from wastewater. For this research, a constructed wetland for wastewater treatment was developed and applied in a real contaminated site. 2) In air phytoremediation, some plant species harbor highly volatile organic compound (VOC) removal efficiency. In addition, plants do not only absorb organic pollutants, but also they have the innate ability to degrade organic compounds and use them as carbon sources for their growth. In addition, plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria inoculation into plants can enhance airborne pollutant removal. From this research, an indoor air phytoremediation system was developed in order to reduce CO2 emissions with high VOC removal efficiency. The high cost of technology transfer is a major problem, especially in developing countries, and green technology research and innovation can overcome this problem along with efficient allocation of resources and technologies.

Sequential anaerobic/aerobic digestion for enhanced sludge stabilization: comparison of the process performance for mixed and waste sludge [corrected].

PubMed

Tomei, M Concetta; Carozza, Nicola Antonello

2015-05-01

Sequential anaerobic-aerobic digestion has been demonstrated as a promising alternative for enhanced sludge stabilization. In this paper, a feasibility study of the sequential digestion applied to real waste activated sludge (WAS) and mixed sludge is presented. Process performance is evaluated in terms of total solid (TS) and volatile solid (VS) removal, biogas production, and dewaterability trend in the anaerobic and double-stage digested sludge. In the proposed digestion lay out, the aerobic stage was operated with intermittent aeration to reduce the nitrogen load recycled to the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Experimental results showed a very good performance of the sequential digestion process for both waste and mixed sludge, even if, given its better digestibility, higher efficiencies are observed for mixed sludge. VS removal efficiencies in the anaerobic stage were 48 and 50% for waste and mixed sludge, respectively, while a significant additional improvement of the VS removal of 25% for WAS and 45% for mixed sludge has been obtained in the aerobic stage. The post-aerobic stage, operated with intermittent aeration, was also efficient in nitrogen removal, providing a significant decrease of the nitrogen content in the supernatant: nitrification efficiencies of 90 and 97% and denitrification efficiencies of 62 and 70% have been obtained for secondary and mixed sludges, respectively. A positive effect due to the aerobic stage was also observed on the sludge dewaterability in both cases. Biogas production, expressed as Nm(3)/(kgVSdestroyed), was 0.54 for waste and 0.82 for mixed sludge and is in the range of values reported in the literature in spite of the low anaerobic sludge retention time of 15 days.

Health-care waste incineration and related dangers to public health: case study of the two teaching and referral hospitals in Kenya.

PubMed

Njagi, Nkonge A; Oloo, Mayabi A; Kithinji, J; Kithinji, Magambo J

2012-12-01

There are practically no low cost, environmentally friendly options in practice whether incineration, autoclaving, chemical treatment or microwaving (World Health Organisation in Health-care waste management training at national level, [2006] for treatment of health-care waste. In Kenya, incineration is the most popular treatment option for hazardous health-care waste from health-care facilities. It is the choice practiced at both Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret. A study was done on the possible public health risks posed by incineration of the segregated hazardous health-care waste in one of the incinerators in each of the two hospitals. Gaseous emissions were sampled and analyzed for specific gases the equipment was designed and the incinerators Combustion efficiency (CE) established. Combustion temperatures were also recorded. A flue gas analyzer (Model-Testos-350 XL) was used to sample flue gases in an incinerator under study at Kenyatta National Hospital--Nairobi and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital--Eldoret to assess their incineration efficiency. Flue emissions were sampled when the incinerators were fully operational. However the flue gases sampled in the study, by use of the integrated pump were, oxygen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and No(x). The incinerator at KNH operated at a mean stack temperature of 746 °C and achieved a CE of 48.1 %. The incinerator at MTRH operated at a mean stack temperature of 811 °C and attained a CE of 60.8 %. The two health-care waste incinerators achieved CE below the specified minimum National limit of 99 %. At the detected stack temperatures, there was a possibility that other than the emissions identified, it was possible that the two incinerators tested released dioxins, furans and antineoplastic (cytotoxic drugs) fumes should the drugs be subjected to incineration in the two units.

Environmental assessment for the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the Waste Segregation Facility at the Savannah River Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1998-01-01

This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared by the Department of Energy (DOE) to assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction, operation and decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the Waste Segregation Facility (WSF) for the sorting, shredding, and compaction of low-level radioactive waste (LLW) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) located near Aiken, South Carolina. The LLW to be processed consists of two waste streams: legacy waste which is currently stored in E-Area Vaults of SRS and new waste generated from continuing operations. The proposed action is to construct, operate, and D&D a facility to process low-activity job-controlmore » and equipment waste for volume reduction. The LLW would be processed to make more efficient use of low-level waste disposal capacity (E-Area Vaults) or to meet the waste acceptance criteria for treatment at the Consolidated Incineration Facility (CIF) at SRS.« less

The effect of dilute acid pre-treatment process in bioethanol production from durian (Durio zibethinus) seeds waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghazali, K. A.; Salleh, S. F.; Riayatsyah, T. M. I.; Aditiya, H. B.; Mahlia, T. M. I.

2016-03-01

Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the promising feedstocks for bioethanol production. The process starts from pre-treatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, distillation and finally obtaining the final product, ethanol. The efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass depends heavily on the effectiveness of the pre-treatment step which main function is to break the lignin structure of the biomass. This work aims to investigate the effects of dilute acid pre-treatment on the enzymatic hydrolysis of durian seeds waste to glucose and the subsequent bioethanol fermentation process. The yield of glucose from dilute acid pre-treated sample using 0.6% H2SO4 and 5% substrate concentration shows significant value of 23.4951 g/L. Combination of dilute acid pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis using 150U of enzyme able to yield 50.0944 g/L of glucose content higher compared to normal pre-treated sample of 8.1093 g/L. Dilute acid pre-treatment sample also shows stable and efficient yeast activity during fermentation process with lowest glucose content at 2.9636 g/L compared to 14.7583g/L for normal pre-treated sample. Based on the result, it can be concluded that dilute acid pre-treatment increase the yield of ethanol from bioethanol production process.

Enhanced treatment of waste frying oil in an activated sludge system by addition of crude rhamnolipid solution.

PubMed

Zhang, Hongzi; Xiang, Hai; Zhang, Guoliang; Cao, Xia; Meng, Qing

2009-08-15

The presence of high-strength oil and grease (O&G) in wastewater poses serious challenges for environment. Addition of surfactant into the activated sludge bioreactor is feasible in reducing high concentrations of O&G via enhancing its bioavailability. In this paper, an aqueous biosurfactant solution of rhamnolipid as a cell-free culture broth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa zju.um1 was added into a batch of aerobic activated sludge system for treatment of the waste frying oil. This treatment was conducted on both bench and pilot-scales, whereas the removal efficiency of frying oil was determined by analyzing the residue concentration of O&G and chemical oxygen demand (COD). In the presence of varying concentrations of rhamnolipid from 22.5 mg/L to 90 mg/L, aerobic treatment for 30 h was enough to remove over 93% of O&G while this biodegradability was only 10% in the control system with the absence of rhamnolipids. The equivalent biodegradability was similarly obtained on COD under addition of rhamnolipid. Compared with bench studies, a higher treatment efficiency with the presence of rhamnolipids was achieved on a pilot-scale of activated sludge system, in which a short time of 12h was required for removing approximately 95% of O&G while the control treatment attained a low efficiency of 17%. Finally, foaming and biodegradability of rhamnolipids in activated sludge system were further examined in the whole treatment process. It seems that the addition of rhamnolipid-containing culture broth showed great potential for treatment of oily wastewater by activated sludge.

Resource recovery from residual household waste: An application of exergy flow analysis and exergetic life cycle assessment.

PubMed

Laner, David; Rechberger, Helmut; De Soete, Wouter; De Meester, Steven; Astrup, Thomas F

2015-12-01

Exergy is based on the Second Law of thermodynamics and can be used to express physical and chemical potential and provides a unified measure for resource accounting. In this study, exergy analysis was applied to four residual household waste management scenarios with focus on the achieved resource recovery efficiencies. The calculated exergy efficiencies were used to compare the scenarios and to evaluate the applicability of exergy-based measures for expressing resource quality and for optimizing resource recovery. Exergy efficiencies were determined based on two approaches: (i) exergy flow analysis of the waste treatment system under investigation and (ii) exergetic life cycle assessment (LCA) using the Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment (CEENE) as a method for resource accounting. Scenario efficiencies of around 17-27% were found based on the exergy flow analysis (higher efficiencies were associated with high levels of material recycling), while the scenario efficiencies based on the exergetic LCA lay in a narrow range around 14%. Metal recovery was beneficial in both types of analyses, but had more influence on the overall efficiency in the exergetic LCA approach, as avoided burdens associated with primary metal production were much more important than the exergy content of the recovered metals. On the other hand, plastic recovery was highly beneficial in the exergy flow analysis, but rather insignificant in exergetic LCA. The two approaches thereby offered different quantitative results as well as conclusions regarding material recovery. With respect to resource quality, the main challenge for the exergy flow analysis is the use of exergy content and exergy losses as a proxy for resource quality and resource losses, as exergy content is not per se correlated with the functionality of a material. In addition, the definition of appropriate waste system boundaries is critical for the exergy efficiencies derived from the flow analysis, as it is constrained by limited information available about the composition of flows in the system as well as about secondary production processes and their interaction with primary or traditional production chains. In the exergetic LCA, resource quality could be reflected by the savings achieved by product substitution and the consideration of the waste's upstream burden allowed for an evaluation of the waste's resource potential. For a comprehensive assessment of resource efficiency in waste LCA, the sensitivity of accounting for product substitution should be carefully analyzed and cumulative exergy consumption measures should be complimented by other impact categories. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stabilization of waste-activated sludge through the anoxic-aerobic digestion process.

PubMed

Hashimoto, S; Fujita, M; Terai, K

1982-08-01

During the aerobic digestion process, the nitrogen which had been embedded in the activated sludge is solubilized to form ammoniacal and nitric nitrogen which are in turn transferred to the liquor and cause the increase of nitrogen loading in the sewage treatment plant. In this study, the anoxic-aerobic sludge digestion system which is a modified form of the conventional aerobic sludge digestion is made up of aerobic and anoxic tanks and are designed to remove both the volatile suspended solids and the total nitrogen (TN) simultaneously. The removal efficiencies of both VSS and TN were investigated by feeding waste-activated sludge continuously and semicontinuously. The maximum percent reduction of both VSS and TN was achieved at a Q(r)/Q(s) ratio of 2 in the continuous process. The semicontinuous process was used to improve the nitrogen removal efficiency further. In the semicontinuous process, the VSS reduction efficiency as well as the nitrogen removal efficiency increased remarkably under a constant Q(r)/Q(s) ratio of 2. This process also achieved a VSS reduction efficiency higher than the aerobic digestion process (control). It was suggested that the additional anoxic tank enhanced the sludge digestion. Furthermore, the anoxic-aerobic digestion system can be applied to other treatment media like the primary sludge, industrial sludge, animal manure, etc.

Beyond land application: Emerging technologies for the treatment and reuse of anaerobically digested agricultural and food waste.

PubMed

Sheets, Johnathon P; Yang, Liangcheng; Ge, Xumeng; Wang, Zhiwu; Li, Yebo

2015-10-01

Effective treatment and reuse of the massive quantities of agricultural and food wastes generated daily has the potential to improve the sustainability of food production systems. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is used throughout the world as a waste treatment process to convert organic waste into two main products: biogas and nutrient-rich digestate, called AD effluent. Biogas can be used as a source of renewable energy or transportation fuels, while AD effluent is traditionally applied to land as a soil amendment. However, there are economic and environmental concerns that limit widespread land application, which may lead to underutilization of AD for the treatment of agricultural and food wastes. To combat these constraints, existing and novel methods have emerged to treat or reuse AD effluent. The objective of this review is to analyze several emerging methods used for efficient treatment and reuse of AD effluent. Overall, the application of emerging technologies is limited by AD effluent composition, especially the total solid content. Some technologies, such as composting, use the solid fraction of AD effluent, while most other technologies, such as algae culture and struvite crystallization, use the liquid fraction. Therefore, dewatering of AD effluent, reuse of the liquid and solid fractions, and land application could all be combined to sustainably manage the large quantities of AD effluent produced. Issues such as pathogen regrowth and prevalence of emerging organic micro-pollutants are also discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Innovative and Alternative Technologies. Instructor Guide. Working for Clean Water: An Information Program for Advisory Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Charles A.

Innovative and alternative methods of wastewater treatment can improve the efficiency and lower the cost of waste treatment procedures. Described in this instructor's guide is a one-hour learning session for citizens interested in improving water quality planning and decision making. Among the topics covered are the need for alternative wastewater…

Certain Hospital Waste Management Practices in Isfahan, Iran

PubMed Central

Ferdowsi, Ali; Ferdosi, Masoud; Mehrani, Zeinab; Narenjkar, Parisa

2012-01-01

Objectives: Infected hospital wastes are among hazardous wastes, and special treatment methods are needed for their disposal. Having information about present status of medical waste management systems is of great importance in finding weak, and for future planning. Such studies have not been done for most of the hospitals in Iran. Methods: This paper reports the results of a study on the present status of medical waste management in Isfahan hospitals. A ten page researcher made questionnaire was used to collect data in terms of collection, transportation, segregation, treatment and disposal. For assessment of autoclaves, standard tests including TST (Time, Steam, and Temperature) strip test and spore tests were used. Samples were made of stack gases of incinerators. Quantity and composition of hospital wastes in Isfahan were also measured manually. Results: Of all wastes in selected hospitals, 40% were infected wastes (1.59 kg/day/bed), which is 15 to 20% higher than World Health Organization (WHO) standards. TST and Spore test results were negative in all samples. Stack gases analysis showed high concentration of CO in some samples. Besides, the combustion efficiency in some samples is less than 99.5%, which is the standard criterion in Iran. Conclusions: This study may create awareness regarding the magnitude of the problem of waste management in hospitals of Isfahan and may stimulate interests for systematic control efforts for hospital waste disposal. Hospital waste management cannot succeed without documented plans, certain equipment, defined staff trainings, and periodic evaluations. PMID:22826762

Critical review of real-time methods for solid waste characterisation: Informing material recovery and fuel production.

PubMed

Vrancken, C; Longhurst, P J; Wagland, S T

2017-03-01

Waste management processes generally represent a significant loss of material, energy and economic resources, so legislation and financial incentives are being implemented to improve the recovery of these valuable resources whilst reducing contamination levels. Material recovery and waste derived fuels are potentially valuable options being pursued by industry, using mechanical and biological processes incorporating sensor and sorting technologies developed and optimised for recycling plants. In its current state, waste management presents similarities to other industries that could improve their efficiencies using process analytical technology tools. Existing sensor technologies could be used to measure critical waste characteristics, providing data required by existing legislation, potentially aiding waste treatment processes and assisting stakeholders in decision making. Optical technologies offer the most flexible solution to gather real-time information applicable to each of the waste mechanical and biological treatment processes used by industry. In particular, combinations of optical sensors in the visible and the near-infrared range from 800nm to 2500nm of the spectrum, and different mathematical techniques, are able to provide material information and fuel properties with typical performance levels between 80% and 90%. These sensors not only could be used to aid waste processes, but to provide most waste quality indicators required by existing legislation, whilst offering better tools to the stakeholders. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deployed Force Waste Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-11-01

Humid Coastal Desert (B3) Cold (C0) (C1) (C2) Severe & Extreme Cold (C3) (C4) Affects effectiveness and efficiency of particular treatment and...surface (eg Spinifex ) Commercially available Easily deployable and some construction by engineers required Simple but specialised

Highly Efficient Erythritol Recovery from Waste Erythritol Mother Liquor by a Yeast-Mediated Biorefinery Process.

PubMed

Wang, Siqi; Wang, Hengwei; Lv, Jiyang; Deng, Zixin; Cheng, Hairong

2017-12-20

Erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol, is produced industrially by fermentation and crystallization, but this process leaves a large amount of waste erythritol mother liquor (WEML) which contains more than 200 g/L erythritol as well as other polyol byproducts. These impurities make it very difficult to crystallize more erythritol. In our study, an efficient process for the recovery of erythritol from the WEML is described. The polyol impurities were first identified by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and a yeast strain Candida maltosa CGMCC 7323 was then isolated to metabolize those impurities to purify erythritol. Our results demonstrated that the process could remarkably improve the purity of erythritol and thus make the subsequent crystallization easier. This newly developed strategy is expected to have advantages in WEML treatment and provide helpful information with regard to green cell factories and zero-waste processing.

Perspectives regarding the use of metallurgical slags as secondary metal resources - A review of bioleaching approaches.

PubMed

Potysz, Anna; van Hullebusch, Eric D; Kierczak, Jakub

2018-05-05

Smelting activity by its very nature produces large amounts of metal-bearing waste, often called metallurgical slag(s). In the past, industry used to dispose of these waste products at dumping sites without the appropriate environmental oversight. Once there, ongoing biogeochemical processes affect the stability of the slags and cause the release of metallic contaminants. Rather than viewing metallurgical slags as waste, however, such deposits should be viewed as secondary metal resources. Metal bioleaching is a "green" treatment route for metallurgical slags, currently being studied under laboratory conditions. Metal-laden leachates obtained at the bioleaching stage have to be subjected to further recovery operations in order to obtain metal(s) of interest to achieve the highest levels of purity possible. This perspective paper considers the feasibility of the reuse of base-metal slags as secondary metal resources. Special focus is given to current laboratory bioleaching approaches and associated processing obstacles. Further directions of research for development of more efficient methods for waste slag treatment are also highlighted. The optimized procedure for slag treatment is defined as the result of this review and should include following steps: i) slag characterization (chemical and phase composition and buffering capacity) following the choice of initial pH, ii) the choice of particle size, iii) the choice of the liquid-to-solid ratio, iv) the choice of microorganisms, v) the choice of optimal nutrient supply (growth medium composition). An optimal combination of all these parameters will lead to efficient extraction and generation of metal-free solid residue. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis on carbon dioxide emission reduction during the anaerobic synergetic digestion technology of sludge and kitchen waste: Taking kitchen waste synergetic digestion project in Zhenjiang as an example.

PubMed

Guo, Qia; Dai, Xiaohu

2017-11-01

With the popularization of municipal sewage treatment facilities, the improvement of sewage treatment efficiency and the deepening degree of sewage treatment, the sludge production of sewage plant has been sharply increased. Carbon emission during the process of municipal sewage treatment and disposal has become one of the important sources of greenhouse gases that cause greenhouse effect. How to reduce carbon dioxide emissions during sewage treatment and disposal process is of great significance for reducing air pollution. Kitchen waste and excess sludge, as two important organic wastes, once uses anaerobic synergetic digestion technology in the treatment process can on the one hand, avoid instability of sludge individual anaerobic digestion, improve sludge degradation rate and marsh gas production rate, and on the other hand, help increase the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to a great extent. The paper uses material balance method, analyzes and calculates the carbon dioxide emissions from kitchen waste and sludge disposed by the anaerobic synergetic digestion technology, compares the anaerobic synergetic digestion technology with traditional sludge sanitary landfill technology and works out the carbon dioxide emission reductions after synergetic digestion. It takes the kitchen waste and sludge synergetic digestion engineering project of Zhenjiang city in Jiangsu province as an example, makes material balance analysis using concrete data and works out the carbon dioxide daily emission reductions. The paper analyzes the actual situation of emission reduction by comparing the data, and found that the synergetic digestion of kitchen waste and sludge can effectively reduce the carbon dioxide emission, and the reduction is obvious especially compared with that of sludge sanitary landfill, which has a certain effect on whether to promote the use of the technology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Photolytic AND Catalytic Destruction of Organic Waste Water Pollutants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torosyan, V. F.; Torosyan, E. S.; Kryuchkova, S. O.; Gromov, V. E.

2017-01-01

The system: water supply source - potable and industrial water - wastewater - sewage treatment - water supply source is necessary for water supply and efficient utilization of water resources. Up-to-date technologies of waste water biological treatment require for special microorganisms, which are technologically complex and expensive but unable to solve all the problems. Application of photolytic and catalytically-oxidizing destruction is quite promising. However, the most reagents are strong oxidizers in catalytic oxidation of organic substances and can initiate toxic substance generation. Methodic and scientific approaches to assess bread making industry influence on the environment have been developed in this paper in order to support forecasting and taking technological decisions concerning reduction of this influence. Destructive methods have been tested: ultra violet irradiation and catalytic oxidation for extraction of organic compounds from waste water by natural reagents.

Separation of polyethylene terephthalate from municipal waste plastics by froth flotation for recycling industry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Chong-Qing; Wang, Hui, E-mail: huiwang1968@163.com; Liu, You-Nian

Highlights: • Factors of NaOH treatment were studied by orthogonal and single factor experiments. • Mechanism of alkaline treatment for facilitating flotation was manifested. • Flotation separation of PET was achieved with high purity and efficiency. • A flow sheet of purification PET from MWP was designed. - Abstract: Recycling is an effective way to manage plastic wastes and receives considerable attention. Since plastic mixtures are difficult to recycle because of their intrinsic characteristics, separation of mixed plastics is the key problem for recycling. Separation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from municipal waste plastics (MWP) by froth flotation combined with alkalinemore » pretreatment was investigated for recycling industry. The effect of process variables was estimated by L{sub 9} (3{sup 4}) orthogonal array of experiments and single factor experiments. The optimum conditions of alkaline pretreatment are 10 wt% sodium hydroxide, 20 min and 70 °C. After alkaline pretreatment under optimum conditions, flotation separation PET from acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene, polystyrene, polycarbonate or polyvinyl chloride was achieved with high purity and efficiency. The purity of PET is up to 98.46% and the recovery is above 92.47%. A flow sheet of separation PET from MWP by a combination of froth flotation and sink float separation was designed. This study facilitates industrial application of plastics flotation and provides technical insights into recycling of waste plastics.« less

A new recycling technique for the waste tires reuse.

PubMed

Derakhshan, Zahra; Ghaneian, Mohammad Taghi; Mahvi, Amir Hossein; Oliveri Conti, Gea; Faramarzian, Mohammad; Dehghani, Mansooreh; Ferrante, Margherita

2017-10-01

In this series of laboratory experiments, the feasibility of using fixed bed biofilm carriers (FBBC) manufactured from existing reclaimed waste tires (RWTs) for wastewater treatment was evaluated. To assess polyamide yarn waste tires as a media, the fixed bed sequence batch reactor (FBSBR) was evaluated under different organic loading rate (OLRs). An experimental model was used to study the kinetics of substrate consumption in biofilm. Removal efficiency of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) ranged by 76-98% for the FBSBR compared to 71-96% in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Removal efficiency of FBBC was significantly increased by inoculating these RWTs carriers. The results revealed that the sludge production yield (Y obs ) was significantly less in the FBSBR compared to the SBR (p < 0.01). It also produced less sludge and recorded a lower stabilization ratio (VSS/TSS). The findings show that the Stover-Kincannon model was the best fit (R 2 > 99%) in a FBSBR. Results from this study suggest that RWTs to support biological activity for a variety of wastewater treatment applications as a biofilm carrier have high potential that better performance as COD and TSS removal and sludge settling properties and effluent quality supported these findings. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Criteria for solid recovered fuels as a substitute for fossil fuels--a review.

PubMed

Beckmann, Michael; Pohl, Martin; Bernhardt, Daniel; Gebauer, Kathrin

2012-04-01

The waste treatment, particularly the thermal treatment of waste has changed fundamentally in the last 20 years, i.e. from facilities solely dedicated to the thermal treatment of waste to facilities, which in addition to that ensure the safe plant operation and fulfill very ambitious criteria regarding emission reduction, resource recovery and energy efficiency as well. Therefore this contributes to the economic use of raw materials and due to the energy recovered from waste also to the energy provision. The development described had the consequence that waste and solid recovered fuels (SRF) has to be evaluated based on fuel criteria as well. Fossil fuels - coal, crude oil, natural gas etc. have been extensively investigated due to their application in plants for energy conversion and also due to their use in the primary industry. Thereby depending on the respective processes, criteria on fuel technical properties can be derived. The methods for engineering analysis of regular fuels (fossil fuels) can be transferred only partially to SRF. For this reason methods are being developed or adapted to current analytical methods for the characterization of SRF. In this paper the possibilities of the energetic utilization of SRF and the characterization of SRF before and during the energetic utilization will be discussed.

Harvest and utilization of chemical energy in wastes by microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Sun, Min; Zhai, Lin-Feng; Li, Wen-Wei; Yu, Han-Qing

2016-05-21

Organic wastes are now increasingly viewed as a resource of energy that can be harvested by suitable biotechnologies. One promising technology is microbial fuel cells (MFC), which can generate electricity from the degradation of organic pollutants. While the environmental benefits of MFC in waste treatment have been recognized, their potential as an energy producer is not fully understood. Although progresses in material and engineering have greatly improved the power output from MFC, how to efficiently utilize the MFC's energy in real-world scenario remains a challenge. In this review, fundamental understandings on the energy-generating capacity of MFC from real waste treatment are provided and the challenges and opportunities are discussed. The limiting factors restricting the energy output and impairing the long-term reliability of MFC are also analyzed. Several energy storage and in situ utilization strategies for the management of MFC's energy are proposed, and future research needs for real-world application of this approach are explored.

Anaerobic digestion for sustainable development: a natural approach.

PubMed

Gljzen, H J

2002-01-01

After the discovery of methane gas by Alessandro Volta in 1776, it took about 100 years before anaerobic processes for the treatment of wastewater and sludges were introduced. The development of high rate anaerobic digesters for the treatment of sewage and industrial wastewater took until the nineteen-seventies and for solid waste even till the nineteen-eighties. All digesters have in common that they apply natural anaerobic consortia of microorganisms for degradation and transformation processes. In view of this, it could be rewarding to evaluate the efficiency of natural ecosystems for their possible application. Examples of high rate anaerobic natural systems include the forestomach of ruminants and the hindgut of certain insects, such as termites and cockroaches. These 'natural reactors' exhibit volumetric methane production rates as high as 35 l/l.d. The development of anaerobic reactors based on such natural anaerobic systems could produce eco-technologies for the effective management of a wide variety of solid wastes and industrial wastewater. Important limitations of anaerobic treatment of domestic sewage relate to the absence of nutrient and pathogen removal. A combination of anaerobic pre-treatment followed by photosynthetic posttreatment is proposed for the effective recovery of energy and nutrients from sewage. This eco-technology approach is based on the recognition that the main nutrient assimilating capacity is housed in photosynthetic plants. The proposed anaerobic-photosynthetic process is energy efficient, cost effective and applicable under a wide variety of rural and urban conditions. a natural systems approach towards waste management could generate affordable eco-technologies for effective treatment and resource recovery.

Alkali activated solidification/stabilisation of air pollution control residues and co-fired pulverised fuel ash.

PubMed

Shirley, Robin; Black, Leon

2011-10-30

This paper examines the potential treatment by solidification/stabilisation (S/S) of air pollution control (APC) residues using only waste materials otherwise bound for disposal, namely a pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from a co-fired power station and a waste caustic solution. The use of waste materials to stabilise hazardous wastes in order to meet waste acceptance criteria (WAC) would offer an economical and efficient method for reducing the environmental impact of the hazardous waste. The potential is examined against leach limits for chlorides, sulphates and total dissolved solids, and compressive strength performance described in the WAC for stable non-reactive (SNR) hazardous waste landfill cells in England and Wales. The work demonstrates some potential for the treatment, including suitable compressive strengths to meet regulatory limits. Monolithic leach results showed good encapsulation compared to previous work using a more traditional cement binder. However, consistent with previous work, SNR WAC for chlorides was not met, suggesting the need for a washing stage. The potential problems of using a non-EN450 PFA for S/S applications were also highlighted, as well as experimental results which demonstrate the effect of ionic interactions on the mobility of phases during regulatory leach testing. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a simple and sensitive method for the characterization of odorous waste gas emissions by means of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and GC-MS/olfactometry.

PubMed

Kleeberg, K K; Liu, Y; Jans, M; Schlegelmilch, M; Streese, J; Stegmann, R

2005-01-01

A solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method has been developed for the extraction of odorous compounds from waste gas. The enriched compounds were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography followed by simultaneous flame ionization detection and olfactometry (GC-FID/O). Five different SPME fiber coatings were tested, and the carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) fiber showed the highest ability to extract odorous compounds from the waste gas. Furthermore, parameters such as exposure time, desorption temperature, and desorption time have been optimized. The SPME method was successfully used to characterize an odorous waste gas from a fat refinery prior to and after waste gas treatment in order to describe the treatment efficiency of the used laboratory scale plant which consisted of a bioscrubber/biofilter combination and an activated carbon adsorber. The developed method is a valuable approach to provide detailed information of waste gas composition and complements existing methods for the determination of odors. However, caution should be exercised if CAR/PDMS fibers are used for the quantification of odorous compounds in multi-component matrices like waste gas emissions since the relative affinity of each analyte was shown to differ according to the total amount of analytes present in the sample.

Environmental performance of household waste management in Europe - An example of 7 countries.

PubMed

Andreasi Bassi, Susanna; Christensen, Thomas H; Damgaard, Anders

2017-11-01

An attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) of the management of 1ton of household waste was conducted in accordance with ISO 14044:2006 and the ILCD Handbook for seven European countries, namely Germany, Denmark, France, UK, Italy, Poland and Greece, representing different household waste compositions, waste management practices, technologies, and energy systems. National data were collected from a range of sources regarding household waste composition, household sorting efficiency, collection, waste treatments, recycling, electricity and heat composition, and technological efficiencies. The objective was to quantify the environmental performance in the different countries, in order to analyze the sources of the main environmental impacts and national differences which affect the results. In most of the seven countries, household waste management provides environmental benefits when considering the benefits of recycling of materials and recovering and utilization of energy. Environmental benefits come from paper recycling and, to a lesser extent, the recycling of metals and glass. Waste-to-energy plants can lead to an environmental load (as in France) or a saving (Germany and Denmark), depending mainly on the composition of the energy being substituted. Sensitivity analysis and a data quality assessment identified a range of critical parameters, suggesting from where better data should be obtained. The study concluded that household waste management is environmentally the best in European countries with a minimum reliance on landfilling, also induced by the implementation of the Waste Hierarchy, though environmental performance does not correlate clearly with the rate of material recycling. From an environmental point of view, this calls for a change in the waste management paradigm, with less focus on where the waste is routed and more of a focus on the quality and utilization of recovered materials and energy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stabilization of tannery sludge by co-treatment with aluminum anodizing sludge and phytotoxicity of end-products.

PubMed

Pantazopoulou, E; Zebiliadou, O; Mitrakas, M; Zouboulis, A

2017-03-01

A global demand for efficient re-utilization of produced solid wastes, which is based on the principles of re-use and recycling, results to a circular economy, where one industry's waste becomes another's raw material and it can be used in a more efficient and sustainable way. In this study, the influence of a by-product addition, such as aluminum anodizing sludge, on tannery waste (air-dried sludge) stabilization was examined. The chemical characterization of tannery waste leachate, using the EN 12457-2 standard leaching test, reveals that tannery waste cannot be accepted even in landfills for hazardous wastes, according to the EU Decision 2003/33/EC. The stabilization of tannery waste was studied applying different ratios of tannery waste and aluminum anodizing sludge, i.e. 50:50, 60:40, 70:30 and 80:20 ratios respectively. Subsequently, the stabilization rate of the qualified as optimum homogenized mixture of 50:50 ratio was also tested during time (7, 15 and 30days). Moreover, this stabilized product was subjected to phytotoxicity tests using the Lepidium sativum, Sinapis alba and Sorghum saccharatum seeds. The experimental results showed that aluminum anodizing sludge managed to stabilize effectively chromium and organic content of tannery waste, which are the most problematic parameters influencing its subsequent disposal. As a result, tannery waste stabilized with the addition of aluminum anodizing sludge at 50:50 ratio can be accepted in non-hazardous waste landfills, as chromium and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in the respective leachate are below the relevant regulation limits, while the stabilized waste shows decreased phytotoxicity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation and characterization during the anaerobic digestion of high-strength kitchen waste slurry via a pilot-scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor.

PubMed

Xiao, Xiaolan; Huang, Zhenxing; Ruan, Wenquan; Yan, Lintao; Miao, Hengfeng; Ren, Hongyan; Zhao, Mingxing

2015-10-01

The anaerobic digestion of high-strength kitchen waste slurry via a pilot-scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) was investigated at two different operational modes, including no sludge discharge and daily sludge discharge of 20 L. The AnMBR provided excellent and reliable permeate quality with high COD removal efficiencies over 99%. The obvious accumulations of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and Ca(2+) were found in the anaerobic digester by precipitation and agglomeration. Though the physicochemical process contributed to attenuating the free LCFAs toxicity on anaerobic digestion, the digestion efficiency was partly influenced for the low bioavailability of those precipitates. Moreover, higher organic loading rate (OLR) of 5.8 kg COD/(m(3) d) and digestion efficiency of 78% were achieved as the AnMBR was stably operated with sludge discharge, where the membrane fouling propensity was also alleviated, indicating the crucial significance of SRT control on the treatment of high-strength kitchen waste slurry via AnMBRs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Russell, Renee L.; Fiskum, Sandra K.; Smoot, Margaret R.

Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) is developing a Low-Activity Waste Pretreatment System (LAWPS) to provide low-activity waste (LAW) directly to the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low-Activity Waste Facility for immobilization. The pretreatment that will be conducted on tank waste supernate at the LAWPS facility entails filtration to remove entrained solids and cesium (Cs) ion exchange to remove Cs from the product sent to the WTP. Currently, spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde (sRF) resin (Microbeads AS, Skedsmokorset, Norway) is the Cs ion exchange resin of choice. Most work on Cs ion exchange efficacy in Hanford tank waste has been conductedmore » at nominally 5 M sodium (Na). WRPS is examining the possibility of processing supernatant at high Na concentrations—up to 8 M Na—to maximize processing efficiency through the LAWPS. Minimal Cs ion exchange work has been conducted at 6 M and 8 M Na concentrations..« less

Assessing recycling versus incineration of key materials in municipal waste: The importance of efficient energy recovery and transport distances

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Merrild, Hanna; Larsen, Anna W., E-mail: awla@env.dtu.dk; Christensen, Thomas H.

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We model the environmental impact of recycling and incineration of household waste. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Recycling of paper, glass, steel and aluminium is better than incineration. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Recycling and incineration of cardboard and plastic can be equally good alternatives. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Recyclables can be transported long distances and still have environmental benefits. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Paper has a higher environmental benefit than recyclables found in smaller amounts. - Abstract: Recycling of materials from municipal solid waste is commonly considered to be superior to any other waste treatment alternative. For the material fractions with a significant energy content this might not be the casemore » if the treatment alternative is a waste-to-energy plant with high energy recovery rates. The environmental impacts from recycling and from incineration of six material fractions in household waste have been compared through life cycle assessment assuming high-performance technologies for material recycling as well as for waste incineration. The results showed that there are environmental benefits when recycling paper, glass, steel and aluminium instead of incinerating it. For cardboard and plastic the results were more unclear, depending on the level of energy recovery at the incineration plant, the system boundaries chosen and which impact category was in focus. Further, the environmental impact potentials from collection, pre-treatment and transport was compared to the environmental benefit from recycling and this showed that with the right means of transport, recyclables can in most cases be transported long distances. However, the results also showed that recycling of some of the material fractions can only contribute marginally in improving the overall waste management system taking into consideration their limited content in average Danish household waste.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kirk, D.W.

The generation of industrial solid wastes containing leachable species of environmental concern is a problem for developing and developed nations alike. These materials arise from direct processing of mineral ores, from production of metals and minerals, from manufacturing operations, and from air and water pollution treatment processes. The general characteristics that make these wastes intractable is that their content of hazardous species is not easily liberated from the waste yet is not bound so tightly that they are safe for landfill disposal or industrial use. The approach taken in this work is a thermal treatment that separates the inorganic contaminantsmore » from the wastes. The objective is to provide recovery and reuse of both the residual solids and liberated contaminants. The results from operating this technique using two very different types of waste are described. The reasons that the process will work for a wide variety of wastes are explored. By using the knowledge of the thermodynamic stability of the phases found from the characterization analyses, a thermal regime was found that allowed separation of the contaminants without capturing the matrix materials. Bench scale studies were carried out using a tube furnace. Samples of the wastes were heated in crucible boats from 750 to 1150{degrees}C in the presence of various chlorinating agents. The offgas contained 90{sup +}% of the targeted contaminants despite their complex matrix form. The residue was free of contamination. As a result of the efficient concentrating mechanism of the process, the contaminants in the offgas solids are attractive for reuse in metallurgical industries. As an additional benefit, the organic contaminants of the residues were eliminated. Dioxin traces in the solids before treatment were absent after treatment. 15 refs., 4 figs., 4 tabs.« less

One System Integrated Project Team: Retrieval and Delivery of Hanford Tank Wastes for Vitrification in the Waste Treatment Plant - 13234

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harp, Benton J.; Kacich, Richard M.; Skwarek, Raymond J.

The One System Integrated Project Team (IPT) was formed in late 2011 as a way for improving the efficiency of delivery and treatment of highly radioactive waste stored in underground tanks at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) 586-square-mile Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The purpose of the One System IPT is to improve coordination and integration between the Hanford's Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) contractor and the Tank Operations Contractor (TOC). The vision statement is: One System is a WTP and TOC safety-conscious team that, through integrated management and implementation of risk-informed decision and mission-based solutions, will enable themore » earliest start of safe and efficient treatment of Hanford's tank waste, to protect the Columbia River, environment and public. The IPT is a formal collaboration between Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI), which manages design and construction of the WTP for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of River Protection (DOEORP), and Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), which manages the TOC for ORP. More than fifty-six (56) million gallons of highly radioactive liquid waste are stored in one hundred seventy-seven (177) aging, underground tanks. Most of Hanford's waste tanks - one hundred forty-nine (149) of them - are of an old single-shell tank (SST) design built between 1944 and 1964. More than sixty (60) of these tanks have leaked in the past, releasing an estimated one million gallons of waste into the soil and threatening the nearby Columbia River. There are another twenty-eight (28) new double-shelled tanks (DSTs), built from 1968 to 1986, that provide greater protection to the environment. In 1989, DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) signed a landmark agreement that required Hanford to comply with federal and state environmental standards. It also paved the way for agreements that set deadlines for retrieving the tank wastes and for building and operating the WTP. The tank wastes are the result of Hanford's nearly fifty (50) years of plutonium production. In the intervening years, waste characteristics have been increasingly better understood. However, waste characteristics that are uncertain and will remain as such represent a significant technical challenge in terms of retrieval, transport, and treatment, as well as for design and construction of WTP. What also is clear is that the longer the waste remains in the tanks, the greater the risk to the environment and the people of the Pacific Northwest. The goal of both projects - tank operations and waste treatment - is to diminish the risks posed by the waste in the tanks at the earliest possible date. About two hundred (200) WTP and TOC employees comprise the IPT. Individual work groups within One System include Technical, Project Integration and Controls, Front-End Design and Project Definition, Commissioning, Nuclear Safety and Engineering Systems Integration, and Environmental Safety and Health and Quality Assurance (ESH and QA). Additional functions and team members will be added as the WTP approaches the operational phase. The team has undertaken several initiatives since its formation to collaborate on issues: (1) alternate scenarios for delivery of wastes from the tank farms to WTP; (2) improvements in managing Interface Control Documents; (3) coordination on various technical issues, including the Defense Nuclear Facilities Nuclear Safety Board's Recommendation 2010-2; (4) deployment of the SmartPlant{sup R} Foundation-Configuration Management System; and (5) preparation of the joint contract deliverable of the Operational Readiness Support Plan. (authors)« less

Leaching of Au, Ag, and Pd from waste printed circuit boards of mobile phone by iodide lixiviant after supercritical water pre-treatment.

PubMed

Xiu, Fu-Rong; Qi, Yingying; Zhang, Fu-Shen

2015-07-01

Precious metals are the most attractive resources in waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) of mobile phones. In this work, an alternative process for recovering Au, Ag, and Pd from waste PCBs of mobile phones by supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) pre-treatment combined with iodine-iodide leaching process was developed. In the process, the waste PCBs of mobile phones were pre-treated in supercritical water, then a diluted hydrochloric acid leaching (HL) process was used to recovery the Cu, whose leaching efficiency was approximately 100%, finally the resulting residue was subjected to the iodine-iodide leaching process for recovering the Au, Ag, and Pd. Experimental results indicated that SCWO pre-treatment temperature, time, and pressure had significant influence on the Au, Ag, and Pd leaching from (SCWO+HL)-treated waste PCBs. The optimal SCWO pre-treatment conditions were 420°C and 60min for Au and Pd, and 410°C and 30min for Ag. The optimum dissolution parameters for Au, Pd, and Ag in (SCWO+HL)-treated PCBs with iodine-iodide system were leaching time of 120min (90min for Ag), iodine/iodide mole ratio of 1:5 (1:6 for Ag), solid-to-liquid ratio (S/L) of 1:10g/mL (1:8g/mL for Ag), and pH of 9, respectively. It is believed that the process developed in this study is environment friendly for the recovery of Au, Ag, and Pd from waste PCBs of mobile phones by SCWO pre-treatment combined with iodine-iodide leaching process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comprehensive process for the recovery of value and critical materials from electronic waste

DOE PAGES

Diaz, Luis A.; Lister, Tedd E.; Parkman, Jacob A.; ...

2016-04-08

The development of technologies that contribute to the proper disposal and treatment of electronic waste is not just an environmental need, but an opportunity for the recovery and recycle of valuable metals and critical materials. Value elements in electronic waste include gold, palladium, silver, copper, nickel, and rare earth elements (RE). Here, we present the development of a process that enables efficient recycling of metals from scrap mobile electronics. An electro recycling (ER) process, based on the regeneration of Fe 3+ as a weak oxidizer, is studied for the selective recovery of base metals while leaving precious metals for separatemore » extraction at reduced chemical demand. A separate process recovers rare earth oxides from magnets in electronics. Furthermore, recovery and extraction efficiencies ca. 90 % were obtained for the extraction of base metals from the non-ferromagnetic fraction in the two different solution matrices tested (H 2SO 4, and HCl). The effect of the pre-extraction of base metals in the increase of precious metals extraction efficiency was verified. On the other hand, the extraction of rare earths from the ferromagnetic fraction, performed by means of anaerobic extraction in acid media, was assessed for the selective recovery of rare earths. We developed a comprehensive flow sheet to process electronic waste to value products.« less

Decontamination of uranium-contaminated waste oil using supercritical fluid and nitric acid.

PubMed

Sung, Jinhyun; Kim, Jungsoo; Lee, Youngbae; Seol, Jeunggun; Ryu, Jaebong; Park, Kwangheon

2011-07-01

The waste oil used in nuclear fuel processing is contaminated with uranium because of its contact with materials or environments containing uranium. Under current law, waste oil that has been contaminated with uranium is very difficult to dispose of at a radioactive waste disposal site. To dispose of the uranium-contaminated waste oil, the uranium was separated from the contaminated waste oil. Supercritical R-22 is an excellent solvent for extracting clean oil from uranium-contaminated waste oil. The critical temperature of R-22 is 96.15 °C and the critical pressure is 49.9 bar. In this study, a process to remove uranium from the uranium-contaminated waste oil using supercritical R-22 was developed. The waste oil has a small amount of additives containing N, S or P, such as amines, dithiocarbamates and dialkyldithiophosphates. It seems that these organic additives form uranium-combined compounds. For this reason, dissolution of uranium from the uranium-combined compounds using nitric acid was needed. The efficiency of the removal of uranium from the uranium-contaminated waste oil using supercritical R-22 extraction and nitric acid treatment was determined.

Scientific approach and practical experience for reconstruction of waste water treatment plants in Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makisha, Nikolay; Gogina, Elena

2017-11-01

Protection of water bodies has a strict dependence on reliable operation of engineering systems and facilities for water supply and sewage. The majority of these plants and stations has been constructed in 1970-1980's in accordance with rules and regulations of that time. So now most of them require reconstruction due to serious physical or/and technological wear. The current condition of water supply and sewage systems and facilities frequently means a hidden source of serious danger for normal life support and ecological safety of cities and towns. The article reveals an obtained experience and modern approaches for reconstruction of waste water and sludge treatment plants that proved their efficiency even if applied in limited conditions such as area limits, investments limits. The main directions of reconstruction: overhaul repair and partial modernization of existing facilities on the basis of initial project; - restoration and modernization of existing systems on the basis on the current documents and their current condition; upgrade of waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) performance on the basis of modern technologies and methods; reconstruction of sewage systems and facilities and treatment quality improvement.

Thermal behaviour of ESP ash from municipal solid waste incinerators.

PubMed

Yang, Y; Xiao, Y; Wilson, N; Voncken, J H L

2009-07-15

Stricter environmental regulations demand safer treatment and disposal of incinerator fly ashes. So far no sound technology or a process is available for a sustainable and ecological treatment of the waste incineration ashes, and only partial treatment is practised for temporary and short-term solutions. New processes and technology need to be developed for comprehensive utilization and detoxification of the municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator residues. To explore the efficiency of thermal stabilisation and controlled vitrification, the thermal behaviour of electrostatic precipitator (ESP) ash was investigated under controlled conditions. The reaction stages are identified with the initial moisture removal, volatilization, melting and slag formation. At the temperature higher than 1100 degrees C, the ESP ashes have a quicker weight loss, and the total weight loss reaches up to 52%, higher than the boiler ash. At 1400 degrees C a salt layer and a homogeneous glassy slag were formed. The effect of thermal treatment on the leaching characteristics of various elements in the ESP ash was evaluated with the availability-leaching test. The leaching values of the vitrified slag are significantly lowered than that of the original ash.

Performance evaluation of the bioreactor landfill in treatment and stabilisation of mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste.

PubMed

Lakshmikanthan, P; Sivakumar Babu, G L

2017-03-01

The potential of bioreactor landfills to treat mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste is analysed in this study. Developing countries like India and China have begun to investigate bioreactor landfills for municipal solid waste management. This article describes the impacts of leachate recirculation on waste stabilisation, landfill gas generation, leachate characteristics and long-term waste settlement. A small-scale and large-scale anaerobic cell were filled with mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste collected from a landfill site at the outskirts of Bangalore, India. Leachate collected from the same landfill site was recirculated at the rate of 2-5 times a month on a regular basis for 370 days. The total quantity of gas generated was around 416 L in the large-scale reactor and 21 L in the small-scale reactor, respectively. Differential settlements ranging from 20%-26% were observed at two different locations in the large reactor, whereas 30% of settlement was observed in the small reactor. The biological oxygen demand/chemical oxygen demand (COD) ratio indicated that the waste in the large reactor was stabilised at the end of 1 year. The performance of the bioreactor with respect to the reactor size, temperature, landfill gas and leachate quality was analysed and it was found that the bioreactor landfill is efficient in the treatment and stabilising of mechanically biologically treated municipal solid waste.

Crystallization in high-level waste glass: A review of glass theory and noteworthy literature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christian, J. H.

2015-08-18

There is a fundamental need to continue research aimed at understanding nepheline and spinel crystal formation in high-level waste (HLW) glass. Specifically, the formation of nepheline solids (K/NaAlSiO 4) during slow cooling of HLW glass can reduce the chemical durability of the glass, which can cause a decrease in the overall durability of the glass waste form. The accumulation of spinel solids ((Fe, Ni, Mn, Zn)(Fe, Cr) 2O 4), while not detrimental to glass durability, can cause an array of processing problems inside HLW glass melters. In this review, the fundamental differences between glass and solid-crystals are explained using kinetic,more » thermodynamic, and viscosity arguments, and several highlights of glass-crystallization research, as it pertains to high-level waste vitrification, are described. In terms of mitigating spinel in the melter and both spinel and nepheline formation in the canister, the complexity of HLW glass and the intricate interplay between thermal, chemical, and kinetic factors further complicates this understanding. However, new experiments seeking to elucidate the contributing factors of crystal nucleation and growth in waste glass, and the compilation of data from older experiments, may go a long way towards helping to achieve higher waste loadings while developing more efficient processing strategies. Higher waste loadings and more efficient processing strategies will reduce the overall HLW Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) vitrification facilities mission life.« less

Biodegradation of Garden Waste, Market Waste Using Eisenia fetida and Eudrilus eugenia and Assessment of Manure Quality on Tomato

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohan, S. Mariraj

2014-06-01

Comparative study was performed to evaluate the vermicomposting efficiency of two earthworm species Eisenia fetida, Eudrilus eugenia from the garden wastes, vegetable market wastes. Three different experimental works were conducted. For each experiment three plastic vermibins were used. Experiment (1) mentioned for control without earthworms. Experiment (2) bedded with Eudrilus eugenia, Experiment (3) comprised of bedding with Eisenia fetida. Pre composting was allowed for 10 days after that Eudrilus eugenia, Eisenia fetida were added in respective vermibins. The multiplication of earthworms in terms of number was calculated at the end of vermicomposting. The N, P, K value of the manure in each vermibin was estimated before and after the completion of the experiment. High N, P, K value was obtained in Experiment (2) and Experiment (3) compared to control. Among the solid wastes, the vegetable wastes were degraded quickly by Eudrilus eugenia and also it has the best quality of manure. Eudrilus eugenia was found to be efficient for quick degradation of both garden wastes and vegetable wastes. After manure production, field trials were conducted using different fertilizers to assess the manure quality in the growth and yield of tomato plants. Six types of experimental trial pots were prepared where one was kept as control and five others were treated with different category of fertilizers. The treatment pots (P3) showed better growth parameters (leaf numbers, stem diameter, plant height) than the rest of the trial.

A novel process for separation of hazardous poly(vinyl chloride) from mixed plastic wastes by froth flotation.

PubMed

Wang, Jianchao; Wang, Hui; Wang, Chongqing; Zhang, Lingling; Wang, Tao; Zheng, Long

2017-11-01

A novel method, calcium hypochlorite (CHC) treatment, was proposed for separation of hazardous poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) plastic from mixed plastic wastes (MPWs) by froth flotation. Flotation behavior of single plastic indicates that PVC can be separated from poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene-co-styrene) (ABS), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by froth flotation combined with CHC treatment. Mechanism of CHC treatment was examined by contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Under the optimum conditions, separation of PVC from binary plastics with different particle sizes is achieved efficiently. The purity of PC, ABS, PMMA, PS and PET is greater than 96.8%, 98.5%, 98.8%, 97.4% and 96.3%, respectively. Separation of PVC from multi-plastics was further conducted by two-stage flotation. PVC can be separated efficiently from MPWs with residue content of 0.37%. Additionally, reusing CHC solution is practical. This work indicates that separation of hazardous PVC from MPWs is effective by froth flotation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhancement of the recycling of waste Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries by mechanical treatment.

PubMed

Huang, Kui; Li, Jia; Xu, Zhenming

2011-06-01

A serious environmental problem was presented by waste batteries resulting from lack of relevant regulations and effective recycling technologies in China. The present work considered the enhancement of waste Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries recycling by mechanical treatment. In the process of characterization, two types of waste batteries (Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries) were selected and their components were characterized in relation to their elemental chemical compositions. In the process of mechanical separation and recycling, waste Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries were processed by a recycling technology without a negative impact on the environment. The technology contained mechanical crushing, size classification, gravity separation, and magnetic separation. The results obtained demonstrated that: (1) Mechanical crushing was an effective process to strip the metallic parts from separators and pastes. High liberation efficiency of the metallic parts from separators and pastes was attained in the crushing process until the fractions reached particle sizes smaller than 2mm. (2) The classified materials mainly consisted of the fractions with the size of particles between 0.5 and 2mm after size classification. (3) The metallic concentrates of the samples were improved from around 75% to 90% by gravity separation. More than 90% of the metallic materials were separated into heavy fractions when the particle sizes were larger than 0.5mm. (4) The size of particles between 0.5 and 2mm and the rotational speed of the separator between 30 and 60 rpm were suitable for magnetic separation during industrial application, with the recycling efficiency exceeding 95%. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dry anaerobic digestion of food waste and cardboard at different substrate loads, solid contents and co-digestion proportions.

PubMed

Capson-Tojo, Gabriel; Trably, Eric; Rouez, Maxime; Crest, Marion; Steyer, Jean-Philippe; Delgenès, Jean-Philippe; Escudié, Renaud

2017-06-01

The increasing food waste production calls for developing efficient technologies for its treatment. Anaerobic processes provide an effective waste valorization. The influence of the initial substrate load on the performance of batch dry anaerobic co-digestion reactors treating food waste and cardboard was investigated. The load was varied by modifying the substrate to inoculum ratio (S/X), the total solids content and the co-digestion proportions. The results showed that the S/X was a crucial parameter. Within the tested values (0.25, 1 and 4gVS·gVS -1 ), only the reactors working at 0.25 produced methane. Methanosarcina was the main archaea, indicating its importance for efficient methanogenesis. Acidogenic fermentation was predominant at higher S/X, producing hydrogen and other metabolites. Higher substrate conversions (≤48%) and hydrogen yields (≤62mL·gVS -1 ) were achieved at low loads. This study suggests that different value-added compounds can be produced in dry conditions, with the initial substrate load as easy-to-control operational parameter. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The ultrasonically assisted metals recovery treatment of printed circuit board waste sludge by leaching separation.

PubMed

Xie, Fengchun; Li, Haiying; Ma, Yang; Li, Chuncheng; Cai, Tingting; Huang, Zhiyuan; Yuan, Gaoqing

2009-10-15

This paper provides a practical technique that realized industrial scale copper and iron separation from printed circuit board (PCB) waste sludge by ultrasonically assisted acid leaching in a low cost, low energy consumption and zero discharge of wastes manner. The separation efficiencies of copper and iron from acid leaching with assistance of ultrasound were compared with the one without assistance of ultrasound and the effects of the leaching procedure, pH value, and ultrasonic strength have been investigated in the paper. With the appropriate leaching procedure, a final pH of 3.0, an ultrasonic generator power of 160 W (in 1l tank), leaching time of 60 min, leaching efficiencies of copper and iron had reached 97.83% and 1.23%, respectively. Therefore the separation of copper and iron in PCB waste sludge was virtually achieved. The lab results had been successfully applied to the industrial scaled applications in a heavy metal recovery plant in city of Huizhou, China for more than two years. It has great potentials to be used in even the broad metal recovery practices.

Evaluation of lead recovery efficiency from waste CRT funnel glass by chlorinating volatilization process.

PubMed

Erzat, Aris; Zhang, Fu-Shen

2014-01-01

The current study was carried out to develop a novel process, namely chloride volatilization procedure for lead recovery from waste cathode ray tube (CRT) funnel glass. In the recovery system, the glass powder was first compressed into cylindrical pellet homogeneously with chlorinating agents, and then subjected to thermal treatment for solid-phase reaction. In this case, lead could be easily released from the silicon oxide network of the glass and it was recovered in the form of PbCl₂. It was found that CaCl2 was the most effective chlorinating agent, and the optimum operation temperature, holding time and system pressure were 1000 °C, 2 h, 600 ± 50 Pa, respectively. The evaporated PbCl₂could be easily recovered by a cooling device. The evaporation ratio of lead from waste CRT was 99.1% and the purity of the recovered PbCl₂product was 97.0%. The reaction routes and lead recovery mechanisms of the process were identified. This study provides an efficient and practical process for waste CRT funnel glass detoxification and recycling.

Synthesizing alkali ferrates using a waste as a raw material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanari, N.; Ostrosi, E.; Ninane, L.; Neveux, N.; Evrard, O.

2005-08-01

This study focused on the potential to transform a waste, hydrated iron sulfate, into a useful product. The waste was generated from titanium dioxide production and from the surface treatment of steel. Its disposal is restricted by environmental regulations, and consequently, it has to be recycled and/or treated. The described recycling was achieved through synthesis of potassium ferrate, which contains iron in a hexavalent state (FeVI). The synthesis process was achieved in a rotary reactor at room temperature using chlorine as an oxidant. The efficiency of potassium ferrate synthesis was about 60%. This paper presents details of the kinetics of the potassium ferrate synthesis.

Maintenance of CO2 level in a BLSS by controlling solid waste treatment unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Yingying; Li, Leyuan; Liu, Hong; Fu, Yuming; Xie, Beizhen; Hu, Dawei; Liu, Dianlei; Dong, Chen; Liu, Guanghui

A bioregenerative life support system (BLSS) is an artificial closed ecosystem for providing basic human life support for long-duration, far-distance space explorations such as lunar bases. In such a system, the circulation of gases is one of the main factor for realizing a higher closure degree. O2 produced by higher plants goes to humans, as well as microorganisms for the treatment of inedible plant biomass and human wastes; CO2 produced by the crew and microorganisms is provided for plant growth. During this process, an excessively high CO2 level will depress plant growth and may be harmful to human health; and if the CO2 level is too low, plant growth will also be affected. Thus, keeping the balance between CO2 and O2 levels is a crucial problem. In this study, a high-efficiency, controllable solid waste treatment unit is constructed, which adopts microbial fermentation of the mixture of inedible biomass and human wastes. CO2 production during the fermentation process is controlled by adjusting fermentation temperature, aeration rate, moisture, etc., so as to meet the CO2 requirement of plants

Comparative assessment of metallurgical recovery of metals from electronic waste with special emphasis on bioleaching.

PubMed

Priya, Anshu; Hait, Subrata

2017-03-01

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the urban environment worldwide. The core component of printed circuit board (PCB) in e-waste contains a complex array of metals in rich quantity, some of which are toxic to the environment and all of which are valuable resources. Therefore, the recycling of e-waste is an important aspect not only from the point of waste treatment but also from the recovery of metals for economic growth. Conventional approaches for recovery of metals from e-waste, viz. pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical techniques, are rapid and efficient, but cause secondary pollution and economically unviable. Limitations of the conventional techniques have led to a shift towards biometallurgical technique involving microbiological leaching of metals from e-waste in eco-friendly manner. However, optimization of certain biotic and abiotic factors such as microbial species, pH, temperature, nutrients, and aeration rate affect the bioleaching process and can lead to profitable recovery of metals from e-waste. The present review provides a comprehensive assessment on the metallurgical techniques for recovery of metals from e-waste with special emphasis on bioleaching process and the associated factors.

Status of waste tyres and management practice in Botswana.

PubMed

Mmereki, Daniel; Machola, Bontle; Mokokwe, Kentlafetse

2017-02-22

Waste tyres (WTs) are becoming a significant environmental, economical and technological challenge due to their high contents of combustible composition and potential for valuable materials and energy resources. Fewer studies in developing and even developed countries have been carried out to assess the challenges regarding waste tyres management, and suggested the best alternative solutions for managing this waste stream. While developed countries made progress in waste tyres management needs by implementing more efficient innovative recovery and recycling methods, and restrictive regulations regarding the management of used tyres, in many developing countries the management of waste tyres has not received adequate interest, and the processing, treatment and disposal of waste tyre is still nascent. In recent years, worldwide, several methods for managing used tyres, including other principal alternatives for managing end-of-life tyres defined in the 4Rs, reduction, re-use, recovery and recycling have been adopted and applied to minimize serious threats to both the natural environment environment and human. The paper attempted to establish stakeholders' action that has the responsibility in waste tyre management in Botswana. This study also analyzed important aspects on waste tyres management in Botswana. A synthesis of approaches was employed in the present investigation to determine the factors influencing effective performance of waste tyres management practice in Botswana. Data for the present study was obtained using relevant published literature, scientific journals, other third sector sources, academic sources, and research derived from governments and other agencies and field observations. Group discussions with the participants and semi-structured interviews with professionals were carried out. The outcomes of this investigation are a wide-range outline concerning the participants that are important in waste tyres management, and a set of aspects affecting the management of waste tyres. The information provided by this study is very critical for reviewing and updating the methods and tools to update waste tyres data and trends to improve waste tyres management efficiency, suggesting innovative methods of recovering and recycling this waste stream in Botswana.

Adsorption of methylene blue on an agro-waste oiltea shell with and without fungal treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jiayang; Li, Enzhong; You, Xiaojuan; Hu, Changwei; Huang, Qingguo

2016-12-01

A lignocellulosic waste oiltea shell (OTS) was evaluated as an inexpensive sorbent to remove methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. Fungal treatment of OTS increased the MB adsorption by modifying the physicochemical properties of OTS and simultaneously produced laccase as a beneficial co-product. Without fungal treatment, the maximum amount of adsorption (qm) of MB by OTS was 64.4 mg/g, whereas the treatment with fungus Pycnoporus sp. and Trametes versicolor increased qm up to 72.5 mg/g and 85.7 mg/g, respectively. This is because of the improved surface area and pore sizes as well as altered chemical compositions. The equilibrium sorption data for OTS both with and without treatment fitted to the Langmuir model, and the sorption rate data well fitted to the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The changes in free energy (ΔG°) and separation factor (RL) indicated that the sorption was spontaneous and favorable. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed the changes in the surface morphology and functional groups of OTS after fungal treatment. The agro-waste OTS could be utilized as a low-cost adsorbent for efficient dye removal, and fungal treatment can serve as a mild and clean technique to increase the adsorptive capacity of OTS.

Effective pine bark composting with the Dome Aeration Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trois, Cristina; Polster, Andreas

2007-07-01

In South Africa garden refuse is primarily disposed of in domestic landfills. Due to the large quantities generated, any form of treatment would be beneficial for volume reduction, waste stabilization and resource recovery. Dome Aeration Technology (DAT) is an advanced process for aerobic biological degradation of garden refuse and general waste [Paar, S., Brummack, J., Gemende, B., 1999a. Advantages of dome aeration in mechanical-biological waste treatment. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, Cagliari, 4-8 October 1999; Paar, S., Brummack, J., Gemende, B., 1999b. Mechanical-biological waste stabilization by the dome aeration method. Environment Protection Engineering 25more » (3/99). Mollekopf, N., Brummack, J., Paar, S., Vorster, K., 2002. Use of the Dome Aeration Technology for biochemical stabilization of waste prior to landfilling. In: Proceedings of the Wastecon 2002, Waste Congress and Exhibition, Durban, South Africa.]. It is a non-reactor open windrow composting process, with the main advantage being that the input material needs no periodic turning. A rotting time of only 3-4 months indicates the high efficiency. Additionally, the low capital/operational costs, low energy inputs and limited plant requirements provide potential for use in aerobic refuse stabilization. The innovation in the DAT process is the passive aeration achieved by thermally driven advection through open windrows caused by temperature differences between the degrading material and the outside environment. This paper investigates the application of Dome Aeration Technology to pine bark composting as part of an integrated waste management strategy. A full-scale field experiment was performed at the Bisasar Road Landfill Site in Durban to assess the influence of climate, waste composition and operational conditions on the process. A test windrow was constructed and measurements of temperature and airflow through the material were taken. The process monitoring revealed that prevailing climatic conditions in a subtropical location do not affect the high efficiency of this technology. However, the composition of the input material can be detrimental for production of high quality compost because of a lack of nitrate.« less

Chemical and toxicological evaluation of transformation products during advanced oxidation processes.

PubMed

vom Eyser, C; Börgers, A; Richard, J; Dopp, E; Janzen, N; Bester, K; Tuerk, J

2013-01-01

The entry of pharmaceuticals into the water cycle from sewage treatment plants is of growing concern because environmental effects are evident at trace levels. Ozonation, UV- and UV/H(2)O(2)-treatment were tested as an additional step in waste water treatment because they have been proven to be effective in eliminating aqueous organic contaminants. The pharmaceuticals carbamazepine, ciprofloxacin, diclofenac, metoprolol and sulfamethoxazole as well as the personal care products galaxolide and tonalide were investigated in terms of degradation efficiency and by-product formation in consideration of toxic effects. The substances were largely removed from treatment plant effluent by ozonation, UV- and UV/H(2)O(2)-treatment. Transformation products were detected in all tested treatment processes. Accompanying analysis showed no genotoxic, cytotoxic or estrogenic potential for the investigated compounds after oxidative treatment of real waste waters. The results indicate that by-product formation from ozonation and advanced oxidation processes does not have any negative environmental impact.

Use of food waste-recycling wastewater as an alternative carbon source for denitrification process: A full-scale study.

PubMed

Kim, Eunji; Shin, Seung Gu; Jannat, Md Abu Hanifa; Tongco, Jovale Vincent; Hwang, Seokhwan

2017-12-01

Using organic wastes as an alternative to commercial carbon sources could be beneficial by reducing costs and environmental impacts. In this study, food waste-recycling wastewater (FRW) was evaluated as an alternative carbon source for biological denitrification over a period of seven months in a full-scale sewage wastewater treatment plant. The denitrification performance was stable with a mean nitrate removal efficiency of 97.2%. Propionate was initially the most persistent volatile fatty acid, but was completely utilized after 19days. Eubacteriacea, Saprospiraceae, Rhodocyclaceae and Comamonadaceae were the major bacterial families during FRW treatment and were regarded as responsible for hydrolysis (former two) and nitrate removal (latter two) of FRW. These results demonstrate that FRW can be an effective external carbon source; process stabilization was linked to the acclimation and function of bacterial populations to the change of carbon source. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rice Husk Ash to Stabilize Heavy Metals Contained in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash: First Results by Applying New Pre-treatment Technology

PubMed Central

Benassi, Laura; Franchi, Federica; Catina, Daniele; Cioffi, Flavio; Rodella, Nicola; Borgese, Laura; Pasquali, Michela; Depero, Laura E.; Bontempi, Elza

2015-01-01

A new technology was recently developed for municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash stabilization, based on the employment of all waste and byproduct materials. In particular, the proposed method is based on the use of amorphous silica contained in rice husk ash (RHA), an agricultural byproduct material (COSMOS-RICE project). The obtained final inert can be applied in several applications to produce “green composites”. In this work, for the first time, a process for pre-treatment of rice husk, before its use in the stabilization of heavy metals, based on the employment of Instant Pressure Drop technology (DIC) was tested. The aim of this work is to verify the influence of the pre-treatment on the efficiency on heavy metals stabilization in the COSMOS-RICE technology. DIC technique is based on a thermomechanical effect induced by an abrupt transition from high steam pressure to a vacuum, to produce changes in the material. Two different DIC pre-treatments were selected and thermal annealing at different temperatures were performed on rice husk. The resulting RHAs were employed to obtain COSMOS-RICE samples, and the stabilization procedure was tested on the MSWI fly ash. In the frame of this work, some thermal treatments were also realized in O2-limiting conditions, to test the effect of charcoal obtained from RHA on the stabilization procedure. The results of this work show that the application of DIC technology into existing treatment cycles of some waste materials should be investigated in more details to offer the possibility to stabilize and reuse waste. PMID:28793605

Stabilization of waste-activated sludge through the anoxic-aerobic digestion process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hashimoto, S.; Fujita, M.; Terai, K.

1982-08-01

During the aerobic digestion process, the nitrogen which had been embedded in the activated sludge is solubilized to form ammoniacal and nitric nitrogen which are in turn transferred to the liquor and cause the increase of nitrogen loading in the sewage treatment plant. In this study, the anoxic-aerobic sludge digestion system which is a modified form of the conventional aerobic sludge digestion is made up of aerobic and anoxic tanks and are designed to remove both the volatile suspended solids and the total nitrogen (TN) simultaneously. The removal efficiencies of both VSS and TN were investigated by feeding waste-activated sludgemore » continuously and semicontinuously. The maximum percent reduction of both VSS and TN was achieved at a Q /SUB r/ /Q /SUB s/ ratio of 2 in the continuous process. The semicontinuous process was used to improve the nitrogen removal efficiency further. In the semicontinuous process, the VSS reduction efficiency as well as the nitrogen removal efficiency increased remarkably under a constant Q /SUB r/ /Q /SUB s/ ratio of 2. This process also achieved a VSS reduction efficiency higher than the aerobic digestion process (control). It was suggested that the additional anoxic tank enhanced the sludge digestion. Furthermore, the anoxic-aerobic digestion system can be applied to other treatment media like the primary sludge, industrial sludge, animal manure, etc.« less

Flocculating performance of a bioflocculant produced by Arthrobacter humicola in sewage waste water treatment.

PubMed

Agunbiade, Mayowa Oladele; Van Heerden, Esta; Pohl, Carolina H; Ashafa, Anofi Tom

2017-06-12

The discharge of poorly treated effluents into the environment has far reaching, consequential impacts on human and aquatic life forms. Thus, we evaluated the flocculating efficiency of our test bioflocculant and we report for the first time the ability of the biopolymeric flocculant produced by Arthrobacter humicola in the treatment of sewage wastewater. This strain was isolated from sediment soil sample at Sterkfontein dam in the Eastern Free State province of South Africa. Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rDNA revealed the bacteria to have 99% similarity to Arthrobacter humicola strain R1 and the sequence was deposited in the Gene bank as Arthrobacter humicola with accession number KC816574.1. Flocculating activity was enhanced with the aid of divalent cations, pH 12, at a dosage concentration of 0.8 mg/mL. The purified bioflocculant was heat stable and could retain more than 78% of its flocculating activity after heating at 100 °C for 25 min. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis demonstrated the presence of hydroxyl and carboxyl moieties as the functional groups. The thermogravimetric analysis was used to monitor the pyrolysis profile of the purified bioflocculant and elemental composition revealed C: O: Na: P: K with 13.90: 41.96: 26.79: 16.61: 0.74 weight percentage respectively. The purified bioflocculant was able to remove chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, suspended solids, nitrate and turbidity from sewage waste water at efficiencies of 65.7%, 63.5%, 55.7%, 71.4% and 81.3% respectively. The results of this study indicate the possibility of using the bioflocculant produced by Arthrobacter humicola as a potential alternative to synthesized chemical flocculants in sewage waste water treatment and other industrial waste water.

Using carbonized low-cost materials for removal of chemicals of environmental concern from water.

PubMed

Weidemann, Eva; Niinipuu, Mirva; Fick, Jerker; Jansson, Stina

2018-06-01

Adsorption on low-cost biochars would increase the affordability and availability of water treatment in, for example, developing countries. The aim of this study was to identify the precursor materials and hydrochar surface properties that yield efficient removal of compounds of environmental concern (CEC). We determined the adsorption kinetics of a mixture containing ten CECs (octhilinone, triclosan, trimethoprim, sulfamethoxasole, ciprofloxacin, diclofenac, paracetamol, diphenhydramine, fluconazole, and bisphenol A) to hydrochars prepared from agricultural waste (including tomato- and olive-press wastes, rice husks, and horse manure). The surface characteristics of the hydrochars were evaluated via diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and N 2 -adsorption. Kinetic adsorption tests revealed that removal efficiencies varied substantially among different materials. Similarly, surface analysis revealed differences among the studied hydrochars and the degree of changes that the materials undergo during carbonization. According to the DRIFTS data, compared with the least efficient adsorbent materials, the most efficient hydrochars underwent more substantial changes during carbonization.

Helminth eggs inactivation efficiency by faecal sludge dewatering and co-composting in tropical climates.

PubMed

Koné, Doulaye; Cofie, Olufunke; Zurbrügg, Christian; Gallizzi, Katharina; Moser, Daya; Drescher, Silke; Strauss, Martin

2007-11-01

This study investigates helminth eggs removal and inactivation efficiency in a treatment process combining faecal sludge (FS) dewatering and subsequent co-composting with organic solid waste as a function of windrow turning frequency. Fresh public toilet sludge and septage mixed at a 1:2 ratio were dewatered on a drying bed. Biosolids with initial loads of 25-83 helminth eggs/g total solids (TS) were mixed with solid waste as bulking material for co-composting at a 1:2 volume ratio. Two replicate sets of compost heaps were mounted in parallel and turned at different frequencies during the active composting period: (i) once every 3 days and (ii) once every 10 days. Turning frequency had no effect on helminth eggs removal efficiency. In both setups, helminth eggs were reduced to <1 viable egg/g TS, thereby complying with the WHO guidelines 2006 for the safe reuse of FS.

Turning manure into biochar through thermochemical conversion has the potential to become an exciting new way to handle waste

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The livestock sector remains vigilant to address effective manure treatment that also safeguards natural resources. Livestock operations must balance business concerns, efficient energy management and environmental stewardship. Fortunately, thermochemical conversion technologies for converting lives...

Electrochemical reduction of nitrate and nitrite in concentrated sodium hydroxide at platinum and nickel electrodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hu Lin Li; Robertson, D.H.; Chambers, J.Q.

1996-10-01

This work describes the electrochemical reduction of nitrate in alkaline solutions. Conditions which maximize the current efficiency for the production of dinitrogen and/or ammonia gases could be very important for the treatment of radioactive waste solutions.

Green farming systems for the Southeast USA using manure-to-energy conversion platforms

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Livestock operations in the Southeastern USA are faced with implementing holistic solutions to address effective manure treatment through efficient energy management and safeguarding of supporting natural resources. By integrating waste-to-energy conversion platforms, future green farming systems ca...

The reuse of spent mushroom compost and coal tailings for energy recovery: comparison of thermal treatment technologies.

PubMed

Finney, Karen N; Ryu, Changkook; Sharifi, Vida N; Swithenbank, Jim

2009-01-01

Thermal treatment technologies were compared to determine an appropriate method of recovering energy from two wastes - spent mushroom compost and coal tailings. The raw compost and pellets of these wastes were combusted in a fluidised-bed and a packed-bed, and contrasted to pyrolysis and gasification. Quantitative combustion parameters were compared to assess the differences in efficiency between the technologies. Fluidised-bed combustion was more efficient than the packed-bed in both instances and pellet combustion was superior to that of the compost alone. Acid gas emissions (NO(x), SO(x) and HCl) were minimal for the fluidised-bed, thus little gas cleaning would be required. The fuels' high ash content (34%) also suggests fluidised-bed combustion would be preferred. The Alkali Index of the ash indicates the possibility of fouling/slagging within the system, caused by the presence of alkali metal oxides. Pyrolysis produced a range of low-calorific value-products, while gasification was not successful.

The municipal solid waste management of La Paz (Bolivia): Challenges and opportunities for a sustainable development.

PubMed

Ferronato, Navarro; Gorritty Portillo, Marcelo Antonio; Guisbert Lizarazu, Edith Gabriela; Torretta, Vincenzo; Bezzi, Marco; Ragazzi, Marco

2018-03-01

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is considered an important public health, economic and environmental concern, especially in developing countries. This paper introduces the situation of MSWM in La Paz (Bolivia) in 2016, and is based on the Wasteaware indicators and waste flow analysis, useful tools for classifying and comparing waste treatment and management plans among other countries. Taking into account the lack of technology in waste treatment and the presence of a developed informal sector, the paper analyses the main strengths and weak points for implementing a sustainable MSWM. The research conducted revealed that the MSWM of La Paz is not efficient with regard to collection, recycling (8%), financial sustainability, and equity of the service. At the same time, local Government and stakeholders are interested in implementing new MSWM methods for improving the current sanitary state of the city and many efforts were made over the last ten years. In general terms, La Paz could be considered as a good study area for developing plans for waste valorization, becoming an example for a low-middle income developing big city of Latin America. The study provided a few considerations about the affordability of the methodology applied and critically analyzed the case study proposed.

Impact of physical pre-treatment of source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste on greenhouse-gas emissions and the economy in a Swedish anaerobic digestion system.

PubMed

Carlsson, My; Holmström, David; Bohn, Irene; Bisaillon, Mattias; Morgan-Sagastume, Fernando; Lagerkvist, Anders

2015-04-01

Several methods for physical pre-treatments of source sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste (SSOFMSW) before for anaerobic digestion (AD) are available, with the common feature that they generate a homogeneous slurry for AD and a dry refuse fraction for incineration. The selection of efficient methods relies on improved understanding of how the pre-treatment impacts on the separation and on the slurry's AD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the performance of physical pre-treatment of SSOFMSW on greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and on the economy of an AD system including a biogas plant with supplementary systems for heat and power production in Sweden. Based on the performance of selected Swedish facilities, as well as chemical analyses and BMP tests of slurry and refuse, the computer-based evaluation tool ORWARE was improved as to accurately describe mass flows through the physical pre-treatment and anaerobic degradation. The environmental and economic performance of the evaluated system was influenced by the TS concentration in the slurry, as well as the distribution of incoming solids between slurry and refuse. The focus to improve the efficiency of these systems should primarily be directed towards minimising the water addition in the pre-treatment provided that this slurry can still be efficiently digested. Second, the amount of refuse should be minimised, while keeping a good quality of the slurry. Electricity use/generation has high impact on GHG emissions and the results of the study are sensitive to assumptions of marginal electricity and of electricity use in the pre-treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potentials and limitations of microorganisms as renal failure biotherapeutics

PubMed Central

Jain, Poonam; Shah, Sapna; Coussa, Razek; Prakash, Satya

2009-01-01

Renal insufficiency leads to uremia, a complicated syndrome. It thus becomes vital to reduce waste metabolites and regulate water and electrolytes in kidney failure. The most common treatment of this disease is either dialysis or transplantation. Although these treatments are very effective, they are extremely costly. Recently artificial cells, microencapsulated live bacterial cells, and other cells have been studied to manage renal failure metabolic wastes. The procedure for microencapsulation of biologically active material is well documented and offers many biomedical applications. Microencapsulated bacteria have been documented to efficiently remove urea and several uremic markers such as ammonia, creatinine, uric acid, phosphate, potassium, magnesium, sodium, and chloride. These bacteria also have further potential as biotherapeutic agents because they can be engineered to remove selected unwanted waste. This application has enormous potential for removal of waste metabolites and electrolytes in renal failure as well as other diseases such as liver failure, phenylketonuria, and Crohn’s disease, to name a few. This paper discusses the various options available to date to manage renal failure metabolites and focuses on the potential of using encapsulated live cells as biotherapeutic agents to control renal failure waste metabolites and electrolytes. PMID:19707412

Comparison of municipal solid waste treatment technologies from a life cycle perspective in China.

PubMed

Dong, Jun; Chi, Yong; Zou, Daoan; Fu, Chao; Huang, Qunxing; Ni, Mingjiang

2014-01-01

China has endured the increasing generation of municipal solid waste; hence, environmental analysis of current waste management systems is of crucial importance. This article presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment of three waste treatment technologies practiced in Hangzhou, China: landfill with and without energy recovery, and incineration with waste-to-energy. Adopting region-specific data, the study covers various environmental impacts, such as global warming, acidification, nutrient enrichment, photochemical ozone formation, human toxicity and ecotoxicity. The results show that energy recovery poses a positive effect in environmental savings. Environmental impacts decrease significantly in landfill with the utilization of biogas owing to combined effects by emission reduction and electricity generation. Incineration is preferable to landfill, but toxicity-related impacts also need to be improved. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis shows that the benefit of carbon sequestration will noticeably decrease global warming potential of both landfill scenarios. Gas collection efficiency is also a key parameter influencing the performance of landfill. Based on the results, improvement methods are proposed. Energy recovery is recommended both in landfill and incineration. For landfill, gas collection systems should be upgraded effectively; for incineration, great efforts should be made to reduce heavy metals and dioxin emissions.

Assessment of municipal solid waste generation and recyclable materials potential in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

PubMed

Saeed, Mohamed Osman; Hassan, Mohd Nasir; Mujeebu, M Abdul

2009-07-01

This paper presents a forecasting study of municipal solid waste generation (MSWG) rate and potential of its recyclable components in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the capital city of Malaysia. The generation rates and composition of solid wastes of various classes such as street cleansing, landscape and garden, industrial and constructional, institutional, residential and commercial are analyzed. The past and present trends are studied and extrapolated for the coming years using Microsoft office 2003 Excel spreadsheet assuming a linear behavior. The study shows that increased solid waste generation of KL is alarming. For instance, the amount of daily residential SWG is found to be about 1.62 kg/capita; with the national average at 0.8-0.9 kg/capita and is expected to be increasing linearly, reaching to 2.23 kg/capita by 2024. This figure seems reasonable for an urban developing area like KL city. It is also found that, food (organic) waste is the major recyclable component followed by mix paper and mix plastics. Along with estimated population growth and their business activities, it has been observed that the city is still lacking in terms of efficient waste treatment technology, sufficient fund, public awareness, maintaining the established norms of industrial waste treatment etc. Hence it is recommended that the concerned authority (DBKL) shall view this issue seriously.

Alternative strategies for energy recovery from municipal solid waste Part B: Emission and cost estimates.

PubMed

Consonni, S; Giugliano, M; Grosso, M

2005-01-01

This two-part paper assesses four strategies for energy recovery from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) by dedicated Waste-To-Energy (WTE) plants. In strategy 1, the residue of Material Recovery (MR) is fed directly to a grate combustor, while in strategy 2 the grate combustor comes downstream of light mechanical treatment. In strategies 3 and 4, the MR residue is converted into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), in a fluidized cumbuster bed. The results of Part A, devoted to mass and energy balances, clearly show that pre-treating the MR residue in order to increase the heating value of the feedstock fed to the WTE plant has marginal effects on the energy efficiency of the WTE plant. When considering the efficiency of the whole strategy of waste management, the energy balances show that the more thorough the pre-treatment, the smaller the amount of energy recovered per unit of MR residue. Starting from the heat/mass balances illustrated in Part A, Part B examines the environmental impacts and economics of the various strategies by means of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Results show that treating the MR residues ahead of the WTE plant does not provide environmental or economic benefits. RDF production worsens almost all impact indicators because it reduces net electricity production and thus the displacement of power plant emissions; it also increases costs, because the benefits of improving the quality of the material fed to the WTE plant do not compensate the cost of such improvement.

Biodegradation of bilge waste from Patagonia with an indigenous microbial community.

PubMed

Nievas, M L; Commendatore, M G; Olivera, N L; Esteves, J L; Bucalá, V

2006-12-01

Oily residues that are generated in normal ship operation are considered hazardous wastes. A biodegradation assay with autochthonous microbiota of Bilge Waste Oily Phase (BWOP) was performed in a bioreactor under controlled conditions. Petroleum, diesel oil, and PAH degraders were isolated from bilge wastes. These bacteria belong to the genus Pseudomonas and are closely related to Pseudomonas stutzeri as shown by 16S rDNA phylogenetic analysis. The indigenous microbial community of the bilge waste was capable of biodegrading the BWOP (1% v/v) with biodegradation efficiencies of 70% for hexane extractable material (HEM), 68% for total hydrocarbons (TH) and 90% for total aromatics hydrocarbons (TA) in 14 days. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was successfully applied to evaluate hydrocarbon evaporation in a control experiment and demonstrated a mass balance closure of 88%. The SPME and biodegradation results give useful information to improve and scale up the process for BWOP treatment.

Characterisation of medical-waste sterilisation-plant wastewater and a preliminary study of coagulation-flocculation treatment options.

PubMed

Ozkan, O; Mihçiokur, H; Azgin, S T; Ozdemir, O

2010-01-01

Wastewater from a medical-waste sterilisation plant (MWSP) contains unique pollutants and requires on-site treatment to prevent contamination of the municipal sewage system and receiving water bodies. Therefore, to meet the prescribed discharge standards and comply with the legal regulations, pre-treatment must be applied to MWSP wastewater. In this study, the capabilities of coagulation-flocculation processes were investigated for MWSP wastewater treatment. Processes using ferric chloride, ferrous sulfate and aluminium sulfate as coagulants were characterised. During the coagulation experiments, seven different coagulant dosages and four different pH values were evaluated to determine the optimum coagulant dosage and pH value. The highest removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was obtained using 300 mg/L of ferric chloride at pH 10. A COD removal of about 60% as well as considerable reductions in the amounts of suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus were realised.

Disinfection Pilot Trial for Little Miami WWTP | Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

There is a serious interest growing nationally towards the use of PAA at various stages of public waste water treatment facilities; one of such use is secondary waste water treatment. MSDGC is currently interested in improving efficiency and economic aspects of waste water treatment. MSDGC requested for ORD’s support to evaluate alternative cost-effective disinfectants. This report herein is based on the data generated from the field pilot test conducted at the Little Miami Wastewater Treatment Plant. Chlorine assisted disinfection of wastewaters created the concern regarding the formation of high levels of toxic halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) detrimental to aquatic life and public health. Peracetic acid is emerging as a green alternative to chlorine and claimed to have economic and social benefits. In addition, it is a relatively simple retrofit to the existing chlorine treated wastewater treatment facilities. PAA is appealed to possess a much lower aquatic toxicity profile than chlorine and decays rapidly in the environment, even if overdosed. As a result, PAA generally does not need a quenching step, such as dechlorination, reducing process complexity, sodium pollution and cost. PAA treatment does not result in the formation of chlorinated disinfection by-products such as trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids and other byproducts such as cyanide and n-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).

Energy implications of the thermal recovery of biodegradable municipal waste materials in the United Kingdom

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burnley, Stephen, E-mail: s.j.burnley@open.ac.uk; Phillips, Rhiannon, E-mail: rhiannon.jones@environment-agency.gov.uk; Coleman, Terry, E-mail: terry.coleman@erm.com

2011-09-15

Highlights: > Energy balances were calculated for the thermal treatment of biodegradable wastes. > For wood and RDF, combustion in dedicated facilities was the best option. > For paper, garden and food wastes and mixed waste incineration was the best option. > For low moisture paper, gasification provided the optimum solution. - Abstract: Waste management policies and legislation in many developed countries call for a reduction in the quantity of biodegradable waste landfilled. Anaerobic digestion, combustion and gasification are options for managing biodegradable waste while generating renewable energy. However, very little research has been carried to establish the overall energymore » balance of the collection, preparation and energy recovery processes for different types of wastes. Without this information, it is impossible to determine the optimum method for managing a particular waste to recover renewable energy. In this study, energy balances were carried out for the thermal processing of food waste, garden waste, wood, waste paper and the non-recyclable fraction of municipal waste. For all of these wastes, combustion in dedicated facilities or incineration with the municipal waste stream was the most energy-advantageous option. However, we identified a lack of reliable information on the energy consumed in collecting individual wastes and preparing the wastes for thermal processing. There was also little reliable information on the performance and efficiency of anaerobic digestion and gasification facilities for waste.« less

Wood processing wastes recovery and composted product field test

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, C.T.; Lin, K.L.

1997-12-31

Lumber mill waste, more than 3,000 tons per month, is one of the main waste sources in I-Lan area. Most of the lumber mill waste is sawdust which takes a large parts of organic-containing wastes in I-Lan county. Wastes from seafood plants around the Sueou Harbor causes a treatment problem because of their high nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations. Furthermore, the distiller-by products in I-Lan Winery are easy to become spoiled and result in odor. In this study, the compost method is suggested to deal with these waste problems and make energy recovery. Microorganisms incubating in the laboratory provide the stablemore » seed needed for composting. Flowers and vegetable raising are scheduled to be used in field to verify the efficiency of the products. The optimal combination ration of wastes and operation criteria then will be concluded in this study after economic analyzing. The results show that the Zinnia elegans leaves growth is relative with organic fertilizer. It can also be illustrated from the statistical value that the F value is 19.4 and above the critical value 9.4.« less

Ammonia disinfection of hatchery waste for elimination of single-stranded RNA viruses.

PubMed

Emmoth, Eva; Ottoson, Jakob; Albihn, Ann; Belák, Sándor; Vinnerås, Björn

2011-06-01

Hatchery waste, an animal by-product of the poultry industry, needs sanitation treatment before further use as fertilizer or as a substrate in biogas or composting plants, owing to the potential presence of opportunistic pathogens, including zoonotic viruses. Effective sanitation is also important in viral epizootic outbreaks and as a routine, ensuring high hygiene standards on farms. This study examined the use of ammonia at different concentrations and temperatures to disinfect hatchery waste. Inactivation kinetics of high-pathogenic avian influenza virus H7N1 and low-pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N3, as representatives of notifiable avian viral diseases, were determined in spiked hatchery waste. Bovine parainfluenza virus type 3, feline coronavirus, and feline calicivirus were used as models for other important avian pathogens, such as Newcastle disease virus, infectious bronchitis virus, and avian hepatitis E virus. Bacteriophage MS2 was also monitored as a stable indicator. Coronavirus was the most sensitive virus, with decimal reduction (D) values of 1.2 and 0.63 h after addition of 0.5% (wt/wt) ammonia at 14 and 25°C, respectively. Under similar conditions, high-pathogenic avian influenza H7N1 was the most resistant, with D values of 3.0 and 1.4 h. MS2 was more resistant than the viruses to all treatments and proved to be a suitable indicator of viral inactivation. The results indicate that ammonia treatment of hatchery waste is efficient in inactivating enveloped and naked single-stranded RNA viruses. Based on the D values and confidence intervals obtained, guidelines for treatment were proposed, and one was successfully validated at full scale at a hatchery, with MS2 added to hatchery waste.

Molten salt oxidation of organic hazardous waste with high salt content.

PubMed

Lin, Chengqian; Chi, Yong; Jin, Yuqi; Jiang, Xuguang; Buekens, Alfons; Zhang, Qi; Chen, Jian

2018-02-01

Organic hazardous waste often contains some salt, owing to the widespread use of alkali salts during industrial manufacturing processes. These salts cause complications during the treatment of this type of waste. Molten salt oxidation is a flameless, robust thermal process, with inherent capability of destroying the organic constituents of wastes, while retaining the inorganic ingredients in the molten salt. In the present study, molten salt oxidation is employed for treating a typical organic hazardous waste with a high content of alkali salts. The hazardous waste derives from the production of thiotriazinone. Molten salt oxidation experiments have been conducted using a lab-scale molten salt oxidation reactor, and the emissions of CO, NO, SO 2 , HCl and dioxins are studied. Impacts are investigated from the composition of the molten salts, the types of feeding tube, the temperature of molten carbonates and the air factor. Results show that the waste can be oxidised effectively in a molten salt bath. Temperature of molten carbonates plays the most important role. With the temperature rising from 600 °C to 750 °C, the oxidation efficiency increases from 91.1% to 98.3%. Compared with the temperature, air factor has but a minor effect, as well as the composition of the molten salts and the type of feeding tube. The molten carbonates retain chlorine with an efficiency higher than 99.9% and the emissions of dioxins are below 8 pg TEQ g -1 sample. The present study shows that molten salt oxidation is a promising alternative for the disposal of organic hazardous wastes containing a high salt content.

Bench-scale operation of the DETOX wet oxidation process for mixed waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dhooge, P.M.

1993-01-01

Waste matrices containing organics, radionuclides, and metals pose difficult problems in waste treatment and disposal when the organic compounds and/or metals are considered to be hazardous. A means of destroying hazardous organic components while safely containing and concentrating metals would be extremely useful in mixed waste volume reduction or conversion to a radioactive-only form. Previous studies have found the DETOX, a patented process utilizing a novel catalytic wet oxidation by iron(III) oxidant, cold have successful application to mixed wastes, and to many other waste types. This paper describes the results of bench scale studies of DETOX applied to the componentsmore » of liquid mixed wastes, with the goal of establishing parameters for the design of a prototype waste treatment unit. Apparent organic reaction rate orders, and the dependence of apparent reaction rate on the contact area, were measured for vacuum pump oil, scintillation fluids, and trichloroethylene. It was found that reaction rate was proportional to contact area above about 2.% w/w loading of organic. Oxidations in a 4 liter. volume, mixed bench top reactor have given destruction efficiencies of 99.9999+% for common organics. Reaction rates achieved in the mixedbench top reactor were one to two orders of magnitude greater than had been achieved in unmixed reactions; a thoroughly mixed reactor should be capable of oxidizing 10. to 100.+ grams of organic per liter-hour,depending on the nature and concentration of the organic.« less

Bench-scale operation of the DETOX wet oxidation process for mixed waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dhooge, P.M.

1993-03-01

Waste matrices containing organics, radionuclides, and metals pose difficult problems in waste treatment and disposal when the organic compounds and/or metals are considered to be hazardous. A means of destroying hazardous organic components while safely containing and concentrating metals would be extremely useful in mixed waste volume reduction or conversion to a radioactive-only form. Previous studies have found the DETOX, a patented process utilizing a novel catalytic wet oxidation by iron(III) oxidant, cold have successful application to mixed wastes, and to many other waste types. This paper describes the results of bench scale studies of DETOX applied to the componentsmore » of liquid mixed wastes, with the goal of establishing parameters for the design of a prototype waste treatment unit. Apparent organic reaction rate orders, and the dependence of apparent reaction rate on the contact area, were measured for vacuum pump oil, scintillation fluids, and trichloroethylene. It was found that reaction rate was proportional to contact area above about 2.% w/w loading of organic. Oxidations in a 4 liter. volume, mixed bench top reactor have given destruction efficiencies of 99.9999+% for common organics. Reaction rates achieved in the mixedbench top reactor were one to two orders of magnitude greater than had been achieved in unmixed reactions; a thoroughly mixed reactor should be capable of oxidizing 10. to 100.+ grams of organic per liter-hour,depending on the nature and concentration of the organic.« less

Applicability of fluidized bed reactor in recalcitrant compound degradation through advanced oxidation processes: a review.

PubMed

Tisa, Farhana; Abdul Raman, Abdul Aziz; Wan Daud, Wan Mohd Ashri

2014-12-15

Treatment of industrial waste water (e.g. textile waste water, phenol waste water, pharmaceutical etc) faces limitation in conventional treatment procedures. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) do not suffer from the limits of conventional treatment processes and consequently degrade toxic pollutants more efficiently. Complexity is faced in eradicating the restrictions of AOPs such as sludge formation, toxic intermediates formation and high requirement for oxidants. Increased mass-transfer in AOPs is an alternate solution to this problem. AOPs combined with Fluidized bed reactor (FBR) can be a potential choice compared to fixed bed or moving bed reactor, as AOP catalysts life-span last for only maximum of 5-10 cycles. Hence, FBR-AOPs require lesser operational and maintenance cost by reducing material resources. The time required for AOP can be minimized using FBR and also treatable working volume can be increased. FBR-AOP can process from 1 to 10 L of volume which is 10 times more than simple batch reaction. The mass transfer is higher thus the reaction time is lesser. For having increased mass transfer sludge production can be successfully avoided. The review study suggests that, optimum particle size, catalyst to reactor volume ratio, catalyst diameter and liquid or gas velocity is required for efficient FBR-AOP systems. However, FBR-AOPs are still under lab-scale investigation and for industrial application cost study is needed. Cost of FBR-AOPs highly depends on energy density needed and the mechanism of degradation of the pollutant. The cost of waste water treatment containing azo dyes was found to be US$ 50 to US$ 500 per 1000 gallons where, the cost for treating phenol water was US$ 50 to US$ 800 per 1000 gallons. The analysis for FBR-AOP costs has been found to depend on the targeted pollutant, degradation mechanism (zero order, 1st order and 2nd order) and energy consumptions by the AOPs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction of the trapezoidal thermodynamic technique method for measuring and mapping the efficiency of waste-to-energy plants: A potential replacement to the R1 formula.

PubMed

Vakalis, Stergios; Moustakas, Konstantinos; Loizidou, Maria

2018-06-01

Waste-to-energy plants have the peculiarity of being considered both as energy production and as waste destruction facilities and this distinction is important for legislative reasons. The efficiency of waste-to-energy plants must be objective and consistent, independently if the focus is the production of energy, the destruction of waste or the recovery/upgrade of materials. With the introduction of polygeneration technologies, like gasification, the production of energy and the recovery/upgrade of materials, are interconnected. The existing methodology for assessing the efficiency of waste-to-energy plants is the R1 formula, which does not take into consideration the full spectrum of the operations that take place in waste-to-energy plants. This study introduces a novel methodology for assessing the efficiency of waste-to-energy plants and is defined as the 3T method, which stands for 'trapezoidal thermodynamic technique'. The 3T method is an integrated approach for assessing the efficiency of waste-to-energy plants, which takes into consideration not only the production of energy but also the quality of the products. The value that is returned from the 3T method can be placed in a tertiary diagram and the global efficiency map of waste-to-energy plants can be produced. The application of the 3T method showed that the waste-to-energy plants with high combined heat and power efficiency and high recovery of materials are favoured and these outcomes are in accordance with the cascade principle and with the high cogeneration standards that are set by the EU Energy Efficiency Directive.

Efficiency of energy recovery from waste incineration, in the light of the new Waste Framework Directive.

PubMed

Grosso, Mario; Motta, Astrid; Rigamonti, Lucia

2010-07-01

This paper deals with a key issue related to municipal waste incineration, which is the efficiency of energy recovery. A strong driver for improving the energy performances of waste-to-energy plants is the recent Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives), which allows high efficiency installations to benefit from a status of "recovery" rather than "disposal". The change in designation means a step up in the waste hierarchy, where the lowest level of priority is now restricted to landfilling and low efficiency wastes incineration. The so-called "R1 formula" reported in the Directive, which counts for both production of power and heat, is critically analyzed and correlated to the more scientific-based approach of exergy efficiency. The results obtained for waste-to-energy plants currently operating in Europe reveal some significant differences in their performance, mainly related to the average size and to the availability of a heat market (district heating). Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of sludge layer geometry on the hydraulic performance of a waste stabilization pond.

PubMed

Ouedraogo, Faissal R; Zhang, Jie; Cornejo, Pablo K; Zhang, Qiong; Mihelcic, James R; Tejada-Martinez, Andres E

2016-08-01

Improving the hydraulic performance of waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) is an important management strategy to not only ensure protection of public health and the environment, but also to maximize the potential reuse of valuable resources found in the treated effluent. To reuse effluent from WSPs, a better understanding of the factors that impact the hydraulic performance of the system is needed. One major factor determining the hydraulic performance of a WSP is sludge accumulation, which alters the volume of the pond. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was applied to investigate the impact of sludge layer geometry on hydraulic performance of a facultative pond, typically used in many small communities throughout the developing world. Four waste stabilization pond cases with different sludge volumes and distributions were investigated. Results indicate that sludge distribution and volume have a significant impact on wastewater treatment efficiency and capacity. Although treatment capacity is reduced with accumulation of sludge, the latter may induce a baffling effect which causes the flow to behave closer to that of plug flow reactor and thus increase treatment efficiency. In addition to sludge accumulation and distribution, the impact of water surface level is also investigated through two additional cases. Findings show that an increase in water level while keeping a constant flow rate can result in a significant decrease in the hydraulic performance by reducing the sludge baffling effect, suggesting a careful monitoring of sludge accumulation and water surface level in WSP systems. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Novel Acid Catalysts from Waste-Tire-Derived Carbon: Application in Waste-to-Biofuel Conversion

DOE PAGES

Hood, Zachary D.; Adhikari, Shiba P.; Li, Yunchao; ...

2017-06-21

Many inexpensive biofuel feedstocks, including those containing free fatty acids (FFAs) in high concentrations, are typically disposed of as waste due to our inability to efficiently convert them into usable biofuels. Here we demonstrate that carbon derived from waste tires could be functionalized with sulfonic acid (-SO 3H) to effectively catalyze the esterification of oleic acid or a mixture of fatty acids to usable biofuels. Waste tires were converted to hard carbon, then functionalized with catalytically active -SO 3H groups on the surface through an environmentally benign process that involved the sequential treatment with L-cysteine, dithiothreitol, and H 2O 2.more » In conclusion, when benchmarked against the same waste-tire derived carbon material treated with concentrated sulfuric acid at 150 °C, similar catalytic activity was observed. Both catalysts could also effectively convert oleic acid or a mixture of fatty acids and soybean oil to usable biofuels at 65 °C and 1 atm without leaching of the catalytic sites.« less

Biogasification of Walt Disney World biomass waste blend. Annual report, January-December 1983

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biljetina, R.; Chynoweth, D.P.; Janulis, J.

1984-09-01

The objective of this research is to develop efficient processes for conversion of biomass-waste blends to methane and other resources. To evaluate the technical and economic feasibility, an experimental test unit (ETU) was designed and installed at the Reedy Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The facility integrates a biomethanogenic conversion process with a wastewater treatment process employing water hyacinth ponds for secondary and tertiary treatment of sewage. Harvested water hyacinth is subsequently combined with sludge from the primary wastewater clarifier and fed at 1-wet-ton per day to the ETU digester. This resultsmore » in the production of methane and other useful byproducts. Design, procurement of equipment, and installation has been completed. Start-up of the ETU is in progress.« less

Use of respirometer in evaluation of process and toxicity of thermophilic anaerobic digestion for treating kitchen waste.

PubMed

Kuo, Wen-Chien; Cheng, Kae-Yiin

2007-07-01

A thermophilic anaerobic digestion (TAnD, 55 degrees C) system was adopted to hydrolyze the kitchen waste for 3 days, which was then fermented for a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10 days. The TAnD system performed much better than a similar system without thermal pre-treatment. A bubble respirometer was employed to study the effects of thermal pre-treatment, which showed that pre-treatment at 60 degrees C yielded the highest Total COD (TCOD) removal efficiency (79.2%) after 300h reaction. Respirometer results also indicated that oil and grease (O and G) began to inhibit the TAnD system at a concentration of approximately 1000mg/L and the gas production was inhibited by 50% at a concentration of approximately 7500mg/L of sodium.

Extraction of chitin from red crab shell waste by cofermentation with Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. tolerans KCTC-3074 and Serratia marcescens FS-3.

PubMed

Jung, W J; Jo, G H; Kuk, J H; Kim, K Y; Park, R D

2006-06-01

For one-step extraction of chitin from red crab shell waste, cofermentation with Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. tolerans KCTC-3074, a lactic-acid-producing bacterium, and Serratia marcescens FS-3, a protease-producing bacterium, was conducted. Fermentation with single strain (L. 3074 or FS-3) was also conducted. At day 7, the pH in L. 3074, FS-3, and L. 3074+FS-3 (1:1) treatment decreased from 6.90 to 3.30, 5.88, and 3.48, respectively. Ash content in the residue after fermentation treatment of crab shells in L. 3074 and L. 3074+FS-3 (1:1) treatment drastically decreased from 41.2% to 3.19 and 1.15%, respectively. In L. 3074+FS-3 (1:1) cofermentation, the level of demineralization was the highest value of 97.2%, but the level of deproteinization in the cofermentation was 52.6% at day 7. Protein content in the treatment of FS-3 alone reduced from 22.4 to 3.62%. These results indicate that cofermentation of the shells using the two strains is efficient and applicable for the one-step extraction of crude chitin from red crab shell waste.

An Attempt at Quantifying Factors that Affect Efficiency in the Management of Solid Waste Produced by Commercial Businesses in the City of Tshwane, South Africa

PubMed Central

Worku, Yohannes; Muchie, Mammo

2012-01-01

Objective. The objective was to investigate factors that affect the efficient management of solid waste produced by commercial businesses operating in the city of Pretoria, South Africa. Methods. Data was gathered from 1,034 businesses. Efficiency in solid waste management was assessed by using a structural time-based model designed for evaluating efficiency as a function of the length of time required to manage waste. Data analysis was performed using statistical procedures such as frequency tables, Pearson's chi-square tests of association, and binary logistic regression analysis. Odds ratios estimated from logistic regression analysis were used for identifying key factors that affect efficiency in the proper disposal of waste. Results. The study showed that 857 of the 1,034 businesses selected for the study (83%) were found to be efficient enough with regards to the proper collection and disposal of solid waste. Based on odds ratios estimated from binary logistic regression analysis, efficiency in the proper management of solid waste was significantly influenced by 4 predictor variables. These 4 influential predictor variables are lack of adherence to waste management regulations, wrong perception, failure to provide customers with enough trash cans, and operation of businesses by employed managers, in a decreasing order of importance. PMID:23209483

An Innovative Porous Nanocomposite Material for the Removal of Phenolic Compounds from Aqueous Solutions.

PubMed

Turco, Antonio; Monteduro, Anna Grazia; Mazzotta, Elisabetta; Maruccio, Giuseppe; Malitesta, Cosimino

2018-05-16

Energy efficient, low-cost, user-friendly, and green methods for the removal of toxic phenolic compounds from aqueous solution are necessary for waste treatment in industrial applications. Herein we present an interesting approach for the utilization of oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the removal of phenolic compounds from aqueous solution. Dried pristine CNTs were stably incorporated in a solid porous support of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) facilitating the handling during both oxidation process of the nanomaterial and uptake of phenolic compounds, and enabling their safe disposal, avoiding expensive post-treatment processes. The adsorption studies indicated that the materials can efficiently remove phenolic compounds from water with different affinities towards different phenolic compounds. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics and isotherms were studied in detail. The experimental data of adsorption fitted well with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, and pseudo-second-order kinetics, and the results indicated that the adsorption process was controlled by a two-step intraparticle diffusion model. The incorporation of CNTs in polymeric matrices did not affect their functionality in phenol uptake. The material was also successfully used for the removal of phenolic compounds from agricultural waste, suggesting its possible application in the treatment of wastewater. Moreover, the surface of the material could be regenerated, decreasing treatment costs.

Application of a Re-Pd bimetallic catalyst for treatment of perchlorate in waste ion-exchange regenerant brine.

PubMed

Liu, Jinyong; Choe, Jong Kwon; Sasnow, Zachary; Werth, Charles J; Strathmann, Timothy J

2013-01-01

Concentrated sodium chloride (NaCl) brines are often used to regenerate ion-exchange (IX) resins applied to treat drinking water sources contaminated with perchlorate (ClO(4)(-)), generating large volumes of contaminated waste brine. Chemical and biological processes for ClO(4)(-) reduction are often inhibited severely by high salt levels, making it difficult to recycle waste brines. Recent work demonstrated that novel rhenium-palladium bimetallic catalysts on activated carbon support (Re-Pd/C) can efficiently reduce ClO(4)(-) to chloride (Cl(-)) under acidic conditions, and here the applicability of the process for treating waste IX brines was examined. Experiments conducted in synthetic NaCl-only brine (6-12 wt%) showed higher Re-Pd/C catalyst activity than in comparable freshwater solutions, but the rate constant for ClO(4)(-) reduction measured in a real IX waste brine was found to be 65 times lower than in the synthetic NaCl brine. Through a series of experiments, co-contamination of the IX waste brine by excess NO(3)(-) (which the catalyst reduces principally to NH(4)(+)) was found to be the primary cause for deactivation of the Re-Pd/C catalyst, most likely by altering the immobilized Re component. Pre-treatment of NO(3)(-) using a different bimetallic catalyst (In-Pd/Al(2)O(3)) improved selectivity for N(2) over NH(4)(+) and enabled facile ClO(4)(-) reduction by the Re-Pd/C catalyst. Thus, sequential catalytic treatment may be a promising strategy for enabling reuse of waste IX brine containing NO(3)(-) and ClO(4)(-). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A review on thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of plastic solid waste (PSW).

PubMed

Al-Salem, S M; Antelava, A; Constantinou, A; Manos, G; Dutta, A

2017-07-15

Plastic plays an important role in our daily lives due to its versatility, light weight and low production cost. Plastics became essential in many sectors such as construction, medical, engineering applications, automotive, aerospace, etc. In addition, economic growth and development also increased our demand and dependency on plastics which leads to its accumulation in landfills imposing risk on human health, animals and cause environmental pollution problems such as ground water contamination, sanitary related issues, etc. Hence, a sustainable and an efficient plastic waste treatment is essential to avoid such issues. Pyrolysis is a thermo-chemical plastic waste treatment technique which can solve such pollution problems, as well as, recover valuable energy and products such as oil and gas. Pyrolysis of plastic solid waste (PSW) has gained importance due to having better advantages towards environmental pollution and reduction of carbon footprint of plastic products by minimizing the emissions of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide compared to combustion and gasification. This paper presents the existing techniques of pyrolysis, the parameters which affect the products yield and selectivity and identify major research gaps in this technology. The influence of different catalysts on the process as well as review and comparative assessment of pyrolysis with other thermal and catalytic plastic treatment methods, is also presented. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recycling of PVC Waste via Environmental Friendly Vapor Treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Xin; Jin, Fangming; Zhang, Guangyi; Duan, Xiaokun

2010-11-01

This paper focused on the dechlorination of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plastic which is widely used in the human life and thereby is leading to serious "white pollution", via vapor treatment process to recycle PVC wastes. In the process, HCl emitted was captured into water solution to avoid hazardous gas pollution and corruption, and remaining polymers free of chlorine could be thermally degraded for further energy recovery. Optimal conditions for the dechlorination of PVC using vapor treatment was investigated, and economic feasibility of this method was also analyzed based on the experimental data. The results showed that the efficiency of dechlorination increased as the temperature increased from 200° C to 250° C, and the rate of dechlorination up to 100% was obtained at the temperature near 250° C. Meanwhile, about 12% of total organic carbon was detected in water solution, which indicated that PVC was slightly degraded in this process. The main products in solution were identified to be acetone, benzene and toluene. In addition, the effects of alkali catalysis on dechlorination were also studied in this paper, and it showed that alkali could not improve the efficiency of the dechlorination of PVC.

Triboelectrostatic separation for granular plastic waste recycling: a review.

PubMed

Wu, Guiqing; Li, Jia; Xu, Zhenming

2013-03-01

The world's plastic consumption has increased incredibly in recent decades, generating more and more plastic waste, which makes it a great public concern. Recycling is the best treatment for plastic waste since it cannot only reduce the waste but also reduce the consumption of oil for producing new virgin plastic. Mechanical recycling is recommended for plastic waste to avoid the loss of its virgin value. As a mechanical separation technology, triboelectrostatic separation utilizes the difference between surface properties of different materials to get them oppositely charged, deflected in the electric field and separately collected. It has advantages such as high efficiency, low cost, no concern of water disposal or secondary pollution and a relatively wide processing range of particle size especially suitable for the granular plastic waste. The process of triboelectrostatic separation for plastic waste is reviewed in this paper. Different devices have been developed and proven to be effective for separation of plastic waste. The influence factors are also discussed. It can be concluded that the triboelectrostatic separation of plastic waste is a promising technology. However, more research is required before it can be widely applied in industry. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustainable mechanical biological treatment of solid waste in urbanized areas with low recycling rates.

PubMed

Trulli, Ettore; Ferronato, Navarro; Torretta, Vincenzo; Piscitelli, Massimiliano; Masi, Salvatore; Mancini, Ignazio

2018-01-01

Landfill is still the main technological facility used to treat and dispose municipal solid waste (MSW) worldwide. In developing countries, final dumping is applied without environmental monitoring and soil protection since solid waste is mostly sent to open dump sites while, in Europe, landfilling is considered as the last option since reverse logistic approaches or energy recovery are generally encouraged. However, many regions within the European Union continue to dispose of MSW to landfill, since modern facilities have not been introduced owing to unreliable regulations or financial sustainability. In this paper, final disposal activities and pre-treatment operations in an area in southern Italy are discussed, where final disposal is still the main option for treating MSW and the recycling rate is still low. Mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facilities are examined in order to evaluate the organic stabilization practices applied for MSW and the efficiencies in refuse derived fuel production, organic waste stabilization and mass reduction. Implementing MBT before landfilling the environmental impact and waste mass are reduced, up to 30%, since organic fractions are stabilized resulting an oxygen uptake rate less than 1600 mgO 2  h -1  kg -1 VS , and inorganic materials are exploited. Based on experimental data, this work examines MBT application in contexts where recycling and recovery activities have not been fully developed. The evidence of this study led to state that the introduction of MBT facilities is recommended for developing regions with high putrescible waste production in order to decrease environmental pollution and enhance human healthy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bio-optimization of the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio for efficient vermicomposting of chicken manure and waste paper using Eisenia fetida.

PubMed

Ravindran, B; Mnkeni, P N S

2016-09-01

The main objective of the present study was to determine the optimum C/N ratio for converting waste paper and chicken manure to nutrient-rich manure with minimum toxicity. Six treatments of C/N ratio 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T6, respectively) achieved by mixing chicken manure with shredded paper were used. The study involved a composting stage for 20 days followed by vermicomposting with Eisenia fetida for 7 weeks. The results revealed that 20 days of composting considerably degraded the organic waste mixtures from all treatments and a further 7 weeks of vermiculture significantly improved the bioconversion and nutrient value of all treatments. The C/N ratio of 40 (T3) resulted in the best quality vermicompost compared to the other treatments. Earthworm biomass was highest at T3 and T4 possibly due to a greater reduction of toxic substances in these waste mixtures. The total N, total P, and total K concentrations increased with time while total carbon, C/N ratio, electrical conductivity (EC), and heavy metal content gradually decreased with time during the vermicomposting process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the intrastructural degradation of the chicken manure and shredded paper matrix which confirmed the extent of biodegradation of treatment mixtures as result of the composting and vermicomposting processes. Phytotoxicity evaluation of final vermicomposts using tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), radish (Raphanus sativus), carrot (Daucus carota), and onion (Allium cepa) as test crops showed the non-phytotoxicity of the vermicomposts to be in the order T3 > T4 > T2 > T1 > T5 > T6. Generally, the results indicated that the combination of composting and vermicomposting processes is a good strategy for the management of chicken manure/paper waste mixtures and that the ideal C/N ratio of the waste mixture is 40 (T3).

Limited Bacterial Diversity within a Treatment Plant Receiving Antibiotic-Containing Waste from Bulk Drug Production.

PubMed

Marathe, Nachiket P; Shetty, Sudarshan A; Shouche, Yogesh S; Larsson, D G Joakim

2016-01-01

Biological treatment of waste water from bulk drug production, contaminated with high levels of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, can lead to massive enrichment of antibiotic resistant bacteria, resistance genes and associated mobile elements, as previously shown. Such strong selection may be boosted by the use of activated sludge (AS) technology, where microbes that are able to thrive on the chemicals within the wastewater are reintroduced at an earlier stage of the process to further enhance degradation of incoming chemicals. The microbial community structure within such a treatment plant is, however, largely unclear. In this study, Illumina-based 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was applied to investigate the bacterial communities of different stages from an Indian treatment plant operated by Patancheru Environment Technology Limited (PETL) in Hyderabad, India. The plant receives waste water with high levels of fluoroquinolones and applies AS technology. A total of 1,019,400 sequences from samples of different stages of the treatment process were analyzed. In total 202, 303, 732, 652, 947 and 864 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained at 3% distance cutoff in the equilibrator, aeration tanks 1 and 2, settling tank, secondary sludge and old sludge samples from PETL, respectively. Proteobacteria was the most dominant phyla in all samples with Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria being the dominant classes. Alcaligenaceae and Pseudomonadaceae, bacterial families from PETL previously reported to be highly multidrug resistant, were the dominant families in aeration tank samples. Despite regular addition of human sewage (approximately 20%) to uphold microbial activity, the bacterial diversity within aeration tanks from PETL was considerably lower than corresponding samples from seven, regular municipal waste water treatment plants. The strong selection pressure from antibiotics present may be one important factor in structuring the microbial community in PETL, which may affect not only resistance promotion but also general efficiency of the waste treatment process.

Limited Bacterial Diversity within a Treatment Plant Receiving Antibiotic-Containing Waste from Bulk Drug Production

PubMed Central

Shouche, Yogesh S.; Larsson, D. G. Joakim

2016-01-01

Biological treatment of waste water from bulk drug production, contaminated with high levels of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, can lead to massive enrichment of antibiotic resistant bacteria, resistance genes and associated mobile elements, as previously shown. Such strong selection may be boosted by the use of activated sludge (AS) technology, where microbes that are able to thrive on the chemicals within the wastewater are reintroduced at an earlier stage of the process to further enhance degradation of incoming chemicals. The microbial community structure within such a treatment plant is, however, largely unclear. In this study, Illumina-based 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was applied to investigate the bacterial communities of different stages from an Indian treatment plant operated by Patancheru Environment Technology Limited (PETL) in Hyderabad, India. The plant receives waste water with high levels of fluoroquinolones and applies AS technology. A total of 1,019,400 sequences from samples of different stages of the treatment process were analyzed. In total 202, 303, 732, 652, 947 and 864 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained at 3% distance cutoff in the equilibrator, aeration tanks 1 and 2, settling tank, secondary sludge and old sludge samples from PETL, respectively. Proteobacteria was the most dominant phyla in all samples with Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria being the dominant classes. Alcaligenaceae and Pseudomonadaceae, bacterial families from PETL previously reported to be highly multidrug resistant, were the dominant families in aeration tank samples. Despite regular addition of human sewage (approximately 20%) to uphold microbial activity, the bacterial diversity within aeration tanks from PETL was considerably lower than corresponding samples from seven, regular municipal waste water treatment plants. The strong selection pressure from antibiotics present may be one important factor in structuring the microbial community in PETL, which may affect not only resistance promotion but also general efficiency of the waste treatment process. PMID:27812209

Organizational change through Lean Thinking.

PubMed

Tsasis, Peter; Bruce-Barrett, Cindy

2008-08-01

In production and manufacturing plants, Lean Thinking has been used to improve processes by eliminating waste and thus enhancing efficiency. In health care, Lean Thinking has emerged as a comprehensive approach towards improving processes embedded in the diagnostic, treatment and care activities of health-care organizations with cost containment results. This paper provides a case study example where Lean Thinking is not only used to improve efficiency and cost containment, but also as an approach to effective organizational change.

Pyrolysis and gasification of landfilled plastic wastes with Ni-Mg-La/Al2O3 catalyst.

PubMed

Kaewpengkrow, Prangtip; Atong, Duangduen; Sricharoenchaikul, Viboon

2012-12-01

Pyrolysis and gasification processes were utilized to study the feasibility of producing fuels from landfilled plastic wastes. These wastes were converted in a gasifier at 700-900 degrees C. The equivalence ratio (ER) was varied from 0.4-0.6 with or without addition ofa Ni-Mg-La/Al2O3 catalyst. The pyrolysis and gasification of plastic wastes without catalyst resulted in relatively low H2, CO and other fuel gas products with methane as the major gaseous species. The highest lower heating value (LHV) was obtained at 800 degrees C and for an ER of 0.4, while the maximum cold gas efficiency occurred at 700 degrees C and for an ER of 0.4. The presence of the Ni-Mg-La/Al2O3 catalyst significantly enhanced H2 and CO production as well as increasing the gas energy content to 15.76-19.26 MJ/m3, which is suitable for further usage as quality fuel gas. A higher temperature resulted in more H2 and CO and other product gas yields, while char and liquid (tars) decreased. The maximum gas yield, gas calorific value and cold gas efficiency were achieved when the Ni-Mg-La/Al2O3 catalyst was used at 900 degrees C. In general, addition of prepared catalyst resulted in greater H2, CO and other light hydrocarbon yields from superior conversion of wastes to these gases. Thus, thermochemical treatment of these problematic wastes using pyrolysis and gasification processes is a very attractive alternative for sustainable waste management.

Cost Scaling of a Real-World Exhaust Waste Heat Recovery Thermoelectric Generator: A Deeper Dive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendricks, Terry J.; Yee, Shannon; LeBlanc, Saniya

2016-03-01

Cost is equally important to power density or efficiency for the adoption of waste heat recovery thermoelectric generators (TEG) in many transportation and industrial energy recovery applications. In many cases, the system design that minimizes cost (e.g., the /W value) can be very different than the design that maximizes the system's efficiency or power density, and it is important to understand the relationship between those designs to optimize TEG performance-cost compromises. Expanding on recent cost analysis work and using more detailed system modeling, an enhanced cost scaling analysis of a waste heat recovery TEG with more detailed, coupled treatment of the heat exchangers has been performed. In this analysis, the effect of the heat lost to the environment and updated relationships between the hot-side and cold-side conductances that maximize power output are considered. This coupled thermal and thermoelectric (TE) treatment of the exhaust waste heat recovery TEG yields modified cost scaling and design optimization equations, which are now strongly dependent on the heat leakage fraction, exhaust mass flow rate, and heat exchanger effectiveness. This work shows that heat exchanger costs most often dominate the overall TE system costs, that it is extremely difficult to escape this regime, and in order to achieve TE system costs of 1/W it is necessary to achieve heat exchanger costs of 1/(W/K). Minimum TE system costs per watt generally coincide with maximum power points, but preferred TE design regimes are identified where there is little cost penalty for moving into regions of higher efficiency and slightly lower power outputs. These regimes are closely tied to previously identified low cost design regimes. This work shows that the optimum fill factor F opt minimizing system costs decreases as heat losses increase, and increases as exhaust mass flow rate and heat exchanger effectiveness increase. These findings have profound implications on the design and operation of various TE waste heat recovery systems. This work highlights the importance of heat exchanger costs on the overall TEG system costs, quantifies the possible TEG performance-cost domain space based on heat exchanger effects, and provides a focus for future system research and development efforts.

Economical and technical efficiencies evaluation of full scale piggery wastewater treatment BNR plants.

PubMed

Oa, S W; Choi, E; Kim, S W; Kwon, K H; Min, K S

2009-01-01

A method evaluating the economic efficiency of piggery waste treatment plant based on kinetics for nitrogen removal performances is executed in this study and five full scale plants were evaluated, monitored intensively during one year under steady-state conditions. The performance data from those surveyed plants were recalculated by first-order kinetic equation instead of the Monod's equation, and the nitrogen removal kinetics related with COD/TKN ratios. Two plants adapting two extreme strategies for pre treatment, 'excess phase separation', and 'minimum phase separation', were evaluated by the assessment of life cycle cost (LCC). Although the compared two plants use an opposite strategy to each other, similar evaluation results are deduced by nitrogen removal efficiencies and operational and construction costs. But the proportions of constituent elements are as different as two opposite strategies, so electrical and construction costs are inversely proportional to chemical costs and operational costs respectively.

Effects of deodorants on treatment of boat holding-tank waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, William R.; Haley, Carol J.; Bridgeman, Phyllis; Goldstein, Stephen H.

1991-05-01

A literature search and survey of Virginia, USA, campgrounds with RV pump-out stations were used to determine whether boat holding-tank deodorant chemicals would have deleterious effects on marina septic systems or package treatment plants. Laboratory studies reported in the literature indicate that these chemical additives could affect septic system function in three ways: (1) active ingredients in the additives can impair sewage degradation in septic tanks, causing sludge buildup and overflow of solids into the drainfield, (2) additive chemicals might enter the drainfield and, in high enough concentrations, reduce the drainfield's ability to degrade waste, or (3) toxic additive chemicals might migrate from the drainfield to ground or surface water. Laboratory studies also show that some ingredients added to holding tanks interfere with functioning of activated sludge treatment process. Experience in the field and in other laboratory studies suggests that factors such as dilution of treated waste with untreated waste and the characteristics of the sewage to be treated can reduce the possibility of damage to septic and activated sludge systems. The campground owners surveyed indicated that they have few problems with their septic systems in spite of the presence of chemical additives in the RV waste. However, most of them practice good septic system maintenance and have devised other means of ensuring that their systems function efficiently. In addition, the survey indicates that most Virginia campgrounds get only seasonal use (as would marinas in Virginia), allowing their systems to recover between peak seasons.

Technology Catalogue. First edition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-02-01

The Department of Energy`s Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) is responsible for remediating its contaminated sites and managing its waste inventory in a safe and efficient manner. EM`s Office of Technology Development (OTD) supports applied research and demonstration efforts to develop and transfer innovative, cost-effective technologies to its site clean-up and waste management programs within EM`s Office of Environmental Restoration and Office of Waste Management. The purpose of the Technology Catalogue is to provide performance data on OTD-developed technologies to scientists and engineers assessing and recommending technical solutions within the Department`s clean-up and waste management programs, asmore » well as to industry, other federal and state agencies, and the academic community. OTD`s applied research and demonstration activities are conducted in programs referred to as Integrated Demonstrations (IDs) and Integrated Programs (IPs). The IDs test and evaluate.systems, consisting of coupled technologies, at specific sites to address generic problems, such as the sensing, treatment, and disposal of buried waste containers. The IPs support applied research activities in specific applications areas, such as in situ remediation, efficient separations processes, and site characterization. The Technology Catalogue is a means for communicating the status. of the development of these innovative technologies. The FY93 Technology Catalogue features technologies successfully demonstrated in the field through IDs and sufficiently mature to be used in the near-term. Technologies from the following IDs are featured in the FY93 Technology Catalogue: Buried Waste ID (Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho); Mixed Waste Landfill ID (Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico); Underground Storage Tank ID (Hanford, Washington); Volatile organic compound (VOC) Arid ID (Richland, Washington); and VOC Non-Arid ID (Savannah River Site, South Carolina).« less

Dangerous Waste Characteristics of Contact-Handled Transuranic Mixed Wastes from Hanford Tanks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tingey, Joel M.; Bryan, Garry H.; Deschane, Jaquetta R.

2004-10-05

This report summarizes existing analytical data gleaned from samples taken from the Hanford tanks designated as potentially containing transuranic mixed process wastes. Process knowledge of the wastes transferred to these tanks has been reviewed to determine whether the dangerous waste characteristics now assigned to all Hanford underground storage tanks are applicable to these particular wastes. Supplemental technologies are being examined to accelerate the Hanford tank waste cleanup mission and accomplish waste treatment safely and efficiently. To date, 11 Hanford waste tanks have been designated as potentially containing contact-handled (CH) transuranic mixed (TRUM) wastes. The CH-TRUM wastes are found in single-shellmore » tanks B-201 through B-204, T-201 through T-204, T-104, T-110, and T-111. Methods and equipment to solidify and package the CH-TRUM wastes are part of the supplemental technologies being evaluated. The resulting packages and wastes must be acceptable for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The dangerous waste characteristics being considered include ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity arising from the presence of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol at levels above the dangerous waste threshold. The analytical data reviewed include concentrations of sulfur, sulfate, cyanide, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, total organic carbon, and oxalate; the composition of the tank headspace, pH, and mercury. Differential scanning calorimetry results were used to determine the energetics of the wastes as a function of temperature. This report supercedes and replaces PNNL-14832.« less

Dangerous Waste Characteristics of Contact-Handled Transuranic Mixed Wastes from the Hanford Tanks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tingey, Joel M.; Bryan, Garry H.; Deschane, Jaquetta R.

2004-08-31

This report summarizes existing analytical data from samples taken from the Hanford tanks designated as potentially containing transuranic mixed process wastes. Process knowledge of the wastes transferred to these tanks has been reviewed to determine whether the dangerous waste characteristics now assigned to all Hanford underground storage tanks are applicable to these particular wastes. Supplemental technologies are being examined to accelerate the Hanford tank waste cleanup mission and accomplish waste treatment safely and efficiently. To date, 11 Hanford waste tanks have been designated as potentially containing contact-handled (CH) transuranic mixed (TRUM) wastes. The CH-TRUM wastes are found in single-shell tanksmore » B-201 through B-204, T-201 through T-204, T-104, T-110, and T-111. Methods and equipment to solidify and package the CH-TRUM wastes are part of the supplemental technologies being evaluated. The resulting packages and wastes must be acceptable for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The dangerous waste characteristics being considered include ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity arising from the presence of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol at levels above the dangerous waste threshold. The analytical data reviewed include concentrations of sulfur, sulfate, cyanide, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, total organic carbon, and oxalate; the composition of the tank headspace, pH, and mercury. Differential scanning calorimetry results were used to determine the energetics of the wastes as a function of temperature.« less

Property of filler-loaded magnetic ferrite from plastic waste bottle used to treat municipal domestic sewage.

PubMed

Zhao, Ru-Jin; Gong, Li-Ying; Zhu, Hai-Dong; Liu, Qiao; Xu, Li-Xia; Lu, Lu; Yang, Qi-Zhi

2018-06-01

The present work investigates the properties of self-made magnetic filler from plastic waste bottle and explores a new technology approach of waste plastic resource utilization. The magnetic filler was prepared by air plasma modification and loading magnetic ferrite on the plastic strip from waste plastic bottle. The surface properties of magnetic filler were characterized by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), contact angle system and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). AFM images of original and modified plastic strip showed that low-temperature plasma treatment markedly increased the surface roughness of plastic strip. The mean roughness (Ra) of plastic strip rose from 1.116 to 5.024 nm. FTIR spectra indicated that a lot of polar oxygenic groups were introduced onto the surface of plastic by plasma modification. Modification by low-temperature plasma increased the hydrophilicity of plastic strip surface. When treatment time is 40 s, water contact angle of plastic strip surface reduced from 78.2° of original plastic strip to 25.3°. When used in bioreactor, magnetic filler had very favorable microenvironment for microorganism growth. Magnetic filler was more efficient for removing chemical oxygen demand (COD) and [Formula: see text] in sewage than nonmagnetic filler. The resource utilization of plastic wastes will become reality if the magnetic filler is applied widely.

Challenges in legislation, recycling system and technical system of waste electrical and electronic equipment in China.

PubMed

Zhang, Shengen; Ding, Yunji; Liu, Bo; Pan, De'an; Chang, Chein-chi; Volinsky, Alex A

2015-11-01

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been one of the fastest growing waste streams worldwide. Effective and efficient management and treatment of WEEE has become a global problem. As one of the world's largest electronic products manufacturing and consumption countries, China plays a key role in the material life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment. Over the past 20 years, China has made a great effort to improve WEEE recycling. Centered on the legal, recycling and technical systems, this paper reviews the progresses of WEEE recycling in China. An integrated recycling system is proposed to realize WEEE high recycling rate for future WEEE recycling. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing and monitoring the effects of filter material amendments on the biophysicochemical properties during composting of solid winery waste under open field and varying climatic conditions.

PubMed

Mtimkulu, Y; Meyer, A H; Mulidzi, A R; Shange, P L; Nchu, F

2017-01-01

Waste management in winery and distillery industries faces numerous disposal challenges as large volumes of both liquid and solid waste by-products are generated yearly during cellar practices. Composting has been suggested as a feasible option to beneficiate solid organic waste. This incentivized the quest for efficient composting protocols to be put in place. The objective of this study was to experiment with different composting strategies for spent winery solid waste. Compost materials consisting of chopped pruning grape stalks, skins, seed and spent wine filter material consisting of a mixture of organic and inorganic expend ingredients were mixed in compost heaps. The filter material component varied (in percentage) among five treatments: T1 (40%) lined, T2 (20%) lined, T3 (0%) lined, T4 (40%) ground material, lined and T5 (40%) unlined. Composting was allowed to proceed under open field conditions over 12months, from autumn to summer. Indicators such as temperature, moisture, enzyme activities, microbial counts, pH, and C/N ratio, were recorded. Generally, season (df=3, 16, P<0.05) had significant effects (df=1, 3, P<0.05) on heap temperature and moisture in all treatments. Similarly, microorganisms (actinobacteria and heterotrophs) varied significantly in all treatments in response to seasonal change (df=3, 16; P<0.05). Enzyme activities fluctuated in accordance with seasonal factors and compost maturity stages, with phosphatases, esterases, amino-peptidases, proteases and glycosyl-hydrolases being most prominent. Compared to treatments T2 and T3, compost treatments with higher percentage waste filter materials (T1, T4 and T5) had higher N (16,100-21,300mg/kg), P (1500-2300mg/kg), K (19,800-28,200mg/kg), neutral pH, and lower C/N ratios (13:1-10:1), which were also comparable with commercially produced composts. Filter materials therefore, appears to be a vital ingredient for composting of winery solid waste. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two-phase anaerobic digestion within a solid waste/wastewater integrated management system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

De Gioannis, G.; Diaz, L.F.; Muntoni, A.

2008-07-01

A two-phase, wet anaerobic digestion process was tested at laboratory scale using mechanically pre-treated municipal solid waste (MSW) as the substrate. The proposed process scheme differs from others due to the integration of the MSW and wastewater treatment cycles, which makes it possible to avoid the recirculation of process effluent. The results obtained show that the supplying of facultative biomass, drawn from the wastewater aeration tank, to the solid waste acidogenic reactor allows an improvement of the performance of the first phase of the process which is positively reflected on the second one. The proposed process performed successfully, adopting mesophilicmore » conditions and a relatively short hydraulic retention time in the methanogenic reactor, as well as high values of organic loading rate. Significant VS removal efficiency and biogas production were achieved. Moreover, the methanogenic reactor quickly reached optimal conditions for a stable methanogenic phase. Studies conducted elsewhere also confirm the feasibility of integrating the treatment of the organic fraction of MSW with that of wastewater.« less

A state-of-the-art review on nitrous oxide control from waste treatment and industrial sources.

PubMed

Frutos, Osvaldo D; Quijano, Guillermo; Aizpuru, Aitor; Muñoz, Raúl

This review aims at holistically analyzing the environmental problems associated with nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions by evaluating the most important sources of N 2 O and its environmental impacts. Emissions from wastewater treatment processes and the industrial production of nitric and adipic acid represent nowadays the most important anthropogenic point sources of N 2 O. Therefore, state-of-the-art strategies to mitigate the generation and release to the atmosphere of this greenhouse and O 3 -depleting gas in the waste treatment and industrial sectors are also reviewed. An updated review of the end-of-the-pipe technologies for N 2 O abatement, both in the waste treatment and industrial sectors, is herein presented and critically discussed for the first time. Despite the consistent efforts recently conducted in the development of cost-efficient and eco-friendly N 2 O abatement technologies, physical/chemical technologies still constitute the most popular treatments for the control of industrial N 2 O emissions at commercial scale. The recent advances achieved on biological N 2 O abatement based on heterotrophic denitrification have opened new opportunities for the development of eco-friendly alternatives for the treatment of N 2 O emissions. Finally, the main limitations and challenges faced by these novel N 2 O abatement biotechnologies are identified in order to pave the way for market implementation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A comparative study of two composts as filter media for the removal of gaseous reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs) by biofiltration: application at industrial scale.

PubMed

Hort, C; Gracy, S; Platel, V; Moynault, L

2013-01-01

This work presents the use of two composts as filter media for the treatment by biofiltration of odors emitted during the aerobic composting of a mixture containing sewage sludge and yard waste. The chemical analysis of the waste gas showed that the malodorous compounds at trace level were the reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs) which were dimethyl sulfide (Me(2)S), methanethiol (MeSH) and hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S). Laboratory tests for biofiltration treatment of RSCs were performed in order to compare the properties of two filter media, consisted of a mature compost with yard waste (YW) and a mixture of mature compost with sewage sludge and yard waste (SS/YW). The maximum elimination capacity (EC) values obtained with the YW mature compost as packing material were 12.5 mg m(-3)h(-1) for H(2)S, 7.9 mg m(-3)h(-1) for MeSH and 34 mg m(-3)h(-1) for Me(2)S, and the removal efficiency decreased in the order of: H(2)S>MeSH>Me(2)S. Moreover, the YW compost filter medium had a better behavior than the filter medium based on SS/YW in terms of acclimation of the microbial communities and moisture content. According to these results, a YW mature compost as packing material for an industrial biofilter were designed and this industrial biofilter was found effective under specified conditions (without inoculation and addition of water). The results showed that the maximum EC value of RSCs was 935 mg m(-3)h(-1) (100% removal efficiency, RE) for an inlet loads (IL) between 0 and 1000 mg m(-3)h(-1). Thus, YW compost medium was proven efficient for biofiltration of RSCs both at laboratory and industrial scale. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recovery of high-purity silver directly from dilute effluents by an emulsion liquid membrane-crystallization process.

PubMed

Tang, Bing; Yu, Guojun; Fang, Jianzhang; Shi, Taihong

2010-05-15

An emulsion liquid membrane (ELM)-crystallization process, using hypophosphorous acid as a reducing agent in the internal aqueous phase, has been developed for the purpose of recovering high-purity silver directly from dilute industrial effluents (waste rinse water). After pretreatment with HNO(3), silver in waste rinse water can be reliably recovered with high efficiency through the established process. The main parameters in the process of ELM-crystallization include the concentration of carrier in the membrane phase, the concentration of reducing agent in the internal aqueous phase, and the treatment ratio, which influence the recovery efficiency to various extents and must be controlled carefully. The results indicated that more than 99.5% (wt.) of the silver ions in the external aqueous phase were extracted by the ELM-crystallization process, with an average efficiency of recovery of 99.24% (wt.) and a purity of 99.92% (wt.). The membrane phase can be used repeatedly without loss of the efficiency of recovery. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Toxicological characterization of a novel wastewater treatment process using EDTA-Na2Zn as draw solution (DS) for the efficient treatment of MBR-treated landfill leachate.

PubMed

Niu, Aping; Ren, Yi-Wei; Yang, Li; Xie, Shao-Lin; Jia, Pan-Pan; Zhang, Jing-Hui; Wang, Xiao; Li, Jing; Pei, De-Sheng

2016-07-01

Landfill leachate has become an important source of environmental pollution in past decades, due to the increase of waste volume. Acute toxic and genotoxic hazards to organisms can be caused by landfill leachate. Thus, how to efficiently recover water from landfill leachate and effectively eliminate combined toxicity of landfill leachate are the most pressing issues in waste management. In this study, EDTA-Na2Zn as draw solution (DS) was used to remove the toxicity of membrane bioreactor-treated landfill leachate (MBR-treated landfill leachate) in forward osmosis (FO) process, and nanofiltration (NF) was designed for recovering the diluted DS. Zebrafish and human cells were used for toxicity assay after the novel wastewater treatment process using EDTA-Na2Zn as DS. Results showed that the water recovery rate of MBR-treated landfill leachate (M-LL) in FO membrane system could achieve 66.5% and 71.2% in the PRO and FO mode respectively, and the diluted DS could be efficiently recovered by NF. Toxicity tests performed by using zebrafish and human cells showed that M-LL treated by EDTA-Na2Zn had no toxicity effect on zebrafish larvae and human cells, but it had very slight effect on zebrafish embryos. In conclusion, all results indicated that EDTA-Na2Zn as DS can effectively eliminate toxicity of landfill leachate and this method is economical and eco-friendly for treatment of different types of landfill leachate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Novel integrated electrodialysis/electro-oxidation process for the efficient degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid.

PubMed

Raschitor, A; Llanos, J; Cañizares, P; Rodrigo, M A

2017-09-01

This work presents a novel approach of wastewater treatment technology that consists of a combined electrodialysis/electro-oxidation process, specially designed to allow increasing the efficiency in the oxidation of ionic organic pollutants contained in diluted waste. Respect to conventional electrolysis, the pollutant is simultaneously concentrated and oxidized, enhancing the performance of the cell due to the higher concentration achieved in the nearness of the anode. A proof of concept is tested with the ionic pesticide 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and results show that the efficiency of this new technology overcomes that electrolysis by more than double, regardless the supporting electrolyte used (either NaCl or Na 2 SO 4 ). Moreover, the removal rate of 2,4-D when using NaCl was found to be more efficient, due to the best performance of the electrode material selected (DSA ® ) towards the formation of oxidants in chloride supporting electrolyte. These results open the way for overcoming the efficiency limitations of electrochemical treatment processes for the treatment of solutions with low concentrated ionic pollutants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of environmental impacts from municipal solid waste management in the municipality of Aarhus, Denmark (EASEWASTE).

PubMed

Kirkeby, Janus T; Birgisdottir, Harpa; Hansen, Trine Lund; Christensen, Thomas H; Bhander, Gurbakhash Singh; Hauschild, Michael

2006-02-01

A new computer based life cycle assessment model (EASEWASTE) was used to evaluate a municipal solid waste system with the purpose of identifying environmental benefits and disadvantages by anaerobic digestion of source-separated household waste and incineration. The most important processes that were included in the study are optical sorting and pre-treatment, anaerobic digestion with heat and power recovery, incineration with heat and power recovery, use of digested biomass on arable soils and finally, an estimated surplus consumption of plastic in order to achieve a higher quality and quantity of organic waste to the biogas plant. Results showed that there were no significant differences in most of the assessed environmental impacts for the two scenarios. However, the use of digested biomass may cause a potential toxicity impact on human health due to the heavy metal content of the organic waste. A sensitivity analysis showed that the results are sensitive to the energy recovery efficiencies, to the extra plastic consumption for waste bags and to the content of heavy metals in the waste. A model such as EASEWASTE is very suitable for evaluating the overall environmental consequences of different waste management strategies and technologies, and can be used for most waste material fractions existing in household waste.

Utilization of Activated Carbon Prepared from Aceh Coffee Grounds as Bio-sorbent for Treatment of Fertilizer Industrial Waste Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mariana, M.; Mahidin, M.; Mulana, F.; Aman, F.

2018-05-01

The people of Aceh are well known as coffee drinkers. Therefore, a lot of coffee shops have been established in Aceh in the past decade. The growing of coffee shops resulting to large amounts of coffee waste produced in Aceh Province that will become solid waste if not wisely utilized. The high carbon content in coffee underlined as background of this research to be utilized those used coffee grounds as bio-sorbent. The preparation of activated carbon from coffee grounds by using carbonization method that was initially activated with HCl was expected to increase the absorption capacity. The prepared activated carbon with high reactivity was applied to adsorb nitrite, nitrate and ammonia in wastewater outlet of PT. PIM wastewater pond. Morphological structure of coffee waste was analyzed by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The result showed that the adsorption capacity of iodine was equal to 856.578 mg/g. From the characterization results, it was concluded that the activated carbon from coffee waste complied to the permitted quality standards in accordance with the quality requirements of activated carbon SNI No. 06-3730-1995. Observed from the adsorption efficiency, the bio-sorbent showed a tendency of adsorbing more ammonia than nitrite and nitrate of PT. PIM wastewater with ammonia absorption efficiency of 56%.

Utilization of squid pen for the efficient production of chitosanase and antioxidants through prolonged autoclave treatment.

PubMed

Wang, San-Lang; Wu, Pei-Chen; Liang, Tzu-Wen

2009-05-26

We have developed a culture system for efficient production of chitosanase by Bacillus sp. TKU004. TKU004 was cultivated by using squid pen powder as the sole carbon/nitrogen source. The effects of autoclave treatments of the medium on the production of chitosanase were investigated. Autoclave treatment of squid pen powder for 45 min remarkably promoted enzyme productivity. When the culture medium containing an initial squid pen powder concentration of 3% was autoclaved for 45 min, the chitosanase activity was optimal and reached 0.14-0.16 U/mL. In addition, extracellular surfactant-stable chitosanase was purified from the TKU004 culture supernatant. The antioxidant activity of TKU004 culture supernatant was determined through the scavenging ability of DPPH, with 70% per mL. With this method, we have shown that marine wastes can be utilized efficiently through prolonged autoclave treatments to generate a high value-added product, and have revealed its hidden potential in the production of functional foods.

Decontamination of electronic waste-polluted soil by ultrasound-assisted soil washing.

PubMed

Chen, Fu; Yang, Baodan; Ma, Jing; Qu, Junfeng; Liu, Gangjun

2016-10-01

Laboratorial scale experiments were performed to evaluate the efficacy of a washing process using the combination of methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MCD) and tea saponin (TS) for simultaneous desorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) and heavy metals from an electronic waste (e-waste) site. Ultrasonically aided mixing of the field contaminated soil with a combination of MCD and TS solutions simultaneously mobilizes most of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and the analyte metal (Pb, Cu, and Ni) burdens. It is found that 15 g/L MCD and 10 g/L TS is an efficient reagent combination reconciling extraction performance and reagent costs. Under these conditions, the removal efficiencies of HOCs and heavy metals are 93.5 and 91.2 %, respectively, after 2 cycles of 60-min ultrasound-assisted washing cycles. By contrast, 86.3 % of HOCs and 88.4 % of metals are removed from the soil in the absence of ultrasound after 3 cycles of 120-min washing. The ultrasound-assisted soil washing could generate high removal efficiency and decrease the operating time significantly. Finally, the feasibility of regenerating and reusing the spent washing solution in extracting pollutants from the soil is also demonstrated. By application of this integrated technology, it is possible to recycle the washing solution for a purpose to reduce the consumption of surfactant solutions. Collectively, it has provided an effective and economic treatment of e-waste-polluted soil.

In Vitro and In Vivo Screening of Water Associated with CAFOs and Wastewater Treatment Plants for Estrogenic and Androgenic Activity

EPA Science Inventory

The trend toward using concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to efficiently increase food production has prompted concern regarding the impact these feedlots have on the environment. Depending on the type of feedlot, animal waste from CAFOs can contain natural and synthe...

Uncoupling protein expression in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue in response to in vivo porcine somatotropin treatment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The uncoupling proteins are thought to be involved in waste heat production, reducing the energy efficiency of growth in animals. Previous studies have detected their presence in swine and their regulation by the endocrine system. This study attempted to determine whether the uncoupling proteins 2...

Anaerobic digestion of thermal-alkaline-pretreated cephalosporin bacterial residues for methane production.

PubMed

Li, Guixia; Zhong, Weizhang; Wang, Rui; Chen, Jiaqi; Li, Zaixing

2017-08-01

Optimum anaerobic conditions of cephalosporin bacterial residues after thermal-alkaline pretreatment were determined by orthogonal experiments. And through biochemical methane potential tests (BMPs) for cephalosporin bacterial residues, the ability for bacterial degradation of cephalosporin was also evaluated. The thermal-alkaline pretreatment with the optimum values of 6% NaOH at 105 °C for 15 min significantly improved digestion performance. With the thermal-alkaline pretreatment, the specific methane yield of the pretreated cephalosporin bacterial residue increased by 254.79% compared with that of the un-pretreated cephalosporin bacterial residue. The results showed that anaerobic digestion of thermal-alkaline-pretreated cephalosporin bacterial residues could be one of the options for efficient methane production and waste treatment. This work investigates the thermal-alkaline pretreatment of cephalosporin bacterial residues, which can increase their methane yield by 254.79% compared with no pretreatment. The digestion performance is significantly improved under the condition of 6% NaOH at 105 °C for 15 min. The results show that anaerobic digestion of thermal-alkaline-pretreated cephalosporin bacterial residues could be one of the options for efficient methane production and waste treatment.

Features of Golenkinia sp. and microbial fuel cells used for the treatment of anaerobically digested effluent from kitchen waste at different dilutions.

PubMed

Hou, Qingjie; Cheng, Juan; Nie, Changliang; Pei, Haiyan; Jiang, Liqun; Zhang, Lijie; Yang, Zhigang

2017-09-01

The aim of this work was to study Golenkinia sp. and microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for the treatment of anaerobically digested effluent from kitchen waste (ADE-KW) with different dilution factors. A dual-chamber MFC was fabricated for treating ADE-KW in the two chambers of the MFC and harvesting Golenkinia sp. All the anodic TN was removed more than 80%. COD removal efficiency increased from 48.2% to 76% when the dilution factor increased from 1 to 4. Maximum COD and TN removal rates were 3.56 and 3.71mg·L -1 ·h -1 when ADE-KW was treated without dilution in the anodic chamber. All the cathodic TN and TP removal efficiencies were approximately 90%. The highest open circuit voltage (OCV) and power density were approximately 400mV and 400mW when ADE-KW was treated directly (undiluted) in the MFC, with the highest biomass and total lipid content production of Golenkinia sp. in the cathodic chamber. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of pH, curing time and environmental stress on the immobilization of hazardous waste using activated fly ash.

PubMed

Srivastava, Shefali; Chaudhary, Rubina; Khale, Divya

2008-05-30

The current work is related to inorganic species in sludge generated from Common Effluent Treatment Plant contaminated with hazardous wastes at relatively high concentration. The environmental sensitive metals studied in the sludge are Pb, Fe, Ni, Zn and Mn. The solidification/stabilization (S/S) of heavy metals within fly ash-cement-based matrix was conducted for low cost treatment and reuse of sludge. The study examines the strength of the S/S product by predicting the effect of supplementary cementing material from efficiency factor (k) at 60 degrees C curing temperature. The leaching test was performed at two different pH 7 and 4 to determine the efficiency of heavy metal immobilization. It was observed that replacing 76% OPC by 56% fly ash and 20% sludge for 28 days curing period shows increase in strength as well as rate of stabilization for zinc, iron and manganese at pH 7, lead and nickel were stabilized by 79 and 82%, respectively. Environmental stress test was performed to evaluate the tolerance of extreme adverse environmental condition.

Coalesced chitosan activated carbon composite for batch and fixed-bed adsorption of cationic and anionic dyes.

PubMed

Auta, M; Hameed, B H

2013-05-01

A renewable waste tea activated carbon (WTAC) was coalesced with chitosan to form composite adsorbent used for waste water treatment. Adsorptive capacities of crosslinked chitosan beads (CCB) and its composite (WTAC-CCB) for Methylene blue dye (MB) and Acid blue 29 (AB29) were evaluated through batch and fixed-bed studies. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin adsorption isotherms were tested for the adsorption process and the experimental data were best fitted by Langmuir model and least by Freundlich model; the suitability of fitness was adjudged by the Chi-square (χ(2)) and Marquadt's percent standard deviation error functions. Judging by the values of χ(2), pseudo-second-order reaction model best described the adsorption process than pseudo-first-order kinetic model for MB/AB29 on both adsorbents. After five cycles of adsorbents desorption test, more than 50% WTAC-CCB adsorption efficiency was retained while CCB had <20% adsorption efficiency. The results of this study revealed that WTAC-CCB composite is a promising adsorbent for treatment of anionic and cationic dyes in effluent wastewaters. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The re-use of Waste-Activated Sludge as part of a "zero-sludge" strategy for wastewater treatments in the pulp and paper industry.

PubMed

Kaluža, Leon; Suštaršič, Matej; Rutar, Vera; Zupančič, Gregor D

2014-01-01

The possibility of introducing the thermo-alkali hydrolysis of Waste-Activated Sludge (WAS) was investigated, in order to enable the use of its solid residue as a raw material in cardboard production and the use of its liquid portion for anaerobic digestion in an UASB reactor. The evaluation of the hydrolysis at pH>12 and T=70°C showed that the microbe cells were disrupted with more than 90% efficiency in less than 2h. The solid portion was hygienised, therefore making it possible to integrate it into the cardboard production as a raw material for less demanding cardboards. Up to 6% addition of the liquid portion of hydrolysed WAS to wastewater decreased the specific biogas production in a pilot-scale UASB from 0.236 to 0.212 m(3)/kg(COD), while the efficiency of the COD removal decreased from 80.4% to 76.5%. These values still guarantee an adequate treatment of the wastewater and an increased biogas production by 16%. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recycling of lipid-extracted hydrolysate as nitrogen supplementation for production of thraustochytrid biomass.

PubMed

Lowrey, Joshua; Armenta, Roberto E; Brooks, Marianne S

2016-08-01

Efficient resource usage is important for cost-effective microalgae production, where the incorporation of waste streams and recycled water into the process has great potential. This study builds upon emerging research on nutrient recycling in thraustochytrid production, where waste streams are recovered after lipid extraction and recycled into future cultures. This research investigates the nitrogen flux of recycled hydrolysate derived from enzymatic lipid extraction of thraustochytrid biomass. Results indicated the proteinaceous content of the recycled hydrolysate can offset the need to supply fresh nitrogen in a secondary culture, without detrimental impact upon the produced biomass. The treatment employing the recycled hydrolysate with no nitrogen addition accumulated 14.86 g L(-1) of biomass in 141 h with 43.3 % (w/w) lipid content compared to the control which had 9.26 g L(-1) and 46.9 % (w/w), respectively. This improved nutrient efficiency and wastewater recovery represents considerable potential for enhanced resource efficiency of commercial thraustochytrid production.

Optimal conditions for preparation of banana peels, sugarcane bagasse and watermelon rind in removing copper from water.

PubMed

Liu, Cong; Ngo, Huu Hao; Guo, Wenshan; Tung, Kuo-Lun

2012-09-01

In this study, three agro-waste materials were used as biosorbents for removal of copper (Cu) from water. This work aims to optimise conditions for preparation of these materials to obtain maximum Cu adsorption capacity. The optimal conditions were determined in terms of Cu removal efficiency and/or energy consumption. The results indicate that banana peels dried at 120°C for 2h and ground into powder form led to a better performance in terms of both copper removal efficiency and energy consumption. For sugarcane bagasse and watermelon rind, 120°C was the suitable drying temperature. However, the best drying time was 1h for sugarcane bagasse and 3h for watermelon rind. The powder form with size of <150 μm was optimal for all biosorbents in terms of removal efficiency and equilibration time. The findings are beneficial to the application of these agro-waste materials for Cu removal from water and wastewater treatment. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Protein removal from waste brines generated during ham salting through acidification and centrifugation.

PubMed

Gutiérrez-Martínez, Maria del Rosario; Muñoz-Guerrero, Hernán; Alcaína-Miranda, Maria Isabel; Barat, José Manuel

2014-03-01

The salting step in food processes implies the production of large quantities of waste brines, having high organic load, high conductivity, and other pollutants with high oxygen demand. Direct disposal of the residual brine implies salinization of soil and eutrophication of water. Since most of the organic load of the waste brines comes from proteins leaked from the salted product, precipitation of dissolved proteins by acidification and removal by centrifugation is an operation to be used in waste brine cleaning. The aim of this study is optimizing the conditions for carrying out the separation of proteins from waste brines generated in the pork ham salting operation, by studying the influence of pH, centrifugal force, and centrifugation time. Models for determining the removal of proteins depending on the pH, centrifugal force, and time were obtained. The results showed a high efficacy of the proposed treatment for removing proteins, suggesting that this method could be used for waste brine protein removal. The best pH value to be used in an industrial process seems to be 3, while the obtained results indicate that almost 90% of the proteins from the brine can be removed by acidification followed by centrifugation. A further protein removal from the brine should have to be achieved using filtrating techniques, which efficiency could be highly improved as a consequence of the previous treatment through acidification and centrifugation. Waste brines from meat salting have high organic load and electrical conductivity. Proteins can be removed from the waste brine by acidification and centrifugation. The total protein removal can be up to 90% of the initial content of the waste brine. Protein removal is highly dependent on pH, centrifugation rate, and time. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®

Demonstration of the efficiency and robustness of an acid leaching process to remove metals from various CCA-treated wood samples.

PubMed

Coudert, Lucie; Blais, Jean-François; Mercier, Guy; Cooper, Paul; Janin, Amélie; Gastonguay, Louis

2014-01-01

In recent years, an efficient and economically attractive leaching process has been developed to remove metals from copper-based treated wood wastes. This study explored the applicability of this leaching process using chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood samples with different initial metal loading and elapsed time between wood preservation treatment and remediation. The sulfuric acid leaching process resulted in the solubilization of more than 87% of the As, 70% of the Cr, and 76% of the Cu from CCA-chips and in the solubilization of more than 96% of the As, 78% of the Cr and 91% of the Cu from CCA-sawdust. The results showed that the performance of this leaching process might be influenced by the initial metal loading of the treated wood wastes and the elapsed time between preservation treatment and remediation. The effluents generated during the leaching steps were treated by precipitation-coagulation to satisfy the regulations for effluent discharge in municipal sewers. Precipitation using ferric chloride and sodium hydroxide was highly efficient, removing more than 99% of the As, Cr, and Cu. It appears that this leaching process can be successfully applied to remove metals from different CCA-treated wood samples and then from the effluents. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance study of biofilter developed to treat H2S from wastewater odour

PubMed Central

Omri, Ilhem; Aouidi, Fethia; Bouallagui, Hassib; Godon, Jean-Jacques; Hamdi, Moktar

2013-01-01

Biofiltration is an efficient biotechnological process used for waste gas abatement in various industrial processes. It offers low operating and capital costs and produces minimal secondary waste streams. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of a pilot scale biofilter in terms of pollutants’ removal efficiencies and the bacterial dynamics under different inlet concentrations of H2S. The treatment of odourous pollutants by biofiltration was investigated at a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) (Charguia, Tunis, Tunisia). Sampling and analyses were conducted for 150 days. Inlet H2S concentration recorded was between 200 and 1300 mg H2S.m−3. Removal efficiencies reached 99% for the majority of the running time at an empty bed retention time (EBRT) of 60 s. Heterotrophic bacteria were found to be the dominant microorganisms in the biofilter. The bacteria were identified as the members of the genus Bacillus, Pseudomonas and xanthomonadacea bacterium. The polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) method showed that bacterial community profiles changed with the H2S inlet concentration. Our results indicated that the biofilter system, containing peat as the packing material, was proved able to remove H2S from the WWTP odourous pollutants. PMID:23961233

Hydrothermal Gasification for Waste to Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Epps, Brenden; Laser, Mark; Choo, Yeunun

2014-11-01

Hydrothermal gasification is a promising technology for harvesting energy from waste streams. Applications range from straightforward waste-to-energy conversion (e.g. municipal waste processing, industrial waste processing), to water purification (e.g. oil spill cleanup, wastewater treatment), to biofuel energy systems (e.g. using algae as feedstock). Products of the gasification process are electricity, bottled syngas (H2 + CO), sequestered CO2, clean water, and inorganic solids; further chemical reactions can be used to create biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. We present a comparison of gasification system architectures, focusing on efficiency and economic performance metrics. Various system architectures are modeled computationally, using a model developed by the coauthors. The physical model tracks the mass of each chemical species, as well as energy conversions and transfers throughout the gasification process. The generic system model includes the feedstock, gasification reactor, heat recovery system, pressure reducing mechanical expanders, and electricity generation system. Sensitivity analysis of system performance to various process parameters is presented. A discussion of the key technological barriers and necessary innovations is also presented.

Long-term bio-H2 and bio-CH4 production from food waste in a continuous two-stage system: Energy efficiency and conversion pathways.

PubMed

Algapani, Dalal E; Qiao, Wei; di Pumpo, Francesca; Bianchi, David; Wandera, Simon M; Adani, Fabrizio; Dong, Renjie

2018-01-01

Anaerobic digestion is a well-established technology for treating organic waste, but it is still under challenge for food waste due to process stability problems. In this work, continuous H 2 and CH 4 production from canteen food waste (FW) in a two-stage system were successfully established by optimizing process parameters. The optimal hydraulic retention time was 5d for H 2 and 15d for CH 4 . Overall, around 59% of the total COD in FW was converted into H 2 (4%) and into CH 4 (55%). The fluctuations of FW characteristics did not significantly affect process performance. From the energy point view, the H 2 reactor contributed much less than the methane reactor to total energy balance, but it played a key role in maintaining the stability of anaerobic treatment of food waste. Microbial characterization indicated that methane formation was through syntrophic acetate oxidation combined with hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis pathway. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nichols, Ralph L.; Seitz, Roger R.; Dixon, Kenneth L.

The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at Hanford is being constructed to treat 56 million gallons of radioactive waste currently stored in underground tanks at the Hanford site. Operation of the WTP will generate several solid secondary waste (SSW) streams including used process equipment, contaminated tools and instruments, decontamination wastes, high-efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA), carbon adsorption beds, silver mordenite iodine sorbent beds, and spent ion exchange resins (IXr) all of which are to be disposed in the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). An applied research and development program was developed using a phased approach to incrementally develop the informationmore » necessary to support the IDF PA with each phase of the testing building on results from the previous set of tests and considering new information from the IDF PA calculations. This report contains the results from the exploratory phase, Phase 1 and preliminary results from Phase 2. Phase 3 is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of FY17.« less

Analysis of energy recovery potential using innovative technologies of waste gasification.

PubMed

Lombardi, Lidia; Carnevale, Ennio; Corti, Andrea

2012-04-01

In this paper, two alternative thermo-chemical processes for waste treatment were analysed: high temperature gasification and gasification associated to plasma process. The two processes were analysed from the thermodynamic point of view, trying to reconstruct two simplified models, using appropriate simulation tools and some support data from existing/planned plants, able to predict the energy recovery performances by process application. In order to carry out a comparative analysis, the same waste stream input was considered as input to the two models and the generated results were compared. The performances were compared with those that can be obtained from conventional combustion with energy recovery process by means of steam turbine cycle. Results are reported in terms of energy recovery performance indicators as overall energy efficiency, specific energy production per unit of mass of entering waste, primary energy source savings, specific carbon dioxide production. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WASTE TREATMENT BUILDING SYSTEM DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

F. Habashi

2000-06-22

The Waste Treatment Building System provides the space, layout, structures, and embedded subsystems that support the processing of low-level liquid and solid radioactive waste generated within the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR). The activities conducted in the Waste Treatment Building include sorting, volume reduction, and packaging of dry waste, and collecting, processing, solidification, and packaging of liquid waste. The Waste Treatment Building System is located on the surface within the protected area of the MGR. The Waste Treatment Building System helps maintain a suitable environment for the waste processing and protects the systems within the Waste Treatment Building (WTB) from mostmore » of the natural and induced environments. The WTB also confines contaminants and provides radiological protection to personnel. In addition to the waste processing operations, the Waste Treatment Building System provides space and layout for staging of packaged waste for shipment, industrial and radiological safety systems, control and monitoring of operations, safeguards and security systems, and fire protection, ventilation and utilities systems. The Waste Treatment Building System also provides the required space and layout for maintenance activities, tool storage, and administrative facilities. The Waste Treatment Building System integrates waste processing systems within its protective structure to support the throughput rates established for the MGR. The Waste Treatment Building System also provides shielding, layout, and other design features to help limit personnel radiation exposures to levels which are as low as is reasonably achievable (ALARA). The Waste Treatment Building System interfaces with the Site Generated Radiological Waste Handling System, and with other MGR systems that support the waste processing operations. The Waste Treatment Building System interfaces with the General Site Transportation System, Site Communications System, Site Water System, MGR Site Layout, Safeguards and Security System, Site Radiological Monitoring System, Site Electrical Power System, Site Compressed Air System, and Waste Treatment Building Ventilation System.« less

Plasma gasification of refuse derived fuel in a single-stage system using different gasifying agents.

PubMed

Agon, N; Hrabovský, M; Chumak, O; Hlína, M; Kopecký, V; Masláni, A; Bosmans, A; Helsen, L; Skoblja, S; Van Oost, G; Vierendeels, J

2016-01-01

The renewable evolution in the energy industry and the depletion of natural resources are putting pressure on the waste industry to shift towards flexible treatment technologies with efficient materials and/or energy recovery. In this context, a thermochemical conversion method of recent interest is plasma gasification, which is capable of producing syngas from a wide variety of waste streams. The produced syngas can be valorized for both energetic (heat and/or electricity) and chemical (ammonia, hydrogen or liquid hydrocarbons) end-purposes. This paper evaluates the performance of experiments on a single-stage plasma gasification system for the treatment of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from excavated waste. A comparative analysis of the syngas characteristics and process yields was done for seven cases with different types of gasifying agents (CO2+O2, H2O, CO2+H2O and O2+H2O). The syngas compositions were compared to the thermodynamic equilibrium compositions and the performance of the single-stage plasma gasification of RDF was compared to that of similar experiments with biomass and to the performance of a two-stage plasma gasification process with RDF. The temperature range of the experiment was from 1400 to 1600 K and for all cases, a medium calorific value syngas was produced with lower heating values up to 10.9 MJ/Nm(3), low levels of tar, high levels of CO and H2 and which composition was in good agreement to the equilibrium composition. The carbon conversion efficiency ranged from 80% to 100% and maximum cold gas efficiency and mechanical gasification efficiency of respectively 56% and 95%, were registered. Overall, the treatment of RDF proved to be less performant than that of biomass in the same system. Compared to a two-stage plasma gasification system, the produced syngas from the single-stage reactor showed more favourable characteristics, while the recovery of the solid residue as a vitrified slag is an advantage of the two-stage set-up. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhanced performance of crumb rubber filtration for ballast water treatment.

PubMed

Tang, Zhijian; Butkus, Michael A; Xie, Yuefeng F

2009-03-01

Waste-tire-derived crumb rubber was utilized as filter media to develop an efficient filter for ballast water treatment. In this study, the effects of coagulation, pressure filtration and dual-media (gravity) filtration on the performance of the crumb rubber filtration were investigated. The removal efficiencies of turbidity, phytoplankton and zooplankton, and head loss development were monitored during the filtration process. The addition of a coagulant enhanced the removal efficiencies of all targeted matter, but resulted in substantial increase of head loss. Pressure filtration increased filtration rates to 220 m(3)h(-1)m(-2) for 8-h operation and improved the zooplankton removal. Dual-media (crumb rubber/sand) gravity filtration also improved the removal efficiencies of phytoplankton and zooplankton over mono-media gravity crumb rubber filtration. However, these filtration techniques alone did not meet the criteria for removing indigenous organisms from ballast water. A combination of filtration and disinfection is suggested for future studies.

Removal of arsenic, phosphates and ammonia from well water using electrochemical/chemical methods and advanced oxidation: a pilot plant approach.

PubMed

Orescanin, Visnja; Kollar, Robert; Nad, Karlo; Halkijevic, Ivan; Kuspilic, Marin; Findri Gustek, Stefica

2014-01-01

The purpose of this work was to develop a pilot plant purification system and apply it to groundwater used for human consumption, containing high concentrations of arsenic and increased levels of phosphates, ammonia, mercury and color. The groundwater used was obtained from the production well in the Vinkovci County (Eastern Croatia). Due to a complex composition of the treated water, the purification system involved a combined electrochemical treatment, using iron and aluminum electrode plates with simultaneous ozonation, followed by a post-treatment with UV, ozone and hydrogen peroxide. The removal of the contaminant with the waste sludge collected during the electrochemical treatment was also tested. The combined electrochemical and advanced oxidation treatment resulted in the complete removal of arsenic, phosphates, color, turbidity, suspended solids and ammonia, while the removal of other contaminants of interest was up to 96.7%. Comparable removal efficiencies were obtained by using waste sludge as a coagulant.

Integration of membrane separation and Fenton processes for sanitary landfill leachate treatment.

PubMed

Santos, Amanda Vitória; Andrade, Laura Hamdan de; Amaral, Míriam Cristina Santos; Lange, Liséte Celina

2018-04-06

The appropriate treatment of sanitary landfill leachate is one of the greatest challenges nowadays due to the large volumes of solid waste generated. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of different routes involving the integration of advanced oxidation processes based on Fenton's reagents (AOP-Fenton) and microfiltration (MF) and nanofiltration (NF) membrane processes for the treatment of landfill leachate. MF module configuration (submerged or sidestream) and MF and NF recovery rate were evaluated. The combination of AOP-Fenton, MF and NF proved to be an effective treatment for landfill leachate. High removal efficiencies of chemical oxidation demand (94-96%) and colour (96-99%) were obtained. The configuration named route 3, composed of MF of raw landfill leachate (MF1), POA-Fenton-MF2 of the MF1 concentrate and NF of both MF1 and MF2 permeates, showed a higher global water recovery and was responsible for lower waste generation. It was considered the best one in terms of environmental, technical and economical aspects.

Treatability of stabilize landfill leachate by using pressmud ash as an adsorbent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azme, N. N. Mohd; Murshed, M. F.

2018-04-01

Leachate is a liquid produced from the landfill that contains high concentration of heavy metals, chemicals and nutrient loading. The treatability of these contaminants are complicated since the current treatment technology are costly and site specific. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the treatability of stabilized landfill leachate by using waste (pressmud ash) as an absorbent. Pressmud ash was prepared by burning at different temperature from 100 to 700 degree Celsius and test at 24 hours shaking time, pH 8, and 4000 rpm. Leachate samples were collected from municipal solid waste (MSW) Pulau Burung Sanitary Landfill (PBSL) and were analyzed for heavy metal, COD, ammonia and colour. This study was performed in two phases i) leachate characteristic, ii) treatability assessment by using pressmud ash. Pressmud was sampled from the sugar mill, Malaysian Sugar Manufacturing (MSM) Sdn Bhd, Seberang Perai, Pulau Pinang. The pressmud with 400°C are highly potential material with a low cost which can be a good adsorbent was capable reducing efficiencies of COD (60.76%), ammonia (64.37%) and colour (35.78%) from real wastewater leachate. Pressmud showed good sorption capability. Surface modification with burning greatly enhanced the reducing efficiency of sugar waste based adsorbent with adsorption efficiency.

Removing Arsenic from Contaminated Drinking Water in Rural Bangladesh: Recent Fieldwork Results and Policy Implications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mathieu, Johanna L.; Gadgil, Ashok J.; Kowolik, Kristin

2009-09-17

ARUBA (Arsenic Removal Using Bottom Ash) has proven effective at removing high concentrations of arsenic from drinking water in Bangladesh. During fieldwork in four sub-districts of the country, ARUBA reduced arsenic levels ranging from 200 to 900 ppb to below the Bangladesh standard of 50 ppb. The technology is cost-effective because the substrate--bottom ash from coal fired power plants--is a waste material readily available in South Asia. In comparison to similar technologies, ARUBA uses less media for arsenic removal due to its high surface area to volume ratio. Hence, less waste is produced. A number of experiments were conducted inmore » Bangladesh to determine the effectiveness of various water treatment protocols. It was found that (1) ARUBA removes more than half of the arsenic from water within five minutes of treatment, (2) ARUBA, that has settled at the bottom of a treatment vessel, continues to remove arsenic for 2-3 days, (3) ARUBA's arsenic removal efficiency can be improved through sequential partial dosing (adding a given amount of ARUBA in fractions versus all at once), and (4) allowing water to first stand for two to three days followed by treatment with ARUBA produced final arsenic levels ten times lower than treating water directly out of the well. Our findings imply a number of tradeoffs between ARUBA's effective arsenic removal capacity, treatment system costs, and waste output. These tradeoffs, some a function of arsenic-related policies in Bangladesh (e.g., waste disposal regulations), must be considered when designing an arsenic removal system. We propose that the most attractive option is to use ARUBA in communityscale water treatment centers, installed as public-private partnerships, in Bangladeshi villages.« less

Energy requirements for waste water treatment.

PubMed

Svardal, K; Kroiss, H

2011-01-01

The actual mathematical models describing global climate closely link the detected increase in global temperature to anthropogenic activity. The only energy source we can rely on in a long perspective is solar irradiation which is in the order of 10,000 kW/inhabitant. The actual primary power consumption (mainly based on fossil resources) in the developed countries is in the range of 5 to 10 kW/inhabitant. The total power contained in our nutrition is in the range of 0.11 kW/inhabitant. The organic pollution of domestic waste water corresponds to approximately 0.018 kW/inhabitant. The nutrients contained in the waste water can also be converted into energy equivalents replacing market fertiliser production. This energy equivalent is in the range of 0.009 kW/inhabitant. Hence waste water will never be a relevant source of energy as long as our primary energy consumption is in the range of several kW/inhabitant. The annual mean primary power demand of conventional municipal waste water treatment with nutrient removal is in the range of 0.003-0.015 kW/inhabitant. In principle it is already possible to reduce this value for external energy supply to zero. Such plants should be connected to an electrical grid in order to keep investment costs low. Peak energy demand will be supported from the grid and surplus electric energy from the plant can be is fed to the grid. Zero 'carbon footprint' will not be affected by this solution. Energy minimisation must never negatively affect treatment efficiency because water quality conservation is more important for sustainable development than the possible reduction in energy demand. This argument is strongly supported by economical considerations as the fixed costs for waste water infrastructure are dominant.

En masse pyrolysis of flexible printed circuit board wastes quantitatively yielding environmental resources.

PubMed

Kim, Jang Won; Lee, Albert S; Yu, Seunggun; Han, Jeong Whan

2018-01-15

This paper reports the recycling of flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) waste through carbonization of polyimide by dual pyrolysis processes. The organic matter was recovered as pyrolyzed oil at low temperatures, while valuable metals and polyimide-derived carbon were effectively recovered through secondary high temperature pyrolysis. The major component of organics extracted from FPCB waste comprised of epoxy resins were identified as pyrolysis oils containing bisphenol-A. The valuable metals (Cu, Ni, Ag, Sn, Au, Pd) in waste FPCB were recovered as granular shape and quantitatively analyzed via ICP-OES. In attempt to produce carbonaceous material with increased degree of graphitization at low heat-treatment conditions, the catalytic effect of transition metals within FPCB waste was investigated for the efficient carbonization of polyimide films. The morphology of the carbon powder was observed by scanning electron microscopy and graphitic carbonization was investigated with X-ray analysis. The protocols outlined in this study may allow for propitious opportunities to salvage both organic and inorganic materials from FPCB waste products for a sustainable future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Removal of chromium from synthetic plating waste by zero-valent iron and sulfate-reducing bacteria.

PubMed

Guha, Saumyen; Bhargava, Puja

2005-01-01

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the potential of zero-valent iron and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) for reduction and removal of chromium from synthetic electroplating waste. The zero-valent iron shows promising results as a reductant of hexavalent chromium (Cr+6) to trivalent chromium (Cr+3), capable of 100% reduction. The required iron concentration was a function of chromium concentration in the waste stream. Removal of Cr+3 by adsorption or precipitation on iron leads to complete removal of chromium from the waste and was a slower process than the reduction of Cr+6. Presence SRB in a completely mixed batch reactor inhibited the reduction of Cr+6. In a fixed-bed column reactor, SRB enhanced chromium removal and showed promising results for the treatment of wastes with low chromium concentrations. It is proposed that, for waste with high chromium concentration, zero-valent iron is an efficient reductant and can be used for reduction of Cr+6. For low chromium concentrations, a SRB augmented zero-valent iron and sand column is capable of removing chromium completely.

Effect of solvent addition sequence on lycopene extraction efficiency from membrane neutralized caustic peeled tomato waste.

PubMed

Phinney, David M; Frelka, John C; Cooperstone, Jessica L; Schwartz, Steven J; Heldman, Dennis R

2017-01-15

Lycopene is a high value nutraceutical and its isolation from waste streams is often desirable to maximize profits. This research investigated solvent addition order and composition on lycopene extraction efficiency from a commercial tomato waste stream (pH 12.5, solids ∼5%) that was neutralized using membrane filtration. Constant volume dilution (CVD) was used to desalinate the caustic salt to neutralize the waste. Acetone, ethanol and hexane were used as direct or blended additions. Extraction efficiency was defined as the amount of lycopene extracted divided by the total lycopene in the sample. The CVD operation reduced the active alkali of the waste from 0.66 to <0.01M and the moisture content of the pulp increased from 93% to 97% (wet basis), showing the removal of caustic salts from the waste. Extraction efficiency varied from 32.5% to 94.5%. This study demonstrates a lab scale feasibility to extract lycopene efficiently from tomato processing byproducts. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Greenhouse gases emissions from waste management practices using Life Cycle Inventory model.

PubMed

Chen, Tsao-Chou; Lin, Cheng-Fang

2008-06-30

When exploring the correlation between municipal solid waste management and green house gas emission, the volume and physical composition of the waste matter must be taken into account. Due to differences in local environments and lifestyles the quantity and composition of waste often vary. This leads to differences in waste treatment methods and causes different volumes of greenhouse gases (GHGs), highlighting the need for local research. In this study the Life Cycle Inventory method was used with global warming indicator GHGs as the variables. By quantifying the data and adopting a region-based approach, this created a model of household MSWM in Taipei City, a metropolitan region in Taiwan. To allow analysis and comparison a compensatory system was then added to expand the system boundary. The results of the analysis indicated that out of all the solid waste management sub-models for a function unit, recycling was the most effective method for reducing GHG emissions while using kitchen food waste as swine feeding resulted in the most GHG emissions. As for the impact of waste collection vehicles on emissions, if the efficiency of transportation could be improved and energy consumption reduced, this will help solid waste management to achieve its goal of reducing GHG emissions.

Electrocoagulation for the treatment of textile wastewaters with Al or Fe electrodes: compared variations of COD levels, turbidity and absorbance.

PubMed

Zongo, Inoussa; Maiga, Amadou Hama; Wéthé, Joseph; Valentin, Gérard; Leclerc, Jean-Pierre; Paternotte, Gérard; Lapicque, Francois

2009-09-30

Electrocoagulation technique has been used for the treatment of two wastewaters issued by textile industry. Treatment was carried out in a discontinuous system provided with aluminium or iron electrodes, and with recirculation of the liquid. The efficiency of the technique was followed depending on the electrode material in terms of water treatment, current efficiency of the dissolution, cell voltage, energy consumption to reach the same COD or turbidity abatement: regardless of the quality of the phase separation in the flocculation section downstream of the electrocoagulation cell, the two metals were found to be of comparable efficiency. Besides COD and absorbance were shown to follow similar, regular variations along the treatment; experimental data could be interpreted by a simple model involving the overall equilibrium between the metal dissolved--in the form of hydroxides--and the polluting substance. Abatement of the waste turbidity was observed to obey another law, with a sharp reduction of turbidity after a preliminary phase, where accumulation of metal hydroxide has no effect on this variable.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program. Analysis of Wash Water Treatment Efficiency for Copper and Zinc

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-12-15

per trillion for tributyltin (“ TBT ”). This regulatory action lead to an intensive research effort to develop a treatment method for ship’s wash water...antifoulant coating systems, including tributyltin , copper and zinc. In 1997 The Commonwealth of Virginia established an effluent discharge limit of 50 parts...waste stream that could consistently remove TBT to levels below this discharge standard. This work is currently being performed by the Center for

Disinfection of sewage wastewater and sludge by electron treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trump, J. G.; Merrill, E. W.; Wright, K. A.

The use of machine-accelerated electrons to disinfect sewage waterwaste and sludge is discussed. The method is shown to be practical and energy-efficient for the broad spectrum disinfection of pathogenic organisms in municipal wastewaters and sludge removed from them. Studies of biological, chemical and physical effects are reported. Electron treatment is suggested as an alternative to chlorination of municipal liquid wastes after electron treatment to provide disinfection. Disposal of sewage sludge is recommended as an agricultural resource by subsurface land injection, or as a nutrient for fish populations by widespread ocean dispersal.

Separation of polycarbonate and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene waste plastics by froth flotation combined with ammonia pretreatment.

PubMed

Wang, Chong-Qing; Wang, Hui; Liu, Qun; Fu, Jian-Gang; Liu, You-Nian

2014-12-01

The objective of this research is flotation separation of polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) waste plastics combined with ammonia pretreatment. The PC and ABS plastics show similar hydrophobicity, and ammonia treatment changes selectively floatability of PC plastic while ABS is insensitive to ammonia treatment. The contact angle measurement indicates the dropping of flotation recovery of PC is ascribed to a decline of contact angle. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates reactions occur on PC surface, which makes PC surface more hydrophilic. Separation of PC and ABS waste plastics was conducted based on the flotation behavior of single plastic. At different temperatures, PC and ABS mixtures were separated efficiently through froth flotation with ammonia pretreatment for different time (13 min at 23 °C, 18 min at 18 °C and 30 min at 23 °C). For both PC and ABS, the purity and recovery is more than 95.31% and 95.35%, respectively; the purity of PC and ABS is up to 99.72% and 99.23%, respectively. PC and ABS mixtures with different particle sizes were separated effectively, implying that ammonia treatment possesses superior applicability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying the key factors in increasing recycling and reducing residual household waste: a case study of the Flemish region of Belgium.

PubMed

Gellynck, X; Jacobsen, R; Verhelst, P

2011-10-01

The competent waste authority in the Flemish region of Belgium created the 'Implementation plan household waste 2003-2007' and the 'Implementation plan sustainable management 2010-2015' to comply with EU regulation. It incorporates European and regional requirements and describes strategies, goals, actions and instruments for the collection and treatment of household waste. The central mandatory goal is to reduce and maintain the amount of residual household waste to 150 kg per capita per year between 2010-2015. In literature, a reasonable body of information has been published on the effectiveness and efficiency of a variety of policy instruments, but the information is complex, often contradictory and difficult to interpret. The objective of this paper is to identify, through the development of a binary logistic regression model, those variables of the waste collection scheme that help municipalities to reach the mandatory 150 kg goal. The model covers a number of variables for household characteristics, provision of recycling services, frequency of waste collection and charging for waste services. This paper, however, is not about waste prevention and reuse. The dataset originates from 2003. Four out of 12 variables in the model contributed significantly: income per capita, cost of residual waste collection, collection frequency and separate curbside collection of organic waste. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental management aspects for TBT antifouling wastes from the shipyards.

PubMed

Kotrikla, Anna

2009-02-01

Tributyltin (TBT)-based antifouling paints have been successfully used for over 40 years to protect a ship's hull from biofouling. However, due to its high toxicity to marine organisms, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in 1990, adopted a resolution recommending governments to adopt measures to eliminate antifouling paints containing TBT. High concentrations of TBT are detected in the vicinity of ports and shipyards. TBT is also usually detected in the sediment, in which it accumulates. This study reviews recent literature for the best management practices (BMPs) in order to minimize the environmental effects of TBT. The paper focuses on the evaluation of the available techniques for the removal of TBT from shipyard wastes and from the sediment. The most effective treatment methods are highlighted. BMPs include recycling of abrasive materials, use of cleaner abrasive materials, reuse of spent abrasive materials, substitution of hydroblasting by vacuum blasting or containment or ultra-high-pressure water blasting and confinement of pollution by enclosure and containment systems. The treatment of the TBT wastes by conventional biological wastewater treatment processes is probably not suitable, because the concentrations of TBT found in shipyards' wastewaters are toxic to microorganisms. Advanced technologies such as activated carbon adsorption and dissolved air flotation, in combination with filtration and coagulation-clarification, photodegradation and electrochemical treatment, are required to remove TBT. However, advanced methods should be further optimized to meet the regulatory limit of 200 ng/L. To date, only one published work examines the efficiency of incineration for the treatment of solid sandblast wastes. Regarding the treatment of sediment, land deposition of the less polluted fraction of sediment is a feasible option. Such treatment must take into account the risk of contamination of groundwater and the surroundings, and it requires extended areas of land. Other treatment methods, such as thermal and electrochemical treatment, are promising options but due to the large amounts of dredged material, they have high capital and operational costs.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Consonni, Stefano; LEAP - Laboratorio Energia Ambiente Piacenza, Via Bixio 27, 29100 Piacenza; Vigano, Federico, E-mail: federico.vigano@polimi.it

Highlights: > The amount of waste available for energy recovery is significantly higher than the Unsorted Residual Waste (URW). > Its energy potential is always higher than the complement to 100% of the Source Separation Level (SSL). > Increasing SSL has marginal effects on the potential for energy recovery. > Variations in the composition of the waste fed to WtE plants affect only marginally their performances. > A large WtE plant with a treatment capacity some times higher than a small plant achieves electric efficiency appreciably higher. - Abstract: This article is part of a set of six coordinated papersmore » reporting the main findings of a research project carried out by five Italian universities on 'Material and energy recovery in Integrated Waste Management Systems (IWMS)'. An overview of the project and a summary of the most relevant results can be found in the introductory article of the series. This paper describes the work related to the evaluation of mass and energy balances, which has consisted of three major efforts (i) development of a model for quantifying the energy content and the elemental compositions of the waste streams appearing in a IWMS; (ii) upgrade of an earlier model to predict the performances of Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants; (iii) evaluation of mass and energy balances of all the scenarios and the recovery paths considered in the project. Results show that not only the amount of material available for energy recovery is significantly higher than the Unsorted Residual Waste (URW) left after Separate Collection (SC), because selection and recycling generate significant amounts of residues, but its heating value is higher than that of the original, gross waste. Therefore, the energy potential of what is left after recycling is always higher than the complement to 100% of the Source Separation Level (SSL). Also, increasing SSL has marginal effects on the potential for energy recovery: nearly doubling SSL (from 35% to 65%) reduces the energy potential only by one fourth. Consequently, even at high SSL energy recovery is a fundamental step of a sustainable waste management system. Variations of SSL do bring about variations of the composition, heating value and moisture content of the material fed to WtE plants, but these variations (i) are smaller than one can expect; (ii) have marginal effects on the performances of the WtE plant. These considerations suggest that the mere value of SSL is not a good indicator of the quality of the waste management system, nor of its energy and environmental outcome. Given the well-known dependence of the efficiency of steam power plants with their power output, the efficiency of energy recovery crucially depends on the size of the IWMS served by the WtE plant. A fivefold increase of the amount of gross waste handled in the IWMS (from 150,000 to 750,000 tons per year of gross waste) allows increasing the electric efficiencies of the WtE plant by about 6-7 percentage points (from 21-23% to 28.5% circa).« less

Biomethanization of citrus waste: Effect of waste characteristics and of storage on treatability and evaluation of limonene degradation.

PubMed

Lotito, Adriana Maria; De Sanctis, Marco; Pastore, Carlo; Di Iaconi, Claudio

2018-06-01

This study proposes the evaluation of the suitability of mesophilic anaerobic digestion as a simple technology for the treatment of the citrus waste produced by small-medium agro-industrial enterprises involved in the transformation of Citrus fruits. Two different stocks of citrus peel waste were used (i.e., fresh and stored citrus peel waste), to evaluate the influence of waste composition (variability in the type of processed Citrus fruits) and of storage (potentially necessary to operate the anaerobic digester continuously over the whole year due to the seasonality of the production) on anaerobic degradation treatability. A thorough characterization of the two waste types has been performed, showing that the fresh one has a higher solid and organic content, and that, in spite of the similar values of oil fraction amounts, the two stocks are significantly different in the composition of essential oils (43% of limonene and 34% of linalyl acetate in the fresh citrus waste and 20% of limonene and 74% of linalyl acetate in the stored citrus waste). Contrarily to what observed in previous studies, anaerobic digestion was successful and no reactor acidification occurred. No inhibition by limonene and linalyl acetate even at the maximum applied organic load value (i.e., 2.72 gCOD waste /gVS inoculum ) was observed in the treatment of the stored waste, with limonene and linalyl acetate concentrations of 104 mg/l and 385 mg/l, respectively. On the contrary, some inhibition was detected with fresh citrus peel waste when the organic load increased from 2.21 to 2.88 gCOD waste /gVS inoculum , ascribable to limonene at initial concentration higher than 150 mg/l. A good conversion into methane was observed with fresh peel waste, up to 0.33  [Formula: see text] at the highest organic load, very close to the maximum theoretical value of 0.35 [Formula: see text] , while a lower efficiency was achieved with stored peel waste, with a reduction down to 0.24  [Formula: see text] at the highest organic load. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the efficiency and economic viability of various methods of treatment of sanitary landfill leachate.

PubMed

Gupta, S K; Singh, Gurdeep

2007-12-01

This study assesses the efficiency of various physico-chemical, biological and other tertiary methods for treating leachate. An evaluation study on the treatability of the leachate from methane phase bed (MPB) reactor indicated that at an optimum hydraulic retention time of 6 days, the efficiency of the reactor in terms of biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was 91.29 and 82.69%, respectively. Recycling of the treated leachate through the municipal solid waste layers in the leachate recycling unit (LRU) resulted in a significant increase in the biodegradation of organics present in the leachate. Optimum BOD and COD removal efficiencies were achieved at the third recycle; additional recycling of the leachate did not produce any significant improvement. Physico-chemical treatment of the leachate demonstrated that alum and lime (Option 2) were more economical than coagulants lime and MgCO(3). A cost analysis of the economics of the various treatments revealed that the alternative treatment consisting of a MPB bed followed by a LRU and aerated lagoon is the most cost-effective treatment. However, the alternative consisting of a MPB followed by the LRU and a soil column, which is slightly more costly, would be the most appropriate treatment when adequate land is readily available.

Superhydrophilic graphene oxide@electrospun cellulose nanofiber hybrid membrane for high-efficiency oil/water separation.

PubMed

Ao, Chenghong; Yuan, Wei; Zhao, Jiangqi; He, Xu; Zhang, Xiaofang; Li, Qingye; Xia, Tian; Zhang, Wei; Lu, Canhui

2017-11-01

Inspired from fishscales, membranes with special surface wettability have been applied widely for the treatment of oily waste water. Herein, a novel superhydrophilic graphene oxide (GO)@electrospun cellulose nanofiber (CNF) membrane was successfully fabricated. This membrane exhibited a high separation efficiency, excellent antifouling properties, as well as a high flux for the gravity-driven oil/water separation. Moreover, the GO@CNF membrane was capable to effectively separate oil/water mixtures in a broad pH range or with a high concentration of salt, suggesting that this membrane was quite promising for future real-world practice in oil spill cleanup and oily wastewater treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An advanced pretreatment strategy involving hydrodynamic and acoustic cavitation along with alum coagulation for the mineralization and biodegradability enhancement of tannery waste effluent.

PubMed

Saxena, Shivendu; Rajoriya, Sunil; Saharan, Virendra Kumar; George, Suja

2018-06-01

In the present study, coagulation followed by cavitation was studied as a pretreatment tool for tannery waste effluent (TWE) with the aim of reducing its COD, TOC, TSS etc. and enhancing its biodegradability to make it suitable for anaerobic digestion. Initially, coagulation was applied to TWE using alum as a coagulant. The residual pH of treated effluent was found to be around pH of 4.5 where maximum COD and TSS reduction was achieved. In order to enhance the efficiency of pretreatment process, coagulated tannery waste effluent (CTWE) was further subjected to hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) and ultrasonication (US). In case of HC, effect of process parameters such as inlet pressure and dilution on the treatment of CTWE was initially investigated. Lower operating pressure (5 bar) was more favorable for the treatment of CTWE using HC in order to enhance the biodegradability index (BI) from 0.14 to 0.57 in 120 min. The CTWE samples when subjected to 50% dilution, HC pretreatment exhibited higher percentage and quantum reduction in TOC and COD. On the other hand, pretreatment of TWE using coagulation followed by US demonstrated that BI of effluent was enhanced from 0.10 to 0.41 in 150 min. Energy efficiency evaluation for all processes at their optimized conditions was done based on the actual amount of COD reduced per unit energy delivered to the system. Coagulation followed by HC for the pretreatment of TWE was found to be six times more energy efficient as compared to coagulation followed by US. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pesticide removal from waste spray-tank water by organoclay adsorption after field application: an approach for a formulation of cyprodinil containing antifoaming/defoaming agents.

PubMed

Suciu, Nicoleta A; Ferrari, Tommaso; Ferrari, Federico; Trevisan, Marco; Capri, Ettore

2012-05-01

Many reports on purification of water containing pesticides are based on studies using unformulated active ingredients. However, most commercial formulations contain additives/adjuvants or are manufactured using microencapsulation which may influence the purification process. Therefore, the main objective of this work was to develop and test a pilot scheme for decontaminating water containing pesticides formulated with antifoaming/defoaming agents. The Freundlich adsorption coefficients of formulation of cyprodinil, a new-generation fungicide, onto the organoclay Cloisite 20A have been determined in the laboratory in order to predict the efficiency of this organoclay in removing the fungicide from waste spray-tank water. Subsequently, the adsorption tests were repeated in the pilot system in order to test the practical operation of the purification scheme. The laboratory adsorption tests successfully predicted the efficiency of the pilot purification system, which removed more than 96% cyprodinil over a few hours. The passing of the organoclay-cyprodinil suspension through a layer of biomass gave 100% recovery of the organoclay at the surface of the biomass after 1 week. The organoclay was composted after the treatment to try to break down the fungicide so as to allow safe disposal of the waste, but cyprodinil was not significantly dissipated after 90 days. The purification scheme proved to be efficient for decontaminating water containing cyprodinil formulated with antifoaming/defoaming agents, but additional treatments for the adsorbed residues still appear to be necessary even for a moderately persistent pesticide such as cyprodinil. Furthermore, a significant conclusion of this study concerns the high influence of pesticide formulations on the process of purification of water containing these compounds, which should be taken into account when developing innovative decontamination schemes, especially for practical applications.

Liquid fuels from food waste: An alternative process to co-digestion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sim, Yoke-Leng; Ch'ng, Boon-Juok; Mok, Yau-Cheng; Goh, Sok-Yee; Hilaire, Dickens Saint; Pinnock, Travis; Adams, Shemlyn; Cassis, Islande; Ibrahim, Zainab; Johnson, Camille; Johnson, Chantel; Khatim, Fatima; McCormack, Andrece; Okotiuero, Mary; Owens, Charity; Place, Meoak; Remy, Cristine; Strothers, Joel; Waithe, Shannon; Blaszczak-Boxe, Christopher; Pratt, Lawrence M.

2017-04-01

Waste from uneaten, spoiled, or otherwise unusable food is an untapped source of material for biofuels. A process is described to recover the oil from mixed food waste, together with a solid residue. This process includes grinding the food waste to an aqueous slurry, skimming off the oil, a combined steam treatment of the remaining solids concurrent with extrusion through a porous cylinder to release the remaining oil, a second oil skimming step, and centrifuging the solids to obtain a moist solid cake for fermentation. The water, together with any resulting oil from the centrifuging step, is recycled back to the grinding step, and the cycle is repeated. The efficiency of oil extraction increases with the oil content of the waste, and greater than 90% of the oil was collected from waste containing at least 3% oil based on the wet mass. Fermentation was performed on the solid cake to obtain ethanol, and the dried solid fermentation residue was a nearly odorless material with potential uses of biochar, gasification, or compost production. This technology has the potential to enable large producers of food waste to comply with new laws which require this material to be diverted from landfills.

Iron Phosphate Glass-Containing Hanford Waste Simulant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sevigny, Gary J.; Kimura, Marcia L.; Fischer, Christopher M.

2012-01-18

Resolution of the nation's high-level tank waste legacy requires the design, construction, and operation of large and technically complex one-of-a-kind processing waste treatment and vitrification facilities. While the ultimate limits for waste loading and melter efficiency have yet to be defined or realized, significant reductions in glass volumes for disposal and mission life may be possible with advancements in melter technologies and/or glass formulations. This test report describes the experimental results from a small-scale test using the research-scale melter (RSM) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to demonstrate the viability of iron-phosphate-based glass with a selected waste composition that ismore » high in sulfate (4.37 wt% SO3). The primary objective of the test was to develop data to support a cost-benefit analysis related to the implementation of phosphate-based glasses for Hanford low-activity waste (LAW) and/or other high-level waste streams within the U.S. Department of Energy complex. The testing was performed by PNNL and supported by Idaho National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Mo-Sci Corporation.« less

Solid waste management in Kolkata, India: practices and challenges.

PubMed

Hazra, Tumpa; Goel, Sudha

2009-01-01

This paper presents an overview of current solid waste management (SWM) practices in Kolkata, India and suggests solutions to some of the major problems. More than 2920ton/d of solid waste are generated in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area and the budget allocation for 2007-2008 was Rs. 1590 million (US$40 million), which amounts to Rs. 265/cap-y (US$6.7/cap-d) on SWM. This expenditure is insufficient to provide adequate SWM services. Major deficiencies were found in all elements of SWM. Despite 70% of the SWM budget being allocated for collection, collection efficiency is around 60-70% for the registered residents and less than 20% for unregistered residents (slum dwellers). The collection process is deficient in terms of manpower and vehicle availability. Bin capacity provided is adequate but locations were found to be inappropriate, thus contributing to the inefficiency of the system. At this time, no treatment is provided to the waste and waste is dumped on open land at Dhapa after collection. Lack of suitable facilities (equipment and infrastructure) and underestimates of waste generation rates, inadequate management and technical skills, improper bin collection, and route planning are responsible for poor collection and transportation of municipal solid wastes.

Hazardous Waste Water Remediation by Ecoresin-Dry Cow Dung Powder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagla, Hemlata; Barot, Nisha

2013-04-01

Water, the matter, matrix, medium and the mother of our life, is indeed one of the drivers of Nature. Through water cycle only the intra and inter equilibrium is maintained constantly between entire 'green' and 'blue'. Unfortunately, with each successive epoch of industrialization and urbanization, human societies have produced non-biodegradable waste hulk with far beyond handling capacities of mankind. At this juncture the very need is to appreciate and move towards the cost as well as time effective scientific alternatives for the removal of aqueous heavy metal pollutants. Green chemistry advocates the utilization of naturally available bio-resins which are environmentally benign alternative to current synthetic materials and technologies employed for waste water treatment. This explicit investigation aims to explore Dry Cow dung powder, DCP, a natural biosorbent as a green and clean alternative for the aqueous waste water treatment. It is naturally available bio-organic, complex, polymorphic humified fecal matter of cow and is enriched with minerals, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, bile pigments, aliphatic - aromatic species such as 'Humic acid'(HA). The HA has been successfully extracted by authors from DCP and this piece of work has been published in the International Journal [1]. We have developed simple, efficient and eco-friendly method for the removal of aqueous heavy metal pollutant such as Cr(VI) [2], Cd(II), Cr(III) [3] and Hg(II) as well radiotoxic 90Sr(II) [4], employing DCP. DCP is employed without any pre or post treatment. Being freely and easily available DCP has an edge over processed natural adsorbent considering their cost, time and energy efficiency. In nutshell we have to remember that prevention is better than the cure. If we fail to meet this, the situation will surely augment which will drain our water, our life, to slaughters knife..! Reference: 1. H.K.Bagla, N.S.Barot, Soil Amendement by Green Supplement: Dry Cowdung powder, EGUGA - 11, 515B, (2009). 2. H.K.Bagla, N.S.Barot, Adsorption studies of Cr(VI) by a Green resin : Dry Cow Dung Powder employing Tracer Technique, Radiochemica Acta, 100, pp. 1- 10, (2012). 3. H.K.Bagla,N.S.Barot, Eco-friendly waste water treatment by cow-dung powder (Adsorption studies of Cr(III), Cr (VI) & Cd(II) using Tracer Technique), Desalination & Water Treatment, 38(1-3), pp.104-113, (2012). 4. H.K.Bagla, N.S.Barot, Biosorption of Radiotoxic 90Sr by Green adsorbent: Dry Cow Dung Powder, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 294, pp. 81-86, (2012) .

Robust telerobotics - an integrated system for waste handling, characterization and sorting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Couture, S.A.; Hurd, R.L.; Wilhelmsen, K.C.

The Mixed Waste Management Facility (MWMF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was designed to serve as a national testbed to demonstrate integrated technologies for the treatment of low-level organic mixed waste at a pilot-plant scale. Pilot-scale demonstration serves to bridge the gap between mature, bench-scale proven technologies and full-scale treatment facilities by providing the infrastructure needed to evaluate technologies in an integrated, front-end to back-end facility. Consistent with the intent to focus on technologies that are ready for pilot scale deployment, the front-end handling and feed preparation of incoming waste material has been designed to demonstrate the application ofmore » emerging robotic and remotely operated handling systems. The selection of telerobotics for remote handling in MWMF was made based on a number of factors - personnel protection, waste generation, maturity, cost, flexibility and extendibility. Telerobotics, or shared control of a manipulator by an operator and a computer, provides the flexibility needed to vary the amount of automation or operator intervention according to task complexity. As part of the telerobotics design effort, the technical risk of deploying the technology was reduced through focused developments and demonstrations. The work involved integrating key tools (1) to make a robust telerobotic system that operates at speeds and reliability levels acceptable to waste handling operators and, (2) to demonstrate an efficient operator interface that minimizes the amount of special training and skills needed by the operator. This paper describes the design and operation of the prototype telerobotic waste handling and sorting system that was developed for MWMF.« less

A novel "wastes-treat-wastes" technology: role and potential of spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst assisted ozonation of petrochemical wastewater.

PubMed

Chen, Chunmao; Yu, Ji; Yoza, Brandon A; Li, Qing X; Wang, Gang

2015-04-01

Catalytic ozonation is a promising wastewater treatment technology. However, the high cost of the catalyst hinders its application. A novel "wastes-treat-wastes" technology was developed to reuse spent fluid catalytic cracking catalysts (sFCCc) for the ozonation of petrochemical wastewater in this study. Multivalent vanadium (V(4+) and V(5+)), iron (Fe(2+) and Fe(3+)) and nickel (Ni(2+)) oxides that are distributed on the surface of sFCCc and poisoned FCC catalysts are the catalytic components for ozonation. The sFCCc assisted catalytic ozonation (sFCCc-O) of nitrobenzene indicated that the sFCCc significantly promoted hydroxyl radical mediated oxidation. The degradation rate constant of nitrobenzene in sFCCc-O (0.0794 min(-1) at 298 K) was approximately doubled in comparison with that in single ozonation (0.0362 min(-1) at 298 K). The sFCCc-O of petrochemical wastewater increased chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency by three-fold relative to single ozonation. The number of oxygen-containing (Ox) polar contaminants in the effluent (253) from sFCCc-O treatment decreased to about 70% of the initial wastewater (353). The increased oxygen/carbon atomic ratio and decreased number of Ox polar contaminants indicated a high degree of degradation. The present study showed the role and potential of sFCCc for catalytic ozonation of petrochemical wastewater, particularly in an advantage of the cost-effectiveness through "wastes-treat-wastes". Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Greenhouse gas emissions from different municipal solid waste management scenarios in China: Based on carbon and energy flow analysis.

PubMed

Liu, Yili; Sun, Weixin; Liu, Jianguo

2017-10-01

Waste management is a major source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and many opportunities exist to reduce these emissions. To identify the GHG emissions from waste management in China, the characteristics of MSW and the current and future treatment management strategies, five typical management scenarios were modeled by EaseTech software following the principles of life cycle inventory and analyzed based on the carbon and energy flows. Due to the high organic fraction (50-70%) and moisture content (>50%) of Chinese municipal solid waste (MSW), the net GHG emissions in waste management had a significant difference from the developed countries. It was found that the poor landfill gas (LFG) collection efficiency and low carbon storage resulted landfilling with flaring and landfilling with biogas recovery scenarios were the largest GHG emissions (192 and 117 kgCO 2 -Eq/t, respectively). In contrast, incineration had the best energy recovery rate (19%), and, by grid emissions substitution, led to a substantial decrease in net GHG emissions (-124 kgCO 2 -Eq/t). Due to the high energy consumption in operation, the unavoidable leakage of CH 4 and N 2 O in treatment, and the further release of CH 4 in disposing of the digested residue or composted product, the scenarios with biological treatment of the organic fractions after sorting, such as composting or anaerobic digestion (AD), did not lead to the outstanding GHG reductions (emissions of 32 and -36 kgCO 2 -Eq/t, respectively) as expected. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Health Care Waste Treatment Facilities in Iran Hospitals; a Provider Perspective

PubMed Central

RASHIDIAN, Arash; ALINIA, Cyrus; MAJDZADEH, Reza

2015-01-01

Background: Our aim was to make right and informative decision about choosing the most cost-effectiveness heterogeneous infectious waste treatment methods and devices. Methods: In this descriptive study, decision tree analysis, with 10-yr time horizon in bottom-up approach was used to estimate the costs and effectiveness criteria of the employed devices at provider perspective in Iranian hospitals. We used the one-way and scenario sensitivity analysis to measure the effects of variables with uncertainty. The resources of data were national Environmental and Occupational Health Center Survey (EOHCS) in 2012, field observation and completing questionnaire by relevant authorities in mentioned centers. Results: Devices called Saray 2, Autoclave based, and Newster 10, Hydroclave based, with 92032.4 (±12005) and 6786322.9 (±826453) Dollars had the lowest and highest costs respectively in studied time period and given the 5–10% discount rate. Depending on effectiveness factor type, Newster 10 with Ecodas products and Saray products respectively had the highest and lowest effectiveness. In most considered scenarios, Caspian-Alborz device was the most cost-effectiveness alternative, so for the treatment of each adjusted unit of volume and weight of infectious waste in a 10 year period and in different conditions, between 39.4 (±5.1) to 915 (±111.4) dollars must be spent. Conclusion: The findings indicate the inefficiency and waste of resources, so in order to efficient resource allocation and to encourage further cost containment in infectious waste management we introduce policy recommendation that be taken in three levels. PMID:25905078

Effects of temperature and HRT on performance of a novel insulated anaerobic filter (IAF) system incorporated with the waste heat input for building wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Bouted, Chalearn; Ratanatamskul, Chavalit

2018-01-15

Effects of temperature and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the performance of the novel insulated anaerobic filter system (IAF) incorporated with the waste heat input in treating building wastewater were investigated. In this study, an electric heater was used to simulate the waste heat input from air conditioner to the IAF system. The wastewater was collected from an office building in Phitsanulok province, Thailand. The HRTs of IAF system were varied to 9, 18 and 27 h, whereas the water temperatures were raised from 30 °C to 35 °C, 40 °C and 45 °C by electric heating to the IAF tank with the covered insulator. From the results, it was found that the IAF system with HRT 27 h and water temperature 35 °C had the highest removal efficiencies for SS, COD, TKN and TP at 67.71, 61.35, 51.20 and 20.08%, respectively per applied heat energy of 4.70 Wh. The predominant bacteria and Archaea species in the system were Uncultured Flavobacterium sp. and Uncultured Methanosaeta sp. The performance index of the IAF system was developed in this study as the highest treatment performance per lowest energy consumption. Therefore, the IAF system incorporated with waste heat input can be a challenging on-site wastewater treatment system for further usage of renewable energy from waste heat as well as environmental conservation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimal utilization of waste-to-energy in an LCA perspective.

PubMed

Fruergaard, T; Astrup, T

2011-03-01

Energy production from two types of municipal solid waste was evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA): (1) mixed high calorific waste suitable for production of solid recovered fuels (SRF) and (2) source separated organic waste. For SRF, co-combustion was compared with mass burn incineration. For organic waste, anaerobic digestion (AD) was compared with mass burn incineration. In the case of mass burn incineration, incineration with and without energy recovery was modelled. Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion was evaluated for use both as transportation fuel and for heat and power production. All relevant consequences for energy and resource consumptions, emissions to air, water and soil, upstream processes and downstream processes were included in the LCA. Energy substitutions were considered with respect to two different energy systems: a present-day Danish system based on fossil fuels and a potential future system based on 100% renewable energy. It was found that mass burn incineration of SRF with energy recovery provided savings in all impact categories, but co-combustion was better with respect to Global Warming (GW). If all heat from incineration could be utilized, however, the two alternatives were comparable for SRF. For organic waste, mass burn incineration with energy recovery was preferable over anaerobic digestion in most impact categories. Waste composition and flue gas cleaning at co-combustion plants were critical for the environmental performance of SRF treatment, while the impacts related to utilization of the digestate were significant for the outcome of organic waste treatment. The conclusions were robust in a present-day as well as in a future energy system. This indicated that mass burn incineration with efficient energy recovery is a very environmentally competitive solution overall. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elaboration d'une structure de collecte des matieres residuelles selon la Theorie Constructale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Maalouf, George

Currently, more than 80% of the waste management costs are attributed to the waste collection phase. In order to reduce these costs, one current solution resides in the implementation of waste transfer stations. In these stations, at least 3 collection vehicles transfer their load into a larger hauling truck. This cost reduction is based on the principle of economy of scale applied to the transportation sector. This solution improves the efficiency of the system; nevertheless, it does not optimize it. Recent studies show that the compactor trucks used in the collection phase generate significant economic losses mainly due to the frequent stops and the transportation to transfer stations often far from the collection area. This study suggests the restructuring of the waste collection process by dividing it into two phases: the collection phase, and the transportation to the transfer station phase. To achieve this, a deterministic theory called: "the Constructal Theory" (CT) is used. The results show that starting a certain density threshold, the application of the CT minimizes energy losses in the system. In fact, the collection is optimal if it is done using a combination of low capacity vehicle to collect door to door and transfer their charge into high-capacity trucks. These trucks will then transport their load to the transfer station. To minimize the costs of labor, this study proposes the use of Cybernetic Transport System (CTS) as an automated collection vehicle to collect small amounts of waste. Finally, the optimization method proposed is part of a decentralized approach to the collection and treatment of waste. This allows the implementation of multi-process waste treatment facilities on a territory scale. Keywords: Waste collection, Constructal Theory, Cybernetic Transportation Systems.

Improving the sludge disintegration efficiency of sonication by combining with alkalization and thermal pre-treatment methods.

PubMed

Şahinkaya, S; Sevimli, M F; Aygün, A

2012-01-01

One of the most serious problems encountered in biological wastewater treatment processes is the production of waste activated sludge (WAS). Sonication, which is an energy-intensive process, is the most powerful sludge pre-treatment method. Due to lack of information about the combined pre-treatment methods of sonication, the combined pre-treatment methods were investigated and it was aimed to improve the disintegration efficiency of sonication by combining sonication with alkalization and thermal pre-treatment methods in this study. The process performances were evaluated based on the quantities of increases in soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD), protein and carbohydrate. The releases of soluble COD, carbohydrate and protein by the combined methods were higher than those by sonication, alkalization and thermal pre-treatment alone. Degrees of sludge disintegration in various options of sonication were in the following descending order: sono-alkalization > sono-thermal pre-treatment > sonication. Therefore, it was determined that combining sonication with alkalization significantly improved the sludge disintegration and decreased the required energy to reach the same yield by sonication. In addition, effects on sludge settleability and dewaterability and kinetic mathematical modelling of pre-treatment performances of these methods were investigated. It was proven that the proposed model accurately predicted the efficiencies of ultrasonic pre-treatment methods.

Land Application of Wastes: An Educational Program. Phosphorus Considerations - Module 19, Objectives, and Script.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarkson, W. W.; And Others

The treatment of wastewater phosphorus via land application includes both chemical and biological mechanisms. Chemically, phosphorus reacts with iron, aluminum, and calcium compounds in the soil providing efficient removal over a wide range of pH values. Phosphorus is also absorbed by rooted plants which, upon harvest, constitute a further removal…

Waste-efficient materials procurement for construction projects: A structural equation modelling of critical success factors.

PubMed

Ajayi, Saheed O; Oyedele, Lukumon O

2018-05-01

Albeit the understanding that construction waste is caused by activities ranging from all stages of project delivery process, research efforts have been concentrated on design and construction stages, while the possibility of reducing waste through materials procurement process is widely neglected. This study aims at exploring and confirming strategies for achieving waste-efficient materials procurement in construction activities. The study employs sequential exploratory mixed method approach as its methodological framework, using focus group discussion, statistical analysis and structural equation modelling. The study suggests that for materials procurement to enhance waste minimisation in construction projects, the procurement process would be characterised by four features. These include suppliers' commitment to low waste measures, low waste purchase management, effective materials delivery management and waste-efficient Bill of Quantity, all of which have significant impacts on waste minimisation. This implies that commitment of materials suppliers to such measures as take back scheme and flexibility in supplying small materials quantity, among others, are expected of materials procurement. While low waste purchase management stipulates the need for such measures as reduced packaging and consideration of pre-assembled/pre-cut materials, efficient delivery management entails effective delivery and storage system as well as adequate protection of materials during the delivery process, among others. Waste-efficient specification and bill of quantity, on the other hand, requires accurate materials take-off and ordering of materials based on accurately prepared design documents and bill of quantity. Findings of this study could assist in understanding a set of measures that should be taken during materials procurement process, thereby corroborating waste management practices at other stages of project delivery process. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Eco-efficient waste glass recycling: Integrated waste management and green product development through LCA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blengini, Gian Andrea, E-mail: blengini@polito.it; CNR-IGAG, Institute of Environmental Geology and Geo-Engineering, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin; Busto, Mirko, E-mail: mirko.busto@polito.it

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A new eco-efficient recycling route for post-consumer waste glass was implemented. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Integrated waste management and industrial production are crucial to green products. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Most of the waste glass rejects are sent back to the glass industry. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Recovered co-products give more environmental gains than does avoided landfill. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Energy intensive recycling must be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled. - Abstract: As part of the EU Life + NOVEDI project, a new eco-efficient recycling route has been implemented to maximise resources and energy recovery from post-consumer waste glass, through integrated waste management and industrial production.more » Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to identify engineering solutions to sustainability during the development of green building products. The new process and the related LCA are framed within a meaningful case of industrial symbiosis, where multiple waste streams are utilised in a multi-output industrial process. The input is a mix of rejected waste glass from conventional container glass recycling and waste special glass such as monitor glass, bulbs and glass fibres. The green building product is a recycled foam glass (RFG) to be used in high efficiency thermally insulating and lightweight concrete. The environmental gains have been contrasted against induced impacts and improvements have been proposed. Recovered co-products, such as glass fragments/powders, plastics and metals, correspond to environmental gains that are higher than those related to landfill avoidance, whereas the latter is cancelled due to increased transportation distances. In accordance to an eco-efficiency principle, it has been highlighted that recourse to highly energy intensive recycling should be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled.« less

Chemical Waste and Allied Products.

PubMed

Hung, Yung-Tse; Aziz, Hamidi Abdul; Ramli, Siti Fatihah; Yeh, Ruth Yu-Li; Liu, Lian-Huey; Huhnke, Christopher Robert

2016-10-01

This review of literature published in 2015 focuses on waste related to chemical and allied products. The topics cover the waste management, physicochemical treatment, aerobic granular, aerobic waste treatment, anaerobic granular, anaerobic waste treatment, chemical waste, chemical wastewater, fertilizer waste, fertilizer wastewater, pesticide wastewater, pharmaceutical wastewater, ozonation. cosmetics waste, groundwater remediation, nutrient removal, nitrification denitrification, membrane biological reactor, and pesticide waste.

Adsorption performance of mixed dyes on alkalization loofah fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yongli; Liu, Jinyan; Li, Xingxing

2018-02-01

When the polyporous structures of loofah fiber is adequately exposed after alkali treatment,lignin, hemicellulose and pectin are removed. Specific surface area is increased to maximum, which means the efficiency of absorptivity is highest. In this paper, by using alkalization loofah (AL) as adsorbent, the effect of loofah fiber on waste water treatment is studied under the efficiency of loofah fiber which contain acridine yellow, methylene blue, mixed solution of the two dyes. The optimum treatment conditions of loofah fiber were studied from five aspects which include dosage, temperature, mixing time, pH and concentration. The results showed that the optimal conditions are 30°C, pH 8.0, 20mg dosage of loofah fiber in 40ml solution and mixing time 25min. The optimal treatment conditions of mixed dyes were studied from the aspects of mixing time, the dosage of AL and the molar ratio of the two components in the mixed dyes.

An anaerobic-aerobic sequential batch process with simultaneous methanogenesis and short-cut denitrification for the treatment of marine biofoulings.

PubMed

Akizuki, S; Toda, T

2018-04-01

Although combination of denitritation and methanogenesis for wastewater treatment has been widely investigated, an application of this technology to solid waste treatment has been rarely studied. This study investigated an anaerobic-aerobic batch system with simultaneous denitritation-methanogenesis as an effective treatment for marine biofoulings, which is a major source of intermittently discharged organic solid wastes. Preliminary NO 2 - -exposed sludge was inoculated to achieve stable methanogenesis process without NO 2 - inhibition. Both high NH 4 + -N removal of 99.5% and high NO 2 - -N accumulation of 96.4% were achieved on average during the nitritation step. Sufficient CH 4 recovery of 101 L-CH 4 kg-COD -1 was achieved, indicating that the use of NO 2 - -exposed sludge is effective to avoid NO 2 - inhibition on methanogenesis. Methanogenesis was the main COD utilization pathway when the substrate solubilization occurred actively, while denitritation was the main when solubilization was limited because of substrate shortage. The results showed a high COD removal efficiency of 96.0% and a relatively low nitrogen removal efficiency of 64.4%. Fitting equations were developed to optimize the effluent exchange ratio. The estimated results showed that the increase of effluent exchange ratio during the active solubilization period increased the nitrogen removal efficiency but decreased CH 4 content in biogas. An appropriate effluent exchange ratio with high anaerobic effluent quality below approximately 120 mg-N L -1 as well as sufficient CH 4 gas quality which can be used as fuel for gas engine generator was achieved by daily effluent exchange of 80% during the first week and 5% during the subsequent 8 days. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lyophilization for Water Recovery From Solid Waste

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flynn, Michael; Litwiller, Eric; Reinhard, Martin

2003-01-01

This abstract describes the development of a solid waste treatment system designed for a near term human exploration mission. The technology being developed is an energy- efficient lyophilization technique that recovers water from spacecraft solid waste. In the lyophilization process water in an aqueous waste is frozen and then sublimed, resulting in the separation of the waste into a dried solid material and liquid water. This technology is ideally suited to applications where water recovery rates approaching 100% are desirable but production of CO, is not. Water contained within solid wastes accounts for approximately 3% of the total water balance. If 100% closure of the water loop is desired the water contained within this waste would need to be recovered. To facilitate operation in microgravity thermoelectric heat pumps have be used in place of traditional fluid cycle heat pumps. A mathematical model of a thermoelectric lyophilizer has been developed and used to generate energy use and processing rate parameters. The results of laboratory investigations and discussions with ALS program management have been used to iteratively arrive at a prototype design. This design address operational limitations which were identified in the laboratory studies and handling and health concerns raised by ALS program management. The current prototype design is capable of integration into the ISS Waste Collection System.

Diesel NO(x) aftertreatment by combined process using temperature swing adsorption, NO(x) reduction by nonthermal plasma, and NO(x) recirculation: improvement of the recirculation process.

PubMed

Yoshida, Keiichiro; Kuwahara, Takuya; Kuroki, Tomoyuki; Okubo, Masaaki

2012-09-15

NO(x) emitted from a stationary diesel engine generator was treated with a hybrid system comprising NO(x) reduction by nonthermal plasma (NTP) and temperature swing adsorption (TSA) driven by engine waste heat. TSA produces a low-volume gas mixture of N(2) and highly concentrated NO(x), which is effectively reduced by NTP treatment. Improved treatment performance and efficiency are achieved by re-injecting the NTP-treated gas mixture into the engine intake. The system comprises two switchable adsorption chambers; the operation of this system was simulated by using a one-chamber system. The maximum energy efficiency for NO(x) treatment is 200 g(NO(2))/kWh. The respective contributions of NTP and injection of N(2) and NO(x) to the performance were theoretically analyzed. The analysis predicts that high energy efficiency and high NO(x)-removal efficiency can be simultaneously achieved with this system but miniaturization of the adsorption chambers will be a challenge. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 265.1084 - Waste determination procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... to determine the organic biodegradation efficiency (Rbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i) The... Where: Rbio = Organic biodegradation efficiency, percent. Fbio = Fraction of organic biodegraded as... to determine the actual organic mass biodegradation rate (MRbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i...

SITE GENERATED RADIOLOGICAL WASTE HANDLING SYSTEM DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

S. C. Khamankar

2000-06-20

The Site Generated Radiological Waste Handling System handles radioactive waste products that are generated at the geologic repository operations area. The waste is collected, treated if required, packaged for shipment, and shipped to a disposal site. Waste streams include low-level waste (LLW) in solid and liquid forms, as-well-as mixed waste that contains hazardous and radioactive constituents. Liquid LLW is segregated into two streams, non-recyclable and recyclable. The non-recyclable stream may contain detergents or other non-hazardous cleaning agents and is packaged for shipment. The recyclable stream is treated to recycle a large portion of the water while the remaining concentrated wastemore » is packaged for shipment; this greatly reduces the volume of waste requiring disposal. There will be no liquid LLW discharge. Solid LLW consists of wet solids such as ion exchange resins and filter cartridges, as-well-as dry active waste such as tools, protective clothing, and poly bags. Solids will be sorted, volume reduced, and packaged for shipment. The generation of mixed waste at the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) is not planned; however, if it does come into existence, it will be collected and packaged for disposal at its point of occurrence, temporarily staged, then shipped to government-approved off-site facilities for disposal. The Site Generated Radiological Waste Handling System has equipment located in both the Waste Treatment Building (WTB) and in the Waste Handling Building (WHB). All types of liquid and solid LLW are processed in the WTB, while wet solid waste from the Pool Water Treatment and Cooling System is packaged where received in the WHB. There is no installed hardware for mixed waste. The Site Generated Radiological Waste Handling System receives waste from locations where water is used for decontamination functions. In most cases the water is piped back to the WTB for processing. The WTB and WHB provide staging areas for storing and shipping LLW packages as well as any mixed waste packages. The buildings house the system and provide shielding and support for the components. The system is ventilated by and connects to the ventilation systems in the buildings to prevent buildup and confine airborne radioactivity via the high efficiency particulate air filters. The Monitored Geologic Repository Operations Monitoring and Control System will provide monitoring and supervisory control facilities for the system.« less

Production of sludge-incorporated paver blocks for efficient waste management.

PubMed

Velumani, P; Senthilkumar, S

2018-06-01

Waste management plays a vital role in the reuse of industry wastes in to useful conversions. The treatment of effluents from the combined textile effluent treatment plant and hypo sludge from the paper industry results in sludge generation, which poses a huge challenge for its disposal. Therefore, an eco-friendly attempt is made to utilize them in the production of paver blocks. Paver blocks are construction units that have vast applications in street roads, walking paths, fuel stations, and so on. In this study, an innovative attempt has been made to manufacture paver blocks incorporating textile effluent treatment plant sludge and hypo sludge, to utilize them in suitable proportions. The effect of adding silica fume and polypropylene fibre in paver blocks has also been studied. Paver blocks containing sludge with different proportions were cast based on the recommendations in Indian Standards (IS) 15658, and the test results were compared with the nominal M20 grade and M30 grade paver blocks. The outcomes of the paver block combinations were studied and found to be an effective utilization of sludge with substantial cement replacement of up to 35%, resulting in effective waste management for specific industries. Presently, paver blocks are construction units that have vast application in street roads and other constructions like walking paths, fuel stations, and so on. Also, paver blocks possess easy maintenance during breakages. Based on this application, an innovative attempt has been made to manufacture paver blocks incorporating textile effluent treatment plant sludge and hypo sludge to utilize them in suitable proportions.

Is bigger better? An empirical analysis of waste management in New South Wales

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carvalho, Pedro, E-mail: pedrotcc@gmail.com; CESUR – Center for Urban and Regional Systems, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon; Marques, Rui Cunha, E-mail: rui.marques@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

Highlights: • We search for the most efficient cost structure for NSW household waste services. • We found that larger services are no longer efficient. • We found an optimal size for the range 12,000–20,000 inhabitants. • We found significant economies of output density for household waste collection. • We found economies of scope in joint provision of unsorted and recycling services. - Abstract: Across the world, rising demand for municipal solid waste services has seen an ongoing increase in the costs of providing these services. Moreover, municipal waste services have typically been provided through natural or legal monopolies, wheremore » few incentives exist to reduce costs. It is thus vital to examine empirically the cost structure of these services in order to develop effective public policies which can make these services more cost efficient. Accordingly, this paper considers economies of size and economies of output density in the municipal waste collection sector in the New South Wales (NSW) local government system in an effort to identify the optimal size of utilities from the perspective of cost efficiency. Our results show that – as presently constituted – NSW municipal waste services are not efficient in terms of costs, thereby demonstrating that ‘bigger is not better.’ The optimal size of waste utilities is estimated to fall in the range 12,000–20,000 inhabitants. However, significant economies of output density for unsorted (residual) municipal waste collection and recycling waste collection were found, which means it is advantageous to increase the amount of waste collected, but maintaining constant the number of customers and the intervention area.« less

Evaluation of copper resistant bacteria from vineyard soils and mining waste for copper biosorption

PubMed Central

Andreazza, R.; Pieniz, S.; Okeke, B.C.; Camargo, F.A.O

2011-01-01

Vineyard soils are frequently polluted with high concentrations of copper due application of copper sulfate in order to control fungal diseases. Bioremediation is an efficient process for the treatment of contaminated sites. Efficient copper sorption bacteria can be used for bioremoval of copper from contaminated sites. In this study, a total of 106 copper resistant bacteria were examined for resistance to copper toxicity and biosorption of copper. Eighty isolates (45 from vineyard Mollisol, 35 from Inceptisol) were obtained from EMBRAPA (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) experimental station, Bento Gonçalves, RS, Brazil (29°09′53.92″S and 51°31′39.40″W) and 26 were obtained from copper mining waste from Caçapava do Sul, RS, Brazil (30°29′43.48″S and 53′32′37.87W). Based on resistance to copper toxicity and biosorption, 15 isolates were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Maximal copper resistance and biosorption at high copper concentration were observed with isolate N2 which removed 80 mg L−1 in 24 h. Contrarily isolate N11 (Bacillus pumilus) displayed the highest specific copper biosorption (121.82 mg/L/OD unit in 24 h). GenBank MEGABLAST analysis revealed that isolate N2 is 99% similar to Staphylococcus pasteuri. Results indicate that several of our isolates have potential use for bioremediation treatment of vineyards soils and mining waste contaminated with high copper concentration. PMID:24031606

Potential of activated carbon from waste rubber tire for the adsorption of phenolics: effect of pre-treatment conditions.

PubMed

Gupta, Vinod Kumar; Nayak, Arunima; Agarwal, Shilpi; Tyagi, Inderjeet

2014-03-01

Rubber tire activated carbon modification (RTACMC) and rubber tire activated carbon (RTAC) were prepared from waste rubber tire by microwave assisted chemical treatment and physical heating respectively. A greater improvement in porosity and total pore volume was achieved in RTACMC as compared to that of RTAC. But both have a predominantly mesoporous structure. Under identical operating conditions, an irradiation time of 10 min, chemical impregnation ratio of 1.50 and a microwave power of 600 W resulted in maximizing the efficiency of RTACMC for p-cresol (250 mg/g) at a contact time of 90 min while RTAC showed a 71.43 mg/g adsorption capacity at 150 min. Phenol, due to its higher solubility was adsorbed to a lesser extent by both adsorbents. Physical nature of interactions, pore diffusion mechanism and exothermicity of the adsorption process was operative in both adsorbents. The outcomes support the feasibility of preparing high quality activated carbon from waste rubber tire by microwave assisted chemical activation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparative metagenomics reveals different hydrocarbon degradative abilities from enriched oil-drilling waste.

PubMed

Napp, Amanda P; Pereira, José Evandro S; Oliveira, Jorge S; Silva-Portela, Rita C B; Agnez-Lima, Lucymara F; Peralba, Maria C R; Bento, Fátima M; Passaglia, Luciane M P; Thompson, Claudia E; Vainstein, Marilene H

2018-06-11

The oil drilling process generates large volumes of waste with inadequate treatments. Here, oil drilling waste (ODW) microbial communities demonstrate different hydrocarbon degradative abilities when exposed to distinct nutrient enrichments as revealed by comparative metagenomics. The ODW was enriched in Luria Broth (LBE) and Potato Dextrose (PDE) media to examine the structure and functional variations of microbial consortia. Two metagenomes were sequenced on Ion Torrent platform and analyzed using MG-RAST. The STAMP software was used to analyze statistically significant differences amongst different attributes of metagenomes. The microbial diversity presented in the different enrichments was distinct and heterogeneous. The metabolic pathways and enzymes were mainly related to the aerobic hydrocarbons degradation. Moreover, our results showed efficient biodegradation after 15 days of treatment for aliphatic hydrocarbons (C8-C33) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with a total of about 50.5% and 46.4% for LBE and 44.6% and 37.9% for PDE, respectively. The results obtained suggest the idea that the enzymatic apparatus have the potential to degrade petroleum compounds. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mutual facilitations of food waste treatment, microbial fuel cell bioelectricity generation and Chlorella vulgaris lipid production.

PubMed

Hou, Qingjie; Pei, Haiyan; Hu, Wenrong; Jiang, Liqun; Yu, Ze

2016-03-01

Food waste contains large amount of organic matter that may be troublesome for handing, storage and transportation. A microbial fuel cell (MFC) was successfully constructed with different inoculum densities of Chlorella vulgaris for promoting food waste treatment. Maximum COD removal efficiency was registered with 44% and 25 g CODL(-1)d(-1) of substrate degradation rate when inoculated with the optimal initial density (150 mg L(-1)) of C. vulgaris, which were 2.9 times and 3.1 times higher than that of the abiotic cathode. With the optimum inoculum density of C. vulgaris, the highest open circuit voltage, working voltage and power density of MFC were 260 mV, 170 mV and 19151 mW m(-3), respectively. Besides the high biodiesel quality, promoted by MFC stimulation the biomass productivity and highest total lipid content of C. vulgaris were 207 mg L(-1)d(-1) and 31%, which were roughly 2.7 times and 1.2 times higher than the control group. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cost Scaling of a Real-World Exhaust Waste Heat Recovery Thermoelectric Generator: A Deeper Dive

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hendricks, Terry J.; Yee, Shannon; LeBlanc, Saniya

2015-01-01

Cost is equally important to power density or efficiency for the adoption of waste heat recovery thermoelectric generators (TEG) in many transportation and industrial energy recovery applications. In many cases the system design that minimizes cost (e.g., the $/W value) can be very different than the design that maximizes the system's efficiency or power density, and it is important to understand the relationship between those designs to optimize TEG performance-cost compromises. Expanding on recent cost analysis work and using more detailed system modeling, an enhanced cost scaling analysis of a waste heat recovery thermoelectric generator with more detailed, coupled treatment of the heat exchangers has been performed. In this analysis, the effect of the heat lost to the environment and updated relationships between the hot-side and cold-side conductances that maximize power output are considered. This coupled thermal and thermoelectric treatment of the exhaust waste heat recovery thermoelectric generator yields modified cost scaling and design optimization equations, which are now strongly dependent on the heat leakage fraction, exhaust mass flow rate, and heat exchanger effectiveness. This work shows that heat exchanger costs most often dominate the overall TE system costs, that it is extremely difficult to escape this regime, and in order to achieve TE system costs of $1/W it is necessary to achieve heat exchanger costs of $1/(W/K). Minimum TE system costs per watt generally coincide with maximum power points, but Preferred TE Design Regimes are identified where there is little cost penalty for moving into regions of higher efficiency and slightly lower power outputs. These regimes are closely tied to previously-identified low cost design regimes. This work shows that the optimum fill factor Fopt minimizing system costs decreases as heat losses increase, and increases as exhaust mass flow rate and heat exchanger effectiveness increase. These findings have profound implications on the design and operation of various thermoelectric (TE) waste heat 3 recovery systems. This work highlights the importance of heat exchanger costs on the overall TEG system costs, quantifies the possible TEG performance-cost domain space based on heat exchanger effects, and provides a focus for future system research and development efforts.

Effect of digestion temperature and pH on treatment efficiency and evolution of volatile fatty acids during thermophilic aerobic digestion of model high strength agricultural waste.

PubMed

Ugwuanyi, J Obeta; Harvey, L M; McNeil, B

2005-04-01

Thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) of a model agricultural waste, potato peel slurry, at soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) load equivalent to approximately 8.0 gl(-1), was carried out under batch conditions at 0.5 vvm aeration rate. Digestions were carried out at temperatures of 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65 degrees C (or left unregulated) without pH control to study the effect of digestion temperatures on TAD. The effects of digestion pH on the process were studied at pH 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0 and 9.5 (and in unregulated control) all at 55 degrees C. Except for digestion at 65 degrees C, which was inoculated extraneously using culture of Bacillus strearothermophilus all reactions were carried out using the populations indigenous to the waste. During digestion at different temperatures, the removal of soluble COD increased with temperature to reach a peak at 60 degrees C before declining slightly, removal of soluble solid (SS) followed similar pattern and reached peak at 65 degrees C being the highest temperature studied, while the degradation of TSS and TS (TSS + TS) decreased with an increase in temperature. Digestion at pH 7.0 was more efficient than at other pH values. Acetate was the predominant volatile fatty acid (VFA) in all the reactions and accounted for up to 90% of the total. Digestion at 60 degrees C led to the greatest accumulation of acetate, and this coincided with the period of highest oxygen uptake, and rapid consumption of soluble carbohydrate. Iso-valerate was also produced at all pH values. Digestion at 55 degrees C and also at pH 7.0 led to rapid and efficient processes with least accumulation of VFA and should be of interest in full-scale processes whenever it is practicable to regulate the digestion pH and temperature. The result of digestion at unregulated pH indicates that gradual adaptation may be used to achieve efficient treatment at elevated pH values. This would be of interest in full-scale processes where it is not practicable to tightly regulate digestion pH, and where the waste is produced at a pH value much higher than neutral.

Optimalisation of magnesium ammonium phosphate precipitation and its applicability to the removal of ammonium.

PubMed

Demeestere, K; Smet, E; Van Langenhove, H; Galbacs, Z

2001-12-01

Among the physico-chemical abatement technologies, mainly acid scrubbers have been used to control NH3-emission. The disadvantage of this technique is that it yields waste water, highly concentrated in ammonia. In this report, the applicability of the magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) process to regenerate the liquid phase, produced by scrubbing NH3-loaded waste gases, was investigated. In the MAP process, ammonium is precipitated as magnesium ammonium phosphate, which can be used as a slow release fertilizer. The influence of a number of parameters, e.g. pH, kinetics, molar ratio NH(+)4/Mg2+/PO(3-)4 on the efficiency of the formation of MAP and on the ammonium removal efficiency was investigated. In this way, optimal conditions were determined for the precipitation reaction. Next to this, interference caused by other precipitation reactions was studied. At aqueous NH(+)4-concentrations of about 600 mg l(-1), ammonium removal efficiencies of 97% could be obtained at a molar ratio NH(+)4/Mg2+/PO(3-)4 of 1/1.5/1.5. To obtain this result, the pH was continuously adjusted to a value of 9 during the reaction. According to this study, it is obvious that the MAP-precipitation technology offers opportunities for ammonium removal from scrubbing liquids. The practical applicability of the MAP-process in waste gas treatment systems, however, should be the subject for further investigations.

Anaerobic co-digestion technology in solid wastes treatment for biomethane generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al Mamun, Muhammad Rashed; Torii, Shuichi

2017-05-01

Anaerobic co-digestion is considered to be an efficient way of disposing solid wastes which can not only reduce environmental burden, but also produce bioenergy. Co-digestion of solid wastes in the absence of bacteria inoculums with variable mixing ratios of three wastes has been experimentally tested for 35 days digestion time to determine the biogas potential. The temperature remained relatively constant at a mesophilic range of 29-36°C throughout the study. An average pH of 7.4 was recorded from all digesters. The average biogas yields obtained from the four digesters (D1, D2, D3 and D4) were 13.31, 15.67, 16.52 and 19.12 L/day, respectively. The cumulative result showed that from co-digestion of D4 43.67%, 22.02% and 15.71% more biogas was produced, respectively, than others. The maximum and average COD reduction was 57% and 31%, respectively, in co-digestion wastes. The biogas comprised average of 61% CH4, 33.5% CO2, 222 ppm H2S, and 4.7% H2O, respectively.

Pretreatment of grass waste using combined ionizing radiation-acid treatment for enhancing fermentative hydrogen production.

PubMed

Yang, Guang; Wang, Jianlong

2018-05-01

In this study, the combined ionizing radiation-acid pretreatment process was firstly applied to enhance hydrogen fermentation of grass waste. Results showed that the combined pretreatment synergistically enhanced hydrogen fermentation of grass waste. The SCOD and soluble polysaccharide contents of grass waste increased by 1.6 and 2.91 times after the combined pretreatment, respectively. SEM observation and crystallinity test showed the combined pretreatment effectively disrupted the grass structure. Owing to the more favorable substrate conditions, the hydrogen yield achieved 68 mL/g-dry grass added after the combined pretreatment, which was 161.5%, 112.5% and 28.3% higher than those from raw, ionizing radiation pretreated and acid pretreated grass waste, respectively. The VS removal also increased from 13.9% to 25.6% by the combined pretreatment. Microbial community analysis showed that the abundance of dominant hydrogen producing genus Clostridium sensu stricto 1 increased from 37.9% to 69.4% after the combined pretreatment, which contributed to more efficient hydrogen fermentation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cost and efficiency of disaster waste disposal: A case study of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

PubMed

Sasao, Toshiaki

2016-12-01

This paper analyzes the cost and efficiency of waste disposal associated with the Great East Japan Earthquake. The following two analyses were performed: (1) a popular parametric approach, which is an ordinary least squares (OLS) method to estimate the factors that affect the disposal costs; (2) a non-parametric approach, which is a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) to analyze the efficiency of each municipality and clarify the best performance of the disaster waste management. Our results indicate that a higher recycling rate of disaster waste and a larger amount of tsunami sediments decrease the average disposal costs. Our results also indicate that area-wide management increases the average cost. In addition, the efficiency scores were observed to vary widely by municipality, and more temporary incinerators and secondary waste stocks improve the efficiency scores. However, it is likely that the radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station influenced the results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pilot-scale study of efficient vermicomposting of agro-industrial wastes.

PubMed

Kumar, Vaidyanathan Vinoth; Shanmugaprakash, M; Aravind, J; Namasivayam, S Karthick Raja

2012-01-01

Pilot-scale vermicomposting was explored using Eudrilus eugeniae for 90 days with 45 days preliminary decomposition using different agro-industrial wastes as substrates. Spent wash and pressmud were mixed together (referred to as PS) and then combined with cow dung (CD) at five different ratios of PS:CD, namely, 25:75 (T1), 50:50 (T2), 75:25 (T3), 85:15 (T4) and 100 (T5), with two replicates for each treatment. All vermibeds expressed a significant decrease in pH (11.4-14.8%), organic carbon (4.2-30.5%) and an increase in total nitrogen (6-29%), AP (5-29%), exchangeable potash (6-21%) and turnover rate (52-66%). Maximum mortality (18.10%) of worms was recorded in T5 treatment. A high manurial value and a matured product was achieved in T3 treatment. The data reveal that pressmud mixed with spent wash can be decomposed through vermicomposting and can help to enhance the quality of vermicompost.

Semi-continuous anaerobic digestion of extruded OFMSW: Process performance and energetics evaluation.

PubMed

Mu, Lan; Zhang, Lei; Zhu, Kongyun; Ma, Jiao; Li, Aimin

2018-01-01

Recently, extrusion press treatment shows some promising advantages for effectively separating of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) from the mixed MSW, which is critical for their following high-efficiency treatment. In this study, an extruded OFMSW obtained from a demonstrated MSW treatment plant was characterized, and submitted to a series of semi-continuous anaerobic experiments to examine its biodegradability and process stability. The results indicated that the extruded OFMSW was a desirable substrate with a high biochemical methane potential (BMP), balanced nutrients and reliable stability. For increasing organic loading rates (OLRs), feeding higher volatile solid (VS) contents in feedstock was much better than shortening the hydraulic retention times (HRTs), while excessively high contents caused a low biodegradability due to the mass transfer limitation. For energetics evaluation, a high electricity output of 129.19-156.37kWh/ton raw MSW was obtained, which was further improved by co-digestion with food waste. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A historical perspective of Global Warming Potential from Municipal Solid Waste Management.

PubMed

Habib, Komal; Schmidt, Jannick H; Christensen, Per

2013-09-01

The Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) sector has developed considerably during the past century, paving the way for maximum resource (materials and energy) recovery and minimising environmental impacts such as global warming associated with it. The current study is assessing the historical development of MSWM in the municipality of Aalborg, Denmark throughout the period of 1970 to 2010, and its implications regarding Global Warming Potential (GWP(100)), using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. Historical data regarding MSW composition, and different treatment technologies such as incineration, recycling and composting has been used in order to perform the analysis. The LCA results show a continuous improvement in environmental performance of MSWM from 1970 to 2010 mainly due to the changes in treatment options, improved efficiency of various treatment technologies and increasing focus on recycling, resulting in a shift from net emission of 618 kg CO(2)-eq.tonne(-1) to net saving of 670 kg CO(2)-eq.tonne(-1) of MSWM. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic on-site black water and kitchen waste treatment using UASB-septic tanks at low temperatures.

PubMed

Luostarinen, S; Rintala, J

2006-01-01

Anaerobic on-site treatment of black water (BW) and a mixture of black water and kitchen waste (BWKW) was studied in a two-phased upflow anaerobic sludge blanket septic tank (UASBst) at 10-20 degrees C. The processes were fed either continuously or discontinuously (twice per weekday). Moreover, BWKW was post-treated for nitrogen removal in an intermittently aerated moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) at 20 degrees C. Removal of total chemical oxygen demand (COD1) was efficient at minimum 90% with all three UASBst at all temperatures. Removal of dissolved COD (CODdis) was also high at approx. 70% with continuously fed BW and discontinuously fed BWKW, while with discontinuous BW feeding it was 20%. Temperature decrease had little effect on COD removals, though the need for phase 2 increased with decreasing temperature, especially with BWKW. Post-treatment of BWKW in MBBR resulted in approx. 50% nitrogen removal, but suffered from lack of carbon for denitrification. With carbon addition, removal of ca. 83% was achieved.

Analysis of Combustion Process of Sewage Sludge in Reference to Coals and Biomass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Środa, Katarzyna; Kijo-Kleczkowska, Agnieszka

2016-06-01

Production of sewage sludge is an inseparable part of the treatment process. The chemical and sanitary composition of sewage sludge flowing into the treatment plant is a very important factor determining the further use of the final product obtained in these plants. The sewage sludge is characterized by heterogeneity and multi-components properties, because they have characteristics of the classical and fertilizer wastes and energetic fuels. The thermal utilization of sewage sludge is necessary due to the unfavorable sanitary characteristics and the addition of the industrial sewage. This method ensures use of sewage sludge energy and return of expenditure incurred for the treatment of these wastes and their disposal. Sewage sludge should be analyzed in relation to conventional fuels (coals and biomass). They must comply with the applicable requirements, for example by an appropriate degree of dehydration, which guarantee the stable and efficient combustion. This paper takes the issue of the combustion process of the different sewage sludge and their comparison of the coal and biomass fuels.

Air purification from TCE and PCE contamination in a hybrid bioreactors and biofilter integrated system.

PubMed

Tabernacka, Agnieszka; Zborowska, Ewa; Lebkowska, Maria; Borawski, Maciej

2014-01-15

A two-stage waste air treatment system, consisting of hybrid bioreactors (modified bioscrubbers) and a biofilter, was used to treat waste air containing chlorinated ethenes - trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). The bioreactor was operated with loadings in the range 0.46-5.50gm(-3)h(-1) for TCE and 2.16-9.02gm(-3)h(-1) for PCE. The biofilter loadings were in the range 0.1-0.97gm(-3)h(-1) for TCE and 0.2-2.12gm(-3)h(-1) for PCE. Under low pollutant loadings, the efficiency of TCE elimination was 23-25% in the bioreactor and 54-70% in the biofilter. The efficiency of PCE elimination was 44-60% in the bioreactor and 50-75% in the biofilter. The best results for the bioreactor were observed one week after the pollutant loading was increased. However, the process did not stabilize. In the next seven days contaminant removal efficiency, enzymatic activity and biomass content were all diminished. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Corn forage biological pretreatment by Trametes versicolor in a tray bioreactor.

PubMed

Planinić, Mirela; Zelić, Bruno; Čubel, Ivan; Bucić-Kojić, Ana; Tišma, Marina

2016-08-01

Trametes versicolor is a white-rot fungus known to be efficient in lignin removal due to its complex extracellular lignocellulolytic enzymatic system. Therefore, it can be used in the treatment of lignocellulose waste from agro, food, and wood industries. In a first experiment, corn forage treatment with T. versicolor was investigated in laboratory jars. In a second experiment, the process was scaled up to a tray bioreactor. In the tray bioreactor, the process of lignin degradation was improved, resulting in an increase in lignin conversion of up to 71% during seven days' treatment. © The Author(s) 2016.

Efficiency Evaluation of Food Waste Materials for the Removal of Metals and Metalloids from Complex Multi-Element Solutions

PubMed Central

Giuliano, Antonella; Astolfi, Maria Luisa; Congedo, Rossana; Masotti, Andrea; Canepari, Silvia

2018-01-01

Recent studies have shown the potential of food waste materials as low cost adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals and toxic elements from wastewater. However, the adsorption experiments have been performed in heterogeneous conditions, consequently it is difficult to compare the efficiency of the individual adsorbents. In this study, the adsorption capacities of 12 food waste materials were evaluated by comparing the adsorbents’ efficiency for the removal of 23 elements from complex multi-element solutions, maintaining homogeneous experimental conditions. The examined materials resulted to be extremely efficient for the adsorption of many elements from synthetic multi-element solutions as well as from a heavy metal wastewater. The 12 adsorbent surfaces were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and showed different types and amounts of functional groups, which demonstrated to act as adsorption active sites for various elements. By multivariate statistical computations of the obtained data, the 12 food waste materials were grouped in five clusters characterized by different elements’ removal efficiency which resulted to be in correlation with the specific adsorbents’ chemical structures. Banana peel, watermelon peel and grape waste resulted the least selective and the most efficient food waste materials for the removal of most of the elements. PMID:29495363

Efficiency Evaluation of Food Waste Materials for the Removal of Metals and Metalloids from Complex Multi-Element Solutions.

PubMed

Massimi, Lorenzo; Giuliano, Antonella; Astolfi, Maria Luisa; Congedo, Rossana; Masotti, Andrea; Canepari, Silvia

2018-02-26

Recent studies have shown the potential of food waste materials as low cost adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals and toxic elements from wastewater. However, the adsorption experiments have been performed in heterogeneous conditions, consequently it is difficult to compare the efficiency of the individual adsorbents. In this study, the adsorption capacities of 12 food waste materials were evaluated by comparing the adsorbents' efficiency for the removal of 23 elements from complex multi-element solutions, maintaining homogeneous experimental conditions. The examined materials resulted to be extremely efficient for the adsorption of many elements from synthetic multi-element solutions as well as from a heavy metal wastewater. The 12 adsorbent surfaces were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and showed different types and amounts of functional groups, which demonstrated to act as adsorption active sites for various elements. By multivariate statistical computations of the obtained data, the 12 food waste materials were grouped in five clusters characterized by different elements' removal efficiency which resulted to be in correlation with the specific adsorbents' chemical structures. Banana peel, watermelon peel and grape waste resulted the least selective and the most efficient food waste materials for the removal of most of the elements.

FERRATE TREATMENT FOR REMOVING CHROMIUM FROM HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE TANK WASTE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sylvester, Paul; Rutherford, Andy; Gonzalez-Martin, Anuncia

2000-12-01

A method has been developed for removing chromium from alkaline high-level radioactive tank waste. Removing chromium from these wastes is critical in reducing the volume of waste requiring expensive immobilization and deep geologic disposition. The method developed is based on the oxidation of insoluble chromium(III) compounds to soluble chromate using ferrate. The tests conducted with a simulated Hanford tank sludge indicate that the chromium removal with ferrate is more efficient at 5 M NaOH than at 3 M NaOH. Chromium removal increases with increasing Fe(VI)/Cr(III) molar ratio, but the chromium removal tends to level out for Fe(VI)/Cr(III) greater than 10.more » Increasing temperature leads to better chromium removal, but higher temperatures also led to more rapid ferrate decomposition. Tests with radioactive Hanford tank waste generally confirmed the simulant results. In all cases examined, ferrate enhanced the chromium removal, with a typical removal of around 60-70% of the total chromium present in the washed sludge solids. The ferrate leachate solutions did not contain significant concentrations of transuranic elements, so these solutions could be handled as low-activity waste.« less

Effect of aerobic pre-treatment on hydrogen and methane production in a two-stage anaerobic digestion process using food waste with different compositions.

PubMed

Rafieenia, Razieh; Girotto, Francesca; Peng, Wei; Cossu, Raffaello; Pivato, Alberto; Raga, Roberto; Lavagnolo, Maria Cristina

2017-01-01

Aerobic pre-treatment was applied prior to two-stage anaerobic digestion process. Three different food wastes samples, namely carbohydrate rich, protein rich and lipid rich, were prepared as substrates. Effect of aerobic pre-treatment on hydrogen and methane production was studied. Pre-aeration of substrates showed no positive impact on hydrogen production in the first stage. All three categories of pre-aerated food wastes produced less hydrogen compared to samples without pre-aeration. In the second stage, methane production increased for aerated protein rich and carbohydrate rich samples. In addition, the lag phase for carbohydrate rich substrate was shorter for aerated samples. Aerated protein rich substrate yielded the best results among substrates for methane production, with a cumulative production of approximately 351ml/gVS. With regard to non-aerated substrates, lipid rich was the best substrate for CH 4 production (263ml/gVS). Pre-aerated P substrate was the best in terms of total energy generation which amounted to 9.64kJ/gVS. This study revealed aerobic pre-treatment to be a promising option for use in achieving enhanced substrate conversion efficiencies and CH 4 production in a two-stage AD process, particularly when the substrate contains high amounts of proteins. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of chemical and material contamination in waste wood fuels--A case study ranging over nine years.

PubMed

Edo, Mar; Björn, Erik; Persson, Per-Erik; Jansson, Stina

2016-03-01

The increased demand for waste wood (WW) as fuel in Swedish co-combustion facilities during the last years has increased the import of this material. Each country has different laws governing the use of chemicals and therefore the composition of the fuel will likely change when combining WW from different origins. To cope with this, enhanced knowledge is needed on WW composition and the performance of pre-treatment techniques for reduction of its contaminants. In this study, the chemical and physical characteristics of 500 WW samples collected at a co-combustion facility in Sweden between 2004 and 2013 were investigated to determine the variation of contaminant content over time. Multivariate data analysis was used for the interpretation of the data. The concentrations of all the studied contaminants varied widely between sampling occasions, demonstrating the highly variable composition of WW fuels. The efficiency of sieving as a pre-treatment measure to reduce the levels of contaminants was not sufficient, revealing that sieving should be used in combination with other pre-treatment methods. The results from this case study provide knowledge on waste wood composition that may benefit its management. This knowledge can be applied for selection of the most suitable pre-treatments to obtain high quality sustainable WW fuels. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Technology Readiness Assessment of a Large DOE Waste Processing Facility

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-12

Waste Generation at Hanford – Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant ( WTP ) Project • Motivation to Conduct TRA • TRA Approach • Actions to ensure...Hanford’s WTP will be the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant to treat Hanford’s underground tank waste Waste Treatment Plant ( WTP ) Major...Mass Maximize Activity WTP Flow Sheet – Key Process Flows Hanford Tank Waste 10 How is the Vitrified Waste Dispositioned? High Level Waste Canisters

Sustainable solutions for solid waste management in Southeast Asian countries.

PubMed

Ngoc, Uyen Nguyen; Schnitzer, Hans

2009-06-01

Human activities generate waste and the amounts tend to increase as the demand for quality of life increases. Today's rate in the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEANs) is alarming, posing a challenge to governments regarding environmental pollution in the recent years. The expectation is that eventually waste treatment and waste prevention approaches will develop towards sustainable waste management solutions. This expectation is for instance reflected in the term 'zero emission systems'. The concept of zero emissions can be applied successfully with today's technical possibilities in the agro-based processing industry. First, the state-of-the-art of waste management in Southeast Asian countries will be outlined in this paper, followed by waste generation rates, sources, and composition, as well as future trends of waste. Further on, solutions for solid waste management will be reviewed in the discussions of sustainable waste management. The paper emphasizes the concept of waste prevention through utilization of all wastes as process inputs, leading to the possibility of creating an ecosystem in a loop of materials. Also, a case study, focusing on the citrus processing industry, is displayed to illustrate the application of the aggregated material input-output model in a widespread processing industry in ASEAN. The model can be shown as a closed cluster, which permits an identification of opportunities for reducing environmental impacts at the process level in the food processing industry. Throughout the discussion in this paper, the utilization of renewable energy and economic aspects are considered to adapt to environmental and economic issues and the aim of eco-efficiency. Additionally, the opportunities and constraints of waste management will be discussed.

40 CFR 265.1084 - Waste determination procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... biodegradation efficiency (Rbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i) The fraction of organics biodegraded (Fbio... biodegradation efficiency, percent. Fbio = Fraction of organic biodegraded as determined in accordance with the... biodegradation rate (MRbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i) The MRbio shall be determined based on results for...

40 CFR 265.1084 - Waste determination procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... biodegradation efficiency (Rbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i) The fraction of organics biodegraded (Fbio... biodegradation efficiency, percent. Fbio = Fraction of organic biodegraded as determined in accordance with the... biodegradation rate (MRbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i) The MRbio shall be determined based on results for...

40 CFR 265.1084 - Waste determination procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... biodegradation efficiency (Rbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i) The fraction of organics biodegraded (Fbio... biodegradation efficiency, percent. Fbio = Fraction of organic biodegraded as determined in accordance with the... biodegradation rate (MRbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i) The MRbio shall be determined based on results for...

40 CFR 265.1084 - Waste determination procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... biodegradation efficiency (Rbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i) The fraction of organics biodegraded (Fbio... biodegradation efficiency, percent. Fbio = Fraction of organic biodegraded as determined in accordance with the... biodegradation rate (MRbio) for a treated hazardous waste. (i) The MRbio shall be determined based on results for...

Stabilization/solidification of an alkyd paint waste by carbonation of waste-lime based formulations.

PubMed

Arce, R; Galán, B; Coz, A; Andrés, A; Viguri, J R

2010-05-15

The application of solvent-based paints by spraying in paint booths is extensively used in a wide range of industrial activities for the surface treatment of a vast array of products. The wastes generated as overspray represent an important environmental and managerial problem mainly due to the hazardous characteristics of the organic solvent, rendering it necessary to appropriately manage this waste. In this paper a solidification/stabilization (S/S) process based on accelerated carbonation was investigated as an immobilization pre-treatment prior to the disposal, via landfill, of an alkyd solvent-based paint waste coming from the automotive industry; the purpose of this S/S process was to immobilize the contaminants and reduce their release into the environment. Different formulations of paint waste with lime, lime-coal fly-ash and lime-Portland cement were carbonated to study the effect of the water/solid ratio and carbonation time on the characteristics of the final product. To assess the efficiency of the studied S/S process, metals, anions and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were analyzed in the leachates obtained from a battery of compliance and characterization leaching tests. Regarding the carbonation of paint waste-lime formulations, a mathematical expression has been proposed to predict the results of the leachability of DOC from carbonated mixtures working at water/solid ratios from 0.2 to 0.6. However, lower DOC concentrations in leachates (400mg/kg DOC in L/S=10 batch leaching test) were obtained when carbonation of paint waste-lime-fly-ash mixtures was used at 10h carbonation and water to solid ratio of 0.2. The flammability characteristics, the total contents of contaminants and the contaminant release rate in compliance leaching tests provide evidence for a final product suitable for deposition in non-hazardous landfills. The characterization of this carbonated sample using a dynamic column leaching test shows a high stabilization of metals, partial immobilization of Cl(-), SO(4)(2-), F(-) and limited retention of DOC. However, the obtained results improve the previous findings obtained after the paint waste S/S using uncarbonated formulations and would be a useful pre-treatment technique of the alkyd paint waste prior to its disposal in a landfill. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste: Technical developments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rivard, C.J.

1996-01-01

The anaerobic biogasification of organic wastes generates two useful products: a medium-Btu fuel gas and a compost-quality organic residue. Although commercial-scale digestion systems are used to treat municipal sewage wastes, the disposal of solid organic wastes, including municipal solid wastes (MSW), requires a more cost-efficient process. Modern biogasification systems employ high-rate, high-solids fermentation methods to improve process efficiency and reduce capital costs. The design criteria and development stages are discussed. These systems are also compared with conventional low-solids fermentation technology.

Municipal waste liquor treatment via bioelectrochemical and fermentation (H2 + CH4) processes: Assessment of various technological sequences.

PubMed

Rózsenberszki, Tamás; Koók, László; Bakonyi, Péter; Nemestóthy, Nándor; Logroño, Washington; Pérez, Mario; Urquizo, Gladys; Recalde, Celso; Kurdi, Róbert; Sarkady, Attila

2017-03-01

In this paper, the anaerobic treatment of a high organic-strength wastewater-type feedstock, referred as the liquid fraction of pressed municipal solid waste (LPW) was studied for energy recovery and organic matter removal. The processes investigated were (i) dark fermentation to produce biohydrogen, (ii) anaerobic digestion for biogas formation and (iii) microbial fuel cells for electrical energy generation. To find a feasible alternative for LPW treatment (meeting the two-fold aims given above), various one- as well as multi-stage processes were tested. The applications were evaluated based on their (i) COD removal efficiencies and (ii) specific energy gain. As a result, considering the former aspect, the single-stage processes could be ranked as: microbial fuel cell (92.4%)> anaerobic digestion (50.2%)> hydrogen fermentation (8.8%). From the latter standpoint, an order of hydrogen fermentation (2277 J g -1  COD removed  d -1 )> anaerobic digestion (205 J g -1  COD removed  d -1 )> microbial fuel cell (0.43 J g -1  COD removed  d -1 ) was attained. The assessment showed that combined, multi-step treatment was necessary to simultaneously achieve efficient organic matter removal and energy recovery from LPW. Therefore, a three-stage system (hydrogen fermentation-biomethanation-bioelectrochemical cell in sequence) was suggested. The different approaches were characterized via the estimation of COD balance, as well. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isolation and recovery of cellulose from waste nylon/cotton blended fabrics by 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride.

PubMed

Lv, Fangbing; Wang, Chaoxia; Zhu, Ping; Zhang, Chuanjie

2015-06-05

Development of a simple process for separating cellulose and nylon 6 from their blended fabrics is indispensable for recycling of waste mixed fabrics. An efficient procedure of dissolution of the fabrics in an ionic liquid 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([AMIM]Cl) and subsequent filtration separation has been demonstrated. Effects of treatment temperature, time and waste fabrics ratio on the recovery rates were investigated. SEM images showed that the cotton cellulose dissolved in [AMIM]Cl while the nylon 6 fibers remained. The FTIR spectrum of regenerated cellulose (RC) was similar with that of virgin cotton fibers, which verified that no other chemical reaction occurred besides breakage of hydrogen bonds during the processes of dissolution and separation. TGA curves indicated that the regenerated cellulose possessed a reduced thermal stability and was effectively removed from waste nylon/cotton blended fabrics (WNCFs). WNCFs were sufficiently reclaimed with high recovery rate of both regenerated cellulose films and nylon 6 fibers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hood, Zachary D.; Adhikari, Shiba P.; Li, Yunchao

Many inexpensive biofuel feedstocks, including those containing free fatty acids (FFAs) in high concentrations, are typically disposed of as waste due to our inability to efficiently convert them into usable biofuels. Here we demonstrate that carbon derived from waste tires could be functionalized with sulfonic acid (-SO 3H) to effectively catalyze the esterification of oleic acid or a mixture of fatty acids to usable biofuels. Waste tires were converted to hard carbon, then functionalized with catalytically active -SO 3H groups on the surface through an environmentally benign process that involved the sequential treatment with L-cysteine, dithiothreitol, and H 2O 2.more » In conclusion, when benchmarked against the same waste-tire derived carbon material treated with concentrated sulfuric acid at 150 °C, similar catalytic activity was observed. Both catalysts could also effectively convert oleic acid or a mixture of fatty acids and soybean oil to usable biofuels at 65 °C and 1 atm without leaching of the catalytic sites.« less

Green and Sustainable Separation of Natural Products from Agro-Industrial Waste: Challenges, Potentialities, and Perspectives on Emerging Approaches.

PubMed

Zuin, Vânia G; Ramin, Luize Z

2018-01-17

New generations of biorefinery combine innovative biomass waste resources from different origins, chemical extraction and/or synthesis of biomaterials, biofuels, and bioenergy via green and sustainable processes. From the very beginning, identifying and evaluating all potentially high value-added chemicals that could be removed from available renewable feedstocks requires robust, efficient, selective, reproducible, and benign analytical approaches. With this in mind, green and sustainable separation of natural products from agro-industrial waste is clearly attractive considering both socio-environmental and economic aspects. In this paper, the concepts of green and sustainable separation of natural products will be discussed, highlighting the main studies conducted on this topic over the last 10 years. The principal analytical techniques (such as solvent, microwave, ultrasound, and supercritical treatments), by-products (e.g., citrus, coffee, corn, and sugarcane waste) and target compounds (polyphenols, proteins, essential oils, etc.) will be presented, including the emerging green and sustainable separation approaches towards bioeconomy and circular economy contexts.

Carbon bed mercury emissions control for mixed waste treatment.

PubMed

Soelberg, Nick; Enneking, Joe

2010-11-01

Mercury has various uses in nuclear fuel reprocessing and other nuclear processes, and so it is often present in radioactive and mixed (radioactive and hazardous) wastes. Compliance with air emission regulations such as the Hazardous Waste Combustor (HWC) Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards can require off-gas mercury removal efficiencies up to 99.999% for thermally treating some mixed waste streams. Test programs have demonstrated this level of off-gas mercury control using fixed beds of granular sulfur-impregnated activated carbon. Other results of these tests include (1) the depth of the mercury control mass transfer zone was less than 15-30 cm for the operating conditions of these tests; (2) MERSORB carbon can sorb mercury up to 19 wt % of the carbon mass; and (3) the spent carbon retained almost all (98.3-99.99%) of the mercury during Toxicity Characteristic Leachability Procedure (TCLP) tests, but when even a small fraction of the total mercury dissolves, the spent carbon can fail the TCLP test when the spent carbon contains high mercury concentrations.

[Research advances in control of N2O emission from municipal solid waste landfill sites].

PubMed

Cai, Chuan-Yu; Li, Bo; Lü, Hao-Hao; Wu, Wei-Xiang

2012-05-01

Landfill is one of the main approaches for municipal solid waste treatment, and landfill site is a main emission source of greenhouse gases nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). As a high-efficient trace greenhouse gas, N2O has a very high warming potential, with a warming capacity 296 times of CO2, and has a long-term stability in atmosphere, giving greater damage to the ozone layer. Aiming at the researches in the control of N2O emission from municipal solid waste landfill sites, this paper summarized the characteristics and related affecting factors of the N2O emission from the landfill sites, and put forward a series of the measures adaptable to the N2O emission control of present municipal solid waste landfill sites in China. Some further research focuses on the control of N2O emission from the landfill sites were also presented.

Equilibrium model analysis of waste plastics gasification using CO2 and steam.

PubMed

Kannan, P; Lakshmanan, G; Al Shoaibi, A; Srinivasakannan, C

2017-12-01

Utilization of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in thermochemical treatment of waste plastics may significantly help to improve CO 2 recycling, thus simultaneously curtailing dioxins/furans and CO 2 emissions. Although CO 2 is not such an effective gasifying agent as steam, a few investigations have explored the utilization of CO 2 in conjunction with steam to achieve somewhat higher carbon conversion. This work presents a comparative evaluation study of CO 2 and steam gasification of a typical post-consumer waste plastics mixture using an Aspen Plus equilibrium model. The effect of flow rate of gasifying medium (CO 2 and/or steam) and gasification temperature on product gas composition, carbon conversion, and cold gas efficiency has been analyzed. Simulation results demonstrate that CO 2 can serve as a potential gasifying agent for waste plastics gasification. The resulting product gas was rich in CO whereas CO 2 -steam blends yield a wider H 2 /CO ratio, thus extending the applications of the product gas.

Waste-based alternative adsorbents for the remediation of pharmaceutical contaminated waters: Has a step forward already been taken?

PubMed

Silva, Carla Patrícia; Jaria, Guilaine; Otero, Marta; Esteves, Valdemar I; Calisto, Vânia

2018-02-01

When adsorption is considered for water treatment, commercial activated carbon is usually the chosen adsorbent for the removal of pollutants from the aqueous phase, particularly pharmaceuticals. In order to decrease costs and save natural resources, attempts have been made to use wastes as raw materials for the production of alternative carbon adsorbents. This approach intends to increase efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and also to propose an alternative and sustainable way for the valorization/management of residues. This review aims to provide an overview on waste-based adsorbents used on pharmaceuticals' adsorption. Experimental facts related to the adsorption behaviour of each adsorbent/pharmaceutical pair and some key factors were addressed. Also, research gaps that subsist in this research area, as well as future needs, were identified. Simultaneously, this review aims to clarify the current status of the research on pharmaceuticals' adsorption by waste-based adsorbents in order to recognize if the right direction is being taken. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advances in algal-prokaryotic wastewater treatment: A review of nitrogen transformations, reactor configurations and molecular tools.

PubMed

Wang, Meng; Keeley, Ryan; Zalivina, Nadezhda; Halfhide, Trina; Scott, Kathleen; Zhang, Qiong; van der Steen, Peter; Ergas, Sarina J

2018-07-01

The synergistic activity of algae and prokaryotic microorganisms can be used to improve the efficiency of biological wastewater treatment, particularly with regards to nitrogen removal. For example, algae can provide oxygen through photosynthesis needed for aerobic degradation of organic carbon and nitrification and harvested algal-prokaryotic biomass can be used to produce high value chemicals or biogas. Algal-prokaryotic consortia have been used to treat wastewater in different types of reactors, including waste stabilization ponds, high rate algal ponds and closed photobioreactors. This review addresses the current literature and identifies research gaps related to the following topics: 1) the complex interactions between algae and prokaryotes in wastewater treatment; 2) advances in bioreactor technologies that can achieve high nitrogen removal efficiencies in small reactor volumes, such as algal-prokaryotic biofilm reactors and enhanced algal-prokaryotic treatment systems (EAPS); 3) molecular tools that have expanded our understanding of the activities of algal and prokaryotic communities in wastewater treatment processes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water treatment capacity of forward osmosis systems utilizing power plant waste heat

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Xingshi; Gingerich, Daniel B.; Mauter, Meagan S.

Forward osmosis (FO) has the potential to improve the energy efficiency of membrane-based water treatment by leveraging waste heat from steam electric power generation as the primary driving force for separation. In this study, we develop a comprehensive FO process model, consisting of membrane separation, heat recovery, and draw solute regeneration (DSR) models. We quantitatively characterize three alternative processes for DSR: distillation, steam stripping, and air stripping. We then construct a mathematical model of the distillation process for DSR that incorporates hydrodynamics, mass and heat transport resistances, and reaction kinetics, and we integrate this into a model for the fullmore » FO process. Finally, we utilize this FO process model to derive a first-order approximation of the water production capacity given the rejected heat quantity and quality available at U.S. electric power facilities. We find that the upper bound of FO water treatment capacity using low-grade heat sources at electric power facilities exceeds process water treatment demand for boiler water make-up and flue gas desulfurization wastewater systems.« less

Effect of low solids retention time and focused pulsed pre-treatment on anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge.

PubMed

Lee, Il-Su; Rittmann, Bruce E

2011-02-01

The interacting effects of Focused Pulsed (FP) treatment and solids retention time (SRT) were evaluated in laboratory-scale digesters operated at SRTs of 2-20 days. Anaerobic digestion and methanogenesis of waste activated sludge (WAS) were stable for SRT ≥ 5 days, but the effluent soluble organic compounds increased significantly for SRT=2 days due to a combination of faster hydrolysis kinetics and washout of methanogens. FP treatment increased the CH(4) production rate and TCOD removal efficiency by up to 33% and 18%, respectively, at a SRT of 20 days. These effects were the result of an increase in the hydrolysis rate, since the concentrations of soluble components remained low for SRT ≥ 5 days. Alternately, FP pre-treatment of WAS allowed the same conversion of TCOD to CH(4) with a smaller SRT and digester size: e.g., 40% size savings with a CH(4) conversion of 0.23 g CH(4)-COD/g COD(in). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water treatment capacity of forward osmosis systems utilizing power plant waste heat

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Xingshi; Gingerich, Daniel B.; Mauter, Meagan S.

2015-06-11

Forward osmosis (FO) has the potential to improve the energy efficiency of membrane-based water treatment by leveraging waste heat from steam electric power generation as the primary driving force for separation. In this study, we develop a comprehensive FO process model, consisting of membrane separation, heat recovery, and draw solute regeneration (DSR) models. We quantitatively characterize three alternative processes for DSR: distillation, steam stripping, and air stripping. We then construct a mathematical model of the distillation process for DSR that incorporates hydrodynamics, mass and heat transport resistances, and reaction kinetics, and we integrate this into a model for the fullmore » FO process. Finally, we utilize this FO process model to derive a first-order approximation of the water production capacity given the rejected heat quantity and quality available at U.S. electric power facilities. We find that the upper bound of FO water treatment capacity using low-grade heat sources at electric power facilities exceeds process water treatment demand for boiler water make-up and flue gas desulfurization wastewater systems.« less

[Efficiency evaluation of capsaicinoids to discriminate bio-waste oils from edible vegetable oils].

PubMed

Mao, Lisha; Liu, Honghe; Kang, Li; Jiang, Jie; Liao, Shicheng; Liu, Guihua; Deng, Pingjian

2014-07-01

To evaluate the efficiency of capsaicinoids to discriminate bio-waste oil from edible vegetable oil. 14 raw vegetable oils, 24 fried waste oils, 34 kitchen-waste oils, 32 edible non-peanut vegetable oil, 32 edible peanuts oil, 16 edible oil add flavorand and 11 refined bio-waste oils were prepared and examined for capsaicinoids including capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin and nonylic acid vanillylamide. The detection results of the above samples were statistically tested based on sample category to assessment identify the effectiveness of the bio-waste oils with capsaicinoids. As a indicator, capsaincin was possessed of high detection sensitivity and has the highest efficiency to discern kitchen-waste oils and refined bio-waste oils samples from edible non-peanut vegetable oil correctly. The accuracy rate of identification were 100% and 90.1% respectively. There is the background in peanut oil. CONCLUSION Capsaicin added in cooking process can be retained in the refining process and hardly be removed in the refining process. In the case of fully eliminating the background interference, capsaicinoids can effectively identify bio-waste oils and edible vegetable oil in combination.

Modelling of environmental impacts of solid waste landfilling within the life-cycle analysis program EASEWASTE.

PubMed

Kirkeby, Janus T; Birgisdottir, Harpa; Bhander, Gurbakash Singh; Hauschild, Michael; Christensen, Thomas H

2007-01-01

A new computer-based life-cycle assessment model (EASEWASTE) has been developed to evaluate resource and environmental consequences of solid waste management systems. This paper describes the landfilling sub-model used in the life-cycle assessment program EASEWASTE, and examines some of the implications of this sub-model. All quantities and concentrations of leachate and landfill gas can be modified by the user in order to bring them in agreement with the actual landfill that is assessed by the model. All emissions, except the generation of landfill gas, are process specific. The landfill gas generation is calculated on the basis of organic matter in the landfilled waste. A landfill assessment example is provided. For this example, the normalised environmental effects of landfill gas on global warming and photochemical smog are much greater than the environmental effects for landfill leachate or for landfill construction. A sensitivity analysis for this example indicates that the overall environmental impact is sensitive to the gas collection efficiency and the use of the gas, but not to the amount of leachate generated, or the amount of soil or liner material used in construction. The landfill model can be used for evaluating different technologies with different liners, gas and leachate collection efficiencies, and to compare the environmental consequences of landfilling with alternative waste treatment options such as incineration or anaerobic digestion.

The application of a "6S Lean" initiative to improve workflow for emergency eye examination rooms.

PubMed

Nazarali, Samir; Rayat, Jaspreet; Salmonson, Hilary; Moss, Theodora; Mathura, Pamela; Damji, Karim F

2017-10-01

Ophthalmology residents on call at the Royal Alexandra Hospital identified workplace disorganization and lack of standardization in emergency eye examination rooms as an impediment to efficient patient treatment. The aim of the study was to use the "6S Lean" model to improve workflow in eye examination rooms at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. With the assistance of quality improvement consultants, the "6S Lean" model was applied to the current operation of the emergency eye clinic examination rooms. This model, considering 8 waste categories, was then used to recommend and implement changes to the examination rooms and to workplace protocols to enhance efficiency and safety. Eye examination rooms were improved with regards to setup, organization of supplies, inventory control, and maintenance. All targets were achieved, and the 5S audit checklist score increased by 33 points from 44 to 77. Implementation of the 6S methodology is a simple approach that removes inefficiencies from the workplace. The ophthalmology clinic removed waste from all 8 waste categories, increased audit results, mitigated patient and resident safety risks, and ultimately redirected resident time back to patient care delivery. Copyright © 2017 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pilot plant experience on anaerobic codigestion of source selected OFMSW and sewage sludge.

PubMed

Cabbai, Valentina; De Bortoli, Nicola; Goi, Daniele

2016-03-01

Anaerobic codigestion of source selected organic fraction of municipal solid waste (SS-OFMSW) and sewage sludge may be one of the most viable solutions to optimize oversized digesters efficiency in wastewater treatment plants. Based on results of BMP tests obtained for sewage sludge and SS-OFMSW, pilot plant tests were carried out by 3.4 m(3) CSTR reactor at mesophilic temperature. A mix of fruit and vegetable waste from wholesale market and canteen waste was used as SS-OFMSW substrate. Tests were conducted applying an OLR (organic loading rate) ramp with 6 different phases until a value of 3.2 kgVS/m(3) d. Feedstock and digestate characteristics, efficiency and process parameters were monitored. The anaerobic codigestion development was stable in each phase: early indicators like VFA (volatile fatty acids) and FOS/TAC ratio were always below instability threshold values. The maximum OLR tested determined a GPR (gas production rate) of 0.95 N m(3)/m(3) d and SGP (specific gas production) of 0.49 N m(3)/kgVS with a VS abatement of 67.3%. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic waste activated sludge disintegration for improving anaerobic stabilization.

PubMed

Tiehm, A; Nickel, K; Zellhorn, M; Neis, U

2001-06-01

The pretreatment of waste activated sludge by ultrasonic disintegration was studied in order to improve the anaerobic sludge stabilization. The ultrasound frequency was varied within a range from 41 to 3217 kHz. The impact of different ultrasound intensities and treatment times was examined. Sludge disintegration was most significant at low frequencies. Low-frequency ultrasound creates large cavitation bubbles which upon collapse initiate powerful jet streams exerting strong shear forces in the liquid. The decreasing sludge disintegration efficiency observed at higher frequencies was attributed to smaller cavitation bubbles which do not allow the initiation of such strong shear forces. Short sonication times resulted in sludge floc deagglomeration without the destruction of bacteria cells. Longer sonication brought about the break-up of cell walls, the sludge solids were distintegrated and dissolved organic compounds were released. The anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge following ultrasonic pretreatment causing microbial cell lysis was significantly improved. There was an increase in the volatile solids degradation as well as an increase in the biogas production. The increase in digestion efficiency was proportional to the degree of sludge disintegration. To a lesser degree the deagglomeration of sludge flocs also augmented the anaerobic volatile solids degradation.

Peptide-based ambidextrous bifunctional gelator: applications in oil spill recovery and removal of toxic organic dyes for waste water management.

PubMed

Basu, Kingshuk; Nandi, Nibedita; Mondal, Biplab; Dehsorkhi, Ashkan; Hamley, Ian W; Banerjee, Arindam

2017-12-06

A low molecular weight peptide-based ambidextrous gelator molecule has been discovered for efficient control of water pollution. The gelator molecules can gel various organic solvents with diverse polarity, e.g. n -hexane, n -octane, petroleum ether, petrol, diesel, aromatic solvents like chlorobenzene, toluene, benzene, o -xylene and even aqueous phosphate buffer of pH 7.5. These gels have been thoroughly characterized using various techniques including field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction analysis, small angle X-ray scattering and rheological experiments. Interestingly, hydrogel obtained from the gelator molecule has been found to absorb toxic organic dyes (both cationic and anionic dyes) from dye-contaminated water. The gelator molecule can be reused for several cycles, indicating its possible future use in waste water management. Moreover, this gelator can selectively gel petrol, diesel, pump oil from an oil-water mixture in the presence of a carrier solvent, ethyl acetate, suggesting its efficient application for oil spill recovery. These results indicate that the peptide-based ambidextrous gelator produces soft materials (gels) with dual function: (i) removal of toxic organic dyes in waste water treatment and (ii) oil spill recovery.

Energy implications of mechanical and mechanical-biological treatment compared to direct waste-to-energy.

PubMed

Cimpan, Ciprian; Wenzel, Henrik

2013-07-01

Primary energy savings potential is used to compare five residual municipal solid waste treatment systems, including configurations with mechanical (MT) and mechanical-biological (MBT) pre-treatment, which produce waste-derived fuels (RDF and SRF), biogas and/or recover additional materials for recycling, alongside a system based on conventional mass burn waste-to-energy and ash treatment. To examine the magnitude of potential savings we consider two energy efficiency levels (state-of-the-art and best available technology), the inclusion/exclusion of heat recovery (CHP vs. PP) and three different background end-use energy production systems (coal condensing electricity and natural gas heat, Nordic electricity mix and natural gas heat, and coal CHP energy quality allocation). The systems achieved net primary energy savings in a range between 34 and 140 MJprimary/100 MJinput waste, in the different scenario settings. The energy footprint of transportation needs, pre-treatment and reprocessing of recyclable materials was 3-9.5%, 1-18% and 1-8% respectively, relative to total energy savings. Mass combustion WtE achieved the highest savings in scenarios with CHP production, nonetheless, MBT-based systems had similarly high performance if SRF streams were co-combusted with coal. When RDF and SRF was only used in dedicated WtE plants, MBT-based systems totalled lower savings due to inherent system losses and additional energy costs. In scenarios without heat recovery, the biodrying MBS-based system achieved the highest savings, on the condition of SRF co-combustion. As a sensitivity scenario, alternative utilisation of SRF in cement kilns was modelled. It supported similar or higher net savings for all pre-treatment systems compared to mass combustion WtE, except when WtE CHP was possible in the first two background energy scenarios. Recovery of plastics for recycling before energy recovery increased net energy savings in most scenario variations, over those of full stream combustion. Sensitivity to assumptions regarding virgin plastic substitution was tested and was found to mostly favour plastic recovery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of initial biodegradability on sludge anaerobic digestion enhancement by thermal pretreatment.

PubMed

Carrère, Hélène; Bougrier, Claire; Castets, Delphine; Delgenès, Jean Philippe

2008-11-01

Thermal treatments with temperature ranging from 60 to 210 degrees C were applied to 6 waste-activated sludge samples originating from high or medium load, extended aeration wastewater treatment processes that treated different wastewaters (urban, urban and industrial or slaughterhouse). COD sludge solubilisation was linearly correlated with the treatment temperature on the whole temperature range and independently of the sludge samples. Sludge batch mesophilic biodegradability increased with treatment temperature up to 190 degrees C. In this temperature range, biodegradability enhancement or methane production increase by thermal hydrolysis was shown to be a function of sludge COD solubilisation but also of sludge initial biodegradability. The lower the initial biodegradability means the higher efficiency of thermal treatment.

Thermal plasma technology for the treatment of wastes: a critical review.

PubMed

Gomez, E; Rani, D Amutha; Cheeseman, C R; Deegan, D; Wise, M; Boccaccini, A R

2009-01-30

This review describes the current status of waste treatment using thermal plasma technology. A comprehensive analysis of the available scientific and technical literature on waste plasma treatment is presented, including the treatment of a variety of hazardous wastes, such as residues from municipal solid waste incineration, slag and dust from steel production, asbestos-containing wastes, health care wastes and organic liquid wastes. The principles of thermal plasma generation and the technologies available are outlined, together with potential applications for plasma vitrified products. There have been continued advances in the application of plasma technology for waste treatment, and this is now a viable alternative to other potential treatment/disposal options. Regulatory, economic and socio-political drivers are promoting adoption of advanced thermal conversion techniques such as thermal plasma technology and these are expected to become increasingly commercially viable in the future.

Remediation of soils polluted with lindane using surfactant-aided soil washing and electrochemical oxidation.

PubMed

Muñoz-Morales, M; Braojos, M; Sáez, C; Cañizares, P; Rodrigo, M A

2017-10-05

In this work the complete treatment of soil spiked with lindane is studied using surfactant-aided soil-washing (SASW) to exhaust lindane from soil and electrolysis with diamond anodes to mineralize lindane from the soil washing fluid (SWF) waste. Results demonstrated that this technological approach is efficient and allow to remove this hazardous pollutant from soil. They also pointed out the significance of the ratio surfactant/soil in the efficiency of the SASW process and in the performance of the later electrolysis used to mineralize the pollutant. Larger values of this parameter lead to effluents that undergo a very efficient treatment which allows the depletion of lindane for applied charges lower than 15AhL -1 and the recovery of more than 70% of the surfactant for the regeneration of the SWF. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vehicle routing for the eco-efficient collection of household plastic waste.

PubMed

Bing, Xiaoyun; de Keizer, Marlies; Bloemhof-Ruwaard, Jacqueline M; van der Vorst, Jack G A J

2014-04-01

Plastic waste is a special category of municipal solid waste. Plastic waste collection is featured with various alternatives of collection methods (curbside/drop-off) and separation methods (source-/post-separation). In the Netherlands, the collection routes of plastic waste are the same as those of other waste, although plastic is different than other waste in terms of volume to weight ratio. This paper aims for redesigning the collection routes and compares the collection options of plastic waste using eco-efficiency as performance indicator. Eco-efficiency concerns the trade-off between environmental impacts, social issues and costs. The collection problem is modeled as a vehicle routing problem. A tabu search heuristic is used to improve the routes. Collection alternatives are compared by a scenario study approach. Real distances between locations are calculated with MapPoint. The scenario study is conducted based on real case data of the Dutch municipality Wageningen. Scenarios are designed according to the collection alternatives with different assumptions in collection method, vehicle type, collection frequency and collection points, etc. Results show that the current collection routes can be improved in terms of eco-efficiency performance by using our method. The source-separation drop-off collection scenario has the best performance for plastic collection assuming householders take the waste to the drop-off points in a sustainable manner. The model also shows to be an efficient decision support tool to investigate the impacts of future changes such as alternative vehicle type and different response rates. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solid waste management in Kolkata, India: Practices and challenges

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hazra, Tumpa; Goel, Sudha

2009-01-15

This paper presents an overview of current solid waste management (SWM) practices in Kolkata, India and suggests solutions to some of the major problems. More than 2920 ton/d of solid waste are generated in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area and the budget allocation for 2007-2008 was Rs. 1590 million (US$40 million), which amounts to Rs. 265/cap-y (US$6.7/cap-d) on SWM. This expenditure is insufficient to provide adequate SWM services. Major deficiencies were found in all elements of SWM. Despite 70% of the SWM budget being allocated for collection, collection efficiency is around 60-70% for the registered residents and less thanmore » 20% for unregistered residents (slum dwellers). The collection process is deficient in terms of manpower and vehicle availability. Bin capacity provided is adequate but locations were found to be inappropriate, thus contributing to the inefficiency of the system. At this time, no treatment is provided to the waste and waste is dumped on open land at Dhapa after collection. Lack of suitable facilities (equipment and infrastructure) and underestimates of waste generation rates, inadequate management and technical skills, improper bin collection, and route planning are responsible for poor collection and transportation of municipal solid wastes.« less

The utilization of waste by-products for removing silicate from mineral processing wastewater via chemical precipitation.

PubMed

Kang, Jianhua; Sun, Wei; Hu, Yuehua; Gao, Zhiyong; Liu, Runqing; Zhang, Qingpeng; Liu, Hang; Meng, Xiangsong

2017-11-15

This study investigates an environmentally friendly technology that utilizes waste by-products (waste acid and waste alkali liquids) to treat mineral processing wastewater. Chemical precipitation is used to remove silicate from scheelite (CaWO 4 ) cleaning flotation wastewater and the waste by-products are used as a substitute for calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ). A series of laboratory experiments is conducted to explain the removal of silicate and the characterization and formation mechanism of calcium silicate. The results show that silicate removal reaches 90% when the Ca:Si molar ratio exceeds 1.0. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirm the characterization and formation of calcium silicate. The pH is the key factor for silicate removal, and the formation of polysilicic acid with a reduction of pH can effectively improve the silicate removal and reduce the usage of calcium. The economic analysis shows that the treatment costs with waste acid (0.63 $/m 3 ) and waste alkali (1.54 $/m 3 ) are lower than that of calcium chloride (2.38 $/m 3 ). The efficient removal of silicate is confirmed by industrial testing at a plant. The results show that silicate removal reaches 85% in the recycled water from tailings dam. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental assessment of cement/foundry sludge products.

PubMed

Ruiz, M C; Andrés, A; Irabien, A

2003-05-01

This work deals with the environmental assessment of products based on cement and a waste from a cast iron activity. The waste is a foundry sludge from wastewater treatment previously characterized. This industrial waste shows a high water content (62.4%) and a hazardous behavior due to its metallic content mainly Zn (16.5%), together with a low fraction of organic pollutants, mainly phenolic compounds. The feasibility of immobilizing both typs of contaminants was studied using Portland cement as binder at different cement/waste ratios. The parameters of environmental control were the ecotoxicity and mobilization of zinc and phenolic compounds, all determined on the basis of compliance leaching tests. The acid neutralization capacity of the cement/waste products was measured in order to obtain information on their buffering capacity. Experimental results from chemical analysis of leachates led to a non ecotoxic character of cement/waste products Although the metallic ions were mobilized within the cement mattices, the organic matter did not allow the formation of monolithic forms and an efficient immobilization of phenolic compounds. Concerning the acid neutralization capacity, this parameter was shown to depend mainly on the quantity of cement, although a decrease in alkalinity was observed when the amount of water in the cement/waste products increased.

40 CFR 268.43 - Treatment standards expressed as waste concentrations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... WASTES (CONTINUED) LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS Treatment Standards § 268.43 Treatment standards expressed as waste concentrations. For the requirements previously found in this section and for treatment... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Treatment standards expressed as waste...

Technical area status report for waste destruction and stabilization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dalton, J.D.; Harris, T.L.; DeWitt, L.M.

1993-08-01

The Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) was established by the Department of Energy (DOE) to direct and coordinate waste management and site remediation programs/activities throughout the DOE complex. In order to successfully achieve the goal of properly managing waste and the cleanup of the DOE sites, the EM was divided into five organizations: the Office of Planning and Resource Management (EM-10); the Office of Environmental Quality Assurance and Resource Management (EM-20); the Office of Waste Operations (EM-30); the Office of Environmental Restoration (EM-40); and the Office of Technology and Development (EM-50). The mission of the Office ofmore » Technology Development (OTD) is to develop treatment technologies for DOE`s operational and environmental restoration wastes where current treatment technologies are inadequate or not available. The Mixed Waste Integrated Program (MWIP) was created by OTD to assist in the development of treatment technologies for the DOE mixed low-level wastes (MLLW). The MWIP has established five Technical Support Groups (TSGs) whose purpose is to identify, evaluate, and develop treatment technologies within five general technical areas representing waste treatment functions from initial waste handling through generation of final waste forms. These TSGs are: (1) Front-End Waste Handling, (2) Physical/Chemical Treatment, (3) Waste Destruction and Stabilization, (4) Second-Stage Destruction and Offgas Treatment, and (5) Final Waste Forms. This report describes the functions of the Waste Destruction and Stabilization (WDS) group. Specifically, the following items are discussed: DOE waste stream identification; summary of previous efforts; summary of WDS treatment technologies; currently funded WDS activities; and recommendations for future activities.« less

A proposed framework of food waste collection and recycling for renewable biogas fuel production in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Woon, Kok Sin; Lo, Irene M C

2016-01-01

Hong Kong is experiencing a pressing need for food waste management. Currently, approximately 3600 tonnes of food waste are disposed of at landfills in Hong Kong daily. The landfills in Hong Kong are expected to be exhausted by 2020. In the long run, unavoidable food waste should be sorted out from the other municipal solid waste (MSW) and then valorized into valuable resources. A simple sorting process involving less behavioural change of residents is, therefore, of paramount importance in order to encourage residents to sort the food waste from other MSW. In this paper, a sustainable framework of food waste collection and recycling for renewable biogas fuel production is proposed. For an efficient separation and collection system, an optic bag (i.e. green bag) can be used to pack the food waste, while the residual MSW can be packed in a common plastic bag. All the wastes are then sent to the refuse transfer stations in the conventional way (i.e. refuse collection vehicles). At the refuse transfer stations, the food waste is separated from the residual MSW using optic sensors which recognize the colours of the bags. The food waste in the optic bags is then delivered to the proposed Organic Waste Treatment Facilities, in which biogas is generated following the anaerobic digestion technology. The biogas can be further upgraded via gas upgrading units to a quality suitable for use as a vehicle biogas fuel. The use of biogas fuel from food waste has been widely practiced by some countries such as Sweden, France, and Norway. Hopefully, the proposed framework can provide the epitome of the waste-to-wealth concept for the sustainable collection and recycling of food waste in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eco-efficient waste glass recycling: Integrated waste management and green product development through LCA.

PubMed

Blengini, Gian Andrea; Busto, Mirko; Fantoni, Moris; Fino, Debora

2012-05-01

As part of the EU Life + NOVEDI project, a new eco-efficient recycling route has been implemented to maximise resources and energy recovery from post-consumer waste glass, through integrated waste management and industrial production. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to identify engineering solutions to sustainability during the development of green building products. The new process and the related LCA are framed within a meaningful case of industrial symbiosis, where multiple waste streams are utilised in a multi-output industrial process. The input is a mix of rejected waste glass from conventional container glass recycling and waste special glass such as monitor glass, bulbs and glass fibres. The green building product is a recycled foam glass (RFG) to be used in high efficiency thermally insulating and lightweight concrete. The environmental gains have been contrasted against induced impacts and improvements have been proposed. Recovered co-products, such as glass fragments/powders, plastics and metals, correspond to environmental gains that are higher than those related to landfill avoidance, whereas the latter is cancelled due to increased transportation distances. In accordance to an eco-efficiency principle, it has been highlighted that recourse to highly energy intensive recycling should be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Waste diminution in Construction projects: Environmental Predicaments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gharehbaghi, Koorosh; Scott-Young, Christina

2018-03-01

Waste diminution in construction projects is not only a behavioural issue, but also an energy consumption and reduction concern. With construction waste equating to the significant amount of exhausted energy together with increased pollution, this contributes to a series of environmental predicaments. The overall goal of construction solid Waste Management is to collect, treat and dispose of solid wastes generated by project activities in an environmentally and socially satisfactory manner, using the most economical means available. As cities expand, their construction activities and consumption patterns further drive up the solid waste quantities. Governments are usually authorized to have responsibility for providing solid Waste Management services, and various administrative laws give them exclusive ownership over the waste produced. In addition, construction waste processing can be further controlled and minimized according to specialized authorities such as Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) and their relevant acts and regulations. Moreover, a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) can further control the treatment of waste and therefore, reduce the amount produced. Key elements of a CEMP not only include complying with relevant legislation, standards and guidance from the EPA; however, also to ensuring that there are systems in place to resolve any potential problems associated with site activities. Accordingly, as a part of energy consumption and lessening strategies, this paper will discuss various effective waste reduction methods for construction projects. Finally, this paper will also examine tactics to further improve energy efficiency through innovative construction Waste Management strategies (including desirability rating of most favourable options) to promote the lessening of overall CO2production.

The status and development of treatment techniques of typical waste electrical and electronic equipment in China: a review.

PubMed

He, Yunxia; Xu, Zhenming

2014-04-01

A large quantity of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is being generated because technical innovation promotes the unceasing renewal of products. China's household appliances and electronic products have entered the peak of obsolescence. Due to lack of technology and equipment, recycling of WEEE is causing serious environment pollution. In order to achieve the harmless disposal and resource utilization of WEEE, researchers have performed large quantities of work, and some demonstration projects have been built recently. In this paper, the treatment techniques of typical WEEE components, including printed circuit boards, refrigerator cabinets, toner cartridges, cathode ray tubes, liquid crystal display panels, batteries (Ni-Cd and Li-ion), hard disk drives, and wires are reviewed. An integrated recycling system with environmentally friendly and highly efficient techniques for processing WEEE is proposed. The orientation of further development for WEEE recycling is also proposed.

Aerobic biological treatment of leachates from municipal solid waste landfill.

PubMed

Andrés, P; Gutierrez, F; Arrabal, C; Cortijo, M

2004-01-01

The main objective of the study was to improve chemical oxygen demand (COD) elimination by secondary biological treatment from leachate of municipal solid waste landfill. This effluent was a supernatant liquid obtained after physicochemical processes and coagulating with Al3+ followed by ammoniacal stripping. First, respirometric assays were carried out to determine the substrate biodegradability. Specific sludge respiration rate (R(s)) vs. concentration of substrate (S), showed an increasing specific rate of assimilation of substrate (Rs), which reached the highest value, when the substrate concentration (COD) was between 75 and 200 mg O2 L(-1). Second, continuous experiments were made in an aerobic digester to test the previous respirometric data and the results showed removal efficiency of COD between 83 and 69%, and a substrate assimilation rate between 1.3 and 3.1 g COD g(-1) volatile suspended solids d(-1).

Technology for Waste Treatment at Remote Army Sites

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-01

Management "AD-A.17 6 801 i echnology for Waste Treatment at Remote Army Sites by * Richard J. Scholze James E. Alleinan Steve R. Struss EdD. Smith This...62720 IA896 A 1039 IT TITLE (include Security Classification) Technology for Waste Treatment at Remote Army Sites (Unclassified) 12 PERSONAL...management human wastes 13 02 waste treatment remote sites I I wastes (sanitary engineering)~ 19 ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by

Treatment of air pollution control residues with iron rich waste sulfuric acid: does it work for antimony (Sb)?

PubMed

Okkenhaug, Gudny; Breedveld, Gijs D; Kirkeng, Terje; Lægreid, Marit; Mæhlum, Trond; Mulder, Jan

2013-03-15

Antimony (Sb) in air pollution control (APC) residues from municipal solid waste incineration has gained increased focus due to strict Sb leaching limits set by the EU landfill directive. Here we study the chemical speciation and solubility of Sb at the APC treatment facility NOAH Langøya (Norway), where iron (Fe)-rich sulfuric acid (∼3.6M, 2.3% Fe(II)), a waste product from the industrial extraction of ilmenite, is used for neutralization. Antimony in water extracts of untreated APC residues occurred exclusively as pentavalent antimonate, even at low pH and Eh values. The Sb solubility increased substantially at pH<10, possibly due to the dissolution of ettringite (at alkaline pH) or calcium (Ca)-antimonate. Treated APC residues, stored anoxically in the laboratory, simulating the conditions at the NOAH Langøya landfill, gave rise to decreasing concentrations of Sb in porewater, occurring exclusively as Sb(V). Concentrations of Sb decreased from 87-918μgL(-1) (day 3) to 18-69μgL(-1) (day 600). We hypothesize that an initial sorption of Sb to Fe(II)-Fe(III) hydroxides (green rust) and eventually precipitation of Ca- and Fe-antimonates (tripuhyite; FeSbO4) occurred. We conclude that Fe-rich, sulfuric acid waste is efficient to immobilize Sb in APC residues from waste incineration. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pilot-scale experiment on anaerobic bioreactor landfills in China.

PubMed

Jiang, Jianguo; Yang, Guodong; Deng, Zhou; Huang, Yunfeng; Huang, Zhonglin; Feng, Xiangming; Zhou, Shengyong; Zhang, Chaoping

2007-01-01

Developing countries have begun to investigate bioreactor landfills for municipal solid waste management. This paper describes the impacts of leachate recirculation and recirculation loadings on waste stabilization, landfill gas (LFG) generation and leachate characteristics. Four simulated anaerobic columns, R1-R4, were each filled with about 30 tons of waste and recirculated weekly with 1.6, 0.8 and 0.2m(3) leachate and 0.1m(3) tap water. The results indicated that the chemical oxygen demand (COD) half-time of leachate from R1 was about 180 days, which was 8-14 weeks shorter than that of R2-R4. A large amount of LFG was first produced in R1, and its generation rate was positively correlated to the COD or volatile fatty acid concentrations of influent leachates after the 30th week. By the 50th week of recirculation, the waste in R1 was more stabilized, with 931.2 kg COD or 175.6 kg total organic carbon released and with the highest landfill gas production. However, this contributed mainly to washout by leachate, which also resulted in the reduction of LFG generation potential and accumulation of ammonia and/or phosphorus in the early stage. Therefore, the regimes of leachate recirculation should be adjusted to the phases of waste stabilization to enhance efficiency of energy recovery. Integrated with the strategy of in situ leachate management, extra pre-treatment or post-treatment methods to remove the nutrients are recommended.

Production of ethanol from a mixture of waste paper and kitchen waste via a process of successive liquefaction, presaccharification, and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation.

PubMed

Nishimura, Hiroto; Tan, Li; Kira, Noriko; Tomiyama, Shigeo; Yamada, Kazuo; Sun, Zhao-Yong; Tang, Yue-Qin; Morimura, Shigeru; Kida, Kenji

2017-09-01

Efficient ethanol production from waste paper requires the addition of expensive nutrients. To reduce the production cost of ethanol from waste paper, a study on how to produce ethanol efficiently by adding kitchen waste (potentially as a carbon source, nutrient source, and acidity regulator) to waste paper was performed and a process of successive liquefaction, presaccharification, and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (L+PSSF) was developed. The individual saccharification performances of waste paper and kitchen waste were not influenced by their mixture. Liquefaction of kitchen waste at 90°C prior to presaccharification and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (PSSF) was essential for efficient ethanol fermentation. Ethanol at concentrations of 46.6 or 43.6g/l was obtained at the laboratory scale after fermentation for 96h, even without pH adjustment and/or the addition of extra nutrients. Similarly, ethanol at a concentration of 45.5g/l was obtained at the pilot scale after fermentation for 48h. The ethanol concentration of L+PSSF of the mixture of waste paper and kitchen waste was comparable to that of PSSF of waste paper with added nutrients (yeast extract and peptone) and pH adjustment using H 2 SO 4 , indicating that kitchen waste is not only a carbon source but also an excellent nutrient source and acidity regulator for fermentation of the mixture of waste paper and kitchen waste. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Bear Creek Valley characterization area mixed wastes passive in situ treatment technology demonstration project - status report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watson, D.; Leavitt, M.; Moss, D.

1997-03-01

Historical waste disposal activities within the Bear Creek Valley (BCV) Characterization Area (CA), at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Y-12 plant, have contaminated groundwater and surface water above human health risk levels and impacted the ecology of Bear Creek. Contaminates include nitrate, radioisotopes, metals, volatile organic chemicals (VOCS), and common ions. This paper provides a status report on a technology demonstration project that is investigating the feasibility of using passive in situ treatment systems to remove these contaminants. Although this technology may be applicable to many locations at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, the project focuses onmore » collecting the information needed to take CERCLA removal actions in 1998 at the S-3 Disposal Ponds site. Phase 1 has been completed and included site characterization, laboratory screening of treatment media (sorbents; and iron), and limited field testing of biological treatment systems. Batch tests using different Y-12 Plant waters were conducted to evaluate the removal efficiencies of most of the media. Phase 1 results suggest that the most promising treatment media are Dowex 21 k resin, peat moss, zero-valent iron, and iron oxides. Phase 2 will include in-field column testing of these media to assess loading rates, and concerns with clogging, by-products, and long-term treatment efficiency and media stability. Continued testing of wetlands and algal mats (MATs) will be conducted to determine if they can be used for in-stream polishing of surface water. Hydraulic testing of a shallow trench and horizontal well will also be completed during Phase 2. 4 refs., 3 tabs.« less

Tunable, self-powered integrated arc plasma-melter vitrification system for waste treatment and resource recovery

DOEpatents

Titus, Charles H.; Cohn, Daniel R.; Surma, Jeffrey E.

1998-01-01

The present invention provides a relatively compact self-powered, tunable waste conversion system and apparatus which has the advantage of highly robust operation which provides complete or substantially complete conversion of a wide range of waste streams into useful gas and a stable, nonleachable solid product at a single location with greatly reduced air pollution to meet air quality standards. The system provides the capability for highly efficient conversion of waste into high quality combustible gas and for high efficiency conversion of the gas into electricity by utilizing a high efficiency gas turbine or by an internal combustion engine. The solid product can be suitable for various commercial applications. Alternatively, the solid product stream, which is a safe, stable material, may be disposed of without special considerations as hazardous material. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the arc plasma furnace and joule heated melter are formed as a fully integrated unit with a common melt pool having circuit arrangements for the simultaneous independently controllable operation of both the arc plasma and the joule heated portions of the unit without interference with one another. The preferred configuration of this embodiment of the invention utilizes two arc plasma electrodes with an elongated chamber for the molten pool such that the molten pool is capable of providing conducting paths between electrodes. The apparatus may additionally be employed with reduced or without further use of the gases generated by the conversion process. The apparatus may be employed as a self-powered or net electricity producing unit where use of an auxiliary fuel provides the required level of electricity production.

Regeneration of pilot-scale ion exchange columns for hexavalent chromium removal.

PubMed

Korak, Julie A; Huggins, Richard; Arias-Paic, Miguel

2017-07-01

Due to stricter regulations, some drinking water utilities must implement additional treatment processes to meet potable water standards for hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), such as the California limit of 10 μg/L. Strong base anion exchange is effective for Cr(VI) removal, but efficient resin regeneration and waste minimization are important for operational, economic and environmental considerations. This study compared multiple regeneration methods on pilot-scale columns on the basis of regeneration efficiency, waste production and salt usage. A conventional 1-Stage regeneration using 2 N sodium chloride (NaCl) was compared to 1) a 2-Stage process with 0.2 N NaCl followed by 2 N NaCl and 2) a mixed regenerant solution with 2 N NaCl and 0.2 N sodium bicarbonate. All methods eluted similar cumulative amounts of chromium with 2 N NaCl. The 2-Stage process eluted an additional 20-30% of chromium in the 0.2 N fraction, but total resin capacity is unaffected if this fraction is recycled to the ion exchange headworks. The 2-Stage approach selectively eluted bicarbonate and sulfate with 0.2 N NaCl before regeneration using 2 N NaCl. Regeneration approach impacted the elution efficiency of both uranium and vanadium. Regeneration without co-eluting sulfate and bicarbonate led to incomplete uranium elution and potential formation of insoluble uranium hydroxides that could lead to long-term resin fouling, decreased capacity and render the resin a low-level radioactive solid waste. Partial vanadium elution occurred during regeneration due to co-eluting sulfate suppressing vanadium release. Waste production and salt usage were comparable for the 1- and 2-Stage regeneration processes with similar operational setpoints with respect to chromium or nitrate elution. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Characterizing the variability of food waste quality: A need for efficient valorisation through anaerobic digestion.

PubMed

Fisgativa, Henry; Tremier, Anne; Dabert, Patrick

2016-04-01

In order to determine the variability of food waste (FW) characteristics and the influence of these variable values on the anaerobic digestion (AD) process, FW characteristics from 70 papers were compiled and analysed statistically. Results indicated that FW characteristics values are effectively very variable and that 24% of these variations may be explained by the geographical origin, the type of collection source and the season of the collection. Considering the whole range of values for physicochemical characteristics (especially volatile solids (VS), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biomethane potential (BMP)), FW show good potential for AD treatment. However, the high carbohydrates contents (36.4%VS) and the low pH (5.1) might cause inhibitions by the rapid acidification of the digesters. As regards the variation of FW characteristics, FW categories were proposed. Moreover, the adequacy of FW characteristics with AD treatment was discussed. Four FW categories were identified with critical characteristics values for AD performance: (1) the high dry matter (DM) and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) content of FW collected with green waste, (2) the high cellulose (CEL) content of FW from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, (3) the low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio of FW collected during summer, (4) the high value of TAN and Na of FW from Asia. For these cases, an aerobic pre-treatment or a corrective treatment seems to be advised to avoid instabilities along the digestion. Finally, the results of this review-paper provide a data basis of values for FW characteristics that could be used for AD process design and environmental assessment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reclamation of landfills and dumps of municipal solid waste in a energy efficient waste management system: methodology and practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlova, Tatyana; Melnichuk, Aleksandr; Klimenko, Kseniya; Vitvitskaya, Valentina; Popovych, Valentina; Dunaieva, Ielizaveta; Terleev, Vitaly; Nikonorov, Aleksandr; Togo, Issa; Volkova, Yulia; Mirschel, Wilfried; Garmanov, Vitaly

2017-10-01

The article considers the methodological and practical aspects of reclamation of landfills and dumps of municipal solid waste in a waste management system. The general tendencies of system development in the context of elements of the international concept of waste hierarchy are analyzed. Statistics of the formation and burial of domestic waste indicate a strategic non-alternative to the rejection of landfill technologies in favor of environmentally, energy efficient and economically expedient ways of utilization of municipal waste as a world trend. Practical approaches to the study of territories on which there are dumps and landfills are considered to justify the design solutions for reclamation.

Assessment of the waste electrical and electronic equipment management systems profile and sustainability in developed and developing European Union countries.

PubMed

Ibanescu, Dumitrita; Cailean Gavrilescu, Daniela; Teodosiu, Carmen; Fiore, Silvia

2018-03-01

The assessment of waste management systems for electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from developed economies (Germany, Sweden and Italy) and developing countries (Romania and Bulgaria), is discussed covering the period 2007-2014. The WEEE management systems profiles are depicted by indicators correlated to WEEE life cycle stages: collection, transportation and treatment. The sustainability of national WEEE management systems in terms of greenhouse gas emissions is presented, together with the greenhouse gas efficiency indicator that underlines the efficiency of WEEE treatment options. In the countries comparisons, the key elements are: robust versus fragile economies, the overall waste management performance and the existence/development of suitable management practices on WEEE. Over the life cycle perspective, developed economies (Germany, Sweden and Italy) manage one order of magnitude higher quantities of WEEE compared to developing countries (Romania and Bulgaria). Although prevention and reduction measures are encouraged, all WEEE quantities were larger in 2013, than in 2007. In 2007-2014, developed economies exceed the annual European collection target of 4 kg WEEE/capita, while collection is still difficult in developing countries. If collection rates are estimated in relationship with products placed on market, than similar values are registered in Sweden and Bulgaria, followed by Germany and Italy and lastly Romania. WEEE transportation shows different patterns among countries, with Italy as the greatest exporter (in 2014), while Sweden treats the WEEE nationally. WEEE reuse is a common practice in Germany, Sweden (from 2009) and Bulgaria (from 2011). By 2014, recycling was the most preferred WEEE treatment option, with the same kind of rates performance, over 80%, irrespective of the country, with efforts in each of the countries in developing special collection points, recycling facilities and support instruments. The national total and the recycling carbon footprints of WEEE are lower in 2013 than in 2007 for each country, the order in reducing the environmental impacts being: Germany, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria and Romania. The negative values indicate savings in greenhouse gas emissions. In 2013, the GHG efficiency shows no differences of the WEEE management in the developed and developing countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The study of the mobile compressor unit heat losses recovery system waste heat exchanger thermal insulation types influence on the operational efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusha, V. L.; Chernov, G. I.; Kalashnikov, A. M.

2017-08-01

The paper examines the mobile compressor unit (MCU) heat losses recovery system waste heat exchanger prototype external thermal insulation types influence on the operational efficiency. The study is conducted by means of the numerical method through the modellingof the heat exchange processes carried out in the waste heat exchanger in ANSUS. Thermaflex, mineral wool, penofol, water and air were applied as the heat exchanger external insulation. The study results showed the waste heat exchanger external thermal insulationexistence or absence to have a significant impact on the heat exchanger operational efficiency.

40 CFR 266.206 - Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... and disposal of waste military munitions. 266.206 Section 266.206 Protection of Environment... HAZARDOUS WASTES AND SPECIFIC TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES Military Munitions § 266.206 Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions. The treatment and disposal...

40 CFR 266.206 - Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... and disposal of waste military munitions. 266.206 Section 266.206 Protection of Environment... HAZARDOUS WASTES AND SPECIFIC TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES Military Munitions § 266.206 Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions. The treatment and disposal...

40 CFR 266.206 - Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... and disposal of waste military munitions. 266.206 Section 266.206 Protection of Environment... HAZARDOUS WASTES AND SPECIFIC TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES Military Munitions § 266.206 Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions. The treatment and disposal...

40 CFR 266.206 - Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... and disposal of waste military munitions. 266.206 Section 266.206 Protection of Environment... HAZARDOUS WASTES AND SPECIFIC TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES Military Munitions § 266.206 Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions. The treatment and disposal...

40 CFR 266.206 - Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... and disposal of waste military munitions. 266.206 Section 266.206 Protection of Environment... HAZARDOUS WASTES AND SPECIFIC TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES Military Munitions § 266.206 Standards applicable to the treatment and disposal of waste military munitions. The treatment and disposal...

Application of iron nanaoparticles in landfill leachate treatment - case study: Hamadan landfill leachate.

PubMed

Kashitarash, Zahra Esfahani; Taghi, Samadi Mohammad; Kazem, Naddafi; Abbass, Afkhami; Alireza, Rahmani

2012-12-27

This study was performed with the objective of determining the efficiency of iron nanoparticles for reducing chemical oxygen demand (COD), 5-day biological oxygen demand (BOD5), total solids (TS) and color of Hamadan city landfill leachate. Experiments were performed in a batch reactor and the main effective factors of pH, reaction time and concentration of iron nanoparticles were investigated. The obtained data were analyzed with One-Way ANOVA statistical test and SPSS-13 software. Maximum removal efficiencies were 47.94%, 35%, 55.62% and 76.66% for COD, BOD5, TS and color, respectively (for 2.5 g/L iron nanoparticles dosage, pH = 6.5 and 10 min reaction time). The results showed that the removal of COD, BOD5 and color had reverse relationship with contact time and TS removal followed a direct relationship (P < 0.05). Iron nanoparticles could remove averagely 53% of leachate COD, BOD5, TS and color in a short contact time (10 min) increasing pH up to 6.5, increased the removal efficiency for COD, BOD5, TS and color and then removal efficiency decreased with increasing pH to 8.5. Increasing the dosage of nanoparticles to 2.5 g/L increased the efficiency of process. High compatibility and efficiency of this process was proven by landfill leachate pre-treatment or post-treatment, so this removal method may be recommended for municipal solid waste landfill leachate treatment plants.

Application of iron nanaoparticles in landfill leachate treatment - case study: Hamadan landfill leachate

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

This study was performed with the objective of determining the efficiency of iron nanoparticles for reducing chemical oxygen demand (COD), 5-day biological oxygen demand (BOD5), total solids (TS) and color of Hamadan city landfill leachate. Experiments were performed in a batch reactor and the main effective factors of pH, reaction time and concentration of iron nanoparticles were investigated. The obtained data were analyzed with One-Way ANOVA statistical test and SPSS-13 software. Maximum removal efficiencies were 47.94%, 35%, 55.62% and 76.66% for COD, BOD5, TS and color, respectively (for 2.5 g/L iron nanoparticles dosage, pH = 6.5 and 10 min reaction time). The results showed that the removal of COD, BOD5 and color had reverse relationship with contact time and TS removal followed a direct relationship (P < 0.05). Iron nanoparticles could remove averagely 53% of leachate COD, BOD5, TS and color in a short contact time (10 min) increasing pH up to 6.5, increased the removal efficiency for COD, BOD5, TS and color and then removal efficiency decreased with increasing pH to 8.5. Increasing the dosage of nanoparticles to 2.5 g/L increased the efficiency of process. High compatibility and efficiency of this process was proven by landfill leachate pre-treatment or post-treatment, so this removal method may be recommended for municipal solid waste landfill leachate treatment plants. PMID:23369361

In-situ groundwater remediation by selective colloid mobilization

DOEpatents

Seaman, J.C.; Bertch, P.M.

1998-12-08

An in-situ groundwater remediation pump and treat technique is described which is effective for reclamation of aquifers that have been contaminated with a mixed, metal-containing waste, and which promotes selective mobilization of metal oxide colloids with a cationic surfactant, preferably a quaternary alkylammonium surfactant, without significantly reducing formation permeability that often accompanies large-scale colloid dispersion, thus increasing the efficiency of the remediation effort by enhancing the capture of strongly sorbing contaminants associated with the oxide phases. The resulting suspension can be separated from the bulk solution with controlled pH adjustments to destabilize the oxide colloids, and a clear supernatant which results that can be recycled through the injection well without further waste treatment. 3 figs.

In-situ groundwater remediation by selective colloid mobilization

DOEpatents

Seaman, John C.; Bertch, Paul M.

1998-01-01

An in-situ groundwater remediation pump and treat technique effective for reclamation of aquifers that have been contaminated with a mixed, metal-containing waste, which promotes selective mobilization of metal oxide colloids with a cationic surfactant, preferably a quaternary alkylammonium surfactant, without significantly reducing formation permeability that often accompanies large-scale colloid dispersion, thus increasing the efficiency of the remediation effort by enhancing the capture of strongly sorbing contaminants associated with the oxide phases. The resulting suspension can be separated from the bulk solution with controlled pH adjustments to destabilize the oxide colloids, and a clear supernatant which results that can be recycled through the injection well without further waste treatment.

Drivers for innovation in waste-to-energy technology.

PubMed

Gohlke, Oliver; Martin, Johannes

2007-06-01

This paper summarizes developments made in the field of waste-to-energy technology between the 1980s and the present. In the USA, many waste-to-energy systems were developed in the 1980s and early 1990s. These plants generated power relatively efficiently (typically 23%) in 60 bar/ 443 degrees C boilers. Unfortunately, the development came to a stop when the US Supreme Court rejected the practice of waste flow control in 1994. Consequently, waste was directed to mega-landfills, associated with very negative environmental impacts. However, given landfill taxes and increased fuel prices, new waste-to-energy projects have recently been developed. Attractive premiums for renewable power production from municipal waste have been introduced in several European countries. This triggered important innovations in the field of improved energy recovery. Examples of modern waste-to-energy plants are Brescia and Amsterdam with net efficiencies of 24 and 30%, respectively. Incineration is traditionally preferred in Japan due to space constraints. New legislation promoted ash melting or gasification to obtain improved ash quality. However, these processes reduce the efficiency in terms of energy, cost and availability. A new oxygen-enriched waste-to-energy system is under development in order to better achieve the required inert ash quality.

High density Polyethylene plastic waste treatment with microwave heating pyrolysis method using coconut-shell activated carbon to produce alternative fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juliastuti, S. R.; Hisbullah, M. I.; Abdillah, M.

2018-03-01

Pyrolysis is a technology that could crack polimer such as plastic waste into alternative fuels. This research uses microwave heating methode, which more efficient than conventional heating methode. The plastic waste used is 200 grams of HDPE, with feed to catalyst weight ratio are 1:1, 0.6:1, 0.4:1. Pyrolysis was run at temperatures of 250, 300, 350, & 400 °C for 15, 30 and 45 min. From the experimental result, the best variable of pyrolysis process with microwave method is at 45 minutes, at 400°C, and 1:1 feed to catalyst weight ratio. Result shows that yield of liquid and gas product is 99.22%; yield of residue is 0.78%; value of liquid product’s composition (cycloparaffin and n-paraffin) is 54.09% and concentration of methane gas is 10.2%.

Sustainable solutions for solid waste management in Southeast Asian countries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Uyen Nguyen Ngoc; Schnitzer, Hans

2009-06-15

Human activities generate waste and the amounts tend to increase as the demand for quality of life increases. Today's rate in the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEANs) is alarming, posing a challenge to governments regarding environmental pollution in the recent years. The expectation is that eventually waste treatment and waste prevention approaches will develop towards sustainable waste management solutions. This expectation is for instance reflected in the term 'zero emission systems'. The concept of zero emissions can be applied successfully with today's technical possibilities in the agro-based processing industry. First, the state-of-the-art of waste management in Southeast Asian countries will bemore » outlined in this paper, followed by waste generation rates, sources, and composition, as well as future trends of waste. Further on, solutions for solid waste management will be reviewed in the discussions of sustainable waste management. The paper emphasizes the concept of waste prevention through utilization of all wastes as process inputs, leading to the possibility of creating an ecosystem in a loop of materials. Also, a case study, focusing on the citrus processing industry, is displayed to illustrate the application of the aggregated material input-output model in a widespread processing industry in ASEAN. The model can be shown as a closed cluster, which permits an identification of opportunities for reducing environmental impacts at the process level in the food processing industry. Throughout the discussion in this paper, the utilization of renewable energy and economic aspects are considered to adapt to environmental and economic issues and the aim of eco-efficiency. Additionally, the opportunities and constraints of waste management will be discussed.« less

Evaluation and Testing of IONSIV IE-911 for the Removal of Cesium-137 from INEEL Tank Waste and Dissolved Calcines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

N. R. Mann; T. A. Todd; K. N. Brewer

1999-04-01

Development of waste treatment processes for the remediation of radioactive wastes is currently underway. A number of experiments were performed at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Environmental Center (INTEC) located at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) with the commercially available sorbent material, IONSIV IE-911, crystalline silicotitanate (CST), manufactured by UOP LLC. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the removal efficiency, sorbent capacity and selectivity of CST for removing Cs-137 from actual and simulated acidic tank waste in addition to dissolved pilot-plant calcine solutions. The scope of this work included batch contact tests performed with non-radioactivemore » dissolved Al and Run-64 pilot plant calcines in addition to simulants representing the average composition of tank waste. Small-scale column tests were performed with actual INEEL tank WM-183 waste, tank waste simulant, dissolved Al and Run-64 pilot plant calcine solutions. Small-scale column experiments using actual WM-183 tank waste resulted in fifty-percent Cs-137 breakthrough at approximately 589 bed volumes. Small-scale column experiments using the tank waste simulant displayed fifty-percent Cs-137 breakthrough at approximately 700 bed volumes. Small-scale column experiments using dissolved Al calcine simulant displayed fifty-percent Cs-137 breakthrough at approximately 795 bed volumes. Column experiments with dissolved Run-64, pilot plant calcine did not reach fifty-percent breakthrough throughout the test.« less

Solid waste treatment processes for space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marrero, T. R.

1983-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the state-of-the-art of solid waste(s) treatment processes applicable to a Space Station. From the review of available information a source term model for solid wastes was determined. An overall system is proposed to treat solid wastes under constraints of zero-gravity and zero-leakage. This study contains discussion of more promising potential treatment processes, including supercritical water oxidation, wet air (oxygen) oxidation, and chemical oxidation. A low pressure, batch-type treament process is recommended. Processes needed for pretreatment and post-treatment are hardware already developed for space operations. The overall solid waste management system should minimize transfer of wastes from their collection point to treatment vessel.

A Primer on Waste Water Treatment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of the Interior, Washington, DC. Federal Water Pollution Control Administration.

This information pamphlet is for teachers, students, or the general public concerned with the types of waste water treatment systems, the need for further treatment, and advanced methods of treating wastes. Present day pollution control methods utilizing primary and secondary waste treatment plants, lagoons, and septic tanks are described,…

40 CFR 35.928-1 - Approval of the industrial cost recovery system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... treatment works or (2) the charges to be collected by the grantee in providing waste water treatment... accepting waste-waters from other municipalities, the subscribers receiving waste treatment services from... municipalities contributing wastes to the treatment works. The public shall be consulted prior to adoption of the...

40 CFR 35.928-1 - Approval of the industrial cost recovery system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... treatment works or (2) the charges to be collected by the grantee in providing waste water treatment... accepting waste-waters from other municipalities, the subscribers receiving waste treatment services from... municipalities contributing wastes to the treatment works. The public shall be consulted prior to adoption of the...

40 CFR 721.10667 - Slimes and sludges, aluminum and iron casting, wastewater treatment, solid waste.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... casting, wastewater treatment, solid waste. 721.10667 Section 721.10667 Protection of Environment... iron casting, wastewater treatment, solid waste. (a) Chemical substance and significant new uses... and iron casting, wastewater treatment, solid waste (PMN P-12-560; CAS No. 1391739-82-4; chemical...

40 CFR 721.10667 - Slimes and sludges, aluminum and iron casting, wastewater treatment, solid waste.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... casting, wastewater treatment, solid waste. 721.10667 Section 721.10667 Protection of Environment... iron casting, wastewater treatment, solid waste. (a) Chemical substance and significant new uses... and iron casting, wastewater treatment, solid waste (PMN P-12-560; CAS No. 1391739-82-4; chemical...

Risk assessment of CST-7 proposed waste treatment and storage facilities Volume I: Limited-scope probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of proposed CST-7 waste treatment & storage facilities. Volume II: Preliminary hazards analysis of proposed CST-7 waste storage & treatment facilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sasser, K.

1994-06-01

In FY 1993, the Los Alamos National Laboratory Waste Management Group [CST-7 (formerly EM-7)] requested the Probabilistic Risk and Hazards Analysis Group [TSA-11 (formerly N-6)] to conduct a study of the hazards associated with several CST-7 facilities. Among these facilities are the Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility (HWTF), the HWTF Drum Storage Building (DSB), and the Mixed Waste Receiving and Storage Facility (MWRSF), which are proposed for construction beginning in 1996. These facilities are needed to upgrade the Laboratory`s storage capability for hazardous and mixed wastes and to provide treatment capabilities for wastes in cases where offsite treatment is not availablemore » or desirable. These facilities will assist Los Alamos in complying with federal and state requlations.« less

Can direct conversion of used nitrogen to new feed and protein help feed the world?

PubMed

Matassa, Silvio; Batstone, Damien J; Hülsen, Tim; Schnoor, Jerald; Verstraete, Willy

2015-05-05

The increase in the world population, vulnerability of conventional crop production to climate change, and population shifts to megacities justify a re-examination of current methods of converting reactive nitrogen to dinitrogen gas in sewage and waste treatment plants. Indeed, by up-grading treatment plants to factories in which the incoming materials are first deconstructed to units such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and clean minerals, one can implement a highly intensive and efficient microbial resynthesis process in which the used nitrogen is harvested as microbial protein (at efficiencies close to 100%). This can be used for animal feed and food purposes. The technology for recovery of reactive nitrogen as microbial protein is available but a change of mindset needs to be achieved to make such recovery acceptable.

The status and developments of leather solid waste treatment: A mini-review.

PubMed

Jiang, Huiyan; Liu, Junsheng; Han, Wei

2016-05-01

Leather making is one of the most widespread industries in the world. The production of leather goods generates different types of solid wastes and wastewater. These wastes will pollute the environment and threat the health of human beings if they are not well treated. Consequently, the treatment of pollution caused by the wastes from leather tanning is really important. In comparison with the disposal of leather wastewater, the treatment of leather solid wastes is more intractable. Hence, the treatment of leather solid wastes needs more innovations. To keep up with the rapid development of the modern leather industry, various innovative techniques have been newly developed. In this mini-review article, the major achievements in the treatment of leather solid wastes are highlighted. Emphasis will be placed on the treatment of chromium-tanned solid wastes; some new approaches are also discussed. We hope that this mini-review can provide some valuable information to promote the broad understanding and effective treatment of leather solid wastes in the leather industry. © The Author(s) 2016.

Hyperthermophilic Composting Accelerates the Removal of Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Mobile Genetic Elements in Sewage Sludge.

PubMed

Liao, Hanpeng; Lu, Xiaomei; Rensing, Christopher; Friman, Ville Petri; Geisen, Stefan; Chen, Zhi; Yu, Zhen; Wei, Zhong; Zhou, Shungui; Zhu, Yongguan

2018-01-02

Composting is an efficient way to convert organic waste into fertilizers. However, waste materials often contain large amounts of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) that can reduce the efficacy of antibiotic treatments when transmitted to humans. Because conventional composting often fails to remove these compounds, we evaluated if hyperthermophilic composting with elevated temperature is more efficient at removing ARGs and MGEs and explored the underlying mechanisms of ARG removal of the two composting methods. We found that hyperthermophilic composting removed ARGs and MGEs more efficiently than conventional composting (89% and 49%, respectively). Furthermore, the half-lives of ARGs and MGEs were lower in hyperthermophilic compositing compared to conventional composting (67% and 58%, respectively). More-efficient removal of ARGs and MGEs was associated with a higher reduction in bacterial abundance and diversity of potential ARG hosts. Partial least-squares path modeling suggested that reduction of MGEs played a key role in ARG removal in hyperthermophilic composting, while ARG reduction was mainly driven by changes in bacterial community composition under conventional composting. Together these results suggest that hyperthermophilic composting can significantly enhance the removal of ARGs and MGEs and that the mechanisms of ARG and MGE removal can depend on composting temperature.

Co-digestion of sewage sludge from external small WWTP's in a large plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miodoński, Stanisław

2017-11-01

Improving energy efficiency of WWTPs (Waste Water Treatment Plants) is crucial action of modern wastewater treatment technology. Technological treatment process optimization is important but the main goal will not be achieved without increasing production of renewable energy from sewage sludge in anaerobic digestion process which is most often used as sludge stabilization method on large WWTP's. Usually, anaerobic digestion reactors used for sludge digestion were designed with reserve and most of them is oversized. In many cases that reserve is unused. On the other hand, smaller WWTPs have problem with management of sewage sludge due to lack of adequately developed infrastructure for sludge stabilization. Paper shows an analysis of using a technological reserve of anaerobic digestion reactors at large WWTP (1 million P.E.) for sludge stabilization collected from smaller WWTP in a co-digestion process. Over 30 small WWTPs from the same region as the large WWTP were considered in this study. Furthermore, performed analysis included also evaluation of potential sludge disintegration pre-treatment for co-digestion efficiency improvement.

Enhancement of in vitro high-density polyethylene (HDPE) degradation by physical, chemical, and biological treatments.

PubMed

Balasubramanian, V; Natarajan, K; Rajeshkannan, V; Perumal, P

2014-11-01

Partially degraded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was collected from plastic waste dump yard for biodegradation using fungi. Of various fungi screened, strain MF12 was found efficient in degrading HDPE by weight loss and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometric analysis. Strain MF12 was selected as efficient HDPE degraders for further studies, and their growth medium composition was optimized. Among those different media used, basal minimal medium (BMM) was suitable for the HDPE degradation by strain MF12. Strain MF12 was subjected to 28S rRNA sequence analysis and identified as Aspergillus terreus MF12. HDPE degradation was carried out using combinatorial physical and chemical treatments in conjunction to biological treatment. The high level of HDPE degradation was observed in ultraviolet (UV) and KMnO4/HCl with A. terreus MF12 treatment, i.e., FT10. The abiotic physical and chemical factors enhance the biodegradation of HDPE using A. terreus MF12.

Detection, composition and treatment of volatile organic compounds from waste treatment plants.

PubMed

Font, Xavier; Artola, Adriana; Sánchez, Antoni

2011-01-01

Environmental policies at the European and global level support the diversion of wastes from landfills for their treatment in different facilities. Organic waste is mainly treated or valorized through composting, anaerobic digestion or a combination of both treatments. Thus, there are an increasing number of waste treatment plants using this type of biological treatment. During waste handling and biological decomposition steps a number of gaseous compounds are generated or removed from the organic matrix and emitted. Different families of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) can be found in these emissions. Many of these compounds are also sources of odor nuisance. In fact, odors are the main source of complaints and social impacts of any waste treatment plant. This work presents a summary of the main types of VOC emitted in organic waste treatment facilities and the methods used to detect and quantify these compounds, together with the treatment methods applied to gaseous emissions commonly used in composting and anaerobic digestion facilities.

Detection, Composition and Treatment of Volatile Organic Compounds from Waste Treatment Plants

PubMed Central

Font, Xavier; Artola, Adriana; Sánchez, Antoni

2011-01-01

Environmental policies at the European and global level support the diversion of wastes from landfills for their treatment in different facilities. Organic waste is mainly treated or valorized through composting, anaerobic digestion or a combination of both treatments. Thus, there are an increasing number of waste treatment plants using this type of biological treatment. During waste handling and biological decomposition steps a number of gaseous compounds are generated or removed from the organic matrix and emitted. Different families of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) can be found in these emissions. Many of these compounds are also sources of odor nuisance. In fact, odors are the main source of complaints and social impacts of any waste treatment plant. This work presents a summary of the main types of VOC emitted in organic waste treatment facilities and the methods used to detect and quantify these compounds, together with the treatment methods applied to gaseous emissions commonly used in composting and anaerobic digestion facilities. PMID:22163835

Engineering Methane and Carbon Dioxide Pathways to Turn Renewable Biogas into Higher-Value Chemicals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Greenfield, Derek; Helman, Noah; Clarke, Elizabeth

The United States has a critical need for green manufacturing technologies that can produce a wide range of renewable products at low cost. Industrial Microbes develops biological processes that produce renewable chemicals from organic waste streams. The target chemical for this Phase I project is used to make paints, coatings, and polymers for a multi-billion-dollar market. In addition to the benefits from its green process, the company estimates that the new manufacturing process described here will result in 20-40% cost savings when used at commercial scale. This is possible because the company’s process utilizes waste biogas, an inexpensive feedstock, andmore » is highly efficient: the only byproduct is clean water. For this Phase I project, Industrial Microbes successfully built an enzyme pathway that solves the most difficult challenges of converting biogas into the target chemical. These challenges include the conversion of methane into soluble methanol; the identification of highly-active enzymes; and the production of the target chemical. The company has also completed proof-of-concept by demonstrating that its production strain can utilize raw biogas from a wastewater treatment plant. Achieving these goals required several breakthroughs in transferring enzymes from exotic microorganisms into a commercial one, used commonly for industrial-scale production. In Phase II, Industrial Microbes will work toward commercializing this process by improving carbon efficiency and speed of chemical production. Organic waste streams such as biogas are an underutilized source of renewable carbon and energy; efficient use of such waste streams will reduce the United States’ reliance on petroleum and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The process described here is one of few industrial processes that can convert biogas into commodity products, rather than burning it for energy. If renewable products can be made from biogas economically, companies and governments will find it attractive to collect organic waste streams for biogas production. This can prevent waste from ending up in landfills, where it breaks down into the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide: landfills emit the equivalent greenhouse gases of 35 million cars every year. New uses of biogas will also help lower costs for making carbon-neutral biofuels, since biofuel production also generates waste that can be turned into biogas.« less

Proposal of a sequential treatment methodology for the safe reuse of oil sludge-contaminated soil.

PubMed

Mater, L; Sperb, R M; Madureira, L A S; Rosin, A P; Correa, A X R; Radetski, C M

2006-08-25

In this study sequential steps were used to treat and immobilize oil constituents of an oil sludge-contaminated soil. Initially, the contaminated soil was oxidized by a Fenton type reaction (13 wt% for H(2)O(2); 10mM for Fe(2+)). The oxidative treatment period of 80 h was carried out under three different pH conditions: 20 h at pH 6.5, 20 h at pH 4.5, and 40 h at pH 3.0. The oxidized contaminated sample (3 kg) was stabilized and solidified for 2h with clay (1 kg) and lime (2 kg). Finally, this mixture was solidified by sand (2 kg) and Portland cement (4 kg). In order to evaluate the efficiency of different processes to treat and immobilize oil contaminants of the oil sludge-contaminated soil, leachability and solubility tests were performed and extracts were analyzed according to the current Brazilian waste regulations. Results showed that the Fenton oxidative process was partially efficient in degrading the oil contaminants in the soil, since residual concentrations were found for the PAH and BTEX compounds. Leachability tests showed that clay-lime stabilization/solidification followed by Portland cement stabilization/solidification was efficient in immobilizing the recalcitrant and hazardous constituents of the contaminated soil. These two steps stabilization/solidification processes are necessary to enhance environmental protection (minimal leachability) and to render final product economically profitable. The treated waste is safe enough to be used on environmental applications, like roadbeds blocks.

Application of high rate, high temperature anaerobic digestion to fungal thermozyme hydrolysates from carbohydrate wastes.

PubMed

Forbes, C; O'Reilly, C; McLaughlin, L; Gilleran, G; Tuohy, M; Colleran, E

2009-05-01

The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of using a two-step, fully biological and sustainable strategy for the treatment of carbohydrate rich wastes. The primary step in this strategy involves the application of thermostable enzymes produced by the thermophilic, aerobic fungus, Talaromyces emersonii, to carbohydrate wastes producing a liquid hydrolysate discharged at elevated temperatures. To assess the potential of thermophilic treatment of this hydrolysate, a comparative study of thermophilic and mesophilic digestion of four sugar rich thermozyme hydrolysate waste streams was conducted by operating two high rate upflow anaerobic hybrid reactors (UAHR) at 37 degrees C (R1) and 55 degrees C (R2). The operational performance of both reactors was monitored from start-up by assessing COD removal efficiencies, volatile fatty acid (VFA) discharge and % methane of the biogas produced. Rapid start-up of both R1 and R2 was achieved on an influent composed of the typical sugar components of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). Both reactors were subsequently challenged in terms of volumetric loading rate (VLR) and it was found that a VLR of 9 gCOD l(-1)d(-1) at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1 day severely affected the thermophilic reactor with instability characterised by a build up of volatile fatty acid (VFA) intermediates in the effluent. The influent to both reactors was changed to a simple glucose and sucrose-based influent supplied at a VLR of 4.5 gCOD l(-1)d(-1) and HRT of 2 days prior to the introduction of thermozyme hydrolysates. Four unique thermozyme hydrolysates were subsequently supplied to the reactors, each for a period of 10 HRTs. The applied hydrolysates were derived from apple pulp, bread, carob powder and cardboard, all of which were successfully and comparably converted by both reactors. The % total carbohydrate removal by both reactors was monitored during the application of the sugar rich thermozyme hydrolysates. This approach offers a sustainable technology for the treatment of carbohydrate rich wastes and highlights the potential of these wastes as substrates for the generation of second-generation biofuels.

Modeling and comparative assessment of municipal solid waste gasification for energy production

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arafat, Hassan A., E-mail: harafat@masdar.ac.ae; Jijakli, Kenan

Highlights: • Study developed a methodology for the evaluation of gasification for MSW treatment. • Study was conducted comparatively for USA, UAE, and Thailand. • Study applies a thermodynamic model (Gibbs free energy minimization) using the Gasify software. • The energy efficiency of the process and the compatibility with different waste streams was studied. - Abstract: Gasification is the thermochemical conversion of organic feedstocks mainly into combustible syngas (CO and H{sub 2}) along with other constituents. It has been widely used to convert coal into gaseous energy carriers but only has been recently looked at as a process for producingmore » energy from biomass. This study explores the potential of gasification for energy production and treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW). It relies on adapting the theory governing the chemistry and kinetics of the gasification process to the use of MSW as a feedstock to the process. It also relies on an equilibrium kinetics and thermodynamics solver tool (Gasify®) in the process of modeling gasification of MSW. The effect of process temperature variation on gasifying MSW was explored and the results were compared to incineration as an alternative to gasification of MSW. Also, the assessment was performed comparatively for gasification of MSW in the United Arab Emirates, USA, and Thailand, presenting a spectrum of socioeconomic settings with varying MSW compositions in order to explore the effect of MSW composition variance on the products of gasification. All in all, this study provides an insight into the potential of gasification for the treatment of MSW and as a waste to energy alternative to incineration.« less

Assessing the impacts of changes in treatment technology on energy and greenhouse gas balances for organic waste and wastewater treatment using historical data.

PubMed

Poulsen, Tjalfe G; Hansen, Jens Aage

2009-11-01

Historical data on organic waste and wastewater treatment during the period of 1970-2020 were used to assess the impact of treatment on energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) balances. The assessment included the waste fractions: Sewage sludge, food waste, yard waste and other organic waste (paper, plastic, etc.). Data were collected from Aalborg, a municipality located in Northern Denmark. During the period from 1970-2005, Aalborg Municipality has changed its waste treatment strategy from landfilling of all wastes toward composting of yard waste and incineration with combined heat and power production from the remaining organic municipal waste. Wastewater treatment has changed from direct discharge of untreated wastewater to full organic matter and nutrient (N, P) removal combined with anaerobic digestion of the sludge for biogas production with power and heat generation. These changes in treatment technology have resulted in the waste and wastewater treatment systems in Aalborg progressing from being net consumers of energy and net emitters of GHG, to becoming net producers of energy and net savers of GHG emissions (due to substitution of fossil fuels elsewhere). If it is assumed that the organic waste quantity and composition is the same in 1970 and 2005, the technology change over this time period has resulted in a progression from a net annual GHG emission of 200 kg CO( 2)-eq. capita(-1) in 1970 to a net saving of 170 kg CO(2)-eq. capita(-1) in 2005 for management of urban organic wastes.

Energy efficiency of substance and energy recovery of selected waste fractions.

PubMed

Fricke, Klaus; Bahr, Tobias; Bidlingmaier, Werner; Springer, Christian

2011-04-01

In order to reduce the ecological impact of resource exploitation, the EU calls for sustainable options to increase the efficiency and productivity of the utilization of natural resources. This target can only be achieved by considering resource recovery from waste comprehensively. However, waste management measures have to be investigated critically and all aspects of substance-related recycling and energy recovery have to be carefully balanced. This article compares recovery methods for selected waste fractions with regard to their energy efficiency. Whether material recycling or energy recovery is the most energy efficient solution, is a question of particular relevance with regard to the following waste fractions: paper and cardboard, plastics and biowaste and also indirectly metals. For the described material categories material recycling has advantages compared to energy recovery. In accordance with the improved energy efficiency of substance opposed to energy recovery, substance-related recycling causes lower emissions of green house gases. For the fractions paper and cardboard, plastics, biowaste and metals it becomes apparent, that intensification of the separate collection systems in combination with a more intensive use of sorting technologies can increase the extent of material recycling. Collection and sorting systems must be coordinated. The objective of the overall system must be to achieve an optimum of the highest possible recovery rates in combination with a high quality of recyclables. The energy efficiency of substance related recycling of biowaste can be increased by intensifying the use of anaerobic technologies. In order to increase the energy efficiency of the overall system, the energy efficiencies of energy recovery plants must be increased so that the waste unsuitable for substance recycling is recycled or treated with the highest possible energy yield. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy efficiency of substance and energy recovery of selected waste fractions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fricke, Klaus, E-mail: klaus.fricke@tu-bs.de; Bahr, Tobias, E-mail: t.bahr@tu-bs.de; Bidlingmaier, Werner, E-mail: werner.bidlingmaier@uni-weimar.de

In order to reduce the ecological impact of resource exploitation, the EU calls for sustainable options to increase the efficiency and productivity of the utilization of natural resources. This target can only be achieved by considering resource recovery from waste comprehensively. However, waste management measures have to be investigated critically and all aspects of substance-related recycling and energy recovery have to be carefully balanced. This article compares recovery methods for selected waste fractions with regard to their energy efficiency. Whether material recycling or energy recovery is the most energy efficient solution, is a question of particular relevance with regard tomore » the following waste fractions: paper and cardboard, plastics and biowaste and also indirectly metals. For the described material categories material recycling has advantages compared to energy recovery. In accordance with the improved energy efficiency of substance opposed to energy recovery, substance-related recycling causes lower emissions of green house gases. For the fractions paper and cardboard, plastics, biowaste and metals it becomes apparent, that intensification of the separate collection systems in combination with a more intensive use of sorting technologies can increase the extent of material recycling. Collection and sorting systems must be coordinated. The objective of the overall system must be to achieve an optimum of the highest possible recovery rates in combination with a high quality of recyclables. The energy efficiency of substance related recycling of biowaste can be increased by intensifying the use of anaerobic technologies. In order to increase the energy efficiency of the overall system, the energy efficiencies of energy recovery plants must be increased so that the waste unsuitable for substance recycling is recycled or treated with the highest possible energy yield.« less

Thermal efficiency and environmental performances of a biogas-diesel stationary engine.

PubMed

Bilcan, A; Le Corre, O; Delebarre, A

2003-09-01

Municipal and agricultural waste, and sludge from wastewater treatment represent a large source of pollution. Gaseous fuels can be produced from waste decomposition and then used to run internal combustion engines for power and heat generation. The present paper focuses on thermal efficiency and environmental performances of dual-fuel engines fuelled with biogas. Experiments have been carried out on a Lister-Petter single cylinder diesel engine, modified for dual-fuel operation. Natural gas was first used as the primary fuel. An empirical correlation was determined to predict the engine load for a given mass flow rate for the pilot fuel (diesel) and for the primary fuel (natural gas). That correlation has then been tested for three synthesized biogas compositions. Computations were performed and the error was estimated to be less than 10%. Additionally, NOx and CO2 contents were measured from exhaust gases. Based on exhausts gas temperature, the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor of an Arrhenius law were then proposed, resulting in a simpler mean to predict NOx.

Co-detoxification of transformer oil-contained PCBs and heavy metals in medical waste incinerator fly ash under sub- and supercritical water.

PubMed

Wang, Chunfeng; Zhu, Nengmin; Wang, Yanmin; Zhang, Fushen

2012-01-17

The simultaneous detoxification processes of transformer oil-contained PCBs and heavy metals in medical waste incinerator (MWI) fly ash were developed under sub- and supercritical water. The addition of MWI fly ash to transformer oil-contained PCBs was found to increase the destruction efficiency of PCBs, at the same time, it facilitated reducing the leaching concentration of toxic metals from residues (obtained after reaction) for harmless disposal. In this study, we elucidated primarily the catalysis possibility of heavy metals in raw MWI fly ash for PCBs degradation by adopting the sequential extraction procedure. For both MWI fly ashes, more than 90% destruction efficiency of PCBs was achieved at ≥375 °C for 30 min, and trichlorobenzene (TCB) existing in the transformer oil was also completely decomposed. The correlation of catalytic performance to PCBs degradation was discussed based on structural characteristics and dechlorinated products. Likewise, such process rendered residues innocuous through supercritical water treatment for reuse or disposal in landfill.

The fficiency of Mycorrhiza biofertilizer treatment to the growth and yield of soybean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samanhudi; Pujiasmanto, B.; Sudadi; Putra, I. H.; Mumtazah, H. M.

2018-03-01

Soybean is one of the major commodities in Indonesia. Due to its high demand, its requires an effort to increase the production. Soybeans are generally cultivated in dry land, for that its need a special management to increase the yield. The association between Mycorrhiza and roots help the plant to get water and nutrients. In this regard Mycorrhiza expected to increase soybean yield and efficiency. This research aim is to study the dose of Mycorrhiza on the growth and yield of soybean efficiently. The experiment was conducted in Selogiri District, Wonogiri, while the analysis of Mycorrhiza and soil was inFaculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta from February to April 2016. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two factors was emplyed for this experiment. The treatments are compost dose (derived from Waste Management Faculty of Agriculture UNS) and Mycorrhizal dose (obtained from BPPT Serpong). The result showed that the Mycorrhiza treatmentwas able to improved the growth and yield of soybean. The most efficient dose of is Mycorrhiza treatment at 0.64 ton ha-1.

Effective solidification/stabilisation of mercury-contaminated wastes using zeolites and chemically bonded phosphate ceramics.

PubMed

Zhang, Shaoqing; Zhang, Xinyan; Xiong, Ya; Wang, Guoping; Zheng, Na

2015-02-01

In this study, two kinds of zeolites materials (natural zeolite and thiol-functionalised zeolite) were added to the chemically bonded phosphate ceramic processes to treat mercury-contaminated wastes. Strong promotion effects of zeolites (natural zeolite and thiol-functionalised zeolite) on the stability of mercury in the wastes were obtained and these technologies showed promising advantages toward the traditional Portland cement process, i.e. using Portland cement as a solidification agent and natural or thiol-functionalised zeolite as a stabilisation agent. Not only is a high stabilisation efficiency (lowered the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure Hg by above 10%) obtained, but also a lower dosage of solidification (for thiol-functionalised zeolite as stabilisation agent, 0.5 g g(-1) and 0.7 g g(-1) for chemically bonded phosphate ceramic and Portland cement, respectively) and stabilisation agents (for natural zeolite as stabilisation agent, 0.35 g g(-1) and 0.4 g g(-1) for chemically bonded phosphate ceramic and Portland cement, respectively) were used compared with the Portland cement process. Treated by thiol-functionalised zeolite and chemically bonded phosphate ceramic under optimum parameters, the waste containing 1500 mg Hg kg(-1) passed the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure test. Moreover, stabilisation/solidification technology using natural zeolite and chemically bonded phosphate ceramic also passed the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure test (the mercury waste containing 625 mg Hg kg(-1)). Moreover, the presence of chloride and phosphate did not have a negative effect on the chemically bonded phosphate ceramic/thiol-functionalised zeolite treatment process; thus, showing potential for future application in treatment of 'difficult-to-manage' mercury-contaminated wastes or landfill disposal with high phosphate and chloride content. © The Author(s) 2015.

The removal of illicit drugs and morphine in two waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) under tropical conditions.

PubMed

Devault, Damien A; Néfau, Thomas; Levi, Yves; Karolak, Sara

2017-11-01

The consumption of drugs of abuse has been recently investigated in Martinique using the back-calculation approach, also called the "sewage epidemiology" method. Results demonstrated a very high consumption considering the international data. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are located just behind the Martinique island shoreline, and effluents could impact the vulnerable corals and marine seagrass ecosystem. The present article aims to determine a WWTP's efficiency by comparing the influent and effluent of two WWTPs, with different residence times and biological treatments, located either outdoors or indoors. In parallel, a degradation study is conducted using spiked wastewater exposed to tropical and ambient temperatures. Results demonstrate the consistent efficiency of the two processes, especially for the outdoor WWTP which uses the activated sludge process. The positive effect of the tropical temperature is showed by the increase of cocaine degradation at 31 °C. Thus, low illicit drug residue concentrations in effluent would indicate that wastewater treatment is efficient and even enhanced under tropical context. This fact should be confirmed with others molecules. Furthermore, our results highlight the need for subsequent studies of sludge contamination because of their local recycling as compost.

40 CFR 403.19 - Provisions of specific applicability to the Owatonna Waste Water Treatment Facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the Owatonna Waste Water Treatment Facility. 403.19 Section 403.19 Protection of Environment... Owatonna Waste Water Treatment Facility. (a) For the purposes of this section, the term “Participating... Industrial User discharging to the Owatonna Waste Water Treatment Facility in Owatonna, Minnesota, when a...

Analysis and Modeling of Boundary Layer Separation Method (BLSM).

PubMed

Pethő, Dóra; Horváth, Géza; Liszi, János; Tóth, Imre; Paor, Dávid

2010-09-01

Nowadays rules of environmental protection strictly regulate pollution material emission into environment. To keep the environmental protection laws recycling is one of the useful methods of waste material treatment. We have developed a new method for the treatment of industrial waste water and named it boundary layer separation method (BLSM). We apply the phenomena that ions can be enriched in the boundary layer of the electrically charged electrode surface compared to the bulk liquid phase. The main point of the method is that the boundary layer at correctly chosen movement velocity can be taken out of the waste water without being damaged, and the ion-enriched boundary layer can be recycled. Electrosorption is a surface phenomenon. It can be used with high efficiency in case of large electrochemically active surface of electrodes. During our research work two high surface area nickel electrodes have been prepared. The value of electrochemically active surface area of electrodes has been estimated. The existence of diffusion part of the double layer has been experimentally approved. The electrical double layer capacity has been determined. Ion transport by boundary layer separation has been introduced. Finally we have tried to estimate the relative significance of physical adsorption and electrosorption.

Separation of polycarbonate and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene waste plastics by froth flotation combined with ammonia pretreatment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Chong-qing; Wang, Hui, E-mail: huiwang1968@163.com; Liu, Qun

Highlights: • Ammonia treatment changes selectively floatability of PC. • The effects of ammonia on PC were investigated through contact angle and XPS. • Reactions between ammonia and PC surface make PC more hydrophilic. • PC and ABS mixtures with different particle sizes were separated effectively. - Abstract: The objective of this research is flotation separation of polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) waste plastics combined with ammonia pretreatment. The PC and ABS plastics show similar hydrophobicity, and ammonia treatment changes selectively floatability of PC plastic while ABS is insensitive to ammonia treatment. The contact angle measurement indicates the dropping ofmore » flotation recovery of PC is ascribed to a decline of contact angle. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates reactions occur on PC surface, which makes PC surface more hydrophilic. Separation of PC and ABS waste plastics was conducted based on the flotation behavior of single plastic. At different temperatures, PC and ABS mixtures were separated efficiently through froth flotation with ammonia pretreatment for different time (13 min at 23 °C, 18 min at 18 °C and 30 min at 23 °C). For both PC and ABS, the purity and recovery is more than 95.31% and 95.35%, respectively; the purity of PC and ABS is up to 99.72% and 99.23%, respectively. PC and ABS mixtures with different particle sizes were separated effectively, implying that ammonia treatment possesses superior applicability.« less

Using full-scale duckweed ponds as the finish stage for swine waste treatment with a focus on organic matter degradation.

PubMed

Mohedano, R A; Costa, R H R; Hofmann, S M; Belli Filho, P

2014-01-01

The rapid increase in the number of swine has caused pronounced environmental impacts worldwide, especially on water resources. As an aggregate, smallholdings have an important role in South American pork production, contributing to the net diffusion of pollution. Thus, duckweed ponds have been successfully used for swine waste polishing, mainly for nutrient removal. Few studies have been carried out to assess organic matter degradation in duckweed ponds. Hence, the present study evaluated the efficiency of two full-scale duckweed ponds for organic matter reduction of swine waste on small pig farms. Duckweed ponds, in series, received the effluent after an anaerobic biodigester and storage pond, with a flow rate of 1 m(3) day(-1). After 1 year of monitoring, an improvement in effluent quality was observed, with a reduction in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD), respectively, of 94.8 and 96.7%, operating at a loading rate of approximately 27 kgBOD ha(-1) day(-1) and 131 kgCOD ha(-1) day(-1). Algae inhibition due to duckweed coverage was strongly observed in the pond effluent, where chlorophyll a and turbidity remained below 25 μg L(-1) and 10 NTU. Using the study conditions described herein, duckweed ponds were shown to be a suitable technology for swine waste treatment, contributing to the environmental sustainability of rural areas.

Potential and optimization of two-phase anaerobic digestion of oil refinery waste activated sludge and microbial community study

PubMed Central

Wang, Qinghong; Liang, Ying; Zhao, Peng; Li, Qing X.; Guo, Shaohui; Chen, Chunmao

2016-01-01

Oil refinery waste activated sludge produced from oil wastewater biological treatment is a major industrial sludge. Two-phase anaerobic digestion of oil refinery waste activated sludge was studied for the first time. Thermal pretreatment under 170 °C is effective on sludge solubilization. At the optimum hydrolytic-acidogenic condition which was pH of 6.5, temperature of 55 °C and HRT of 2 days, 2754 mg/L volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were produced and acetic acid and butyric acid were the key components. Comparative studies of single-phase and two-phase anaerobic digestion in terms of organic removal, biogas production and methane concentration were conducted. The cumulative methane production and soluble COD (SCOD) removal efficiency in the two-phase system were 228 mL/g COD added and 77.8%, respectively, which were 1.6 and 2.1 times higher than those in single-phase anaerobic digestion. Such improved performance is attributed to intensification of dominant microbial population in separated reactors. Caloramator, Ureibacillus, Dechloromonas, Petrobacter, and T78 played important roles in hydrolytic-acidification and oil-organics degradation. Syntrophic bacteria in the family Porphyromonadaceae and the genus Anaerobranca provide acetate for methanogen. The results demonstrated the potential and operating condition of two-phase anaerobic digestion in treatment of oil refinery waste activated sludge. PMID:27905538

Potential and optimization of two-phase anaerobic digestion of oil refinery waste activated sludge and microbial community study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qinghong; Liang, Ying; Zhao, Peng; Li, Qing X.; Guo, Shaohui; Chen, Chunmao

2016-12-01

Oil refinery waste activated sludge produced from oil wastewater biological treatment is a major industrial sludge. Two-phase anaerobic digestion of oil refinery waste activated sludge was studied for the first time. Thermal pretreatment under 170 °C is effective on sludge solubilization. At the optimum hydrolytic-acidogenic condition which was pH of 6.5, temperature of 55 °C and HRT of 2 days, 2754 mg/L volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were produced and acetic acid and butyric acid were the key components. Comparative studies of single-phase and two-phase anaerobic digestion in terms of organic removal, biogas production and methane concentration were conducted. The cumulative methane production and soluble COD (SCOD) removal efficiency in the two-phase system were 228 mL/g COD added and 77.8%, respectively, which were 1.6 and 2.1 times higher than those in single-phase anaerobic digestion. Such improved performance is attributed to intensification of dominant microbial population in separated reactors. Caloramator, Ureibacillus, Dechloromonas, Petrobacter, and T78 played important roles in hydrolytic-acidification and oil-organics degradation. Syntrophic bacteria in the family Porphyromonadaceae and the genus Anaerobranca provide acetate for methanogen. The results demonstrated the potential and operating condition of two-phase anaerobic digestion in treatment of oil refinery waste activated sludge.

Food Waste to Energy: How Six Water Resource Recovery ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs) with anaerobic digestion have been harnessing biogas for heat and power since at least the 1920’s. A few are approaching “energy neutrality” and some are becoming “energy positive” through a combination of energy efficiency measures and the addition of outside organic wastes. Enhancing biogas production by adding fats, oil and grease (FOG) to digesters has become a familiar practice. Less widespread is the addition of other types of food waste, ranging from municipally collected food scraps to the byproducts of food processing facilities and agricultural production. Co-digesting with food waste, however, is becoming more common. As energy prices rise and as tighter regulations increase the cost of compliance, WRRFs across the county are tapping excess capacity while tempering rates. This report presents the co-digestion practices, performance, and the experiences of six such WRRFs. The report describes the types of food waste co-digested and the strategies--specifically, the tools, timing, and partnerships--employed to manage the material. Additionally, the report describes how the facilities manage wastewater solids, providing information about power production, biosolids use, and program costs. This product is intended to describe the available infrastructure for energy recovery from co-digestion of food waste and wastewater treatment facilities.

Ferrate treatment for removing chromium from high-level radioactive tank waste.

PubMed

Sylvester, P; Rutherford, L A; Gonzalez-Martin, A; Kim, J; Rapko, B M; Lumetta, G J

2001-01-01

A method has been developed for removing chromium from alkaline high-level radioactive tank waste. Removing chromium from these wastes is critical in reducing the volume of waste requiring expensive immobilization and deep geologic disposition. The method developed is based on the oxidation of insoluble chromium(III) compounds to soluble chromate using ferrate. This method could be generally applicable to removing chromium from chromium-contaminated solids, when coupled with a subsequent reduction of the separated chromate back to chromium(III). The tests conducted with a simulated Hanford tank sludge indicate that the chromium removal with ferrate is more efficient at 5 M NaOH than at 3 M NaOH. Chromium removal increases with increasing Fe(VI)/Cr(II) molar ratio, but the chromium removal tends to level out for Fe(VI)/ Cr(III) greaterthan 10. Increasingtemperature leadsto better chromium removal, but higher temperatures also led to more rapid ferrate decomposition. Tests with radioactive Hanford tank waste generally confirmed the simulant results. In all cases examined, ferrate enhanced the chromium removal, with a typical removal of around 60-70% of the total chromium present in the washed sludge solids. The ferrate leachate solutions did not contain significant concentrations of transuranic elements, so these solutions could be disposed as low-activity waste.

Sequential chemical treatment of radium species in TENORM waste sludge produced from oil and natural gas production.

PubMed

El Afifi, E M; Awwad, N S; Hilal, M A

2009-01-30

This paper is dedicated to the treatment of sludge occurring in frame of the Egyptian produced from oil and gas production. The activity levels of three radium isotopes: Ra-226 (of U-series), Ra-228 and Ra-224 (of Th-series) in the solid TENORM waste (sludge) were first evaluated and followed by a sequential treatment for all radium species (fractions) presented in TENORM. The sequential treatment was carried out based on two approaches 'A' and 'B' using different chemical solutions. The results obtained indicate that the activity levels of all radium isotopes (Ra-226, Ra-228 and Ra-224) of the environmental interest in the TENORM waste sludge were elevated with regard to exemption levels established by IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International basic safety standards for the protection against ionizing radiation and for the safety of radiation sources. GOV/2715/Vienna, 1994]. Each approach of the sequential treatment was performed through four steps using different chemical solutions to reduce the activity concentration of radium in a large extent. Most of the leached radium was found as an oxidizable Ra species. The actual removal % leached using approach B was relatively efficient compared to A. It is observed that the actual removal percentages (%) of Ra-226, Ra-228 and Ra-224 using approach A are 78+/-2.8, 64.8+/-4.1 and 76.4+/-5.2%, respectively. Whereas in approach A, the overall removal % of Ra-226, Ra-228 and Ra-228 was increased to approximately 91+/-3.5, 87+/-4.1 and 90+/-6.2%, respectively.

Improvement of primary settling performance with activated sludge.

PubMed

Yetis, U; Tarlan, E

2002-04-01

In biological treatment plants employing activated sludge processes, it is possible to recirculate some portion of the waste activated sludge that is not sent to the aeration basin, to the inlet of the primary sedimentation tanks. But in the literature there is no detailed information about the conditions, ratios and the characteristics of the waste sludge that can be recirculated back. However, depending on its settling characteristics, the addition of waste activated sludge to raw wastewater may improve primary settling. Settling tests have shown that the effect of waste activated sludge on primary settling is strongly dependent on the mean cell residence time (or sludge age), theta(c), of the waste activated sludge and also on the suspended solids concentration. Different sludge ages of 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 20 and 26 days, and for each sludge age at least five different initial suspended solids concentrations were studied. A sludge age of 8-10 days achieved the optimum efficiency in terms of the remaining suspended solids concentration as well as percent-suspended solids removal. Also, the settled sludge volumes were measured throughout the experiments; so, the comparison was made between settled sludge volumes, initial suspended solids (SS) concentrations and theta(c).

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Waste Management Plan, fiscal year 1994. Revision 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Turner, J.W.

1993-12-01

US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5820.2A was promulgated in final form on September 26, 1988. The order requires heads of field organizations to prepare and to submit updates on the waste management plans for all operations under their purview according to the format in Chap. 6, {open_quotes}Waste Management Plan Outline.{close_quotes} These plans are to be submitted by the DOE Oak Ridge Operations Office (DOE-ORO) in December of each year and distributed to the DP-12, ES&H-1, and other appropriate DOE Headquarters (DOE-HQ) organizations for review and comment. This document was prepared in response to this requirement for fiscal year (FY)more » 1994. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) waste management mission is reduction, collection, storage, treatment, and disposal of DOE wastes, generated primarily in pursuit of ORNL missions, in order to protect human health and safety and the environment. In carrying out this mission, waste management staff in the Waste Management and Remedial Action Division (WMRAD) will (1) guide ORNL in optimizing waste reduction and waste management capabilities and (2) conduct waste management operations in a compliant, publicly acceptable, technically sound, and cost-efficient manner. Waste management requirements for DOE radioactive wastes are detailed in DOE Order 5820.2A, and the ORNL Waste Management Program encompasses all elements of this order. The requirements of this DOE order and other appropriate DOE orders, along with applicable Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules and regulations, provide the principal source of regulatory guidance for waste management operations at ORNL. The objective of this document is compilation and consolidation of information on how the ORNL Waste Management Program is conducted, which waste management facilities are being used to manage wastes, what activities are planned for FY 1994, and how all of the activities are documented.« less

Backtracking search algorithm in CVRP models for efficient solid waste collection and route optimization.

PubMed

Akhtar, Mahmuda; Hannan, M A; Begum, R A; Basri, Hassan; Scavino, Edgar

2017-03-01

Waste collection is an important part of waste management that involves different issues, including environmental, economic, and social, among others. Waste collection optimization can reduce the waste collection budget and environmental emissions by reducing the collection route distance. This paper presents a modified Backtracking Search Algorithm (BSA) in capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) models with the smart bin concept to find the best optimized waste collection route solutions. The objective function minimizes the sum of the waste collection route distances. The study introduces the concept of the threshold waste level (TWL) of waste bins to reduce the number of bins to be emptied by finding an optimal range, thus minimizing the distance. A scheduling model is also introduced to compare the feasibility of the proposed model with that of the conventional collection system in terms of travel distance, collected waste, fuel consumption, fuel cost, efficiency and CO 2 emission. The optimal TWL was found to be between 70% and 75% of the fill level of waste collection nodes and had the maximum tightness value for different problem cases. The obtained results for four days show a 36.80% distance reduction for 91.40% of the total waste collection, which eventually increases the average waste collection efficiency by 36.78% and reduces the fuel consumption, fuel cost and CO 2 emission by 50%, 47.77% and 44.68%, respectively. Thus, the proposed optimization model can be considered a viable tool for optimizing waste collection routes to reduce economic costs and environmental impacts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementation of an evaporative oxidation process for treatment of aqueous mixed wastes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bounini, L.; Stelmach, J.

1995-12-31

The US Department of Energy and Rust Geotech conducted treatability tests for mixed wastes with a pilot-scale evaporative oxidation unit known as the mini-PO*WW*ER unit. In the evaporative oxidation process, water and volatile organic compounds are vaporized and passed through a catalytic oxidizer to destroy the organic compounds. Nonvolatiles are concentrated into a brine that may be solidified. Ten experiment runs were made. The oxidation of the unit was calculated using total organic carbon analyses of feed and composite product condensate samples. These data indicate that the technology is capable of achieving oxidation efficiencies as high as 99.999 percent onmore » mixed wastes when the bed temperature is near 600 C, residence times are about 0.2 seconds, and adequate oxygen flow is maintained. Concentrations of the tested volatile organic compounds in the product-condensate composite samples were well below standards for wastewaters. Combined gross alpha and beta radioactivity levels in the samples were below detection limites of 12.5 pico-Cu/l, so the liquid would not qualify as a radioactive waste. Thus, the product condensate process by the process is not restricted as either hazardous or mixed waste and is suitable for direct disposal. The brines produced were not considered mixed waste and could be handled and disposed of as radioactive waste.« less

Energy recovery from waste glycerol by utilizing thermal water vapor plasma.

PubMed

Tamošiūnas, Andrius; Valatkevičius, Pranas; Gimžauskaitė, Dovilė; Jeguirim, Mejdi; Mėčius, Vladas; Aikas, Mindaugas

2017-04-01

Glycerol, considered as a waste feedstock resulting from biodiesel production, has received much attention in recent years due to its properties, which offer to recover energy. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of a thermal water vapor plasma for waste (crude) glycerol conversion to synthesis gas, or syngas (H 2  + CO). In parallel of crude glycerol, a pure glycerol (99.5%) was used as a reference material in order to compare the concentrations of the formed product gas. A direct current (DC) arc plasma torch stabilized by a mixture of argon/water vapor was utilized for the effective glycerol conversion to hydrogen-rich synthesis gas. It was found that after waste glycerol treatment, the main reaction products were gases with corresponding concentrations of H 2 50.7%, CO 23.53%, CO 2 11.45%, and CH 4 3.82%, and traces of C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 6 , which concentrations were below 0.5%. The comparable concentrations of the formed gas products were obtained after pure glycerol conversion-H 2 46.4%, CO 26.25%, CO 2 11.3%, and CH 4 4.7%. The use of thermal water vapor plasma producing synthesis gas is an effective method to recover energy from both crude and pure glycerol. The performance of the glycerol conversion system was defined in terms of the produced gas yield, the carbon conversion efficiency, the cold gas efficiency, and the specific energy requirements.

An Efficient Variable Screening Method for Effective Surrogate Models for Reliability-Based Design Optimization

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

surrogate model generation is difficult for high -dimensional problems, due to the curse of dimensionality. Variable screening methods have been...a variable screening model was developed for the quasi-molecular treatment of ion-atom collision [16]. In engineering, a confidence interval of...for high -level radioactive waste [18]. Moreover, the design sensitivity method can be extended to the variable screening method because vital

Treatment of Waste Lubricating Oil by Chemical and Adsorption Process Using Butanol and Kaolin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riyanto; Ramadhan, B.; Wiyanti, D.

2018-04-01

Treatment of waste lubricating oil by chemical and adsorption process using butanol and kaolin has been done. Quality of lubricating oil after treatment was analysis using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The effects of the treatment of butanol, KOH, and kaolin to metals contain in waste lubricating oil treatment have been evaluated. Treatment of waste lubricating oil has been done using various kaolin weight, butanol, and KOH solution. The result of this research show metal content of Ca, Mg, Pb, Fe and Cr in waste lubricating oil before treatment are 1020.49, 367.02, 16.40, 36.76 and 1,80 ppm, respectively. The metal content of Ca, Mg, Pb, Fe and Cr in the waste lubricating oil after treatment are 0.17, 9.85, 34.07, 78.22 and 1.20 ppm, respectively. The optimum condition for treatment of waste lubricating oil using butanol, KOH, and kaolin is 30 mL, 3.0 g and 1.5 g, respectively. Chemical and adsorption method using butanol and kaolin can be used for decrease of metals contain in waste lubricating oil.

Lactic Acid and Biosurfactants Production from Residual Cellulose Films.

PubMed

Portilla Rivera, Oscar Manuel; Arzate Martínez, Guillermo; Jarquín Enríquez, Lorenzo; Vázquez Landaverde, Pedro Alberto; Domínguez González, José Manuel

2015-11-01

The increasing amounts of residual cellulose films generated as wastes all over the world represent a big scale problem for the meat industry regarding to environmental and economic issues. The use of residual cellulose films as a feedstock of glucose-containing solutions by acid hydrolysis and further fermentation into lactic acid and biosurfactants was evaluated as a method to diminish and revalorize these wastes. Under a treatment consisting in sulfuric acid 6% (v/v); reaction time 2 h; solid liquid ratio 9 g of film/100 mL of acid solution, and temperature 130 °C, 35 g/L of glucose and 49% of solubilized film was obtained. From five lactic acid strains, Lactobacillus plantarum was the most suitable for metabolizing the glucose generated. The process was scaled up under optimized conditions in a 2-L bioreactor, producing 3.4 g/L of biomass, 18 g/L of lactic acid, and 15 units of surface tension reduction of a buffer phosphate solution. Around 50% of the cellulose was degraded by the treatment applied, and the liqueurs generated were useful for an efficient production of lactic acid and biosurfactants using L. plantarum. Lactobacillus bacteria can efficiently utilize glucose from cellulose films hydrolysis without the need of clarification of the liqueurs.

Flotation separation of polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate plastics combined with surface modification for recycling.

PubMed

Wang, Chongqing; Wang, Hui; Fu, Jiangang; Zhang, Lingling; Luo, Chengcheng; Liu, Younian

2015-11-01

Surface modification with potassium permanganate (KMnO4) solution was developed for separation of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste plastics. The floatability of PVC decreases with increasing of KMnO4 concentration, treatment time, temperature and stirring rate, while that of PET is unaffected. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis confirms that mechanism of surface modification may be due to oxidization reactions occurred on PVC surface. The optimum conditions are KMnO4 concentration 1.25 mM/L, treatment time 50 min, temperature 60°C, stirring rate 300 r/min, frother concentration 17.5 g/L and flotation time 1 min. PVC and PET with different particle sizes were separated efficiently through two-stage flotation. Additionally, after ultrasonic assisted surface modification, separation of PVC and PET with different mass ratios was obtained efficiently through one-stage flotation. The purity and the recovery of the obtained products after flotation separation are up to 99.30% and 99.73%, respectively. A flotation process was designed for flotation separation of PVC and PET plastics combined with surface modification. This study provides technical insights into physical separation of plastic wastes for recycling industry. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy Efficiency of Biogas Produced from Different Biomass Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Begum, Shahida; Nazri, A. H.

2013-06-01

Malaysia has different sources of biomass like palm oil waste, agricultural waste, cow dung, sewage waste and landfill sites, which can be used to produce biogas and as a source of energy. Depending on the type of biomass, the biogas produced can have different calorific value. At the same time the energy, being used to produce biogas is dependent on transportation distance, means of transportation, conversion techniques and for handling of raw materials and digested residues. An energy systems analysis approach based on literature is applied to calculate the energy efficiency of biogas produced from biomass. Basically, the methodology is comprised of collecting data, proposing locations and estimating the energy input needed to produce biogas and output obtained from the generated biogas. The study showed that palm oil and municipal solid waste is two potential sources of biomass. The energy efficiency of biogas produced from palm oil residues and municipal solid wastes is 1.70 and 3.33 respectively. Municipal solid wastes have the higher energy efficiency due to less transportation distance and electricity consumption. Despite the inherent uncertainties in the calculations, it can be concluded that the energy potential to use biomass for biogas production is a promising alternative.

High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filter Generation, Characterization, and Disposal Experiences at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Coffey, D. E.

2002-02-28

High Efficiency Particulate Air filtration is an essential component of the containment and ventilation systems supporting the research and development activities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. High Efficiency Particulate Air filters range in size from 7.6cm (3 inch) by 10.2 cm (4 inch) cylindrical shape filters to filter array assemblies up to 2.1 m (7 feet) high by 1.5 m (5 feet) wide. Spent filters are grouped by contaminates trapped in the filter media and become one of the components in the respective waste stream. Waste minimization and pollution prevention efforts are applied for both radiological and non-radiological applications.more » Radiological applications include laboratory hoods, glove boxes, and hot cells. High Efficiency Particulate Air filters also are generated from intake or pre-filtering applications, decontamination activities, and asbestos abatement applications. The disposal avenues include sanitary/industrial waste, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Toxic Substance Control Act, regulated waste, solid low-level waste, contact handled transuranic, and remote handled transuranic waste. This paper discusses characterization and operational experiences associated with the disposal of the spent filters across multiple applications.« less

Dehydrogenase activity and quality of leachates in Technosols with gossan and sulfide materials from the São Domingos mine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Erika; Abreu, Manuela; Macías, Felipe; de Varennes, Amarílis

2014-05-01

Wastes produced by mining activity in São Domingos (Portuguese Iberian Pyrite Belt) were disposed over a large area. To speed up the ecological rehabilitation in this mine, an integrative strategy using different amendments+mine wastes was used to produce Technosols with enhanced soil functions. To evaluate the efficiency of these Technosols the dehydrogenase activity and chemical quality of leachates were monitored. Technosols were composed of different mine wastes (gossan and sulfide materials), collected at the São Domingos mine, and mixtures of amendments applied at 30 and 75 Mg/ha (rockwool+agriculture wastes+wastes from liquors distillation of strawberry tree fruits (Arbutus unedo L.) and/or carobs (Ceratonia siliqua L. fruits)). Three assays, under controlled conditions, were carried out: (1 and 2) Sulfide or gossan materials with/without amendments; (3) Sulfide wastes, with/without amendments, incubated during four months and then with application of an overlayer of gossan (~3 cm thick) with/without the same amendments. Dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and chemical characteristics of leachates (multielemental concentration, pH, and electric conductivity) were determined after four/seven/thirteen months of incubation. Sulfide wastes had more hazardous characteristics (pH~2 and total concentrations (g/kg) of Al (58.1), As (1.1), Cu (2.1), Fe (107.3), Pb (11.7), S (65.3) and Zn (1.1) than the gossan materials (pH=4.3; g/kg, Al: 24.8, As: 3.0, Cu: 0.2, Fe: 129, Pb: 9.2, S: 13.7, Zn: 0.04). Amendments application to gossan (assay 2) enhanced DHA in both sampling periods (µg TPF g dry weight 16 h-1, Control: 0,72-1,78; Amended treatments: 2.49-16.36 depending on mixture/application rate/sampling period). Greater application rates stimulated DHA (more than 1.5-fold with 75 Mg/ha). No differences were observed in DHA in the gossan layer with/without amendments (assay 3) suggesting a negative impact on gossan microrganisms from sulfide materials located below. In fact, for sulfide materials (assays 1 and 3), the amendments did not lead to increases in DHA (µg TPF g dry weight 16 h-1, Control: 0.87-2.72; Amended treatments: 0.23-2.11, depending on assay/sampling period/treatment). In assay 3, the DHA of each mine waste presented, in general, smaller enzymatic activity compared to the same treatments from the other assays. The amendments reduced the electrical condutivity (35-60 %) in the leachates from Technosols with sulfide materials but the pH of leachates increased in all cases between 0.5 and 1.5 units, depending on assay/treatment/sampling period.

A study of Reactive Red 198 adsorption on iron filings from aqueous solutions.

PubMed

Azhdarpoor, Abooalfazl; Nikmanesh, Roya; Khademi, Fahime

2014-01-01

In recent years, reactive dyes have been widely used in textile industries with particular efficiency. They dyes are often toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic. Improper treatment and non-scientific disposal of dyed wastewater from these industries into water sources has created many environmental problems and concerns around the world. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the efficiency of iron filings in adsorption of Reactive Red 198 from aqueous solutions. This study was conducted using an experimental method at the laboratory scale. In this study, the effects of operating parameters such as pH (1-11), initial dye concentration (40-400 mg/L), contact time (5-120 min) and iron dose (0.1-1 g) with a mesh of<100 were studied. Dye concentration was determined using a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 520 nm. The results indicated that maximum adsorption capacity of the dye in question was obtained at pH 3, contact time of 60 min and adsorbent dose of 1 g. At initial dye concentration of 100 and 200 mg/L, by increasing the dose of waste iron from 0.1 to 1 g, the removal percentage increased from approximately 76.89% to 97.28% and from 22.64% to 68.03%, respectively. At pH 3, contact time of 5 min and constant waste iron dose of 0.8 g, the dye removal efficiency was 85.34%. By increasing the contact time to 120 min, the removal efficiency increased to 99.2%. Welding iron waste as an inexpensive and available adsorbent has an optimum ability for adsorption of Reactive Red 198 from aqueous solutions.

Investigations regarding the wet decontamination of fluorescent lamp waste using iodine in potassium iodide solutions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tunsu, Cristian, E-mail: tunsu@chalmers.se; Ekberg, Christian; Foreman, Mark

Highlights: • A wet-based decontamination process for fluorescent lamp waste is proposed. • Mercury can be leached using iodine in potassium iodide solution. • The efficiency of the process increases with an increase in leachant concentration. • Selective leaching of mercury from rare earth elements is achieved. • Mercury is furthered recovered using ion exchange, reduction or solvent extraction. - Abstract: With the rising popularity of fluorescent lighting, simple and efficient methods for the decontamination of discarded lamps are needed. Due to their mercury content end-of-life fluorescent lamps are classified as hazardous waste, requiring special treatment for disposal. A simplemore » wet-based decontamination process is required, especially for streams where thermal desorption, a commonly used but energy demanding method, cannot be applied. In this study the potential of a wet-based process using iodine in potassium iodide solution was studied for the recovery of mercury from fluorescent lamp waste. The influence of the leaching agent’s concentration and solid/liquid ratio on the decontamination efficiency was investigated. The leaching behaviour of mercury was studied over time, as well as its recovery from the obtained leachates by means of anion exchange, reduction, and solvent extraction. Dissolution of more than 90% of the contained mercury was achieved using 0.025/0.05 M I{sub 2}/KI solution at 21 °C for two hours. The efficiency of the process increased with an increase in leachant concentration. 97.3 ± 0.6% of the mercury contained was dissolved at 21 °C, in two hours, using a 0.25/0.5 M I{sub 2}/KI solution and a solid to liquid ratio of 10% w/v. Iodine and mercury can be efficiently removed from the leachates using Dowex 1X8 anion exchange resin or reducing agents such as sodium hydrosulphite, allowing the disposal of the obtained solution as non-hazardous industrial wastewater. The extractant CyMe{sub 4}BTBP showed good removal of mercury, with an extraction efficiency of 97.5 ± 0.7% being achieved in a single stage. Better removal of mercury was achieved in a single stage using the extractants Cyanex 302 and Cyanex 923 in kerosene, respectively.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Osmanlioglu, Ahmet Erdal

Pre-treatment of radioactive waste is the first step in waste management program that occurs after waste generation from various applications in Turkey. Pre-treatment and characterization practices are carried out in Radioactive Waste Management Unit (RWMU) at Cekmece Nuclear Research and Training Center (CNRTC) in Istanbul. This facility has been assigned to take all low-level radioactive wastes generated by nuclear applications in Turkey. The wastes are generated from research and nuclear applications mainly in medicine, biology, agriculture, quality control in metal processing and construction industries. These wastes are classified as low- level radioactive wastes. Pre-treatment practices cover several steps. In thismore » paper, main steps of pre-treatment and characterization are presented. Basically these are; collection, segregation, chemical adjustment, size reduction and decontamination operations. (author)« less

From Centralized Disassembly to Life Cycle Management: Status and Progress of E-waste Treatment System in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Xiaolong; Yang, Jianxin; Lu, Bin; Yang, Dong

2017-01-01

China is now facing e-waste problems from both growing domestic generation and illegal imports. Many stakeholders are involved in the e-waste treatment system due to the complexity of e-waste life cycle. Beginning with the state of the e-waste treatment industry in China, this paper summarizes the latest progress in e-waste management from such aspects as the new edition of the China RoHS Directive, new Treatment List, new funding subsidy standard, and eco-design pilots. Thus, a conceptual model for life cycle management of e-waste is generalized. The operating procedure is to first identify the life cycle stages of the e-waste and extract the important life cycle information. Then, life cycle tools can be used to conduct a systematic analysis to help decide how to maximize the benefits from a series of life cycle engineering processes. Meanwhile, life cycle thinking is applied to improve the legislation relating to e-waste so as to continuously improve the sustainability of the e-waste treatment system. By providing an integrative framework, the life cycle management of e-waste should help to realize sustainable management of e-waste in developing countries.

Privatization of solid waste collection services: Lessons from Gaborone

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bolaane, Benjamin, E-mail: bolaaneb@mopipi.ub.bw; Isaac, Emmanuel, E-mail: eisaac300@gmail.com

Highlights: • We compared efficiency and effectiveness of waste collection by the public and private sector. • Public sector performs better than private sector in some areas and vice versa. • Outsourcing waste collection in developing countries is hindered by limited capacity on contractual issues. • Outsourcing collection in developing countries is hampered by inadequate waste information. • There is need to build capacity in the public sector of developing countries to support outsourcing. - Abstract: Formal privatization of solid waste collection activities has often been flagged as a suitable intervention for some of the challenges of solid waste managementmore » experienced by developing countries. Proponents of outsourcing collection to the private sector argue that in contrast to the public sector, it is more effective and efficient in delivering services. This essay is a comparative case study of efficiency and effectiveness attributes between the public and the formal private sector, in relation to the collection of commercial waste in Gaborone. The paper is based on analysis of secondary data and key informant interviews. It was found that while, the private sector performed comparatively well in most of the chosen indicators of efficiency and effectiveness, the public sector also had areas where it had a competitive advantage. For instance, the private sector used the collection crew more efficiently, while the public sector was found to have a more reliable workforce. The study recommends that, while formal private sector participation in waste collection has some positive effects in terms of quality of service rendered, in most developing countries, it has to be enhanced by building sufficient capacity within the public sector on information about services contracted out and evaluation of performance criteria within the contracting process.« less