A review of the technological solutions for the treatment of oily sludges from petroleum refineries.

PubMed

da Silva, Leonardo Jordão; Alves, Flávia Chaves; de França, Francisca Pessôa

2012-10-01

The activities of the oil industry have several impacts on the environment due to the large amounts of oily wastes that are generated. The oily sludges are a semi-solid material composed by a mixture of clay, silica and iron oxides contaminated with oil, produced water and the chemicals used in the production of oil. Nowadays both the treatment and management of these waste materials is essential to promote sustainable management of exploration and exploitation of natural resources. Biological, physical and chemical processes can be used to reduce environmental contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons to acceptable levels. The choice of treatment method depends on the physical and chemical properties of the waste as well as the availability of facilities to process these wastes. Literature provides some operations for treatment of oily sludges, such as landfilling, incineration, co-processing in clinkerization furnaces, microwave liquefaction, centrifugation, destructive distillation, thermal plasma, low-temperature conversion, incorporation in ceramic materials, development of impermeable materials, encapsulation and biodegradation in land farming, biopiles and bioreactors. The management of the technology to be applied for the treatment of oily wastes is essential to promote proper environmental management, and provide alternative methods to reduce, reuse and recycle the wastes.

Method for catalytic destruction of organic materials

DOEpatents

Sealock, Jr., L. John; Baker, Eddie G.; Elliott, Douglas C.

1997-01-01

A method is disclosed for converting waste organic materials into an innocuous product gas. The method comprises maintaining, in a pressure vessel, in the absence of oxygen, at a temperature of 250.degree. C. to 500.degree. C. and a pressure of at least 50 atmospheres, a fluid organic waste material, water, and a catalyst consisting essentially of reduced nickel in an amount sufficient to catalyze a reaction of the organic waste material to produce an innocuous product gas composed primarily of methane and carbon dioxide. The methane in the product gas may be burned to preheat the organic materials.

Method for catalytic destruction of organic materials

DOEpatents

Sealock, L.J. Jr.; Baker, E.G.; Elliott, D.C.

1997-05-20

A method is disclosed for converting waste organic materials into an innocuous product gas. The method comprises maintaining, in a pressure vessel, in the absence of oxygen, at a temperature of 250 to 500 C and a pressure of at least 50 atmospheres, a fluid organic waste material, water, and a catalyst consisting essentially of reduced nickel in an amount sufficient to catalyze a reaction of the organic waste material to produce an innocuous product gas composed primarily of methane and carbon dioxide. The methane in the product gas may be burned to preheat the organic materials. 7 figs.

PROCESS DEVELOPMENT FOR THE RECOVERY OF CRITICAL MATERIALS FROM ELECTRONIC WASTE

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

Lister, T. E.; Diaz, L. A.; Clark, G. G.

As electronic technology continues to evolve there is a growing need to develop processes which recover valuable material from antiquated technology. This need follows from the environmental challenges associated with the availability of raw materials and fast growing generation of electronic waste. Although just present in small quantities in electronic devices, the availability of raw materials, such as rare earths and precious metals, becomes critical for the production of high tech electronic devices and the development of green technologies (i.e. wind turbines, electric motors, and solar panels). Therefore, the proper recycling and processing of increasing volumes of electronic waste presentmore » an opportunity to stabilize the market of critical materials, reducing the demand of mined products, and providing a proper disposal and treatment of a hazardous waste stream. This paper will describe development and techno-economic assessment of a comprehensive process for the recovery of value and critical materials from electronic waste. This hydrometallurgical scheme aims to selectively recover different value segments in the materials streams (base metals, precious metals, and rare earths). The economic feasibility for the recovery of rare earths from electronic waste is mostly driven by the efficient recovery of precious metals, such as Au and Pd (ca. 80 % of the total recoverable value). Rare earth elements contained in magnets (speakers, vibrators and hard disk storage) can be recovered as a mixture of rare earths oxides which can later be reduced to the production of new magnets.« less

Partial replacement of non renewable fossil fuels energy by the use of waste materials as alternative fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indrawati, V.; Manaf, A.; Purwadi, G.

2009-09-01

This paper reports recent investigations on the use of biomass like rice husk, palm kernel shell, saw dust and municipal waste to reduce the use of fossil fuels energy in the cement production. Such waste materials have heat values in the range approximately from 2,000 to 4,000 kcal/kg. These are comparable to the average value of 5800 kcal/kg from fossil materials like coals which are widely applied in many industrial processing. Hence, such waste materials could be used as alternative fuels replacing the fossil one. It is shown that replacement of coals with such waste materials has a significant impact on cost effectiveness as well as sustainable development. Variation in moisture content of the waste materials, however should be taken into account because this is one of the parameter that could not be controlled. During fuel combustion, some amount of the total energy is used to evaporate the water content and thus the net effective heat value is less.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program: Implementation of Past NSRP Research Through Education and Training

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-01-05

used in each chapter to define the techniques of waste minimization are: improved operation management , material substitution, process substitution...1994 – Reduce Quantity & Toxicity of Waste • Improved Operation Management • Material & Process Substitution • Recycling • Treatment Advantages

Building recycling rates through the informal sector.

PubMed

Wilson, David C; Araba, Adebisi O; Chinwah, Kaine; Cheeseman, Christopher R

2009-02-01

Many developing country cities aspire to modern waste management systems, which are associated with relatively high recycling rates of clean, source separated materials. Most already have informal sector recycling systems, which are driven solely by the revenues derived from selling recovered materials, even though they are saving the formal sector money by reducing waste quantities. There is clear potential for 'win-win' co-operation between the formal and informal sectors, as providing support to the informal sector, to build recycling rates and to address some of the social issues could reduce the overall costs of waste management for the formal sector. This paper shows that recycling rates already achieved by the informal sector can be quite high, typically in the range from 20% to 50%; often up to half of this is in the form of clean, source separated materials collected directly from households and businesses by itinerant waste buyers. Four country case studies provide a number of lessons on how this solid foundation could be used to build high recycling rates of clean materials.

Biodegradation and flushing of MBT wastes

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

Siddiqui, A.A., E-mail: aasiddiqui.cv@amu.ac.in; Richards, D.J.; Powrie, W.

Highlights: • Stabilization was achieved for MBT wastes of different degrees of pretreatment. • About 92% reduction in the gas generation compared with raw MSW. • Pretreatment resulted in reduced TOC, nitrogen and heavy metals in leachate. • A large proportion of carbon and nitrogen remained in the waste material. - Abstract: Mechanical–biological treatment (MBT) processes are increasingly being adopted as a means of diverting biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill, for example to comply with the EU Landfill Directive. However, there is considerable uncertainty concerning the residual pollution potential of such wastes. This paper presents the results of laboratorymore » experiments on two different MBT waste residues, carried out to investigate the remaining potential for the generation of greenhouse gases and the flushing of contaminants from these materials when landfilled. The potential for gas generation was found to be between 8% and 20% of that for raw MSW. Pretreatment of the waste reduced the potential for the release of organic carbon, ammoniacal nitrogen, and heavy metal contents into the leachate; and reduced the residual carbon remaining in the waste after final degradation from ∼320 g/kg dry matter for raw MSW to between 183 and 195 g/kg dry matter for the MBT wastes.« less

Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Web Academy Webinar: How to Reduce Wasted Food: EPA’s Food Waste Reduction Tools for Food Services & Restaurants

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This is a webinar page for the Sustainable Management of Materials (SMM) Web Academy webinar titled Let’s WRAP (Wrap Recycling Action Program): Best Practices to Boost Plastic Film Recycling in Your Community

Waste management through life cycle assessment of products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borodin, Yu V.; Aliferova, T. E.; Ncube, A.

2015-04-01

The rapid growth of a population in a country can contribute to high production of waste. Municipal waste and industrial waste can bring unhealthy and unpleasant environment or even diseases to human beings if the wastes are not managed properly.With increasing concerns over waste and the need for ‘greener’ products, it is necessary to carry out Life Cycle Assessments of products and this will help manufacturers take the first steps towards greener designs by assessing their product's carbon output. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product, process or activity by identifying and quantifying energy and materials used and wastes released to the environment, and to assess the impact of those energy and material used and released to the environment. The aim of the study was to use a life cycle assessment approach to determine which waste disposal options that will substantially reduce the environmental burdens posed by the Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle. Several important observations can be made. 1) Recycling of the PET bottle waste can significantly reduce the energy required across the life cycle because the high energy inputs needed to process the requisite virgin materials greatly exceeds the energy needs of the recycling process steps. 2) Greenhouse gases can be reduced by opting for recycling instead of landfilling and incineration. 3) Quantity of waste emissions released from different disposal options was identified. 4) Recycling is the environmentally preferable disposal method for the PET bottle. Industry can use the tools and data in this study to evaluate the health, environmental, and energy implications of the PET bottle. LCA intends to aid decision-makers in this respect, provided that the scientific underpinning is available. Strategic incentives for product development and life cycle management can then be developed.

Cast Stone Formulation for Nuclear Waste Immobilization at Higher Sodium Concentrations

DOE PAGES

Fox, Kevin; Cozzi, Alex; Roberts, Kimberly; ...

2014-11-01

Low activity radioactive waste at U.S. Department of Energy sites can be immobilized for permanent disposal using cementitious waste forms. This study evaluated waste forms produced with simulated wastes at concentrations up to twice that of currently operating processes. The simulated materials were evaluated for their fresh properties, which determine processability, and cured properties, which determine waste form performance. The results show potential for greatly reducing the volume of material. Fresh properties were sufficient to allow for processing via current practices. Cured properties such as compressive strength meet disposal requirements. Leachability indices provide an indication of expected long-term performance.

Marshall Space Flight Center solid waste characterization and recycling improvement study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eley, Michael H.; Crews, Lavonne; Johnston, Ben; Lee, David; Colebaugh, James

1995-01-01

The MSFC Facilities Office, which is responsible for disposing of all waste generated by MSFC, issued a delivery order to the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) to characterize current MSFC waste streams and to evaluate their existing recycling program. The purpose of the study was to define the nature, quantity, and types of waste produced and to generate ideas for improving the present recycling program. Specifically, the following tasks were to be performed: Identify various surplus and waste materials--as identified by the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR)--by source, location, and type; Analyze MSFC's current methods for handling, storage, transport, and disposition of waste and surplussed materials; Determine the composition of various surplus and waste materials as to type and quantities from various sources and locations; Analyze different methods for the disposition of various surplus and waste materials, including quality, quantity, preparation, transport cost, and value; Study possible alternatives to current methods of handling, storage, transport, and disposition of surplus and waste materials to improve the quality and quantities recycled or sold and to reduce and minimize the quantities of surplus and waste material currently being disposed of or stored; Provide recommendations for source and centralized segregation and aggregation of materials for recycling and/or disposition; and The analysis could include identification and laboratory level evaluation of methods and/or equipment, including capital costs, operating costs, maintenance requirements, life cycle and return on investment for systems to support the waste reduction program mission.

Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Web Academy Webinar Series: A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting a Wasted Food Assessment with the Reducing Wasted Food & Packaging Toolkit

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This is a webinar page for the Sustainable Management of Materials (SMM) Web Academy webinar titled Let’s WRAP (Wrap Recycling Action Program): Best Practices to Boost Plastic Film Recycling in Your Community

Human Factor Investigation of Waste Processing System During the HI-SEAS 4 Month Mars Analog Mission in Support of NASA's Logistic Reduction and Repurposing Project: Trash to Gas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caraccio, Anne; Hintze, Paul; Miles, John D.

2014-01-01

NASAs Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project is a collaborative effort in which NASA is tasked with reducing total logistical mass through reduction, reuse and recycling of various wastes and components of long duration space missions and habitats. Trash to Gas (TtG) is a sub task to LRR with efforts focused on development of a technology that converts wastes generated during long duration space missions into high-value products such as methane, water for life support, raw material production feedstocks, and other energy sources. The reuse of discarded materials is a critical component to reducing overall mission mass. The 120 day Hawaii Space Exploration and Analog Simulation provides a unique opportunity to answer questions regarding crew interface and system analysis for designing and developing future flight-like versions of a TtG system. This paper will discuss the human factors that would affect the design of a TtG or other waste processing systems. An overview of the habitat, utility usage, and waste storage and generation is given. Crew time spent preparing trash for TtG processing was recorded. Gas concentrations were measured near the waste storage locations and at other locations in the habitat. In parallel with the analog mission, experimental processing of waste materials in a TtG reactor was performed in order to evaluate performance with realistic waste materials.

Human Factor Investigation of Waste Processing System During the HI-SEAS 4-month Mars Analog Mission in Support of NASA's Logistic Reduction and Repurposing Project: Trash to Gas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caraccio, Anne; Hintze, Paul E.; Miles, John D.

2014-01-01

NASA's Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project is a collaborative effort in which NASA is tasked with reducing total logistical mass through reduction, reuse and recycling of various wastes and components of long duration space missions and habitats. Trash to Gas (TtG) is a sub task to LRR with efforts focused on development of a technology that converts wastes generated during long duration space missions into high-value products such as methane, water for life support, raw material production feedstocks, and other energy sources. The reuse of discarded materials is a critical component to reducing overall mission mass. The 120 day Hawaii Space Exploration and Analog Simulation provides a unique opportunity to answer questions regarding crew interface and system analysis for designing and developing future flight-like versions of a TtG system. This paper will discuss the human factors that would affect the design of a TtG or other waste processing systems. An overview of the habitat, utility usage, and waste storage and generation is given. Crew time spent preparing trash for TtG processing was recorded. Gas concentrations were measured near the waste storage locations and at other locations in the habitat. In parallel with the analog mission, experimental processing of waste materials in a TtG reactor was performed in order to evaluate performance with realistic waste materials.

Critical management practices influencing on-site waste minimization in construction projects.

PubMed

Ajayi, Saheed O; Oyedele, Lukumon O; Bilal, Muhammad; Akinade, Olugbenga O; Alaka, Hafiz A; Owolabi, Hakeem A

2017-01-01

As a result of increasing recognition of effective site management as the strategic approach for achieving the required performance in construction projects, this study seeks to identify the key site management practices that are requisite for construction waste minimization. A mixed methods approach, involving field study and survey research were used as means of data collection. After confirmation of construct validity and reliability of scale, data analysis was carried out through a combination of Kruskal-Wallis test, descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. The study suggests that site management functions could significantly reduce waste generation through strict adherence to project drawings, and by ensuring fewer or no design changes during construction process. Provision of waste skips for specific materials and maximisation of on-site reuse of materials are also found to be among the key factors for engendering waste minimization. The result of factor analysis suggests four factors underlying on-site waste management practices with 96.093% of total variance. These measures include contractual provisions for waste minimization, waste segregation, maximisation of materials reuse and effective logistic management. Strategies through which each of the underlying measures could be achieved are further discussed in the paper. Findings of this study would assist construction site managers and other site operatives in reducing waste generated by construction activities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of waste coal from the enterprises of Kemerovo region as raw materials for production of ceramic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stolboushkin, A. Yu; Akst, D. V.; Fomina, O. A.; Ivanov, A. I.; Syromyasov, V. A.

2017-09-01

The analysis of waste coal from mining enterprises of Kemerovo region as raw materials for production of building ceramics is given. The results of studies of material, chemical and mineralogical compositions of waste coal from Abashevskaya processing plant (Novokuznetsk) are presented. It was established that the chemical composition of waste coal refers to aluminosilicate raw materials with a high content of alumina and coloring oxides, the residual carbon content in the wastes is 12-25 %. According to the granulometric composition the waste coal is basically a sandy-dusty fraction with a small amount of clay particles (1-3 %). Additional grinding of coal waste and the introduction of a clay additive in an amount of up to 30 % are recommended. The results of the study of the mineral composition of waste coal are presented. Clay minerals are represented in the descending order by hydromuscovite, montmorillonite and kaolinite, minerals-impurities consist of quartz, feldspar fine-dispersed carbonates. The results of the investigation of ceramic-technological properties of waste coal, which belong to the group of moderately plastic low-melting raw materials, are given. As a result of a comprehensive study it was been established that with chemical, granulometric and mineralogical compositions waste coal with the reduced residual carbon can be used in the production of ceramic bricks.

Hidden flows and waste processing--an analysis of illustrative futures.

PubMed

Schiller, F; Raffield, T; Angus, A; Herben, M; Young, P J; Longhurst, P J; Pollard, S J T

2010-12-14

An existing materials flow model is adapted (using Excel and AMBER model platforms) to account for waste and hidden material flows within a domestic environment. Supported by national waste data, the implications of legislative change, domestic resource depletion and waste technology advances are explored. The revised methodology offers additional functionality for economic parameters that influence waste generation and disposal. We explore this accounting system under hypothetical future waste and resource management scenarios, illustrating the utility of the model. A sensitivity analysis confirms that imports, domestic extraction and their associated hidden flows impact mostly on waste generation. The model offers enhanced utility for policy and decision makers with regard to economic mass balance and strategic waste flows, and may promote further discussion about waste technology choice in the context of reducing carbon budgets.

Martial recycling from renewable landfill and associated risks: A review.

PubMed

Ziyang, Lou; Luochun, Wang; Nanwen, Zhu; Youcai, Zhao

2015-07-01

Landfill is the dominant disposal choice for the non-classified waste, which results in the stockpile of materials after a long term stabilization process. A novel landfill, namely renewable landfill (RL), is developed and applied as a strategy to recycle the residual materials and reuse the land occupation, aim to reduce the inherent problems of large land occupied, materials wasted and long-term pollutants released in the conventional landfill. The principle means of RL is to accelerate the waste biodegradation process in the initial period, recover the various material resources disposal and extend the landfill volume for waste re-landfilling after waste stabilized. The residual material available and risk assessment, the methodology of landfill excavation, the potential utilization routes for different materials, and the reclamation options for the unsanitary landfill are proposed, and the integrated beneficial impacts are identified finally from the economic, social and environmental perspectives. RL could be draw as the future reservoirs for resource extraction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The University of Georgia Chemical Waste Disposal Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dreesen, David W.; Pohlman, Thomas J.

1980-01-01

Describes a university-wide program directed at reducing the improper storage and disposal of toxic chemical wastes from laboratories. Specific information is included on the implementation of a waste pick-up service, safety equipment, materials and methods for packaging, and costs of the program. (CS)

Sustainable construction in rural Guatemala.

PubMed

Temple, Ericka K; Rose, Elizabeth

2011-11-01

Waste management is a significant problem in Guatemala, as elsewhere in the developing world. The inappropriate disposal of solid waste produces pollution and places the environment and human health at risk. Environmental risk factors, including inadequate disposal of solid waste, are implicated in 25-30% of disease worldwide with children bearing a disproportionate burden of those diseases. Therefore, economic development which reduces inappropriate disposal of waste and affords economic opportunities may help reduce the global burden of disease on children. In the indigenous highlands of central Guatemala, a community supported non-profit organisation called Long Way Home (http://www.longwayhomeinc.org) is employing alternative construction techniques to build a vocational school complex. The construction of the school from waste materials demonstrates the use and principles of re-purposing materials, helps clean the environment and affords further educational and vocational opportunities. This article will outline the health problems inherent in an indigenous area of a developing country and will offer an alternative solution to reverse environmental risk factors associated with solid waste pollution and also actively improve child health.

Use of selected waste materials in concrete mixes.

PubMed

Batayneh, Malek; Marie, Iqbal; Asi, Ibrahim

2007-01-01

A modern lifestyle, alongside the advancement of technology has led to an increase in the amount and type of waste being generated, leading to a waste disposal crisis. This study tackles the problem of the waste that is generated from construction fields, such as demolished concrete, glass, and plastic. In order to dispose of or at least reduce the accumulation of certain kinds of waste, it has been suggested to reuse some of these waste materials to substitute a percentage of the primary materials used in the ordinary portland cement concrete (OPC). The waste materials considered to be recycled in this study consist of glass, plastics, and demolished concrete. Such recycling not only helps conserve natural resources, but also helps solve a growing waste disposal crisis. Ground plastics and glass were used to replace up to 20% of fine aggregates in concrete mixes, while crushed concrete was used to replace up to 20% of coarse aggregates. To evaluate these replacements on the properties of the OPC mixes, a number of laboratory tests were carried out. These tests included workability, unit weight, compressive strength, flexural strength, and indirect tensile strength (splitting). The main findings of this investigation revealed that the three types of waste materials could be reused successfully as partial substitutes for sand or coarse aggregates in concrete mixtures.

Waste to energy--key element for sustainable waste management.

PubMed

Brunner, Paul H; Rechberger, Helmut

2015-03-01

Human activities inevitably result in wastes. The higher the material turnover, and the more complex and divers the materials produced, the more challenging it is for waste management to reach the goals of "protection of men and environment" and "resource conservation". Waste incineration, introduced originally for volume reduction and hygienic reasons, went through a long and intense development. Together with prevention and recycling measures, waste to energy (WTE) facilities contribute significantly to reaching the goals of waste management. Sophisticated air pollution control (APC) devices ensure that emissions are environmentally safe. Incinerators are crucial and unique for the complete destruction of hazardous organic materials, to reduce risks due to pathogenic microorganisms and viruses, and for concentrating valuable as well as toxic metals in certain fractions. Bottom ash and APC residues have become new sources of secondary metals, hence incineration has become a materials recycling facility, too. WTE plants are supporting decisions about waste and environmental management: They can routinely and cost effectively supply information about chemical waste composition as well as about the ratio of biogenic to fossil carbon in MSW and off-gas. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

No time to waste organic waste: Nanosizing converts remains of food processing into refined materials.

PubMed

Griffin, Sharoon; Sarfraz, Muhammad; Farida, Verda; Nasim, Muhammad Jawad; Ebokaiwe, Azubuike P; Keck, Cornelia M; Jacob, Claus

2018-03-15

Modern food processing results in considerable amounts of side-products, such as grape seeds, walnut shells, spent coffee grounds, and harvested tomato plants. These materials are still rich in valuable and biologically active substances and therefore of interest from the perspective of waste management and "up-cycling". In contrast to traditional, often time consuming and low-value uses, such as vermicomposting and anaerobic digestion, the complete conversion into nanosuspensions unlocks considerable potentials of and new applications for such already spent organic materials without the need of extraction and without producing any additional waste. In this study, nanosuspensions were produced using a sequence of milling and homogenization methods, including High Speed Stirring (HSS) and High Pressure Homogenization (HPH) which reduced the size of the particles to 200-400 nm. The resulting nanosuspensions demonstrated nematicidal and antimicrobial activity and their antioxidant activities exceeded the ones of the bulk materials. In the future, this simple nanosizing approach may fulfil several important objectives, such as reducing and turning readily available waste into new value and eventually closing a crucial cycle of agricultural products returning to their fields - with a resounding ecological impact in the fields of medicine, agriculture, cosmetics and fermentation. Moreover, up-cycling via nanosizing adds an economical promise of increased value to residue-free waste management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Products from Fast Micropyrolysis of Municipal Solid Waste Biomass

DOE PAGES

Klemetsrud, Bethany; Ukaew, Suchada; Thompson, Vicki S.; ...

2016-09-05

Biomass feedstock costs remain one of the largest impediments to biofuel production economics. Municipal solid waste (MSW) represents an attractive feedstock with year-round availability, an established collection infrastructure paid for by waste generators, low cost and the potential to be blended with higher cost feedstocks to reduce overall feedstock costs. Paper waste, yard waste and construction and demolition waste (C&D) were examined for their applicability in the pyrolysis conversion pathway. Paper waste consisted of non-recyclable paper such as mixed low grade paper, food and beverage packaging, kitchen paper wastes and coated paper; yard waste consisted of grass clippings and C&Dmore » wastes consisted of engineered wood products obtained from a construction waste landfill. We tested the waste materials for thermochemical conversion potential using a bench scale fast micro-pyrolysis process. Bio-oil yields were the highest for the C&D materials and lowest for the paper waste. The C&D wastes had the highest level of lignin derived compounds (phenolic and cyclics) while the paper waste had higher levels of carbohydrate derived compounds (aldehydes, organic acids, ketones, alcohols and sugar derived). But, the paper material had higher amounts of lignin derived compounds than expected based upon lignin content that is likely due to the presence of polyphenolic resins used in paper processing. The paper and yard wastes had significantly higher levels of ash content than the C&D wastes (14-15% versus 0.5-1.3%), which further correlated to higher levels of alkali and alkaline earth metals, which are known to reduce pyrolysis bio-oil yields. There appeared to be an inverse correlation of both calcium and potassium content with the amount of chromatographic product peaks, indicative of cracking reactions occurring during product formation. Furthermore the effect of acid washing was evaluated for grass clipping and waste paper and the bio-oil yield was increased from 58% to 73% and 67% to 73%, respectively.« less

Characterization of Products from Fast Micropyrolysis of Municipal Solid Waste Biomass

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

Klemetsrud, Bethany; Ukaew, Suchada; Thompson, Vicki S.

Biomass feedstock costs remain one of the largest impediments to biofuel production economics. Municipal solid waste (MSW) represents an attractive feedstock with year-round availability, an established collection infrastructure paid for by waste generators, low cost and the potential to be blended with higher cost feedstocks to reduce overall feedstock costs. Paper waste, yard waste and construction and demolition waste (C&D) were examined for their applicability in the pyrolysis conversion pathway. Paper waste consisted of non-recyclable paper such as mixed low grade paper, food and beverage packaging, kitchen paper wastes and coated paper; yard waste consisted of grass clippings and C&Dmore » wastes consisted of engineered wood products obtained from a construction waste landfill. We tested the waste materials for thermochemical conversion potential using a bench scale fast micro-pyrolysis process. Bio-oil yields were the highest for the C&D materials and lowest for the paper waste. The C&D wastes had the highest level of lignin derived compounds (phenolic and cyclics) while the paper waste had higher levels of carbohydrate derived compounds (aldehydes, organic acids, ketones, alcohols and sugar derived). But, the paper material had higher amounts of lignin derived compounds than expected based upon lignin content that is likely due to the presence of polyphenolic resins used in paper processing. The paper and yard wastes had significantly higher levels of ash content than the C&D wastes (14-15% versus 0.5-1.3%), which further correlated to higher levels of alkali and alkaline earth metals, which are known to reduce pyrolysis bio-oil yields. There appeared to be an inverse correlation of both calcium and potassium content with the amount of chromatographic product peaks, indicative of cracking reactions occurring during product formation. Furthermore the effect of acid washing was evaluated for grass clipping and waste paper and the bio-oil yield was increased from 58% to 73% and 67% to 73%, respectively.« less

The effectiveness of Hong Kong's Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme.

PubMed

Hao, Jane L; Hills, Martin J; Tam, Vivian W Y

2008-12-01

The Hong Kong Government introduced the Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme in December 2005 to ensure that disposal of construction and demolition (C&D) waste is properly priced to reduce such waste. The charging scheme is not only intended to provide an economic incentive for contractors and developers to reduce waste but also to encourage reuse and recycling of waste material thereby slowing down the depletion of limited landfill and public filling capacities. This paper examines the effectiveness of the charging scheme 1 year after implementation. A survey was conducted at Tseung Kwan O Area 137 and Tuen Mun Area 38, and daily C&D waste records were collected from landfills and public filling facilities between January 2006 and December 2006. The results of the survey show that waste has been reduced by approximately 60% in landfills, by approximately 23% in public fills, and by approximately 65% in total waste between 2005 and 2006. Suggestions for improving the scheme are provided.

Sustainable waste management through end-of-waste criteria development.

PubMed

Zorpas, Antonis A

2016-04-01

The Waste Framework Directive 2000/98 (WFD) contains specific requirements to define end-of-waste criteria (EWC). The main goal of EWC is to remove and eliminate the administrative loads of waste legislation for safe and high-quality waste materials, thereby facilitating and assisting recycling. The target is to produce effective with high quality of recyclables materials, promoting product standardization and quality and safety assurance, and improving harmonization and legal certainty in the recyclable material markets. At the same time, those objectives aim to develop a plan in order to improve the development and wider use of environmental technologies, which reduce pressure on environment and at the same time address the three dimensions of the Lisbon strategy: growth, jobs and environment. This paper presents the importance of EWC, and the approach of setting EWC as EWC affect several management systems as well as sustainable and clean technologies.

Land Management Panel: Army’s Net Zero Installation Initiative

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-24

same watershed so not to deplete the groundwater and surface water resources of that region in quantity or quality.  A Net Zero WASTE Installation...0.15 0.2 0.25 Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy & Environment) Net Zero Waste A Net Zero WASTE Installation reduces, reuses...Net Zero Waste Strategy 17 Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy & Environment) Waste Roadmaps Material flow analysis

Review on factors influencing thermal conductivity of concrete incorporating various type of waste materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misri, Z.; Ibrahim, M. H. W.; Awal, A. S. M. A.; Desa, M. S. M.; Ghadzali, N. S.

2018-04-01

Concrete is well-known as a construction material which is widely used in building and infrastructure around the world. However, its widespread use has affected the reduction of natural resources. Hence, many approached have been made by researchers to study the incorporation of waste materials in concrete as a substitution for natural resources besides reducing waste disposal problems. Concrete is basically verified by determining its properties; strengths, permeability, shrinkage, durability, thermal properties etc. In various thermal properties of concrete, thermal conductivity (TC) has received a large amount of attention because it is depend upon the composition of concrete. Thermal conductivity is important in building insulation to measure the ability of a material to transfer heat. The aim of this paper is to discuss the methods and influence factors of TC of concrete containing various type of waste materials.

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

Military wastes-to-energy applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawaoka, K. E.

1980-11-01

This analysis focuses on the military waste material and byproduct stream and the potential for energy recovery and utilization. Feedstock material includes municipal-type solid waste, selected installation hazardous waste, and biomass residue. The study objectives are to (1) analyze the characteristics of the military waste stream; (2) identify potential energy recovery options; and (3) examine and assess the technical and economic feasibility and environmental and institutional impacts of various energy recovery approaches. Total energy recoverable from DOD solid waste could provide about 2 percent of DOD's facility energy demand. The energy potential available to DOD from biomass and hazardous waste was not available. Available waste-to-energy systems are thermal conversion processes such as incineration with heat recovery. The significance of this recoverable energy from military wastes is put in proper perspective when the benefits and barriers in using waste-derived energy are considered. Some of the benefits of waste-to-energy conversion are as follows: waste energy is a readily available and inexhaustible resource that greatly reduces dependence on imported energy.

A novel one-step synthesis for carbon-based nanomaterials from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles waste.

PubMed

El Essawy, Noha A; Konsowa, Abdelaziz H; Elnouby, Mohamed; Farag, Hassan A

2017-03-01

Nowadays our planet suffers from an accumulation of plastic products that have the potential to cause great harm to the environment in the form of air, water, and land pollution. Plastic water bottles have become a great problem in the environment because of the large numbers consumed throughout the world. Certain types of plastic bottles can be recycled but most of them are not. This paper describes an economical solvent-free process that converts polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles waste into carbon nanostructure materials via thermal dissociation in a closed system under autogenic pressure together with additives and/or catalyst, which can act as cluster nuclei for carbon nanostructure materials such as fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. This research succeeded in producing and controlling the microstructure of various forms of carbon nanoparticles from the PET waste by optimizing the preparation parameters in terms of time, additives, and amounts of catalyst. Plastic water bottles are becoming a growing segment of the municipal solid waste stream in the world; some are recycled but many are left in landfill sites. Recycling PET bottles waste can positively impact the environment in several ways: for instance, reduced waste, resource conservation, energy conservation, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing the amount of pollution in air and water sources. The main novelty of the present work is based on the acquisition of high-value carbon-based nanomaterials from PET waste by a simple solvent-free chemical technique. Thus, the prepared materials are considered to be promising, cheap, eco-friendly materials that may find use in different applications.

Recycling of quarry waste as part of sustainable aggregate production: Norwegian and Italian point of view

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antonella Dino, Giovanna; Willy Danielsen, Svein; Chiappino, Claudia; Primavori, Piero; Engelsen, Christian John

2016-04-01

Resource preservation is one of the main challenges in Europe, together with waste management and recycling; recently several researchers are interested in the recovering of critical raw materials and secondary raw materials from landfill. Aggregate supply, even if it is not "critical" sensus stricto (s.s.), is one of the European priorities (low value but high volume needs). On the other side, the management of quarry waste , mainly from dimension stones, but also as fines from aggregate crushing, is still a matter of concern. Such materials are managed in different ways both locally and nationwide, and often they are landfilled, because of an unclear legislation and a general lack of data. Most of time the local authorities adopt the maximum precaution principle or the enterprises find it little profitable to recover them, so that the sustainable recycling of such material is not valued. Several studies have shown, depending on the material specific characteristics, the viability of recycling quarry waste into new raw materials used in glass and ceramic industries, precast concrete production, infrastructures etc. (Loudes et al. 2012, Dino&Marian 2015, Bozzola et al 2012, Dino et al. 2012, etc.). Thus, aggregate production may be one of the profitable ways to use quarry waste and is falling under the priority of EU (aggregate supply). Positive economic and environmental effects are likely to be achieved by systematic recycling of quarry waste planned by industries (industrial planning) and public authorities (national and local planning of aggregate exploitation). Today, the recycling level varies to a great extent and systematic recovery is not common among European Countries. In Italy and Norway no significant incentives on recycling or systematic approaches for local aggregate exploitation exist. The environmental consequences can be overexploitation of the natural resources, land take for the landfills, environmental contamination and landscape alteration by the quarry waste heaps. The environmentally sustainable management of quarry waste, which aims to recover and recycle both clean and contaminated materials, would therefore help to reduce the pressure on natural resources, reduce the land take and the environmental contamination. The present paper shows the main challenges connected to quarry waste management, focusing on several possibilities for quarry waste recovering, in order to produce recycled aggregates.

Utilization of construction and agricultural waste in Malaysia for development of Green Concrete: A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tambichik, M. A.; Mohamad, N.; Samad, A. A. A.; Bosro, M. Z. M.; Iman, M. A.

2018-04-01

Green Concrete (GC) is defined as a concrete that utilize a waste material for at least one of its component. The production of GC has been increasing due to the drawback of conventional concrete that create many environmental problems. In Malaysia, the amount of waste generates from agricultural and construction industries were increasing every year. Hence, one of the solutions to reduce the impact of conventional concrete and limited landfill spaces due to excessive waste is by utilizing it in concrete. This paper reviews the possible use of construction waste (Recycle Concrete Aggregate) and agricultural waste (Palm Oil Fuel Ash, Rice Husk Ash and Palm Oil Fibre) as partial replacement for the basic material in a concrete to produce an innovative Green Concrete. The optimum replacement level for each type of waste was also been review. Green Concrete also has the potential to reduce environmental pollution and solve the depletion of natural sources. The result from this review shows that the addition of agricultural waste or construction waste in concrete indicate positive and satisfactory strength when compared to normal concrete. Finally, a mass production of Green Concrete can fulfil the Construction Industry Transformation Plan (CITP) 2016-2020 made by CIDB that emphasizes on a construction system which is environmentally sustainable.

Reuse of Boron Waste as an Additive in Road Base Material

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yutong; Guo, Qinglin; Li, Lili; Jiang, Ping; Jiao, Yubo; Cheng, Yongchun

2016-01-01

The amount of boron waste increases year by year. There is an urgent demand to manage it in order to reduce the environmental impact. In this paper, boron waste was reused as an additive in road base material. Lime and cement were employed to stabilize the waste mixture. Mechanical performances of stabilized mixture were evaluated by experimental methods. A compaction test, an unconfined compressive test, an indirect tensile test, a modulus test, a drying shrinkage test, and a frost resistance test were carried out. Results indicated that mechanical strengths of lime-stabilized boron waste mixture (LSB) satisfy the requirements of road base when lime content is greater than 8%. LSB can only be applied in non-frozen regions as a result of its poor frost resistance. The lime–cement-stabilized mixture can be used in frozen regions when lime and cement contents are 8% and 5%, respectively. Aggregate reduces the drying shrinkage coefficient effectively. Thus, aggregate is suggested for mixture stabilization properly. This work provides a proposal for the management of boron waste. PMID:28773539

Report: landfill alternative daily cover: conserving air space and reducing landfill operating cost.

PubMed

Haughey, R D

2001-02-01

Title 40, Part 258 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Solid Waste Disposal Facility Criteria, commonly referred to as Subtitle D, became effective on October 9, 1993. It establishes minimum criteria for solid waste disposal facility siting, design, operations, groundwater monitoring and corrective action, and closure and postclosure maintenance, while providing EPA-approved state solid waste regulatory programs flexibility in implementing the criteria. Section 258.21(a) [40 CFR 258.21(a)] requires owners or operators of municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF) units to cover disposed solid waste with 30cm of earthen material at the end of the operating day, or at more frequent intervals, if necessary, to control disease vectors, fires, odours, blowing litter, and scavenging. This requirement is consistent with already existing solid waste facility regulations in many states. For many MSWLFs, applying daily cover requires the importation of soil which increases landfill operating costs. Daily cover also uses valuable landfill air space, reducing potential operating revenue and the landfill's operating life. 40 CFR 258.21 (b) allows the director of an approved state to approve alternative materials of an alternative thickness if the owner or operator demonstrates that the alternative material and thickness will control disease vectors, fires, odours, blowing litter, and scavenging without presenting a threat to human health and the environment. Many different types of alternative daily cover (ADC) are currently being used, including geosynthetic tarps, foams, garden waste, and auto shredder fluff. These materials use less air space than soil and can reduce operating costs. This paper discusses the variety of ADCs currently being used around the country and their applicability to different climates and operating conditions, highlighting the more unusual types of ADC, the types of demonstrations necessary to obtain approval of ADC, and the impact on landfill air space and operating costs of ADC use.

An overview on characterization, utilization and leachate analysis of biomedical waste incinerator ash.

PubMed

Rajor, Anita; Xaxa, Monika; Mehta, Ratika; Kunal

2012-10-15

Solid waste management is one of the major global environmental issues, as there is continuous increase in industrial globalization and generation of waste. Solid wastes encompass the heterogeneous mass of throwaways from the urban community as well as the homogeneous accumulations of agricultural, industrial and mineral wastes. Biomedical waste pose a significant impact on health and environment. A proper waste management system should be required to dispose hazardous biomedical waste and incineration should be the best available technology to reduce the volume of this hazardous waste. The incineration process destroys pathogens and reduces the waste volume and weight but leaves a solid material called biomedical waste ash as residue which increases the levels of heavy metals, inorganic salts and organic compounds in the environment. Disposal of biomedical waste ash in landfill may cause contamination of groundwater as metals are not destroyed during incineration. The limited space and the high cost for land disposal led to the development of recycling technologies and the reuse of ash in different systems. In order to minimize leaching of its hazardous components into the environment several studies confirmed the successful utilization of biomedical waste ash in agriculture and construction sector. This paper presents the overview on the beneficial use of ash in agriculture and construction materials and its leachate characteristics. This review also stressed on the need to further evaluate the leachate studies of the ashes and slag for their proper disposal and utilization. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

OPTIMIZATION ON MATERIAL FLOW OF NON-METALIC MINERAL MATERIALS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakamoto, Kouji; Nakayama, Hirofumi; Shimaoka, Takayuki; Hasegawa, Ryoji; Osako, Masahiro

Since non-metarilc mineral waste such as concrete mass, asphalt concrete mass, sand, slag and coal ash occupies 36% of total amount of waste generation and 26% of total amount of final disposal, it has significant influence on material flow of our country. Although the amount of non-metaril mineral wastes produced is expected to increase in the near future, demand of their application for recycled construction materials will decrease due to the reduction of public construction works and less use of materials in construction. The aim is to reduce environmental load caused by recycling and disposal of non metallic mineral materials, this study was conducted to evaluate the measurement for the reduction of environmental load like landfill amount and CO2 emission amount by controlling material flow of non metallic mineral materials in the year 2030 by linear programming.

Segregation of biomedical waste in an South Indian tertiary care hospital

PubMed Central

Sengodan, Vetrivel Chezian

2014-01-01

Introduction: Hospital wastes pose significant public health hazard if not properly managed. Hence, it is necessary to develop and adopt optimal waste management systems in the hospitals. Material and method: Biomedical waste generated in Coimbatore Medical College Hospital was color coded (blue, yellow, and red) and the data was analyzed retrospectively on a daily basis for 3 years (January 2010-December 2012). Results: Effective segregation protocols significantly reduced biomedical waste generated from 2011 to 2012. While biomedical waste of red category was significantly higher (>50%), the category yellow was the least. Per unit (per bed per day) total biomedical waste generated was 68.5, 68.8, and 61.3 grams in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. Discussion: Segregation of biomedical waste at the source of generation is the first and essential step in biomedical waste management. Continuous training, fixing the responsibility on the nursing persons, and constant supervision are the key criteria's in implementing biomedical waste segregation process, which can significantly reduce per unit biomedical waste generated. Conclusion: We highly recommend all hospitals to adopt our protocol and effectively implement them to reduce generation of biomedical waste. PMID:25097419

Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Food Recovery Challenge (FRC) Data

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

As part of EPA's Food Recovery Challenge (FRC), organizations pledge to improve their sustainable food management practices and report their results. The FRC is part of EPA's Sustainable Materials Management Program (SMM). SMM seeks to reduce the environmental impact of materials through their entire life cycle. This includes how they are extracted, manufactured, distributed, used, reused, recycled, and disposed. Organizations are encouraged to follow the Food Recovery Hierarchy (https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy) to prioritize their actions to prevent and divert wasted food. Each tier of the Food Recovery Hierarchy focuses on different management strategies for your wasted food. The program started in 2011 and the first data were made available in 2012. The FRC is part of EPA's larger SMM program (https://www.epa.gov/smm). Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) is a systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles. It represents a change in how our society thinks about the use of natural resources and environmental protection. By looking at a product's entire lifecycle we can find new opportunities to reduce environmental impacts, conserve resources, and reduce costs. There are multiple challenge programs available as part of the SMM program, including the Food Recovery Challenge, the Electronics Challenge, the Federal Green Challenge, and the WasteWise program.

Mobilization of radionuclides from uranium mill tailings and related waste materials in anaerobic environments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Landa, E.R.

2003-01-01

Specific extraction studies in our laboratory have shown that iron and manganese oxide- and alkaline earth sulfate minerals are important hosts of radium in uranium mill tailings. Iron- and sulfate-reducing bacteria may enhance the release of radium (and its analog barium) from uranium mill tailings, oil field pipe scale [a major technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) waste], and jarosite (a common mineral in sulfuric acid processed-tailings). These research findings are reviewed and discussed in the context of nuclear waste forms (such as barium sulfate matrices), radioactive waste management practices, and geochemical environments in the Earth's surficial and shallow subsurface regions.

Dechlorination of small quantities of mixed waste from a DOE site

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

Hoeffner, S.L.

1994-12-31

Sludge from tank bottoms containing PCB`s, radioactivity and hazardous constituents are present in several tanks at one of the National Laboratories. Disposal of the material can proceed if the material is removed from TSCA regulations by decreasing the concentration of the PCB`s to {le}2 ppm. ON the bench scale, this sludge was treated by the DECHLOR/KGME{sup {trademark}} chemical dechlorination process. The levels of PCB`s were reduced to below 2 ppm, allowing the material to be managed outside the TSCA regulations. RUST believes that this is the first successful chemical dechlorination of a radioactive, RCRA listed, PCB bearing waste. A pilotmore » scale unit is available to provide on-site treatment of the remaining waste. Because of the small amounts of waste, treatment costs are high on a per unit volume. As a result of these high costs and other concerns the client is investigating potential non-treatment options of delisting the waste of obtaining a waiver. In the event that this particular waste cannot be delisted or a waiver is not granted, then dechlorination of the waste to remove it from TSCA regulations remains a viable option to allow the material to be disposed.« less

Forecasting waste compositions: A case study on plastic waste of electronic display housings.

PubMed

Peeters, Jef R; Vanegas, Paul; Kellens, Karel; Wang, Feng; Huisman, Jaco; Dewulf, Wim; Duflou, Joost R

2015-12-01

Because of the rapid succession of technological developments, the architecture and material composition of many products used in daily life have drastically changed over the last decades. As a result, well-adjusted recycling technologies need to be developed and installed to cope with these evolutions. This is essential to guarantee continued access to materials and to reduce the ecological impact of our material consumption. However, limited information is currently available on the material composition of arising waste streams and even less on how these waste streams will evolve. Therefore, this paper presents a methodology to forecast trends in the material composition of waste streams. To demonstrate the applicability and value of the proposed methodology, it is applied to forecast the evolution of plastic housing waste from flat panel display (FPD) TVs, FPD monitors, cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs and CRT monitors. The results of the presented forecasts indicate that a wide variety of plastic types and additives, such as flame retardants, are found in housings of similar products. The presented case study demonstrates that the proposed methodology allows the identification of trends in the evolution of the material composition of waste streams. In addition, it is demonstrated that the recycling sector will need to adapt its processes to deal with the increasing complexity of plastics of end-of-life electronic displays while respecting relevant directives. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Waste to energy – key element for sustainable waste management

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

Brunner, Paul H., E-mail: paul.h.brunner@tuwien.ac.at; Rechberger, Helmut

2015-03-15

Highlights: • First paper on the importance of incineration from a urban metabolism point of view. • Proves that incineration is necessary for sustainable waste management. • Historical and technical overview of 100 years development of MSW incineration. - Abstract: Human activities inevitably result in wastes. The higher the material turnover, and the more complex and divers the materials produced, the more challenging it is for waste management to reach the goals of “protection of men and environment” and “resource conservation”. Waste incineration, introduced originally for volume reduction and hygienic reasons, went through a long and intense development. Together withmore » prevention and recycling measures, waste to energy (WTE) facilities contribute significantly to reaching the goals of waste management. Sophisticated air pollution control (APC) devices ensure that emissions are environmentally safe. Incinerators are crucial and unique for the complete destruction of hazardous organic materials, to reduce risks due to pathogenic microorganisms and viruses, and for concentrating valuable as well as toxic metals in certain fractions. Bottom ash and APC residues have become new sources of secondary metals, hence incineration has become a materials recycling facility, too. WTE plants are supporting decisions about waste and environmental management: They can routinely and cost effectively supply information about chemical waste composition as well as about the ratio of biogenic to fossil carbon in MSW and off-gas.« less

Recycling coffee grounds and tea leaf wastes to improve the yield and mineral content of grains of paddy rice.

PubMed

Morikawa, Claudio K; Saigusa, M

2011-08-30

Coffee grounds and tea leaf wastes exhibit strong affinity for metals such as Fe and Zn. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of top-dressing application of Fe- and Zn-enriched coffee grounds and tea leaf wastes at the panicle initiation stage on the mineral content of rice grains and the yield of paddy rice. The Fe and Zn contents of brown rice grains increased significantly on application of both coffee and tea waste materials. The concentration of Mn was increased by top-dressing application of coffee waste material only. For Cu, no significant (P < 0.05) differences were found between the control and ferrous sulfate/zinc sulfate treatment. The application of coffee and tea waste materials led to a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the number of grains per panicle, which was reflected in increases in the total number of grains per hill and in grain yield. The top-dressing application of these materials is an excellent method to recycle coffee grounds and tea wastes from coffee shops. Use of these novel materials would not only reduce the waste going to landfill but would also benefit the mineral nutrition of rice consumers at low cost by increasing Fe and Zn levels of rice grains as well as grain yield. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

Utilisation of Waste Marble Dust as Fine Aggregate in Concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vigneshpandian, G. V.; Aparna Shruthi, E.; Venkatasubramanian, C.; Muthu, D.

2017-07-01

Concrete is the important construction material and it is used in the construction industry due to its high compressive strength and its durability. Now a day’s various studies have been conducted to make concrete with waste material with the intention of reducing cost and unavailability of conventional materials. This paper investigates the strength properties of concrete specimens cast using waste marble dust as replacement of fine aggregate. The marble pieces are finely crushed to powdered and the gradation is compared with conventional fine aggregate. Concrete specimen were cast using wmd in the laboratory with different proportion (25%, 50% and 100%) by weight of cement and from the studies it reveals that addition of waste marble dust as a replacement of fine aggregate marginally improves compressive, tensile and flexural strength in concrete.

Reducing shingle waste at a manufacturing facility: 1990 MNTAP summer intern report

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

Menke, D.

1990-12-31

CertainTeed manufactures roofing shingles at it`s Shakopee, MN facility. Two process coating lines, and one assembly line, produce fifteen shingle types in fifteen different colors. The wastes generated by this process were the result of planned and unplanned variations in the continuous production process. Planned variations included changes in color, while felt breaks were common unplanned variations. Five options were identified that could reduce the amount of waste generated: Using a standard procedure for recovering from felt breaks, Creating a process cushion to maintain continuous production in the event of temporary shutdowns, An automated color change process, Manufacture of amore » new product from waste material, Minor process changes to reduce the frequency of breaks.« less

Method for acid oxidation of radioactive, hazardous, and mixed organic waste materials

DOEpatents

Pierce, Robert A.; Smith, James R.; Ramsey, William G.; Cicero-Herman, Connie A.; Bickford, Dennis F.

1999-01-01

The present invention is directed to a process for reducing the volume of low level radioactive and mixed waste to enable the waste to be more economically stored in a suitable repository, and for placing the waste into a form suitable for permanent disposal. The invention involves a process for preparing radioactive, hazardous, or mixed waste for storage by contacting the waste starting material containing at least one organic carbon-containing compound and at least one radioactive or hazardous waste component with nitric acid and phosphoric acid simultaneously at a contacting temperature in the range of about 140.degree. C. to about 210 .degree. C. for a period of time sufficient to oxidize at least a portion of the organic carbon-containing compound to gaseous products, thereby producing a residual concentrated waste product containing substantially all of said radioactive or inorganic hazardous waste component; and immobilizing the residual concentrated waste product in a solid phosphate-based ceramic or glass form.

Assessment of some straw-derived materials for reducing the leaching potential of Metribuzin residues in the soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cara, Irina Gabriela; Trincă, Lucia Carmen; Trofin, Alina Elena; Cazacu, Ana; Ţopa, Denis; Peptu, Cătălina Anişoara; Jităreanu, Gerard

2015-12-01

Biomass (straw waste) can be used as raw to obtain materials for herbicide removal from wastewater. These by-products have some important advantages, being environmentally friendly, easily available, presenting low costs, and requiring little processing to increase their adsorptive capacity. In the present study, some materials derived from agricultural waste (wheat, corn and soybean straw) were investigated as potential adsorbents for metribuzin removal from aqueous solutions. The straw wastes were processed by grinding, mineralisation (850 °C) and KOH activation in order to improve their functional surface activity. The materials surface characteristics were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The adsorbents capacity was evaluated using batch sorption tests and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for herbicide determination. For adsorption isotherms, the equilibrium time considered was 3 h. The experimental adsorption data were modelled by Freundlich and Langmuir models. The activated straw and ash-derived materials from wheat, corn and soybean increased the adsorption capacity of metribuzin with an asymmetrical behaviour. Overall, our results sustain that activated ash-derived from straw and activated straw materials can be a valuable solution for reducing the leaching potential of metribuzin through soil.

A material flow analysis on current electrical and electronic waste disposal from Hong Kong households.

PubMed

Lau, Winifred Ka-Yan; Chung, Shan-Shan; Zhang, Chan

2013-03-01

A material flow study on five types of household electrical and electronic equipment, namely television, washing machine, air conditioner, refrigerator and personal computer (TWARC) was conducted to assist the Government of Hong Kong to establish an e-waste take-back system. This study is the first systematic attempt on identifying key TWARC waste disposal outlets and trade practices of key parties involved in Hong Kong. Results from two questionnaire surveys, on local households and private e-waste traders, were used to establish the material flow of household TWARC waste. The study revealed that the majority of obsolete TWARC were sold by households to private e-waste collectors and that the current e-waste collection network is efficient and popular with local households. However, about 65,000 tonnes/yr or 80% of household generated TWARC waste are being exported overseas by private e-waste traders, with some believed to be imported into developing countries where crude recycling methods are practiced. Should Hong Kong establish a formal recycling network with tight regulatory control on imports and exports, the potential risks of current e-waste recycling practices on e-waste recycling workers, local residents and the environment can be greatly reduced. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Process and equipment development for hot isostatic pressing treatability study

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

Bateman, Ken; Wahlquist, Dennis; Malewitz, Tim

2015-03-01

Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA), LLC, has developed processes and equipment for a pilot-scale hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatability study to stabilize and volume reduce radioactive calcine stored at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). In 2009, the U. S. Department of Energy signed a Record of Decision with the state of Idaho selecting HIP technology as the method to treat 5,800 yd^3 (4,400 m^3) of granular zirconia and alumina calcine produced between 1953 and 1992 as a waste byproduct of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. Since the 1990s, a variety of radioactive and hazardous waste forms have been remotely treated using HIP withinmore » INL hot cells. To execute the remote process at INL, waste is loaded into a stainless-steel or aluminum can, which is evacuated, sealed, and placed into a HIP furnace. The HIP simultaneously heats and pressurizes the waste, reducing its volume and increasing its durability. Two 1 gal cans of calcine waste currently stored in a shielded cask were identified as candidate materials for a treatability study involving the HIP process. Equipment and materials for cask-handling and calcine transfer into INL hot cells, as well as remotely operated equipment for waste can opening, particle sizing, material blending, and HIP can loading have been designed and successfully tested. These results demonstrate BEA’s readiness for treatment of INL calcine.« less

Local Gov`t assistance in commercial waste reduction & recycling

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

Hannah, C.W.

This paper outlines programs and strategies for reducing the waste stream by targeting the commercial, industrial and institutional sectors. The programs described are implemented by the Wake County Solid Waste Management Division, North Carolina. Findings and recommendations of a task force focusing on the role of the private sector in meeting state waste reduction mandates are summarized. Commercial initiatives, educational initiatives, and a grant program are described. Several case studies are provided which overview the variety of businesses and waste materials addressed.

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.

Study on mechanical and physical properties of composite materials with recycled PET as fillers for paving block application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wicaksono, Sigit Tri; Ardhyananta, Hosta; Rasyida, Amaliya

2018-04-01

Base on Sidoarjo's goverment data, there was more than 4000 metric ton perday of waste that has been accumulated during 2016. More than 10 percent from overall waste is plastics. In accordance with the Indonesia government regulation, "Indonesia clean from waste" by 2020 through 3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) program, we have been focusing research on how to reduce the accumulation of the plastics waste in Sidoarjo by processing it become a new product. In this research, we have made the plastic waste of PET bottle as additional fillers or agregates of composite material for construction application as a paving block. The composition of PET plastic used as fillers is vary from 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% from total volume of agregates. The ratio of cement binder to sands agregate is 1:3. The specimens were characterized its mechanical and physical properties by using flexural testing, compressive testing, density and water absorbance measurement. The results show that the mechanical (flexural and compressive) properties of composite materials is increased significantly by increasing PET fillers up to 20%, however it was decreased when PET content more than 20%. But, both the density and water absobance of specimens are decreased by increasing of PET fillers.

EFFECTS OF LEACHING ON PORE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF SOLIDIFIED/STABILIZED WASTES

EPA Science Inventory

Chemical solidification/stabilization processes are commonly used to immobilize metals in fly ash and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) sludges and to convert these wastes into monolithic or granular materials with better handling properties and reduced permeabilities. his study eva...

Reduce--recycle--reuse: guidelines for promoting perioperative waste management.

PubMed

Laustsen, Gary

2007-04-01

The perioperative environment generates large amounts of waste, which negatively affects local and global ecosystems. To manage this waste health care facility leaders must focus on identifying correctable issues, work with relevant stakeholders to promote solutions, and adopt systematic procedural changes. Nurses and managers can moderate negative environmental effects by promoting reduction, recycling, and reuse of materials in the perioperative setting.

Low temperature ozone oxidation of solid waste surrogates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nabity, James A.; Lee, Jeffrey M.

2015-09-01

Solid waste management presents a significant challenge to human spaceflight and especially, long-term missions beyond Earth orbit. A six-month mission will generate over 300 kg of solid wastes per crewmember that must be dealt with to eliminate the need for storage and prevent it from becoming a biological hazard to the crew. There are several methods for the treatment of wastes that include oxidation via ozone, incineration, microbial oxidation or pyrolysis and physical methods such as microwave drying and compaction. In recent years, a low temperature oxidation process using ozonated water has been developed for the chemical conversion of organic wastes to CO2 and H2O. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the rate and effectiveness with which ozone oxidized several different waste materials. Increasing the surface area by chopping or shredding the solids into small pieces more than doubled the rate of oxidation. A greater flow of ozone and agitation of the ozonated water system also increased processing rates. Of the materials investigated, plastics have proven the most difficult to oxidize. The processing of plastics above the glass transition temperatures caused the plastics to clump together which reduced the exposed surface area, while processing at lower temperatures reduced surface reaction kinetics.

Reduction experiment of iron scale by adding waste plastics.

PubMed

Zhang, Chongmin; Chen, Shuwen; Miao, Xincheng; Yuan, Hao

2009-01-01

The special features of waste plastics in China are huge in total amount, various in type and dispersive in deposition. Therefore, it is necessary to try some new ways that are fit to Chinese situation for disposing waste plastics as metallurgical raw materials more effectively and flexibly. Owing to its high ferrous content and less impurity, the iron scale became ideal raw material to produce pure iron powder. One of the methods to produce pure iron powder is Hoganas Method, by which, after one or multistage of reduction steps, the iron scale can be reduced pure iron powder. However, combining utilization of waste plastics and iron powder production, a series of reduction experiments were arranged and investigated, which is hoped to take use of both thermal and chemical energy contained in waste plastics as well as to improve the reducing condition of iron scale, and hence to develop a new metallurgical way of disposing waste plastics. The results show that under these experimental conditions, the thermal-decomposition of water plastics can conduce to an increase of porosity in the reduction systems. Moreover, better thermodynamics and kinetics conditions for the reduction of scale can be reached. As a result, the reduction rate is increased.

Screening of heavy metal containing waste types for use as raw material in Arctic clay-based bricks.

PubMed

Belmonte, Louise Josefine; Ottosen, Lisbeth M; Kirkelund, Gunvor Marie; Jensen, Pernille Erland; Vestbø, Andreas Peter

2016-11-10

In the vulnerable Arctic environment, the impact of especially hazardous wastes can have severe consequences and the reduction and safe handling of these waste types are therefore an important issue. In this study, two groups of heavy metal containing particulate waste materials, municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly and bottom ashes and mine tailings (i.e., residues from the mineral resource industry) from Greenland were screened in order to determine their suitability as secondary resources in clay-based brick production. Small clay discs, containing 20 or 40% of the different particulate waste materials, were fired and material properties and heavy metal leaching tests were conducted before and after firing. Remediation techniques (washing in distilled water and electrodialytical treatment) applied to the fly ash reduced leaching before firing. The mine tailings and bottom ash brick discs obtained satisfactory densities (1669-2007 kg/m 3 ) and open porosities (27.9-39.9%). In contrast, the fly ash brick discs had low densities (1313-1578 kg/m 3 ) and high open porosities (42.1-51. %). However, leaching tests on crushed brick discs revealed that heavy metals generally became more available after firing for all the investigated materials and that further optimisation is therefore necessary prior to incorporation in bricks.

Foamed lightweight materials made from mixed scrap metal waste powder and sewage sludge ash.

PubMed

Wang, Kuen-Sheng; Chiou, Ing-Jia

2004-10-01

The porous properties and pozzolanic effects of sewage sludge ash (SSA) make it possible to produce lightweight materials. This study explored the effects of different metallic foaming agents, made from waste aluminium products, on the foaming behaviours and engineering characteristics, as well as the microstructure of sewage sludge ash foamed lightweight materials. The results indicated that aluminium powder and mixed scrap metal waste powder possessed similar chemical compositions. After proper pre-treatment, waste aluminium products proved to be ideal substitutes for metallic foaming agents. Increasing the amount of mixed scrap metal waste by 10-15% compared with aluminium powder would produce a similar foaming ratio and compressive strength. The reaction of the metallic foaming agents mainly produced pores larger than 10 microm, different from the hydration reaction of cement that produced pores smaller than 1 microm mostly. To meet the requirements of the lightweight materials characteristics and the compressive strength, the amount of SSA could be up to 60-80% of the total solids. An adequate amount of aluminium powder is 0.5-0.9% of the total solids. Increasing the fineness of the mixed scrap metal waste powder could effectively reduce the amount required and improve the foaming ratio.

Gaseous emissions during concurrent combustion of biomass and non-recyclable municipal solid waste

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Biomass and municipal solid waste offer sustainable sources of energy; for example to meet heat and electricity demand in the form of combined cooling, heat and power. Combustion of biomass has a lesser impact than solid fossil fuels (e.g. coal) upon gas pollutant emissions, whilst energy recovery from municipal solid waste is a beneficial component of an integrated, sustainable waste management programme. Concurrent combustion of these fuels using a fluidised bed combustor may be a successful method of overcoming some of the disadvantages of biomass (high fuel supply and distribution costs, combustion characteristics) and characteristics of municipal solid waste (heterogeneous content, conflict with materials recycling). It should be considered that combustion of municipal solid waste may be a financially attractive disposal route if a 'gate fee' value exists for accepting waste for combustion, which will reduce the net cost of utilising relatively more expensive biomass fuels. Results Emissions of nitrogen monoxide and sulphur dioxide for combustion of biomass are suppressed after substitution of biomass for municipal solid waste materials as the input fuel mixture. Interactions between these and other pollutants such as hydrogen chloride, nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide indicate complex, competing reactions occur between intermediates of these compounds to determine final resultant emissions. Conclusions Fluidised bed concurrent combustion is an appropriate technique to exploit biomass and municipal solid waste resources, without the use of fossil fuels. The addition of municipal solid waste to biomass combustion has the effect of reducing emissions of some gaseous pollutants. PMID:21284885

Bisphenol A in Solid Waste Materials, Leachate Water, and Air Particles from Norwegian Waste-Handling Facilities: Presence and Partitioning Behavior.

PubMed

Morin, Nicolas; Arp, Hans Peter H; Hale, Sarah E

2015-07-07

The plastic additive bisphenol A (BPA) is commonly found in landfill leachate at levels exceeding acute toxicity benchmarks. To gain insight into the mechanisms controlling BPA emissions from waste and waste-handling facilities, a comprehensive field and laboratory campaign was conducted to quantify BPA in solid waste materials (glass, combustibles, vehicle fluff, waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), plastics, fly ash, bottom ash, and digestate), leachate water, and atmospheric dust from Norwegian sorting, incineration, and landfill facilities. Solid waste concentrations varied from below 0.002 mg/kg (fly ash) to 188 ± 125 mg/kg (plastics). A novel passive sampling method was developed to, for the first time, establish a set of waste-water partition coefficients, KD,waste, for BPA, and to quantify differences between total and freely dissolved concentrations in waste-facility leachate. Log-normalized KD,waste (L/kg) values were similar for all solid waste materials (from 2.4 to 3.1), excluding glass and metals, indicating BPA is readily leachable. Leachate concentrations were similar for landfills and WEEE/vehicle sorting facilities (from 0.7 to 200 μg/L) and dominated by the freely dissolved fraction, not bound to (plastic) colloids (agreeing with measured KD,waste values). Dust concentrations ranged from 2.3 to 50.7 mg/kgdust. Incineration appears to be an effective way to reduce BPA concentrations in solid waste, dust, and leachate.

Performance of waste-paper/PETG wood–plastic composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Lijie; An, Shuxiang; Li, Chunying; Huang, Chongxing; Wang, Shuangfei; Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Xu, Mingzi; Chen, Jie; Zhou, Lei

2018-05-01

Wood-plastic composites were prepared from polyethylene terephthalate- 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol ester (PETG) and waste-paper fiber that was unmodified, modified with alkyl-ketene-dimer (AKD), and modified with a silane-coupling agent. The mechanical properties, water absorption properties, surface structure, and thermal properties of the three prepared materials were compared. The results showed that the optimum amount of waste-paper powder is 10 wt%, while that of the waste-paper particles is 60-80 mesh. The use of AKD and coupling agent KH550 can reduce the water absorption of the composite; however, the reductive effect of the coupling agent is better, in that it is reduced by 0.3%. Modification using a 1-wt% KH550 coupling agent can effectively increase the tensile strength of a composite from 31.36 to 41.67 MPa (increase of 32.8%), while the bending strength increased from 86.47 to 98.31 MPa (increase of 13.7%). This also enhances the thermal stability of the composites. With the addition of the coupling agent, the composite material maintains good mechanical properties even after being immersed in water; this can enable the safe use of these composite materials in outdoor environments.

Industrial waste utilization in the panels production for high buildings facade and socle facing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vitkalova, Irina; Torlova, Anastasiya; Pikalov, Evgeniy; Selivanov, Oleg

2018-03-01

The research presents comprehensive utilization of such industrial waste as galvanic sludge, broken window glass as functional additives for producing ceramics for facade and socle paneling in high-rise construction. The basic charge component is low-plasticity clay, which does not allow producing high-quality products if used without any functional additives. The application of the mentioned above components broadens the resource base, reduces production cost and the mass of the products in comparison with the currently used facing ceramics. The decrease of product mass helps to reduce the load on the basement and to use ceramic material in high-rise construction more effectively. Additional advantage of the developed composition is the reducing of production energy intensity due to comparatively low pressing pressure and firing temperature thus reducing the overall production cost. The research demonstrates the experimental results of determining density, compressive strength, water absorption, porosity and frost resistance of the produced ceramic material. These characteristics prove that the material can be applied for high buildings outdoor paneling. Additional research results prove ecologic safety of the produced ceramic material.

Shelf-Life Specifications for Mission Readiness

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-03-01

R applies to this item. Arthur D Little t.𔃻.., 4-48 NSN: 7930009353794 Name: Polish , Plastic Description: White lotion with a slight odor Intended...MISSION READINESS TC•T I AR16 19931 Abstract The Navy disposes of tons of hazardous material as hazardous waste due to the expiration of excessively...of hazardous material as hazardous waste due to the expiration of excessively conservati’e shielf-Ihfe terms. In order to reduce this occurrence, the

Toward zero waste events: Reducing contamination in waste streams with volunteer assistance.

PubMed

Zelenika, Ivana; Moreau, Tara; Zhao, Jiaying

2018-06-01

Public festivals and events generate a tremendous amount of waste, especially when they involve food and drink. To reduce contamination across waste streams, we evaluated three types of interventions at a public event. In a randomized control trial, we examined the impact of volunteer staff assistance, bin tops, and sample 3D items with bin tops, on the amount of contamination and the weight of the organics, recyclable containers, paper, and garbage bins at a public event. The event was the annual Apple Festival held at the University of British Columbia, which was attended by around 10,000 visitors. We found that contamination was the lowest in the volunteer staff condition among all conditions. Specifically, volunteer staff reduced contamination by 96.1% on average in the organics bin, 96.9% in the recyclable containers bin, 97.0% in the paper bin, and 84.9% in the garbage bin. Our interventions did not influence the weight of the materials in the bins. This finding highlights the impact of volunteers on reducing contamination in waste streams at events, and provides suggestions and implications for waste management for event organizers to minimize contamination in all waste streams to achieve zero waste goals. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The participation of community-based organizations on waste management in the city municipal of Medan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trimurni, Februati; Dayana

2018-03-01

Waste is currently main problem experienced by cities all over the world. The waste has brought negative impacts on public health, environment, development and social of the cities. However, there must be solutions to overcome the piles of waste in case the individual citizens or community-based organization wisely deal with the problem. In the municipal area of Medan in the Province of North Sumatra, there is sort of organization established by community-based organization (CBO) so-called Bank Sampah or Waste Bank which is placed as a flatform for the member to do business of waste materials by collecting them from households around, sorting the materials into waste categories and ended up by purchasing and selling them to make some money. The organization is not merely a flatform for doing a business of waste materials yet the media for other social activities and efforts of reaching social and family welfare. The study is conducted in some sites of such organization activities in the city, and there are some observations of how the community run the business and in the same time arranging other social activities. The study tries to portray the activities and analyzes the means and the significancy of the CBO on reducing waste problems in the city.

Depleted uranium as a backfill for nuclear fuel waste package

DOEpatents

Forsberg, Charles W.

1998-01-01

A method for packaging spent nuclear fuel for long-term disposal in a geological repository. At least one spent nuclear fuel assembly is first placed in an unsealed waste package and a depleted uranium fill material is added to the waste package. The depleted uranium fill material comprises flowable particles having a size sufficient to substantially fill any voids in and around the assembly and contains isotopically-depleted uranium in the +4 valence state in an amount sufficient to inhibit dissolution of the spent nuclear fuel from the assembly into a surrounding medium and to lessen the potential for nuclear criticality inside the repository in the event of failure of the waste package. Last, the waste package is sealed, thereby substantially reducing the release of radionuclides into the surrounding medium, while simultaneously providing radiation shielding and increased structural integrity of the waste package.

Depleted uranium as a backfill for nuclear fuel waste package

DOEpatents

Forsberg, C.W.

1998-11-03

A method is described for packaging spent nuclear fuel for long-term disposal in a geological repository. At least one spent nuclear fuel assembly is first placed in an unsealed waste package and a depleted uranium fill material is added to the waste package. The depleted uranium fill material comprises flowable particles having a size sufficient to substantially fill any voids in and around the assembly and contains isotopically-depleted uranium in the +4 valence state in an amount sufficient to inhibit dissolution of the spent nuclear fuel from the assembly into a surrounding medium and to lessen the potential for nuclear criticality inside the repository in the event of failure of the waste package. Last, the waste package is sealed, thereby substantially reducing the release of radionuclides into the surrounding medium, while simultaneously providing radiation shielding and increased structural integrity of the waste package. 6 figs.

Overview of waste reduction techniques leading to pollution prevention

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

Hunt, G.E.

Liquid, solid, and/or gaseous waste materials are always generated during the manufacture of any product. In addition to creating environmental hazards, these wastes represent losses of valuable materials and energy from the production process and require a significant investment in pollution control. Traditionally, pollution control relies on ``end-of-the-pipe`` and ``out-the-back-door`` management approaches that require labor hours, energy, materials, and capital expenditures. Such an approach removes pollutants from one source, such as wastewater, but places them somewhere else, such as in a landfill. More regulations, higher disposal expenses, increased liability costs, and increased public awareness have caused industrial and governmental leadersmore » to begin critical examinations of end-of-the-pipe control technologies. The value of reducing waste during the manufacturing process has become apparent to many industries. These companies are looking at broader environmental management objectives, rather than concentrating solely on pollution control. Waste reduction not only is very often economically beneficial for an industry, it also improves the quality of the environment.« less

Variance in State Protection from Exposure to NORM and TENORM Wastes Generated During Unconventional Oil and Gas Operations: Where We Are and Where We Need to Go.

PubMed

Ann Glass Geltman, Elizabeth; LeClair, Nichole

2018-01-01

Radioactive materials for the medical, technological, and industrial sectors have been effectively regulated in the United States since as early as 1962. The steady increase in the exploration and production of shale gas in recent years has led to concerns about exposures to Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) and Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (TENORM) in oil and gas waste streams. This study applied policy surveillance methods to conduct a cross-sectional fifty-state survey of law and regulations of NORM and TENORM waste from oil and gas operations. Results indicated that seventeen states drafted express regulations to reduce exposure to oil and gas NORM and TENORM waste. States with active oil and gas drilling that lack regulations controlling exposure to NORM and TENORM may leave the public and workers susceptible to adverse health effects from radiation. The study concludes with recommendations in regard to regulating oil and gas NORM and TENORM waste.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated waste paper--source of raw material for production of liquid biofuels.

PubMed

Brummer, Vladimir; Jurena, Tomas; Hlavacek, Viliam; Omelkova, Jirina; Bebar, Ladislav; Gabriel, Petr; Stehlik, Petr

2014-01-01

Enzymatic hydrolysis of waste paper is becoming a perspective way to obtain raw material for production of liquid biofuels. Reducing sugars solutions that arise from the process of saccharification are a precursors for following or simultaneous fermentation to ethanol. Different types of waste paper were evaluated, in terms of composition and usability, in order to select the appropriate type of the waste paper for the enzymatic hydrolysis process. Novozymes® enzymes NS50013 and NS50010 were used in a laboratory scale trials. Technological conditions, which seem to be the most suitable for hydrolysis after testing on cellulose pulp and filter paper, were applied to hydrolysis of widely available waste papers - offset paper, cardboard, recycled paper in two qualities, matte MYsol offset paper and for comparison again on model materials. The highest yields were achieved for the cardboard, which was further tested using various pretreatment combinations in purpose of increasing the hydrolysis yields. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of potential waste material insulating properties at different temperature for thermal storage application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, T. Z. S.; Rosli, A. B.; Gan, L. M.; Billy, A. S.; Farid, Z.

2013-12-01

Thermal energy storage system (TES) is developed to extend the operation of power generation. TES system is a key component in a solar energy power generation plant, but the main issue in designing the TES system is its thermal capacity of storage materials, e.g. insulator. This study is focusing on the potential waste material acts as an insulator for thermal energy storage applications. As the insulator is used to absorb heat, it is needed to find suitable material for energy conversion and at the same time reduce the waste generation. Thus, a small-scale experimental testing of natural cooling process of an insulated tank within a confined room is conducted. The experiment is repeated by changing the insulator from the potential waste material and also by changing the heat transfer fluid (HTF). The analysis presented the relationship between heat loss and the reserved period by the insulator. The results show the percentage of period of the insulated tank withstands compared to tank insulated by foam, e.g. newspaper reserved the period of 84.6% as much as foam insulated tank to withstand the heat transfer of cooking oil to the surrounding. The paper finally justifies the most potential waste material as an insulator for different temperature range of heat transfer fluid.

Glass Development for Treatment of LANL Evaporator Bottoms Waste

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

DE Smith; GF Piepel; GW Veazey

1998-11-20

Vitrification is an attractive treatment option for meeting the stabilization and final disposal requirements of many plutonium (Pu) bearing materials and wastes at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) TA-55 facility, Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS), Hanford, and other Department of Energy (DOE) sites. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared that vitrification is the "best demonstrated available technology" for high- level radioactive wastes (HLW) (Federal Register 1990) and has produced a handbook of vitriilcation technologies for treatment of hazardous and radioactive waste (US EPA, 1992). This technology has been demonstrated to convert Pu-containing materials (Kormanos, 1997) into durablemore » (Lutze, 1988) and accountable (Forsberg, 1995) waste. forms with reduced need for safeguarding (McCulhun, 1996). The composition of the Evaporator Bottoms Waste (EVB) at LANL, like that of many other I%-bearing materials, varies widely and is generally unpredictable. The goal of this study is to optimize the composition of glass for EVB waste at LANL, and present the basic techniques and tools for developing optimized glass compositions for other Pu-bearing materials in the complex. This report outlines an approach for glass formulation with fixed property restrictions, using glass property-composition databases. This approach is applicable to waste glass formulation for many variable waste streams and vitrification technologies.. Also reported are the preliminary property data for simulated evaporator bottom glasses, including glass viscosity and glass leach resistance using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP).« less

Batching alternatives for Phase I retrieval wastes to be processed in WRAP Module 1

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

Mayancsik, B.A.

1994-10-13

During the next two decades, the transuranic (TRU) waste now stored in the 200 Area burial trenches and storage buildings is to be retrieved, processed in the Waste Receiving and Processing (WRAP) Module 1 facility, and shipped to a final disposal facility. The purpose of this document is to identify the criteria that can be used to batch suspect TRU waste, currently in retrievable storage, for processing through the WRAP Module 1 facility. These criteria are then used to generate a batch plan for Phase 1 Retrieval operations, which will retrieve the waste located in Trench 4C-04 of the 200more » West Area burial ground. The reasons for batching wastes for processing in WRAP Module 1 include reducing the exposure of workers and the environment to hazardous material and ionizing radiation; maximizing the efficiency of the retrieval, processing, and disposal processes by reducing costs, time, and space throughout the process; reducing analytical sampling and analysis; and reducing the amount of cleanup and decontamination between process runs. The criteria selected for batching the drums of retrieved waste entering WRAP Module 1 are based on the available records for the wastes sent to storage as well as knowledge of the processes that generated these wastes. The batching criteria identified in this document include the following: waste generator; type of process used to generate or package the waste; physical waste form; content of hazardous/dangerous chemicals in the waste; radiochemical type and quantity of waste; drum weight; and special waste types. These criteria were applied to the waste drums currently stored in Trench 4C-04. At least one batching scheme is shown for each of the criteria listed above.« less

Dry ice blasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lonergan, Jeffrey M.

1992-04-01

As legal and societal pressures against the use of hazardous waste generating materials has increased, so has the motivation to find safe, effective, and permanent replacements. Dry ice blasting is a technology which uses CO2 pellets as a blasting medium. The use of CO2 for cleaning and stripping operations offers potential for significant environmental, safety, and productivity improvements over grit blasting, plastic media blasting, and chemical solvent cleaning. Because CO2 pellets break up and sublime upon impact, there is no expended media to dispose of. Unlike grit or plastic media blasting which produce large quantities of expended media, the only waste produced by CO2 blasting is the material removed. The quantity of hazardous waste produced, and thus the cost of hazardous waste disposal is significantly reduced.

Toward zero waste to landfill: an effective method for recycling zeolite waste from refinery industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Homchuen, K.; Anuwattana, R.; Limphitakphong, N.; Chavalparit, O.

2017-07-01

One-third of landfill waste of refinery plant in Thailand was spent chloride zeolite, which wastes a huge of land, cost and time for handling. Toward zero waste to landfill, this study was aimed at determining an effective method for recycling zeolite waste by comparing the chemical process with the electrochemical process. To investigate the optimum conditions of both processes, concentration of chemical solution and reaction time were carried out for the former, while the latter varied in term of current density, initial pH of water, and reaction time. The results stated that regenerating zeolite waste from refinery industry in Thailand should be done through the chemical process with alkaline solution because it provided the best chloride adsorption efficiency with cost the least. A successful recycling will be beneficial not only in reducing the amount of landfill waste but also in reducing material and disposal costs and consumption of natural resources as well.

Waste management for different fusion reactor designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rocco, Paolo; Zucchetti, Massimo

2000-12-01

Safety and Environmental Assessment of Fusion Power (SEAFP) waste management studies performed up to 1998 concerned three power tokamak designs. In-vessel structural materials consist of V-alloys or low activation martensitic (LAM) steel; tritium-producing materials are Li 2O, Pb-17Li, Li 4SiO 4 with a Be-multiplier; coolants are helium or water. The strategy chosen reduces permanent radwaste by recycling the in-vessel materials and by clearance of the other structures. Limits of the contact dose rate and specific activity of the waste allowing such options are defined accordingly. SEAFP activities for 1999 enlarge the analysis to three additional reactors with in-vessel structures made with SiC/SiC composites. These materials cannot be recycled due to their form and, according to national regulations of E.C. countries, long-lived activation products hinder near-surface burial (NSB).

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

76 FR 56490 - Request for a License To Import Radioactive Waste

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-13

... No., docket No. Duratek Services, Inc., August Class A radioactive Radionuclide For recycle and Canada. 17, 2011, August 18, 2011, waste in the form reallocation: beneficial reuse IW017/02, 11005621. of radioactively Amend to: to the greatest contaminated (1) Reduce the possible extent, materials...

Effects of waste glass additions on quality of textile sludge-based bricks.

PubMed

Rahman, Ari; Urabe, Takeo; Kishimoto, Naoyuki; Mizuhara, Shinji

2015-01-01

This research investigated the utilization of textile sludge as a substitute for clay in brick production. The addition of textile sludge to a brick specimen enhanced its pores, thus reducing the quality of the product. However, the addition of waste glass to brick production materials improved the quality of the brick in terms of both compressive strength and water absorption. Maximum compressive strength was observed with the following composition of waste materials: 30% textile sludge, 60% clay and 10% waste glass. The melting of waste glass clogged up pores on the brick, which improved water absorption performance and compressive strength. Moreover, a leaching test on a sludge-based brick to which 10% waste glass did not detect significant heavy metal compounds in leachates, with the product being in conformance with standard regulations. The recycling of textile sludge for brick production, when combined with waste glass additions, may thus be promising in terms of both product quality and environmental aspects.

Methods of silver recovery from radiographs - comparative study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canda, L. R.; Ardelean, E.; Hepuţ, T.

2018-01-01

Management and recovery of waste are activities with multiple impacts: technologically (by using waste on current production flows, thus replacing poor raw materials), economically (can substantially reduce manufacturing costs by recycling waste), social (by creating new jobs where it is necessary to process the waste in a form more suited to technological flows) and ecologically (by removing waste that is currently produced or already stored - but poses a threat to the health of the population and / or to the environment). This is also the case for medical waste, for example radiographs, which are currently produced in large quantities, for which replacement solutions are sought, but are currently stored by archiving in hospital units. The paper presents two methods used for this kind of waste management, the result being the recovery of silver, material with applications and with increasing price, but also the proper disposal of the polymeric support. This analysis aims at developing a more efficient recycling technology for medical radiographs.

Method and system including a double rotary kiln pyrolysis or gasification of waste material

DOEpatents

McIntosh, M.J.; Arzoumanidis, G.G.

1997-09-02

A method is described for destructively distilling an organic material in particulate form wherein the particulates are introduced through an inlet into one end of an inner rotating kiln ganged to and coaxial with an outer rotating kiln. The inner and outer kilns define a cylindrical annular space with the inlet being positioned in registry with the axis of rotation of the ganged kilns. During operation, the temperature of the wall of the inner rotary kiln at the inlet is not less than about 500 C to heat the particulate material to a temperature in the range of from about 200 C to about 900 C in a pyrolyzing atmosphere to reduce the particulate material as it moves from the one end toward the other end. The reduced particulates including char are transferred to the annular space between the inner and the outer rotating kilns near the other end of the inner rotating kiln and moved longitudinally in the annular space from near the other end toward the one end in the presence of oxygen to combust the char at an elevated temperature to produce a waste material including ash. Also, heat is provided which is transferred to the inner kiln. The waste material including ash leaves the outer rotating kiln near the one end and the pyrolysis vapor leaves through the particulate material inlet. 5 figs.

Method and system including a double rotary kiln pyrolysis or gasification of waste material

DOEpatents

McIntosh, Michael J.; Arzoumanidis, Gregory G.

1997-01-01

A method of destructively distilling an organic material in particulate form wherein the particulates are introduced through an inlet into one end of an inner rotating kiln ganged to and coaxial with an outer rotating kiln. The inner and outer kilns define a cylindrical annular space with the inlet being positioned in registry with the axis of rotation of the ganged kilns. During operation, the temperature of the wall of the inner rotary kiln at the inlet is not less than about 500.degree. C. to heat the particulate material to a temperature in the range of from about 200.degree. C. to about 900.degree. C. in a pyrolyzing atmosphere to reduce the particulate material as it moves from the one end toward the other end. The reduced particulates including char are transferred to the annular space between the inner and the outer rotating kilns near the other end of the inner rotating kiln and moved longitudinally in the annular space from near the other end toward the one end in the presence of oxygen to combust the char at an elevated temperature to produce a waste material including ash. Also, heat is provided which is transferred to the inner kiln. The waste material including ash leaves the outer rotating kiln near the one end and the pyrolysis vapor leaves through the particulate material inlet.

Municipal solid waste system analysis through energy consumption and return approach.

PubMed

Tomić, Tihomir; Schneider, Daniel Rolph

2017-12-01

Inappropriate waste management and poor resource efficiency are two of the biggest problems which European Union is trying to solve through Landfill Directive, Waste Framework Directive and Circular Economy Package by increasing recycling and reuse and reducing waste disposal. In order to meet set goals, new European Union member states must quickly change national legislature and implement appropriate solutions. In the circumstances of strong EU resource and energy dependence, decision makers need to analyse which of the considered waste management systems leads to higher overall benefits ie. which is more sustainable. The main problem in this kind of analysis is a wide range of possible technologies and the difference in inputs and outputs. Sustainability of these systems is analysed through single-score LCA based assessment, using primary energy used to produce materials and energy vectors as a common measure. To ensure reliable results, interoperability between different data sources and material flows of waste and its components are monitored. Tracking external and internal material, and energy flows enable modelling of mutual interactions between different facilities. Resulting PERI, primary energy return based index, is used for comparison of different waste management scenarios. Results show that time and legislation dependent changes have great influence on decision making related to waste management and interconnected systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Berm design to reduce risks of catastrophic slope failures at solid waste disposal sites.

PubMed

De Stefano, Matteo; Gharabaghi, Bahram; Clemmer, Ryan; Jahanfar, M Ali

2016-11-01

Existing waste disposal sites are being strained by exceeding their volumetric capacities because of exponentially increasing rates of municipal solid waste generation worldwide, especially in densely populated metropolises. Over the past 40 years, six well-documented and analyzed disposal sites experienced catastrophic failure. This research presents a novel analysis and design method for implementation of a series of in-situ earth berms to slow down the movement of waste material flow following a catastrophic failure. This is the first study of its kind that employs a dynamic landslide analysis model, DAN-W, and the Voellmy rheological model to approximate solid waste avalanche flow. A variety of single and multiple berm configuration scenarios were developed and tested to find an optimum configuration of the various earth berm geometries and number of berms to achieve desired energy dissipation and reduction in total waste material runout length. The case study application of the novel mitigation measure shows that by constructing a series of six relatively inexpensive 3 m high earth berms at an optimum distance of 250 m from the slope toe, the total runout length of 1000 m and associated fatalities of the Leuwigajah dumpsite catastrophic failure in Bandung, Indonesia, could have been reduced by half. © The Author(s) 2016.

A proposal for improving sustainability practice through the implementations of reuse and recycle technique in Malaysian construction industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osman, Wan Nadzri; Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd; Saad, Rohaizah; Anuar, Herman Shah; Ibrahim, Siti Halipah

2016-08-01

Construction and demolition waste is often seen as the major contributor to the solid waste stream that is going to landfill, hence, making it the area of focus for improvement. In the construction industry, reuse and recycle principles have been promoted in order to reduce waste and protect the environment. Construction and demolition waste including demolished concrete, bricks and masonry, wood and other materials such as dry wall, glass, insulation, roofing, wire, pipe, rock and soil constitute a significant component of the total waste. Without proper reuse and recycle policies, these construction and demolition wastes would quickly fill all the remaining landfill space, which has already been growing in scarce around this region. Based on the feedback received, on average, a third of respondents said they currently have a lotto benefit from the use of reduce and reuse. In addition, they also agreed that the existing policies help and support the min carrying out the reduce and reuse practices. Respondents also agreed that other stakeholders in the construction industry currently have an excellent awareness in term of implementation of the reduce and reuse in their practices.

The Self-Reducing Pellet Production from Organic Household Waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nogueira, Alberto; Takano, Cyro; Mourão, Marcelo; Pillihuaman, Adolfo

The organic household waste has a growing disposal problem, requiring costly disposal systems. It is necessary to find new applications for these materials; one could be the steelmaking raw material production. In this paper is studied the development of self-reducing pellets from the organic waste pyrolysis, where is generated carbon and condensable and non-condensable volatiles. Non-condensable volatiles were burned and condensable volatiles were recovered. The resulting tar was mixed with iron ore, coal powder and flux (CaO), to then be pelletized together. Compression, falls and tumbler tests were conducted to characterize the pellets before and after heat treatment and reduction processes. The reduction curve and their physical and morphological characterization were measured. The results were as was expected, the fluidized coal create sufficient adhesion that pellets earned resistance with an equivalent resistance of common pellets, showing a good feasibility of this process.

Evaluation of alternative nonflame technologies for destruction of hazardous organic waste

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

Schwinkendorf, W.E.; Musgrave, B.C.; Drake, R.N.

1997-04-01

The US Department of Energy`s Mixed Waste Focus Area (MWFA) commissioned an evaluation of mixed waste treatment technologies that are alternatives to incineration for destruction of hazardous organic wastes. The purpose of this effort is to evaluate technologies that are alternatives to open-flame, free-oxygen combustion (as exemplified by incinerators), and recommend to the Waste Type Managers and the MWFA which technologies should be considered for further development. Alternative technologies were defined as those that have the potential to: destroy organic material without use of open-flame reactions with free gas-phase oxygen as the reaction mechanism; reduce the offgas volume and associatedmore » contaminants (metals, radionuclides, and particulates) emitted under normal operating conditions; eliminate or reduce the production of dioxins and furans; and reduce the potential for excursions in the process that can lead to accidental release of harmful levels of chemical or radioactive materials. Twenty-three technologies were identified that have the potential for meeting these requirements. These technologies were rated against the categories of performance, readiness for deployment, and environment safety, and health. The top ten technologies that resulted from this evaluation are Steam Reforming, Electron Beam, UV Photo-Oxidation, Ultrasonics, Eco Logic reduction process, Supercritical Water oxidation, Cerium Mediated Electrochemical Oxidation, DETOX{sup SM}, Direct Chemical Oxidation (peroxydisulfate), and Neutralization/Hydrolysis.« less

Techno-economic feasibility of waste biorefinery: Using slaughtering waste streams as starting material for biopolyester production.

PubMed

Shahzad, Khurram; Narodoslawsky, Michael; Sagir, Muhammad; Ali, Nadeem; Ali, Shahid; Rashid, Muhammad Imtiaz; Ismail, Iqbal Mohammad Ibrahim; Koller, Martin

2017-09-01

The utilization of industrial waste streams as input materials for bio-mediated production processes constitutes a current R&D objective not only to reduce process costs at the input side but in parallel, to minimize hazardous environmental emissions. In this context, the EU-funded project ANIMPOL elaborated a process for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymers starting from diverse waste streams of the animal processing industry. This article provides a detailed economic analysis of PHA production from this waste biorefinery concept, encompassing the utilization of low-quality biodiesel, offal material and meat and bone meal (MBM). Techno-economic analysis reveals that PHA production cost varies from 1.41 €/kg to 1.64 €/kg when considering offal on the one hand as waste, or, on the other hand, accounting its market price, while calculating with fixed costs for the co-products biodiesel (0.97 €/L) and MBM (350 €/t), respectively. The effect of fluctuating market prices for offal materials, biodiesel, and MBM on the final PHA production cost as well as the investment payback time have been evaluated. Depending on the current market situation, the calculated investment payback time varies from 3.25 to 4.5years. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental and economic solutions: Pollution prevention technical assistance and the City of Los Angeles Hazardous and Toxic Materials Office

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

Toy-Chen, D.; Joyce, M.M.

1994-12-31

The City of Los Angeles faces a challenge to assist industrial facilities to minimize and manage hazardous materials in order to sustain the local economy and natural environment. Industrial facilities in Los Angeles County released into the environment or transferred off-site 103,442,074 tons of hazardous materials and waste in 1988. This enormous quantity of hazardous waste requires generators to be in compliance with several environmental regulatory agencies. The City of Los Angeles Hazardous and Toxic Materials (HTM) Office has increased the awareness, commitments, and implementation of hazardous waste at the source, the amount of toxic pollutants discharged into the City`smore » publicly owned treatment works, surface and groundwaters, soils and atmosphere can be substantially reduced. Quantifying hazardous waste minimization progress is extremely difficult and complex. However, the HTM Office anticipates that if the challenge of pollution prevention is successful, more businesses will decide to remain in the region and Los Angeles residents will feel convinced that industry is making good faith efforts to protect the environment. Pollution prevention is a long term solution for the hazardous waste crisis that society has only recently recognized.« less

The Influences of Stirring and Cow Manure Added on Biogas Production From Vegetable Waste Using Anaerobic Digester

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, N. O.; Pandebesie, E. S.

2018-03-01

Based on Indonesian Government Regulation number 18, 2008, solid waste management should be conducted from the source to minimize the amount of waste. The process includes the waste from domestic, commercial, and institution. This also includes in 3R program (reduce, reuse, and recycle). Vegetable waste from market is a potential material to produce biogas due to its chemical composition (hemi-cellulose, cellulose, and lignin) which transform the biomass to be the raw material of biogas. Acid substance of vegetable becomes an obstacle in process of producing biogas. There has to be buffer material which can improve the performance of biogas process. Cow manure is a material which can be easily obtained as buffer. This research used 24 biogas reactor in volume 6 L by batch method. Biogas volume is measured by checking the preferment in manometer. Methane measurement is conducted by using Gas Chromatography (GC) Hewlett Packard (HP-series 6890) in day 15 and 30. The research was started by sample characterization, sample test by total solid analysis, volatile solid, lignin, ratio C/N, ammonium, and ash. Analysis of pH, temperature, and biogas volume is conducted every day.

Life Cycle Assessment of Completely Recyclable Concrete.

PubMed

De Schepper, Mieke; Van den Heede, Philip; Van Driessche, Isabel; De Belie, Nele

2014-08-21

Since the construction sector uses 50% of the Earth's raw materials and produces 50% of its waste, the development of more durable and sustainable building materials is crucial. Today, Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is mainly used in low level applications, namely as unbound material for foundations, e.g., in road construction. Mineral demolition waste can be recycled as crushed aggregates for concrete, but these reduce the compressive strength and affect the workability due to higher values of water absorption. To advance the use of concrete rubble, Completely Recyclable Concrete (CRC) is designed for reincarnation within the cement production, following the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) principle. By the design, CRC becomes a resource for cement production because the chemical composition of CRC will be similar to that of cement raw materials. If CRC is used on a regular basis, a closed concrete-cement-concrete material cycle will arise, which is completely different from the current life cycle of traditional concrete. Within the research towards this CRC it is important to quantify the benefit for the environment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) needs to be performed, of which the results are presented in a this paper. It was observed that CRC could significantly reduce the global warming potential of concrete.

Life Cycle Assessment of Completely Recyclable Concrete

PubMed Central

De Schepper, Mieke; Van den Heede, Philip; Van Driessche, Isabel; De Belie, Nele

2014-01-01

Since the construction sector uses 50% of the Earth’s raw materials and produces 50% of its waste, the development of more durable and sustainable building materials is crucial. Today, Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is mainly used in low level applications, namely as unbound material for foundations, e.g., in road construction. Mineral demolition waste can be recycled as crushed aggregates for concrete, but these reduce the compressive strength and affect the workability due to higher values of water absorption. To advance the use of concrete rubble, Completely Recyclable Concrete (CRC) is designed for reincarnation within the cement production, following the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) principle. By the design, CRC becomes a resource for cement production because the chemical composition of CRC will be similar to that of cement raw materials. If CRC is used on a regular basis, a closed concrete-cement-concrete material cycle will arise, which is completely different from the current life cycle of traditional concrete. Within the research towards this CRC it is important to quantify the benefit for the environment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) needs to be performed, of which the results are presented in a this paper. It was observed that CRC could significantly reduce the global warming potential of concrete. PMID:28788174

Hospital workers' perceptions of waste: a qualitative study involving photo-elicitation

PubMed Central

Goff, Sarah L.; Kleppel, Reva; Lindenauer, Peter K.; Rothberg, Michael B.

2015-01-01

Objectives To elicit sources of waste as viewed by hospital workers Design Qualitative study using photo-elicitation, an ethnographic technique for prompting in-depth discussion Setting U.S. academic tertiary care hospital Participants Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, administrative support personnel, administrators and respiratory therapists Methods A purposive sample of personnel at an academic tertiary care hospital was invited to take up to 10 photos of waste. Participants discussed their selections using photos as prompts during in-depth interviews. Transcripts were analyzed in an iterative process using grounded theory; open and axial coding was performed, followed by selective and thematic coding to develop major themes and sub-themes. Results Twenty-one participants (9 women, average number of years in field=19.3) took 159 photos. Major themes included types of waste and recommendations to reduce waste. Types of waste comprised four major categories: Time, Materials, Energy and Talent. Participants emphasized time wastage (50% of photos) over other types of waste such as excess utilization (2.5%). Energy and Talent were novel categories of waste. Recommendations to reduce waste included interventions at the micro-level (e.g. individual/ward), meso-level (e.g. institution) and macro-level (e.g., payor/public policy). Conclusions The waste hospital workers identified differed from previously described waste both in the types of waste described and the emphasis placed on wasted time. The findings of this study represent a possible need for education of hospital workers about known types of waste, an opportunity to assess the impact of novel types of waste described and an opportunity to intervene to reduce the waste identified. PMID:23748192

Hospital workers' perceptions of waste: a qualitative study involving photo-elicitation.

PubMed

Goff, Sarah L; Kleppel, Reva; Lindenauer, Peter K; Rothberg, Michael B

2013-10-01

To elicit sources of waste as viewed by hospital workers. Qualitative study using photo-elicitation, an ethnographic technique for prompting in-depth discussion. U.S. academic tertiary care hospital. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, administrative support personnel, administrators and respiratory therapists. A purposive sample of personnel at an academic tertiary care hospital was invited to take up to 10 photos of waste. Participants discussed their selections using photos as prompts during in-depth interviews. Transcripts were analysed in an iterative process using grounded theory; open and axial coding was performed, followed by selective and thematic coding to develop major themes and subthemes. Twenty-one participants (nine women, average number of years in field=19.3) took 159 photos. Major themes included types of waste and recommendations to reduce waste. Types of waste comprised four major categories: Time, Materials, Energy and Talent. Participants emphasised time wastage (50% of photos) over other types of waste such as excess utilisation (2.5%). Energy and Talent were novel categories of waste. Recommendations to reduce waste included interventions at the micro-level (eg, individual/ward), meso-level (eg, institution) and macro-level (eg, payor/public policy). The waste hospital workers identified differed from previously described waste both in the types of waste described and the emphasis placed on wasted time. The findings of this study represent a possible need for education of hospital workers about known types of waste, an opportunity to assess the impact of novel types of waste described and an opportunity to intervene to reduce the waste identified.

Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Web Academy Webinar: Reducing Wasted Food: How Packaging Can Help

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This is a webinar page for the Sustainable Management of Materials (SMM) Web Academy webinar titled Let’s WRAP (Wrap Recycling Action Program): Best Practices to Boost Plastic Film Recycling in Your Community

Proof of concept : biocement for road repair.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-01

Road repair is an expensive operation every year. This cost can be greatly reduced if waste materials from the mining and biofuel : industries can be used to substitute conventional materials for road repair or construction. The objective of this pro...

Process for treating alkaline wastes for vitrification

DOEpatents

Hsu, Chia-lin W.

1994-01-01

According to its major aspects and broadly stated, the present invention is a process for treating alkaline waste materials, including high level radioactive wastes, for vitrification. The process involves adjusting the pH of the wastes with nitric acid, adding formic acid (or a process stream containing formic acid) to reduce mercury compounds to elemental mercury and MnO{sub 2} to the Mn(II) ion, and mixing with class formers to produce a melter feed. The process minimizes production of hydrogen due to noble metal-catalyzed formic acid decomposition during, treatment, while producing a redox-balanced feed for effective melter operation and a quality glass product. An important feature of the present invention is the use of different acidifying and reducing, agents to treat the wastes. The nitric acid acidifies the wastes to improve yield stress and supplies acid for various reactions; then the formic acid reduces mercury compounds to elemental mercury and MnO{sub 2}) to the Mn(II) ion. When the pH of the waste is lower, reduction of mercury compounds and MnO{sub 2}) is faster and less formic acid is needed, and the production of hydrogen caused by catalytically-active noble metals is decreased.

New technology recipes include horseradish, vinegar, mushrooms

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

Bishop, J.

1995-08-01

Technology development for more effective environmental management continues to abound. This article contains some recent innovations in the following areas: wastewater treatment; site remediation; and air pollution control. In addition several emerging technologies address solid and hazardous waste management with techniques designed to reduce waste volume, recycle valuable materials and create new energy sources.

All "Trashed" Out: An Activity Guide to Solid Waste Management for Grades K-6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois Univ., Springfield. Center for Solid Waste Management and Research, Springfield.

This activity guide, specifically designed for Illinois classrooms but adaptable for other states, seeks to encourage primary students to make their own personal statement and responses to the environment through increased awareness of reducing, reusing, recycling, and composting of solid waste materials. The activities incorporate environmental…

A material flow analysis on current electrical and electronic waste disposal from Hong Kong households

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

Lau, Winifred Ka-Yan; Chung, Shan-Shan, E-mail: sschung@hkbu.edu.hk; Zhang, Chan

2013-03-15

Highlights: ► Most household TWARC waste is sold directly to private e-waste collectors in HK. ► The current e-waste recycling network is popular with HK households. ► About 80% of household generated TWARC is exported overseas each year. ► Over 7000 tonnes/yr of household generated TWARC reach landfills. ► It is necessary to upgrade safety and awareness in HK’s e-waste recycling industry. - Abstract: A material flow study on five types of household electrical and electronic equipment, namely television, washing machine, air conditioner, refrigerator and personal computer (TWARC) was conducted to assist the Government of Hong Kong to establish anmore » e-waste take-back system. This study is the first systematic attempt on identifying key TWARC waste disposal outlets and trade practices of key parties involved in Hong Kong. Results from two questionnaire surveys, on local households and private e-waste traders, were used to establish the material flow of household TWARC waste. The study revealed that the majority of obsolete TWARC were sold by households to private e-waste collectors and that the current e-waste collection network is efficient and popular with local households. However, about 65,000 tonnes/yr or 80% of household generated TWARC waste are being exported overseas by private e-waste traders, with some believed to be imported into developing countries where crude recycling methods are practiced. Should Hong Kong establish a formal recycling network with tight regulatory control on imports and exports, the potential risks of current e-waste recycling practices on e-waste recycling workers, local residents and the environment can be greatly reduced.« less

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

Kara, Mustafa, E-mail: mustafa.kara@mam.gov.t; Guenay, Esin; Tabak, Yasemin

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the most important environmental problems arising from rapid urbanization and industrialization. The use of alternative fuels in rotary kilns of cement plants is very important for reducing cost, saving fossil fuels and also eliminating waste materials, accumulated during production or after using these materials. Cement industries has an important potential for supplying preferable solutions to the waste management. Energy recovery from waste is also important for the reduction of CO{sub 2} emissions. This paper presents an investigation of the development of refuse derived fuel (RDF) materials from non-recycling wastes and the determination ofmore » its potential use as an alternative fuel in cement production in Istanbul, Turkey. RDF produced from MSW was analyzed and its effects on cement production process were examined. For this purpose, the produced RDF was mixed with the main fuel (LPG) in ratios of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. Then chemical and mineralogical analyses of the produced clinker were carried out. It is believed that successful results of this study will be a good example for municipalities and cement industries in order to achieve both economic and environmental benefits.« less

Waste treatment process for removal of contaminants from aqueous, mixed-waste solutions using sequential chemical treatment and crossflow microfiltration, followed by dewatering

DOEpatents

Vijayan, S.; Wong, C.F.; Buckley, L.P.

1994-11-22

In processes of this invention aqueous waste solutions containing a variety of mixed waste contaminants are treated to remove the contaminants by a sequential addition of chemicals and adsorption/ion exchange powdered materials to remove the contaminants including lead, cadmium, uranium, cesium-137, strontium-85/90, trichloroethylene and benzene, and impurities including iron and calcium. Staged conditioning of the waste solution produces a polydisperse system of size enlarged complexes of the contaminants in three distinct configurations: water-soluble metal complexes, insoluble metal precipitation complexes, and contaminant-bearing particles of ion exchange and adsorbent materials. The volume of the waste is reduced by separation of the polydisperse system by cross-flow microfiltration, followed by low-temperature evaporation and/or filter pressing. The water produced as filtrate is discharged if it meets a specified target water quality, or else the filtrate is recycled until the target is achieved. 1 fig.

Waste treatment process for removal of contaminants from aqueous, mixed-waste solutions using sequential chemical treatment and crossflow microfiltration, followed by dewatering

DOEpatents

Vijayan, Sivaraman; Wong, Chi F.; Buckley, Leo P.

1994-01-01

In processes of this invention aqueous waste solutions containing a variety of mixed waste contaminants are treated to remove the contaminants by a sequential addition of chemicals and adsorption/ion exchange powdered materials to remove the contaminants including lead, cadmium, uranium, cesium-137, strontium-85/90, trichloroethylene and benzene, and impurities including iron and calcium. Staged conditioning of the waste solution produces a polydisperse system of size enlarged complexes of the contaminants in three distinct configurations: water-soluble metal complexes, insoluble metal precipitation complexes, and contaminant-bearing particles of ion exchange and adsorbent materials. The volume of the waste is reduced by separation of the polydisperse system by cross-flow microfiltration, followed by low-temperature evaporation and/or filter pressing. The water produced as filtrate is discharged if it meets a specified target water quality, or else the filtrate is recycled until the target is achieved.

Peering into the secrets of food and agricultural co-products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, Delilah; Williams, Tina; Glenn, Gregory; Pan, Zhongli; Orts, William; McHugh, Tara

2010-06-01

Scanning electron microscopy is a useful tool for understanding food contamination and directing product development of food and industrial products. The current trend in food research is to produce foods that are fast to prepare and/or ready to eat. At the same time, these processed foods must be safe, high quality and maintain all or most of the nutritional value of the original whole foods. Minimally processed foods, is the phrase used to characterize these "new" foods. New techniques are needed which take advantage of minimal processing or processing which enhances the fresh properties and characteristics of whole foods while spending less time on food preparation. The added benefit coupled to less cooking time in an individual kitchen translates to an overall energy savings and reduces the carbon emissions to the environment. Food processing changes the microstructure, and therefore, the quality, texture and flavor, of the resulting food product. Additionally, there is the need to reduce waste, transportation costs and product loss during transportation and storage. Unlike food processing, structural changes are desirable in co-products as function follows form for food packaging films and boxes as well as for building materials and other industrial products. Thus, the standard materials testing procedures are coupled with SEM to provide direction in the development of products from agricultural residues or what would otherwise be considered waste materials. The use of agricultural residues reduces waste and adds value to a currently underutilized or unutilized product. The product might be biodegradable or compostable, thus reducing landfill requirements. Manufacturing industrial and packaging products from biological materials also reduces the amount of petroleum products currently standard in the industry.

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

Tinmaz, Esra; Demir, Ibrahim

Over the past decades, uncontrolled population growth and rapid urbanization and industrialization have resulted in environmental problems in Corlu Town, Turkey. One of the most important problems is solid waste due to inadequate management practices. Nowadays, increasing public awareness of the environment compels local authorities to define and to adopt new solutions for waste management. This paper presents a general overview of current solid waste management practices in Corlu Town and principles of the recommended municipal solid waste (MSW) management system. In Corlu, 170 tonnes of municipal solid waste are generated each day, or 1.150 kg per capita per day.more » Approximately one-half of the municipal solid waste generated is organic material and 30% of the MSW consists of recyclable materials. The recommended system deals with maximizing recycling and minimizing landfilling of municipal solid waste, and consists of separation at source, collection, sorting, recycling, composting and sanitary landfilling. This study also analyzed the recommended system with respect to feasibility and economics. To evaluate whether the suggested system is cost effective or not, the operating cost of the recommended system and market prices of recyclable materials were compared, and the results show that the recommended system will reduce required landfill volume up to 27% of compared to the present situation. The profit of the recommended system is estimated to be about 80 million US dollars.« less

Teaching Old Packaging New Tricks - 12593

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

England, Jeffery L.; Shuler, James M.

2012-07-01

Waste disposition campaigns have been an industry and government focus area since the mid- 1970's. With increased focus on this issue, and a lot of hard work, most waste packaging and transportation issues have been addressed. The material has been successfully shipped and dis-positioned. DOE has successfully de-inventoried materials from multiple sites to meet material consolidation, footprint reduction, nonproliferation, and regulatory obligations with cost savings from reduced maintenance and regulatory compliance. There has been a wide range of certified shipping packagings for the transportation of hazardous materials to meet most of the waste needs. The remaining materials are problematic, generallymore » low volume, and do not meet the certified content of the existing inventory of packaging. Designing, testing and certifying new packaging designs can be a long and expensive process and for small volumes of material it is cost prohibitive. One very cost effective option is to lease and use a certified packaging to overpack waste containers. There are many robust certified packagings available with the capability to envelope the waste content. The capability to use inner containers, inside the current fleet of certified casks or packaging, to address specific content problems of additional shielding (e.g., U-233) or containment (e.g., sodium bonded nuclear material) has successfully expanded the capability for timely cost effective shipment of unique contents. This option has been used successfully in the NAC-LWT, T-3 and other packagings. (authors)« less

A sampling device with a capped body and detachable handle

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

Jezek, Gerd-Rainer

1997-12-01

The present invention relates to a device for sampling radioactive waste and more particularly to a device for sampling radioactive waste which prevents contamination of a sampled material and the environment surrounding the sampled material. During vitrification of nuclear wastes, it is necessary to remove contamination from the surfaces of canisters filled with radioactive glass. After removal of contamination, a sampling device is used to test the surface of the canister. The one piece sampling device currently in use creates a potential for spreading contamination during vitrification operations. During operations, the one piece sampling device is transferred into and outmore » of the vitrification cell through a transfer drawer. Inside the cell, a remote control device handles the sampling device to wipe the surface of the canister. A one piece sampling device can be contaminated by the remote control device prior to use. Further, the sample device can also contaminate the transfer drawer producing false readings for radioactive material. The present invention overcomes this problem by enclosing the sampling pad in a cap. The removable handle is reused which reduces the amount of waste material.« less

Feedstock for ruminant, non-ruminant and aquatic fish in Malaysia-A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leman, A. M.; Muzarpar, Syafiq; Baba, I.; Sunar, N. M.; Wahab, R. Abdul

2017-09-01

Large demand of feedstock in Malaysia initiated the farmers to accelerate animal growth by improving quality of livestock's. However, quality increase will effect to the cost increment as well. Therefore, main objective of this study is to review various material and methods which acceptable in Malaysia in order to teach the farmer in selecting appropriate material for animal feed. Animal feed for ruminant, non-ruminant and aquatic fish has big issues in Halal animal feed. It caused by sources of existing animal feed from non-halal material such as blood meal and pig bone. There are various sources of halal animal feed sources such as from plant such as napier, PKC, banana tree and corn leaf as well as from waste material such as waste toufu, waste coconut, soy meal, coconut meal and sagoo. Therefore, the farmer able to select the appropriate material for own animal feed to reduce cost and fulfill the animal feed requirement regarding to protein and nutrient need.

Research on solid waste management system: to improve existing situation in Corlu Town of Turkey.

PubMed

Tinmaz, Esra; Demir, Ibrahim

2006-01-01

Over the past decades, uncontrolled population growth and rapid urbanization and industrialization have resulted in environmental problems in Corlu Town, Turkey. One of the most important problems is solid waste due to inadequate management practices. Nowadays, increasing public awareness of the environment compels local authorities to define and to adopt new solutions for waste management. This paper presents a general overview of current solid waste management practices in Corlu Town and principles of the recommended municipal solid waste (MSW) management system. In Corlu, 170 tonnes of municipal solid waste are generated each day, or 1.150 kg per capita per day. Approximately one-half of the municipal solid waste generated is organic material and 30% of the MSW consists of recyclable materials. The recommended system deals with maximizing recycling and minimizing landfilling of municipal solid waste, and consists of separation at source, collection, sorting, recycling, composting and sanitary landfilling. This study also analyzed the recommended system with respect to feasibility and economics. To evaluate whether the suggested system is cost effective or not, the operating cost of the recommended system and market prices of recyclable materials were compared, and the results show that the recommended system will reduce required landfill volume up to 27% of compared to the present situation. The profit of the recommended system is estimated to be about 80 million US dollars.

DuraLith geopolymer waste form for Hanford secondary waste: correlating setting behavior to hydration heat evolution.

PubMed

Xu, Hui; Gong, Weiliang; Syltebo, Larry; Lutze, Werner; Pegg, Ian L

2014-08-15

The binary furnace slag-metakaolin DuraLith geopolymer waste form, which has been considered as one of the candidate waste forms for immobilization of certain Hanford secondary wastes (HSW) from the vitrification of nuclear wastes at the Hanford Site, Washington, was extended to a ternary fly ash-furnace slag-metakaolin system to improve workability, reduce hydration heat, and evaluate high HSW waste loading. A concentrated HSW simulant, consisting of more than 20 chemicals with a sodium concentration of 5 mol/L, was employed to prepare the alkaline activating solution. Fly ash was incorporated at up to 60 wt% into the binder materials, whereas metakaolin was kept constant at 26 wt%. The fresh waste form pastes were subjected to isothermal calorimetry and setting time measurement, and the cured samples were further characterized by compressive strength and TCLP leach tests. This study has firstly established quantitative linear relationships between both initial and final setting times and hydration heat, which were never discovered in scientific literature for any cementitious waste form or geopolymeric material. The successful establishment of the correlations between setting times and hydration heat may make it possible to efficiently design and optimize cementitious waste forms and industrial wastes based geopolymers using limited testing results. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Segregation for reduction of regulated medical waste in the operating room: a case report

PubMed Central

Shinn, Helen Ki; Kim, Byung-Gun; Yang, Chunwoo; Na, WonJu; Song, Jang-Ho

2017-01-01

One-third of all hospital-regulated medical waste (RMW) comes from the operating room (OR), and it considerably consists of disposable packaging and wrapping materials for the sterilization of surgical instruments. This study sought to identify the amount and type of waste produced by ORs in order to reduce the RMW so as to achieve environmentally-friendly waste management in the OR. We performed an initial waste segregation of 4 total knee replacement arthroplasties (TKRAs) and 1 total hip replacement arthroplasty, and later of 1 extra TKRA, 1 laparoscopic anterior resection of the colon, and 1 pelviscopy (with radical vaginal hysterectomy), performed at our OR. The total mass of non-regulated medical waste (non-RMW) and blue wrap amounted to 30.5 kg (24.9%), and that of RMW to 92.1 kg (75.1%). In the course of the study, we noted that the non-RMW included recyclables, such as papers, plastics, cardboards, and various wrapping materials. The study showed that a reduction in RMW generation can be achieved through the systematic segregation of OR waste. PMID:28184276

Life-cycle assessment of the municipal solid waste management system in Hangzhou, China (EASEWASTE).

PubMed

Zhao, Yan; Wang, Hong-Tao; Lu, Wen-Jing; Damgaard, Anders; Christensen, Thomas H

2009-06-01

With the purpose of assessing the environmental impacts and benefits of the current municipal solid waste management system and two modified systems, EASEWASTE, a life-cycle-based model, was used to evaluate the waste system of Hangzhou city in China. An integrated model was established, including waste generation, collection, transportation, treatment, disposal and accompanying external processes. The results showed that CH(4) released from landfilling was the primary pollutant contributing to global warming, and HCl and NH(3) from incineration contributed most to acidification. Material recycling and incineration with energy recovery were important because of the induced savings in material production based on virgin materials and in energy production based on coal combustion. A modified system in which waste is transported to the nearest incinerators would be relatively better than the current system, mainly due to the decrease of pollution from landfilled waste and the increase in energy production from waste avoiding energy production by traditional power plants. A ban on free plastic bags for shopping was shown to reduce most environmental impacts due to saved oil resources and other materials used in producing the plastic bags. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the results. LCA methodology and a model like EASEWASTE are very suitable for evaluating the overall environmental consequences, and can be used for decision support and strategic planning in developing countries such as China where pollution control has become increasingly important with the rapid increase of waste generation as well as the increasing public awareness of environmental protection.

Evaluating the progress of the UK's Material Recycling Facilities: a mini review.

PubMed

Ali, Muhammad; Courtenay, Peter

2014-12-01

Over the last 15 years, the UK has made great strides in reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill while also increasing the amount of waste being recycled. The key drivers for this change are the European Union Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) and the UK Landfill Tax. However, also playing their part are the growing numbers of Material Recycling Facilities (MRFs), which process recyclables. This mini review evaluates the current state of MRFs in the UK, through extensive secondary research, and detailed primary data analysis focussing on MRFs located in South-East England, UK. This study also explores technologies that aim to generate energy from waste, including Waste-to-Energy (WtE) and Refuse-derived Fuel (RDF) facilities. These facilities can have a huge appetite for waste, which can be detrimental to recycling efforts as some of the waste being sent there should be recycled. It was found that the waste sent to a typical UK MRF would recycle around 92% of materials while 6% was sent to energy recovery and the remaining 2% ended up in landfill. Therefore, the total estimated rejected or non-compliance materials from MRFs are around 8%. A key recommendation from this study is to adopt a strategy to combine MRFs with a form of energy generation, such as WtE or RDF. This integrated approach would ensure any residual waste arising from the recycling process can be used as a sustainable fuel, while also increasing the recycling rates. © The Author(s) 2014.

Application of material flow analysis to estimate the efficiency of e-waste management systems: the case of Lithuania.

PubMed

Gurauskiene, Inga; Stasiskiene, Zaneta

2011-07-01

Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has penetrated everyday life. The EEE industry is characterized by a rapid technological change which in turn prompts consumers to replace EEE in order to keep in step with innovations. These factors reduce an EEE life span and determine the exponential growth of the amount of obsolete EEE as well as EEE waste (e-waste). E-waste management systems implemented in countries of the European Union (EU) are not able to cope with the e-waste problem properly, especially in the new EU member countries. The analysis of particular e-waste management systems is essential in evaluation of the complexity of these systems, describing and quantifying the flows of goods throughout the system, and all the actors involved in it. The aim of this paper is to present the research on the regional agent based material flow analysis in e-waste management systems, as a measure to reveal the potential points for improvement. Material flow analysis has been performed as a flow of goods (EEE). The study has shown that agent-based EEE flow analysis incorporating a holistic and life cycle thinking approach in national e-waste management systems gives a broader view to the system than a common administrative one used to cover. It helps to evaluate the real efficiency of e-waste management systems and to identify relevant impact factors determining the current operation of the system.

Bacterial community structure transformed after thermophilically composting human waste in Haiti

PubMed Central

Kramer, Sasha; Roy, Monika; Reid, Francine C.; Dubinsky, Eric A.

2017-01-01

Recycling human waste for beneficial use has been practiced for millennia. Aerobic (thermophilic) composting of sewage sludge has been shown to reduce populations of opportunistically pathogenic bacteria and to inactivate both Ascaris eggs and culturable Escherichia coli in raw waste, but there is still a question about the fate of most fecal bacteria when raw material is composted directly. This study undertook a comprehensive microbial community analysis of composting material at various stages collected over 6 months at two composting facilities in Haiti. The fecal microbiota signal was monitored using a high-density DNA microarray (PhyloChip). Thermophilic composting altered the bacterial community structure of the starting material. Typical fecal bacteria classified in the following groups were present in at least half the starting material samples, yet were reduced below detection in finished compost: Prevotella and Erysipelotrichaceae (100% reduction of initial presence), Ruminococcaceae (98–99%), Lachnospiraceae (83–94%, primarily unclassified taxa remained), Escherichia and Shigella (100%). Opportunistic pathogens were reduced below the level of detection in the final product with the exception of Clostridium tetani, which could have survived in a spore state or been reintroduced late in the outdoor maturation process. Conversely, thermotolerant or thermophilic Actinomycetes and Firmicutes (e.g., Thermobifida, Bacillus, Geobacillus) typically found in compost increased substantially during the thermophilic stage. This community DNA-based assessment of the fate of human fecal microbiota during thermophilic composting will help optimize this process as a sanitation solution in areas where infrastructure and resources are limited. PMID:28570610

Selective removal of cesium from aqueous solutions with nickel (II) hexacyanoferrate (III) functionalized agricultural residue-walnut shell.

PubMed

Ding, Dahu; Lei, Zhongfang; Yang, Yingnan; Feng, Chuanping; Zhang, Zhenya

2014-04-15

A novel nickel (II) hexacyanoferrate (III) functionalized agricultural residue-walnut shell (Ni(II)HCF(III)-WS) was developed to selectively remove cesium ion (Cs(+)) from aqueous solutions. This paper showed the first integral study on Cs(+) removal behavior and waste reduction analysis by using biomass adsorption material. The results indicated that the removal process was rapid and reached saturation within 2h. As a special characteristic of Ni(II)HCF(III)-WS, acidic condition was preferred for Cs(+) removal, which was useful for extending the application scope of the prepared biomass material in treating acidic radioactive liquid waste. The newly developed Ni(II)HCF(III)-WS could selectively remove Cs(+) though the coexisting ions (Na(+) and K(+) in this study) exhibited negative effects. In addition, approximately 99.8% (in volume) of the liquid waste was reduced by using Ni(II)HCF(III)-WS and furthermore 91.9% (in volume) of the spent biomass material (Cs-Ni(II)HCF(III)-WS) was reduced after incineration (at 500°C for 2h). Due to its relatively high distribution coefficient and significant volume reduction, Ni(II)HCF(III)-WS is expected to be a promising material for Cs(+) removal in practice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Two-fold sustainability – Adobe with sawdust as partial sand replacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jokhio, Gul A.; Syed Mohsin, Sharifah M.; Gul, Yasmeen

2018-04-01

Adobe is a material that is economic, environment friendly, and provides better indoor air quality. The material required for the preparation of adobe include clay, sand, and sometimes straw or other organic materials. These materials do not require industrial processing or transportation, however, sand mining has been recently posing a threat to the environment. Therefore, to enhance the existing sustainability of adobe, sand can be partially or fully replaced by other waste materials. This approach will not only solve the problem of excessive sand mining, it will also address the issue of waste management. Sawdust is one such waste material that can be used to partially replace sand in Adobe. This paper presents the results of compressive and flexural test carried out on Adobe samples with partial sand replacement by sawdust. The results show that about 4% sand replacement by volume produces higher compressive strength, whereas the flexural strength reduces with the use of sawdust. However, since flexural strength is not a critical property for adobe, it is concluded that replacing sand with sawdust by about 4% of volume will be beneficial.

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.

Interactive analysis of waste recycling and energy recovery program in a small-scale incinerator.

PubMed

Chen, Jeng-Chung; Chen, Wei-Hsin; Chang, Ni-Bin; Davila, Eric; Tsai, Cheng-Hsien

2005-09-01

Conflicting goals affecting solid waste management are explored in this paper to find the best implementation of resource recovery with a small-scale waste-to-energy process. Recycling paper and plastic material often leaves a shortage of thermal energy to support incineration that forces operators to supplement the process with auxiliary fuels. Although there are considerable profits to be made from material recovery, the increase of fuel usage causes conflict given that it is cost prohibitive. A series of trials performed on a small-scale 1.5-t/day incineration plant with a cyclone heat recovery system found that material recycling can impede performance. Experimental results are expressed as empirical regression formulas with regard to combustion temperature, energy transfer, and heat recovery. Process optimization is possible if the waste moisture content remains <30%. To test the robustness of the optimization analysis, a series of sensitivity analyses clarify the extent of material recycling needed with regard to plastic, paper, and metal. The experiments also test whether the moisture in the waste would decrease when recycling paper because of its exceptional capacity to absorb moisture. Results show that recycling paper is strongly recommended when the moisture content is >20%, whereas plastic recycling is not necessary at that moisture condition. Notably, plastic recovery reduces the heat needed to vaporize the water content of the solid waste, thus it is recommended only when the moisture content is <10%. For above-normal incineration temperatures, plastic recycling is encouraged, because it removes excess energy. Metal is confirmed as an overall priority in material recycling regardless of the moisture content of the incoming waste.

An empirical investigation of construction and demolition waste generation rates in Shenzhen city, South China.

PubMed

Lu, Weisheng; Yuan, Hongping; Li, Jingru; Hao, Jane J L; Mi, Xuming; Ding, Zhikun

2011-04-01

The construction and demolition waste generation rates (C&D WGRs) is an important factor in decision-making and management of material waste in any construction site. The present study investigated WGRs by conducting on-site waste sorting and weighing in four ongoing construction projects in Shenzhen city of South China. The results revealed that WGRs ranged from 3.275 to 8.791 kg/m(2) and miscellaneous waste, timber for formwork and falsework, and concrete were the three largest components amongst the generated waste. Based on the WGRs derived from the research, the paper also discussed the main causes of waste in the construction industry and attempted to connect waste generation with specific construction practices. It was recommended that measures mainly including performing waste sorting at source, employing skilful workers, uploading and storing materials properly, promoting waste management capacity, replacing current timber formwork with metal formwork and launching an incentive reward program to encourage waste reduction could be potential solutions to reducing current WGRs in Shenzhen. Although these results were derived from a relatively small sample and so cannot justifiably be generalized, they do however add to the body of knowledge that is currently available for understanding the status of the art of C&D waste management in China. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving material and energy recovery from the sewage sludge and biomass residues.

PubMed

Kliopova, Irina; Makarskienė, Kristina

2015-02-01

Sewage sludge management is a big problem all over the world because of its large quantities and harmful impact on the environment. Energy conversion through fermentation, compost production from treated sludge for agriculture, especially for growing energetic plants, and treated sludge use for soil remediation are widely used alternatives of sewage sludge management. Recently, in many EU countries the popularity of these methods has decreased due to the sewage sludge content (heavy metals, organic pollutions and other hazards materials). This paper presents research results where the possibility of solid recovered fuel (SRF) production from the separate fraction (10-40 mm) of pre-composted materials--sewage sludge from municipal waste water treatment plant and biomass residues has been evaluated. The remaining fractions of pre-composted materials can be successfully used for compost or fertiliser production, as the concentration of heavy metals in the analysed composition is reduced in comparison with sewage sludge. During the experiment presented in this paper the volume of analysed biodegradable waste was reduced by 96%: about 20% of input biodegradable waste was recovered to SRF in the form of pellets with 14.25 MJ kg(-1) of the net calorific value, about 23% were composted, the rest--evaporated and discharged in a wastewater. The methods of material-energy balances and comparison analysis of experiment data have been chosen for the environmental impact assessment of this biodegradable waste management alternative. Results of the efficiency of energy recovery from sewage sludge by SRF production and burning, comparison analysis with widely used bio-fuel-sawdust and conclusions made are presented. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reusing remediated CCA-treated wood

Treesearch

Carol A. Clausen

2003-01-01

Options for recycling and reusing chromated-copper-arsenate- (CCA) treated material include dimensional lumber and round wood size reduction, composites, and remediation. Size reduction by remilling, shaving, or resawing CCA-treated wood reduces the volume of landfilled waste material and provides many options for reusing used treated wood. Manufacturing composite...

Developing improved opportunities for the recycle and reuse of materials in road, bridge and construction projects : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

Reducing waste and reusing materials is now : a part of the everyday fabric of life. Recycling : glass, paper, and plastic is an activity in many : households and businesses. Similarly, the : transportation sector generates huge quantities : of concr...

Sustainability of cement kiln co-processing of wastes in India: a pilot study.

PubMed

Baidya, Rahul; Ghosh, Sadhan Kumar; Parlikar, Ulhas V

2017-07-01

Co-processing in cement kiln achieves effective utilization of the material and energy value present in the wastes, thereby conserving the natural resources by reducing the use of virgin material. In India, a number of multifolded initiatives have been taken that take into account the potential and volume of waste generation. This paper studies the factors which might influence the sustainability of co-processing of waste in cement kilns as a business model, considering the issues and challenges in the supply chain framework in India in view of the four canonical pillars of sustainability. A pilot study on co-processing was carried out in one of the cement plant in India to evaluate the environmental performance, economical performance, operational performance and social performance. The findings will help India and other developing countries to introduce effective supply chain management for co-processing while addressing the issues and challenges during co-processing of different waste streams in the cement kilns.

Agricultural waste as a source for the production of silica nanoparticles.

PubMed

Vaibhav, Vineet; Vijayalakshmi, U; Roopan, S Mohana

2015-03-15

The major interest of the paper deals with the extraction of silica from four natural sources such as rice husk, bamboo leaves, sugarcane bagasse and groundnut shell. These waste materials in large quantities can create a serious environmental problem. Hence, there is a need to adopt proper strategy to reduce the waste. In the present investigation, all the waste materials are subjected to moisture removal in a hot plate and sintered at 900°C for 7 h. The sintered powder was treated with 1 M NaOH to form sodium silicate and then with 6M H2SO4 to precipitate silica. The prepared silica powders were characterized by FT-IR, XRD and SEM-EDAX analysis. The silica recovered from different sources was found to vary between 52% and 78%. Magnesium substituted silica was formed from the groundnut waste and further treatment is required to precipitate silica. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

POTENTIAL IMPACT OF BLENDING RESIDUAL SOLIDS FROM TANKS 18/19 MOUNDS WITH TANK 7 OPERATIONS

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

Eibling, R; Erich Hansen, E; Bradley Pickenheim, B

2007-03-29

High level waste tanks 18F and 19F have residual mounds of waste which may require removal before the tanks can be closed. Conventional slurry pump technology, previously used for waste removal and tank cleaning, has been incapable of removing theses mounds from tanks 18F and 19F. A mechanical cleaning method has been identified that is potentially capable of removing and transferring the mound material to tank 7F for incorporation in a sludge batch for eventual disposal in high level waste glass by the Defense Waste Processing Facility. The Savannah River National Laboratory has been requested to evaluate whether the materialmore » transferred from tanks 18F/19F by the mechanical cleaning technology can later be suspended in Tank 7F by conventional slurry pumps after mixing with high level waste sludge. The proposed mechanical cleaning process for removing the waste mounds from tanks 18 and 19 may utilize a high pressure water jet-eductor that creates a vacuum to mobilize solids. The high pressure jet is also used to transport the suspended solids. The jet-eductor system will be mounted on a mechanical crawler for movement around the bottom of tanks 18 and 19. Based on physical chemical property testing of the jet-eductor system processed IE-95 zeolite and size-reduced IE-95 zeolite, the following conclusions were made: (1) The jet-eductor system processed zeolite has a mean and median particle size (volume basis) of 115.4 and 43.3 microns in water. Preferential settling of these large particles is likely. (2) The jet-eductor system processed zeolite rapidly generates settled solid yield stresses in excess of 11,000 Pascals in caustic supernates and will not be easily retrieved from Tank 7 with the existing slurry pump technology. (3) Settled size-reduced IE-95 zeolite (less than 38 microns) in caustic supernate does not generate yield stresses in excess of 600 Pascals in less than 30 days. (4) Preferential settling of size-reduced zeolite is a function of the amount of sludge and the level of dilution for the mixture. (5) Blending the size-reduced zeolite into larger quantities of sludge can reduce the amount of preferential settling. (6) Periodic dilution or resuspension due to sludge washing or other mixing requirements will increase the chances of preferential settling of the zeolite solids. (7) Mixtures of Purex sludge and size-reduced zeolite did not produce yield stresses greater than 200 Pascals for settling times less than thirty days. Most of the sludge-zeolite blends did not exceed 50 Pascals. These mixtures should be removable by current pump technology if sufficient velocities can be obtained. (8) The settling rate of the sludge-zeolite mixtures is a function of the ionic strength (or supernate density) and the zeolite- sludge mixing ratio. (9) Simulant tests indicate that leaching of Si may be an issue for the processed Tank 19 mound material. (10) Floating zeolite fines observed in water for the jet-eductor system and size-reduced zeolite were not observed when the size-reduced zeolite was blended with caustic solutions, indicating that the caustic solutions cause the fines to agglomerate. Based on the test programs described in this report, the potential for successfully removing Tank 18/19 mound material from Tank 7 with the current slurry pump technology requires the reduction of the particle size of the Tank 18/19 mound material.« less

Impacts of biochar and oyster shells waste on the immobilization of arsenic in highly contaminated soils.

PubMed

Chen, Yongshan; Xu, Jinghua; Lv, Zhengyong; Xie, Ruijia; Huang, Liumei; Jiang, Jinping

2018-07-01

Soil contamination is a serious problem with deleterious impacts on global sustainability. Readily available, economic, and highly effective technologies are therefore urgently needed for the rehabilitation of contaminated sites. In this study, two readily available materials prepared from bio-wastes, namely biochar and oyster shell waste, were evaluated as soil amendments to immobilize arsenic in a highly As-contaminated soil (up to 15,000 mgAs/kg). Both biochar and oyster shell waste can effectively reduce arsenic leachability in acid soils. After application of the amendments (2-4% addition, w/w), the exchangeable arsenic fraction decreased from 105.8 to 54.0 mg/kg. The application of 2%biochar +2% oyster shell waste most effectively reduced As levels in the column leaching test by reducing the arsenic concentration in the porewater by 62.3% compared with the treatment without amendments. Biochar and oyster shell waste also reduced soluble As(III) from 374.9 ± 18.8 μg/L to 185.9 ± 16.8 μg/L and As(V) from 119.8 ± 13.0 μg/L to 56.4 ± 2.6 μg/L at a pH value of 4-5. The treatment using 4% (w/w) amendments did not result in sufficient As immobilization in highly contaminated soils; high soluble arsenic concentrations (upto193.0 μg/L)were found in the soil leachate, particularly in the form of As(III), indicating a significant potential to pollute shallow groundwater aquifers. This study provides valuable insights into the use of cost-effective and readily available materials for soil remediation and investigates the mechanisms underlying arsenic immobilization in acidic soils. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Training Innovations for Economic Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breeden, Kenneth H.

2002-01-01

This article talks about Certified Manufacturing Specialist (CMS), a Georgia training program that has successfully addressed the needs of both students and partners in business and industry. The program helped business reduce the learning curve for new employees; improved productivity, quality, and safety; reduced material waste; eased the…

The Chinese import ban and its impact on global plastic waste trade

PubMed Central

Wang, Shunli

2018-01-01

The rapid growth of the use and disposal of plastic materials has proved to be a challenge for solid waste management systems with impacts on our environment and ocean. While recycling and the circular economy have been touted as potential solutions, upward of half of the plastic waste intended for recycling has been exported to hundreds of countries around the world. China, which has imported a cumulative 45% of plastic waste since 1992, recently implemented a new policy banning the importation of most plastic waste, begging the question of where the plastic waste will go now. We use commodity trade data for mass and value, region, and income level to illustrate that higher-income countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation have been exporting plastic waste (70% in 2016) to lower-income countries in the East Asia and Pacific for decades. An estimated 111 million metric tons of plastic waste will be displaced with the new Chinese policy by 2030. As 89% of historical exports consist of polymer groups often used in single-use plastic food packaging (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate), bold global ideas and actions for reducing quantities of nonrecyclable materials, redesigning products, and funding domestic plastic waste management are needed. PMID:29938223

Production and degradation of polyhydroxyalkanoates in waste environment

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

Lee, S.Y.; Choi, J.

1999-06-01

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are energy/carbon storage materials accumulated under unfavorable growth condition in the presence of excess carbon source. PHAs are attracting much attention as substitute for non-degradable petrochemically derived plastics because of their similar material properties to conventional plastics and complete biodegradability under natural environment upon disposal. In this paper, PHA production and degradation in waste environment as well as its role in biological phosphorus removal are reviewed. In biological phosphorus removal process, bacteria accumulating polyphosphate (poly P) uptake carbon substrates and accumulate these as PHA by utilizing energy from breaking down poly P under anaerobic conditions. In the followingmore » aerobic condition, accumulated PHA is utilized for energy generation and for the regeneration of poly P. PHA production from waste has been investigated in order to utilize abundant organic compounds in waste water. Since PHA content and PHA productivity that can be obtained are rather low, PHA production from waste product should be considered as a coupled process for reducing the amount of organic waste. PHAs can be rapidly degraded to completion in municipal anaerobic sludge by various microorganisms.« less

Improving material and energy recovery from the sewage sludge and biomass residues

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

Kliopova, Irina, E-mail: irina.kliopova@ktu.lt; Makarskienė, Kristina

2015-02-15

Highlights: • SRF production from 10–40 mm fraction of pre-composted sludge and biomass residues. • The material and energy balance of compost and SRF production. • Characteristics of raw materials and classification of produced SRF. • Results of the efficiency of energy recovery, comparison analysis with – sawdust. - Abstract: Sewage sludge management is a big problem all over the world because of its large quantities and harmful impact on the environment. Energy conversion through fermentation, compost production from treated sludge for agriculture, especially for growing energetic plants, and treated sludge use for soil remediation are widely used alternatives ofmore » sewage sludge management. Recently, in many EU countries the popularity of these methods has decreased due to the sewage sludge content (heavy metals, organic pollutions and other hazards materials). This paper presents research results where the possibility of solid recovered fuel (SRF) production from the separate fraction (10–40 mm) of pre-composted materials – sewage sludge from municipal waste water treatment plant and biomass residues has been evaluated. The remaining fractions of pre-composted materials can be successfully used for compost or fertiliser production, as the concentration of heavy metals in the analysed composition is reduced in comparison with sewage sludge. During the experiment presented in this paper the volume of analysed biodegradable waste was reduced by 96%: about 20% of input biodegradable waste was recovered to SRF in the form of pellets with 14.25 MJ kg{sup −1} of the net calorific value, about 23% were composted, the rest – evaporated and discharged in a wastewater. The methods of material-energy balances and comparison analysis of experiment data have been chosen for the environmental impact assessment of this biodegradable waste management alternative. Results of the efficiency of energy recovery from sewage sludge by SRF production and burning, comparison analysis with widely used bio-fuel–sawdust and conclusions made are presented.« less

Densified waste form and method for forming

DOEpatents

Garino, Terry J.; Nenoff, Tina M.; Sava Gallis, Dorina Florentina

2015-08-25

Materials and methods of making densified waste forms for temperature sensitive waste material, such as nuclear waste, formed with low temperature processing using metallic powder that forms the matrix that encapsulates the temperature sensitive waste material. The densified waste form includes a temperature sensitive waste material in a physically densified matrix, the matrix is a compacted metallic powder. The method for forming the densified waste form includes mixing a metallic powder and a temperature sensitive waste material to form a waste form precursor. The waste form precursor is compacted with sufficient pressure to densify the waste precursor and encapsulate the temperature sensitive waste material in a physically densified matrix.

Composition, Production Rate and Management of Dental Solid Waste in 2017 in Birjand, Iran.

PubMed

Momeni, Habibe; Tabatabaei Fard, Seyyedeh Fatemeh; Arefinejad, Aliye; Afzali, Afsane; Talebi, Farkhonde; Rahmanpour Salmani, Elham

2018-01-01

The presence of toxic and pathogenic agents in the dental waste products has made it to be classified as "hazardous waste." To assess dental waste production rate and composition and approaches used to manage these waste products in 2017 in Birjand, Iran. 48 dental clinics were evaluated in two months of 2017. Sampling was performed from each clinic 3 times a week. Samples were manually divided into 5 categories of chemical-pharmaceutical, infectious, semi-household, sharp and cutting materials, and toxic waste products, and weighed. A checklist containing 25 questions was used to evaluate the aspects of waste management in dental clinics. The total amount of waste products generated in dental clinics was 7848.02 kg/ year in which semi-household waste had the highest quantity (4263.411 kg/year) and toxic waste had the lowest quantity (9.275 kg/year). Components with the highest amounts in dentistry waste products were nylon gloves (16.7%), paper and cardboard (13.4%), latex gloves (10.8%), and pharmaceuticals (10.2%). Waste separation was restricted to sharp and cutting waste. More than half (57%) of dental units were equipped with amalgam filter. Fixing solutions were directly discharged to sewage in 48.6% of clinics. There was no program to reduce waste generation in 54% of the clinics. Autoclave was the main tool for sterilizing dental instruments. This study showed a remarkable share of recyclable materials in the composition of dental waste and lack of special approach to manage waste in dental clinics. It is necessary to plan for minimizing generation of, separating, and recycling waste at source.

Stress-strain response of plastic waste mixed soil.

PubMed

Babu, G L Sivakumar; Chouksey, Sandeep Kumar

2011-03-01

Recycling plastic waste from water bottles has become one of the major challenges worldwide. The present study provides an approach for the use plastic waste as reinforcement material in soil. The experimental results in the form of stress-strain-pore water pressure response are presented. Based on experimental test results, it is observed that the strength of soil is improved and compressibility reduced significantly with addition of a small percentage of plastic waste to the soil. The use of the improvement in strength and compressibility response due to inclusion of plastic waste can be advantageously used in bearing capacity improvement and settlement reduction in the design of shallow foundations. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In-Space Propulsion, Logistics Reduction, and Evaluation of Steam Reformer Kinetics: Problems and Prospects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaworske, D. A.; Palaszewski, B. A.; Kulis, M. J.; Gokoglu, S. A.

2015-01-01

Human space missions generate waste materials. A 70-kg crewmember creates a waste stream of 1 kg per day, and a four-person crew on a deep space habitat for a 400+ day mission would create over 1600 kg of waste. Converted into methane, the carbon could be used as a fuel for propulsion or power. The NASA Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project is investing in space resource utilization with an emphasis on repurposing logistics materials for useful purposes and has selected steam reforming among many different competitive processes as the preferred method for repurposing organic waste into methane. Already demonstrated at the relevant processing rate of 5.4 kg of waste per day, high temperature oxygenated steam consumes waste and produces carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen which can then be converted into methane catalytically. However, the steam reforming process has not been studied in microgravity. Data are critically needed to understand the mechanisms that allow use of steam reforming in a reduced gravity environment. This paper reviews the relevant literature, identifies gravity-dependent mechanisms within the steam gasification process, and describes an innovative experiment to acquire the crucial kinetic information in a small-scale reactor specifically designed to operate within the requirements of a reduced gravity aircraft flight. The experiment will determine if the steam reformer process is mass-transport limited, and if so, what level of forced convection will be needed to obtain performance comparable to that in 1-g.

Municipal solid waste management in India: From waste disposal to recovery of resources?

PubMed

Narayana, Tapan

2009-03-01

Unlike that of western countries, the solid waste of Asian cities is often comprised of 70-80% organic matter, dirt and dust. Composting is considered to be the best option to deal with the waste generated. Composting helps reduce the waste transported to and disposed of in landfills. During the course of the research, the author learned that several developing countries established large-scale composting plants that eventually failed for various reasons. The main flaw that led to the unsuccessful establishment of the plants was the lack of application of simple scientific methods to select the material to be composted. Landfills have also been widely unsuccessful in countries like India because the landfill sites have a very limited time frame of usage. The population of the developing countries is another factor that detrimentally impacts the function of landfill sites. As the population keeps increasing, the garbage quantity also increases, which, in turn, exhausts the landfill sites. Landfills are also becoming increasingly expensive because of the rising costs of construction and operation. Incineration, which can greatly reduce the amount of incoming municipal solid waste, is the second most common method for disposal in developed countries. However, incinerator ash may contain hazardous materials including heavy metals and organic compounds such as dioxins, etc. Recycling plays a large role in solid waste management, especially in cities in developing countries. None of the three methods mentioned here are free from problems. The aim of this study is thus to compare the three methods, keeping in mind the costs that would be incurred by the respective governments, and identify the most economical and best option possible to combat the waste disposal problem.

Dental Office Waste – Public Health and Ecological Risk

PubMed Central

Muhamedagic, Belma; Muhamedagic, Lejla; Masic, Izet

2009-01-01

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: NONE DECLARED Waste management is one of the key ecological challenges of the modern world. As dental practitioners, we must recognize that some of the materials and procedures we use to provide dental health services may present challenges to the environment. Realizing this, we can begin to take measures to minimize the production of these wastes and their potential environmental effects. Dental office waste typically cause toxic chemicals to enter our streams, sewers, and landfills. This paper identifies some common wastes produced by dental offices (dental amalgam, silver, lead, biomedical and general office waste) and provides practical suggestions for reducing the impact of our profession on the environment. To dispose of dental wastes, if recycling is not an option, proper disposal as hazardous waste is necessary. But, problem is that dental waste is in most cases dumped at uncontrolled disposal sites, and that is public health and ecological risk. PMID:24133379

What's in a bin: A case study of dental clinical waste composition and potential greenhouse gas emission savings.

PubMed

Richardson, J; Grose, J; Manzi, S; Mills, I; Moles, D R; Mukonoweshuro, R; Nasser, M; Nichols, A

2016-01-22

Dental practices have a unique position as dental staff use a high number of dental materials and instruments on a daily basis. It is unclear how dentists' and dental care professionals' choices and behaviours around selecting and using materials impact on the amount of unnecessary waste production. Although there are a number of articles exploring the quality and quantity of waste in dental practices, there are no studies on organisational strategies to decrease unnecessary waste. There is no clear economic analysis of the impact on associated cost to dental practices which consequently can affect the access of dental care for disadvantaged groups. This study used an audit approach to explore the potential for sustainability in dental practice by measuring the nature and quantity of dental clinical waste, and assessing the feasibility of measuring the financial costs and potential carbon savings in the management of dental clinical waste. The data from our study would appear to support the view that it is possible to reduce carbon emissions and increase profitability. Successful implementation of an environmentally sustainable approach to waste management will be dependent on the practicalities involved and the financial incentives for adopting such practices.

Densified waste form and method for forming

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

Garino, Terry J.; Nenoff, Tina M.; Sava Gallis, Dorina Florentina

Materials and methods of making densified waste forms for temperature sensitive waste material, such as nuclear waste, formed with low temperature processing using metallic powder that forms the matrix that encapsulates the temperature sensitive waste material. The densified waste form includes a temperature sensitive waste material in a physically densified matrix, the matrix is a compacted metallic powder. The method for forming the densified waste form includes mixing a metallic powder and a temperature sensitive waste material to form a waste form precursor. The waste form precursor is compacted with sufficient pressure to densify the waste precursor and encapsulate themore » temperature sensitive waste material in a physically densified matrix.« less

Evaluating How to Alter Design Processes to Consider Sustainable Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liew, V.

2017-12-01

The Design Cycle is a well established design methodology featuring four major criterion (Investigating, Planning, Creating, and Evaluating), adopted by International Baccalaureate education foundation. However, as sustainability has become an alarmingly relevant issue, the Design Cycle is not a sufficient guide in its current form. With the the excessive quantities of waste entering Hong Kong's landfills as well as the worldwide issue of rapidly depleting resources, it is imperative that products reduce waste via adaptive or mitigative methods, and that an environmental sector be integrated into the existing Design Cycle. In this piece of research, sustainable design practices will be evaluated to form a list of specifications that products can be assessed against to reduce waste and repurpose materials.

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.

Evolution of thermoelectric performance for (Bi,Sb){sub 2}Te{sub 3} alloys from cutting waste powders to bulks with high figure of merit

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

Fan, Xi'an, E-mail: groupfxa@163.com; Key Laboratory for Ferrous Metallurgy and Resources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081; School of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, 947 Heping Road, Qingshan District, Wuhan 430081

Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} based cutting waste powders from cutting wafers were firstly selected as raw materials to prepare p-type Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} based thermoelectric (TE) materials. Through washing, reducing, composition correction, smelting and resistance pressing sintering (RPS) process, p-type (Bi,Sb){sub 2}Te{sub 3} alloy bulks with different nominal stoichiometries were successfully obtained. The evolution of microstructure and TE performance for (Bi,Sb){sub 2}Te{sub 3} alloys were investigated in detail. All evidences confirmed that most of contaminants from line cutting process such as cutting fluid and oxides of Bi, Sb or Te could be removed by washing, reducing and smelting process used inmore » this work. The carrier content and corresponding TE properties could be adjusted effectively by appropriate composition correction treatment. At lastly, a bulk with a nominal stoichiometry of Bi{sub 0.44}Sb{sub 1.56}Te{sub 3} was obtained and its' dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) was about 1.16 at 90 °C. The ZT values of Bi{sub 0.36}Sb{sub 1.64}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 0.4}Sb{sub 1.6}Te{sub 3} alloy bulks could also reach 0.98 and 1.08, respectively. Different from the conventional recycling technology such as hydrometallurgy extraction methods, the separation and extraction of beneficial elements such as Bi, Sb and Te did not need to be performed and the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} based bulks with high TE properties could be directly obtained from the cutting waste powders. In addition, the recycling technology introduced here was green and more suitable for practical industrial application. It can improve material utilization and lower raw material costs of manufacturers. - Graphical abstract: Three kinds of typical morphologies for the fractographs: typical lamellar structure, agglomerated submicron-sized granules and dispersed cubic particles from the initial cutting waste powders. - Highlights: • Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} based wastes were directly selected as raw materials for TE alloys. • Contaminants from cutting fluid and oxides could be effectively removed. • Bulk Bi{sub 0.44}Sb{sub 1.56}Te{sub 3} with ZT of 1.16 was obtained from Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} based wastes. • Different from hydrometallurgy, the recycling method introduced here was green. • Directly recycling Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} wastes can lower raw material costs of manufacturers.« less

Solid waste management in Asian countries: a review of solid waste minimisation (3'r) towards low carbon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, N. E.; Sion, H. C.

2014-02-01

The amount of solid-waste generated in Asian countries has increased tremendously, mainly due to the improvement in living standards, rapid developments in technology, growth in economy and population in the cities. Solid waste management is a global issue and major challenge facing Asian countries and neglecting its management may have negative consequences on the environment. Waste composition data proves the developed countries to have generated more recyclable materials while developing countries produce more organic and less recyclable waste such as paper, plastic and aluminium. In this regard, increase in number of landfills and disposal sites, will have an impact on GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and pollutants to air and water. Alternative methods should therefore be taken to reduce the volume of waste. Most Asian countries have adopted the 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) concept in order to reduce solid waste and their governments have implemented laws and regulations in order to support this. Implementation of 3R is the major contributor to the solid waste minimization and it can improve the quality of environmental sustainability and reduction of carbon dioxide emission in to the atmosphere. Based on our review, most of the countries practicing the 3R concept in tandem with laws and regulations perform better than those that just practice the 3R concept without any laws and regulations. The paper suggests that every country must focus on the laws and regulations relating to solid waste minimization so that it could be easily implemented as outlined.

State of the Science Review: Potential for Beneficial Use of ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Metal and metalloid contamination of soil and sediment is a widespread problem both in urban and rural areas throughout the United States (U.S. EPA, 2014). Beneficial use of waste by-products as amendments to remediate metal-contaminated soils and sediments can provide major economic and environmental advantages on both a site-specific and national scale. These waste by-products can also reduce our need to mine virgin materials or produce synthetic materials for amendments. Waste by-products must not be hazardous or pose unacceptable risk to human health and the environment, and should be a suitable replacement for virgin and synthetic materials. This review serves to present the state of science on in-situ remediation of metal-contaminated soil and sediment and the potential for beneficial usage of waste by-product materials. Not all unintended consequences can be fully understood or predicted prior to implementing a treatment option, however some realized, and potentially unrealized, benefits and unintended consequences are explored. The objectives of this review article are to: (1) summarize the current state of the science on in-situ treatment of metal-contaminated soils and sediments; (2) review the more recent use of non-municipal and non-hazardous waste by-products for use as soil and sediment amendments; and (3) identify physical and chemical properties that are indicative of the success or effectiveness of using a specific amendment to treat metal

Does recyclable separation reduce the cost of municipal waste management in Japan?

PubMed

Chifari, Rosaria; Lo Piano, Samuele; Matsumoto, Shigeru; Tasaki, Tomohiro

2017-02-01

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a system involving multiple sub-systems that typically require demanding inputs, materials and resources to properly process generated waste throughput. For this reason, MSW management is generally one of the most expensive services provided by municipalities. In this paper, we analyze the Japanese MSW management system and estimate the cost elasticity with respect to the waste volumes at three treatment stages: collection, processing, and disposal. Although we observe economies of scale at all three stages, the collection cost is less elastic than the disposal cost. We also examine whether source separation at home affects the cost of MSW management. The empirical results show that the separate collection of the recyclable fraction leads to reduced processing costs at intermediate treatment facilities, but does not change the overall waste management cost. Our analysis also reveals that the cost of waste management systems decreases when the service is provided by private companies through a public tender. The cost decreases even more when the service is performed under the coordination of adjacent municipalities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recycling of polymeric fraction of cable waste by rotational moulding.

PubMed

Díaz, Sara; Ortega, Zaida; McCourt, Mark; Kearns, Mark P; Benítez, Antonio N

2018-06-01

This study focuses on the mechanical recycling of polymeric waste that is produced in considerable amount from the cable industry. Every year large amounts of cables become waste; wires recycling has traditionally focused on metal recovery, while the polymer cover has just been considered as a residue, being landfilled or incinerated. Nowadays, increasingly restrictive regulations and concern about environment make necessary to reduce landfilling as much as possible. Main novelty of the study is that the material used in the research is a post-consumer material and the entire residual material is used, without a previous purification, in contrast with similar studies. Characterization of this residue was performed by thermal analysis, showing that the material is mainly made up of a heavy fraction (84% of the residue), which is not able to melt, fact what makes recycling more difficult. Once characterized, the material was ground, blended with virgin polyethylene and reprocessed by rotational moulding. The influence of the amount of residue and parts structure (1, 2 and 3 layers) was assessed, studying the mechanical behaviour of obtained parts (tensile, flexural and impact properties). It has been found that although mechanical properties get reduced with the increased amount of residue, up to a 35% of residue can be used without an important decrease in mechanical properties. On the other hand, the use of multiple layers in the mouldings allowed obtaining a better external appearance without compromising the mechanical properties. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The fluidized bed separator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharapov, R. R.; Kharlamov, E. V.; Yadykina, V. V.

2018-03-01

In the production of building materials produces a large amount of harmful substances, poisoning atmosphere and adjacent to the building materials site. One of the biggest polluting the ecology of cities adjacent to industry, is metallurgical industry. One of the most important technological processes is the enrichment, in which the rocks are extracted empty components. In the enrichment of iron ore in the production an increasing proportion consist the anthropogenic waste industries, which pollute the air basin and the huge territory around the factories that dumped these same wastes. This reduces as a space for human life and for the functioning and development of cities. These materials can be applied as construction materials, for example, in the preparation of fine-grained concrete as a mineral powder, and these materials can be applied in the construction of roads, housing, for receiving paint etc.

Battery designs with high capacity anode materials and cathode materials

DOEpatents

Masarapu, Charan; Anguchamy, Yogesh Kumar; Han, Yongbong; Deng, Haixia; Kumar, Sujeet; Lopez, Herman A.

2017-10-03

Improved high energy capacity designs for lithium ion batteries are described that take advantage of the properties of high specific capacity anode active compositions and high specific capacity cathode active compositions. In particular, specific electrode designs provide for achieving very high energy densities. Furthermore, the complex behavior of the active materials is used advantageously in a radical electrode balancing design that significantly reduced wasted electrode capacity in either electrode when cycling under realistic conditions of moderate to high discharge rates and/or over a reduced depth of discharge.

30 CFR 206.460 - Transportation allowances-general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... washing allowance and the transportation allowance reduce the value for royalty purposes to zero. (c)(1... quantity of clean coal output and the rejected waste material. The transportation allowance shall be...

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

none,

This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America research showing how some energy-efficiency measure cost increases can balance against measures that reduce up-front costs: Advanced framing cuts lumber costs, right sizing can mean downsizing the HVAC, moving HVAC into conditioned space cuts installation costs, designing on a 2-foot grid reduces materials waste, etc.

78 FR 69531 - America Recycles Day, 2013

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-19

.... Recycling not only reduces pollution, but also saves energy, preserves valuable raw materials, and reduces... recycling a part of our daily lives. We should reuse or donate when possible, and recycle or compost as much as we are able. Students can get involved by championing waste-free lunches, recycling programs, and...

Biological intrusion of low-level-waste trench covers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakonson, T. E.; Gladney, E. S.

The long-term integrity of low-level waste shallow land burialsites is dependent on the interaction of physical, chemical, and biological factors that modify the waste containment system. The need to consider biological processes as being potentially important in reducing the integrity of waste burial site cover treatment is demonstrated. One approach to limiting biological intrusion through the waste cover is to apply a barrier within the profile to limit root and animal penetration with depth. Experiments in the Los Alamos Experimental Engineered Test Facility were initiated to develop and evaluate biological barriers that are effective in minimizing intrusion into waste trenches. The experiments that are described employ four different candidate barrier materials of geologic origin. Experimental variables that will be evaluated, in addition to barrier type, are barrier depth and sil overburden depth.

Vermicomposting of winery wastes: a laboratory study.

PubMed

Nogales, Rogelio; Cifuentes, Celia; Benítez, Emilio

2005-01-01

In Mediterranean countries, millions of tons of wastes from viticulture and winery industries are produced every year. This study describes the ability of the earthworm Eisenia andrei to compost different winery wastes (spent grape marc, vinasse biosolids, lees cakes, and vine shoots) into valuable agricultural products. The evolution of earthworm biomass and enzyme activities was tracked for 16 weeks of vermicomposting, on a laboratory scale. Increases in earthworm biomass for all winery wastes proved lower than in manure. Changes in hydrolytic enzymes and overall microbial activities during the vermicomposting process indicated the biodegradation of the winery wastes. Vermicomposting improved the agronomic value of the winery wastes by reducing the C:N ratio, conductivity and phytotoxicity, while increasing the humic materials, nutrient contents, and pH in all cases. Thus, winery wastes show potential as raw substrates in vermicomposting, although further research is needed to evaluate the feasibility of such wastes in large-scale vermicomposting systems.

Production of single cell protein (SCP) from food and agricultural waste by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed

Gervasi, Teresa; Pellizzeri, Vito; Calabrese, Giorgio; Di Bella, Giuseppa; Cicero, Nicola; Dugo, Giacomo

2018-03-01

Food waste is the single-largest component of the waste stream, in order to protect and safeguard the public health, useful and innovative recycling methods are investigated. The conversion of food wastes in value-added products is becoming a more economically viable and interesting practice. Food waste, collected in the distribution sector and citrus industries, was characterised for its potential as a raw material to use in fermentation processes. In this study, the production of single-cell protein (SCP) using food waste as a substrate was investigated. The purpose of this study has been to produce SCP from mixtures of food waste using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The main fermentation test was carried out using a 25 l bioreactor. The utilisation of food waste can allow us to not only to reduce environmental pollution, but also to obtain value-added products such as protein supply for animal feed.

Development of high-performance supercapacitor electrode derived from sugar industry spent wash waste.

PubMed

Mahto, Ashesh; Gupta, Rajeev; Ghara, Krishna Kanta; Srivastava, Divesh N; Maiti, Pratyush; D, Kalpana; Rivera, Paul-Zavala; Meena, R; Nataraj, S K

2017-10-15

This study aims at developing supercapacitor materials from sugar and distillery industry wastes, thereby mediating waste disposal problem through reuse. In a two-step process, biomethanated spent wash (BMSW) was acid treated to produce solid waste sludge and waste water with significantly reduced total organic carbon (TOC) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) content. Further, waste sludge was directly calcined in presence of activating agent ZnCl 2 in inert atmosphere resulting in high surface area (730-900m 2 g -1 ) carbon of unique hexagonal morphology. Present technique resulted in achieving two-faceted target of liquid-solid waste remediation and production of high-performance carbon material. The resulted high surface area carbon was tested in both three and two electrode systems. Electrochemical tests viz. cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and impedance measurement were carried out in aqueous KOH electrolyte yielding specific capacitance as high as 120Fg -1 , whereas all solid supercapacitor devised using PVA/H 3 PO 4 polyelectrolyte showed stable capacitance of 105Fg -1 at 0.2Ag -1 . The presence of transition metal particles and hetero-atoms on carbon surface were confirmed by XPS, EDX and TEM analysis which enhanced the conductivity and imparted pseudocapacitance to some extent into the working electrode. The present study successfully demonstrated production of high-performance electrode material from dirtiest wastewater making process green, sustainable and economically viable. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Use of recycled plastic in concrete: a review.

PubMed

Siddique, Rafat; Khatib, Jamal; Kaur, Inderpreet

2008-01-01

Numerous waste materials are generated from manufacturing processes, service industries and municipal solid wastes. The increasing awareness about the environment has tremendously contributed to the concerns related with disposal of the generated wastes. Solid waste management is one of the major environmental concerns in the world. With the scarcity of space for landfilling and due to its ever increasing cost, waste utilization has become an attractive alternative to disposal. Research is being carried out on the utilization of waste products in concrete. Such waste products include discarded tires, plastic, glass, steel, burnt foundry sand, and coal combustion by-products (CCBs). Each of these waste products has provided a specific effect on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. The use of waste products in concrete not only makes it economical, but also helps in reducing disposal problems. Reuse of bulky wastes is considered the best environmental alternative for solving the problem of disposal. One such waste is plastic, which could be used in various applications. However, efforts have also been made to explore its use in concrete/asphalt concrete. The development of new construction materials using recycled plastics is important to both the construction and the plastic recycling industries. This paper presents a detailed review about waste and recycled plastics, waste management options, and research published on the effect of recycled plastic on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete. The effect of recycled and waste plastic on bulk density, air content, workability, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, impact resistance, permeability, and abrasion resistance is discussed in this paper.

Life cycle assessment of integrated waste management systems for alternative legacy scenarios of the London Olympic Park

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

Parkes, Olga, E-mail: o.parkes@ucl.ac.uk; Lettieri, Paola, E-mail: p.lettieri@ucl.ac.uk; Bogle, I. David L.

Highlights: • Application of LCA in planning integrated waste management systems. • Environmental valuation of 3 legacy scenarios for the Olympic Park. • Hot-spot analysis highlights the importance of energy and materials recovery. • Most environmental savings are achieved through materials recycling. • Sensitivity analysis shows importance of waste composition and recycling rates. - Abstract: This paper presents the results of the life cycle assessment (LCA) of 10 integrated waste management systems (IWMSs) for 3 potential post-event site design scenarios of the London Olympic Park. The aim of the LCA study is to evaluate direct and indirect emissions resulting frommore » various treatment options of municipal solid waste (MSW) annually generated on site together with avoided emissions resulting from energy, materials and nutrients recovery. IWMSs are modelled using GaBi v6.0 Product Sustainability software and results are presented based on the CML (v.Nov-10) characterisation method. The results show that IWMSs with advanced thermal treatment (ATT) and incineration with energy recovery have the lowest Global Warming Potential (GWP) than IWMSs where landfill is the primary waste treatment process. This is due to higher direct emissions and lower avoided emissions from the landfill process compared to the emissions from the thermal treatment processes. LCA results demonstrate that significant environmental savings are achieved through substitution of virgin materials with recycled ones. The results of the sensitivity analysis carried out for IWMS 1 shows that increasing recycling rate by 5%, 10% and 15% compared to the baseline scenario can reduce GWP by 8%, 17% and 25% respectively. Sensitivity analysis also shows how changes in waste composition affect the overall result of the system. The outcomes of such assessments provide decision-makers with fundamental information regarding the environmental impacts of different waste treatment options necessary for sustainable waste management planning.« less

Effect of turning frequency and season on composting materials from swine high-rise facilities

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Composting of swine manure has several advantages, liquid slurries are converted to solid, the total volume of material is reduced and the stabilized product is more easily transported off-site. Despite this, swine waste is generally stored, treated and applied in its liquid form. The high-rise fini...

Biodegradable materials for multilayer transient printed circuit boards.

PubMed

Huang, Xian; Liu, Yuhao; Hwang, Suk-Won; Kang, Seung-Kyun; Patnaik, Dwipayan; Cortes, Jonathan Fajardo; Rogers, John A

2014-11-19

Biodegradable printed circuit boards based on water-soluble materials are demonstrated. These systems can dissolve in water within 10 mins to yield end-products that are environmentally safe. These and related approaches have the potential to reduce hazardous waste streams associated with electronics disposal. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

MASSIVE LEAKAGE IRRADIATOR

DOEpatents

Wigner, E.P.; Szilard, L.; Christy, R.F.; Friedman, F.L.

1961-05-30

An irradiator designed to utilize the neutrons that leak out of a reactor around its periphery is described. It avoids wasting neutron energy and reduces interference with the core flux to a minimum. This is done by surrounding all or most of the core with removable segments of the material to be irradiated within a matrix of reflecting material.

The Dynamic Earth: Recycling Naturally!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldston, M. Jenice; Allison, Elizabeth; Fowler, Lisa; Glaze, Amanda

2013-01-01

This article begins with a thought-provoking question: What do you think of when you hear the term "recycle?" Many think about paper, glass, aluminum cans, landfills, and reducing waste by reusing some of these materials. How many of us ever consider the way the systems of Earth dynamically recycle its materials? In the following…

Recycling the product of thermal transformation of cement-asbestos for the preparation of calcium sulfoaluminate clinker.

PubMed

Viani, Alberto; Gualtieri, Alessandro F

2013-09-15

According to recent resolutions of the European Parliament (2012/2065(INI)), the need for environmentally friendly alternative solutions to landfill disposal of hazardous wastes, such as asbestos-containing materials, prompts their recycling as secondary raw materials (end of waste concept). In this respect, for the first time, we report the recycling of the high temperature product of cement-asbestos, in the formulation of calcium sulfoaluminate cement clinkers (novel cementitious binders designed to reduce CO₂ emissions), as a continuation of a previous work on their systematic characterization. Up to 29 wt% of the secondary raw material was successfully introduced into the raw mix. Different clinker samples were obtained at 1250 °C and 1300 °C, reproducing the phase composition of industrial analogues. As an alternative source of Ca and Si, this secondary raw material allows for a reduction of the CO₂ emissions in cement production, mitigating the ecological impact of cement manufacturing, and reducing the need for natural resources. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of Portland cement and calcium sulfoaluminate-belite cement for sustainable development and performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Irvin Allen

Portland cement concrete, the most widely used manufactured material in the world, is made primarily from water, mineral aggregates, and portland cement. The production of portland cement is energy intensive, accounting for 2% of primary energy consumption and 5% of industrial energy consumption globally. Moreover, portland cement manufacturing contributes significantly to greenhouse gases and accounts for 5% of the global CO2 emissions resulting from human activity. The primary objective of this research was to explore methods of reducing the environmental impact of cement production while maintaining or improving current performance standards. Two approaches were taken, (1) incorporation of waste materials in portland cement synthesis, and (2) optimization of an alternative environmental friendly binder, calcium sulfoaluminate-belite cement. These approaches can lead to less energy consumption, less emission of CO2, and more reuse of industrial waste materials for cement manufacturing. In the portland cement part of the research, portland cement clinkers conforming to the compositional specifications in ASTM C 150 for Type I cement were successfully synthesized from reagent-grade chemicals with 0% to 40% fly ash and 0% to 60% slag incorporation (with 10% intervals), 72.5% limestone with 27.5% fly ash, and 65% limestone with 35% slag. The synthesized portland cements had similar early-age hydration behavior to commercial portland cement. However, waste materials significantly affected cement phase formation. The C3S--C2S ratio decreased with increasing amounts of waste materials incorporated. These differences could have implications on proportioning of raw materials for cement production when using waste materials. In the calcium sulfoaluminate-belite cement part of the research, three calcium sulfoaluminate-belite cement clinkers with a range of phase compositions were successfully synthesized from reagent-grade chemicals. The synthesized calcium sulfoaluminate-belite cement that contained medium C4A3 S¯ and C2S contents showed good dimensional stability, sulfate resistance, and compressive strength development and was considered the optimum phase composition for calcium sulfoaluminate-belite cement in terms of comparable performance characteristics to portland cement. Furthermore, two calcium sulfoaluminate-belite cement clinkers were successfully synthesized from natural and waste materials such as limestone, bauxite, flue gas desulfurization sludge, Class C fly ash, and fluidized bed ash proportioned to the optimum calcium sulfoaluminate-belite cement synthesized from reagent-grade chemicals. Waste materials composed 30% and 41% of the raw ingredients. The two calcium sulfoaluminate-belite cements synthesized from natural and waste materials showed good dimensional stability, sulfate resistance, and compressive strength development, comparable to commercial portland cement.

Fluid bed gasification--plasma converter process generating energy from solid waste: experimental assessment of sulphur species.

PubMed

Morrin, Shane; Lettieri, Paola; Chapman, Chris; Taylor, Richard

2014-01-01

Often perceived as a Cinderella material, there is growing appreciation for solid waste as a renewable content thermal process feed. Nonetheless, research on solid waste gasification and sulphur mechanisms in particular is lacking. This paper presents results from two related experiments on a novel two stage gasification process, at demonstration scale, using a sulphur-enriched wood pellet feed. Notable SO2 and relatively low COS levels (before gas cleaning) were interesting features of the trials, and not normally expected under reducing gasification conditions. Analysis suggests that localised oxygen rich regions within the fluid bed played a role in SO2's generation. The response of COS to sulphur in the feed was quite prompt, whereas SO2 was more delayed. It is proposed that the bed material sequestered sulphur from the feed, later aiding SO2 generation. The more reducing gas phase regions above the bed would have facilitated COS--hence its faster response. These results provide a useful insight, with further analysis on a suite of performed experiments underway, along with thermodynamic modelling. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elucidating the effects of solar panel waste glass substitution on the physical and mechanical characteristics of clay bricks.

PubMed

Lin, Kae-Long; Huang, Long-Sheng; Shie, Je-Lueng; Cheng, Ching-Jung; Lee, Ching-Hwa; Chang, Tien-Chin

2013-01-01

This study deals with the effect of solar panel waste glass on fired clay bricks. Brick samples were heated to temperatures which varied from 700-1000 degrees C for 6 h, with a heating rate of 10 degrees C min(-1). The material properties of the resultant material were then determined, including speciation variation, loss on ignition, shrinkage, bulk density, 24-h absorption rate, compressive strength and salt crystallization. The results indicate that increasing the amount of solar panel waste glass resulted in a decrease in the water absorption rate and an increase in the compressive strength of the solar panel waste glass bricks. The 24-h absorption rate and compressive strength of the solar panel waste glass brick made from samples containing 30% solar panel waste glass sintered at 1000 degrees C all met the Chinese National Standard (CNS) building requirements for first-class brick (compressive strengths and water absorption of the bricks were 300 kg cm(-2) and 10% of the brick, respectively). The addition of solar panel waste glass to the mixture reduced the degree of firing shrinkage. The salt crystallization test and wet-dry tests showed that the addition of solar panel waste glass had highly beneficial effects in that it increased the durability of the bricks. This indicates that solar panel waste glass is indeed suitable for the partial replacement of clay in bricks.

Impacts of policy and market incentives for solid waste recycling in Dhaka, Bangladesh

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

Matter, Anne; Swisscontact: Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation, South Asian Regional Office, House No. 19, Road No. 11, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212; Ahsan, Mehedi

Highlights: • Bangladesh’s industry and population are growing rapidly, producing more urban waste. • Recycling reduces the solid waste management burden of Municipalities. • A wide array of informal and formal actors is involved in collection and recycling. • Demand for recycled materials and renewable energy creates market incentives. • Policy incentives exist, but they only reach the formal industry. - Abstract: Solid waste mismanagement in Dhaka, Bangladesh, illustrates a well-known market failure which can be summarized as: waste is a resource in the wrong place. Inorganic materials such as plastic or paper can be used to feed the demandmore » for recycled materials in the industrial sector. Organic materials can be converted and used in the nutrient-starved agricultural sector which is currently heavily depending on chemical fertilizers. They are also a feedstock to generate renewable energy in the form of biogas for this energy-starved country relying on diminishing natural gas reserves and increasing import of coal. Reality however does not capitalize on this potential; instead the waste is a burden for municipal authorities who spend large portions of their budgets attempting to transport it out of the city for discharge into landfills. The major part of these materials still remains uncollected in the residential areas and is discarded indiscriminately in open spaces, polluting the residents’ living environment including water, soil and air resources, in the city and beyond. Bangladeshi authorities have, to some extent, recognized this market failure and have developed policies to encourage the development of waste recycling activities. It is also important to note that this market failure is only partial: a large, mostly informal recycling sector has developed in Bangladesh, focusing on inorganic recyclables of market value. The fact that this sector remains largely informal means that these actors perceive significant barriers to formalization. Comparatively, the organic waste recycling sector is less driven by market mechanisms. Competition from chemical fertilizers and fossil fuels is fierce and hinders the development of market opportunities for compost and renewable energy. Nevertheless commercial production of compost and biogas from organic municipal waste is formalized and benefiting from policy incentives.« less

Formulation of portland composite cement using waste glass as a supplementary cementitious material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manullang, Ria Julyana; Samadhi, Tjokorde Walmiki; Purbasari, Aprilina

2017-09-01

Utilization of waste glass in cement is an attractive options because of its pozzolanic behaviour and the market of glass-composite cement is potentially available. The objective of this research is to evaluate the formulation of waste glass as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) by an extreme vertices mixture experiment, in which clinker, waste glass and gypsum proportions are chosen as experimental variables. The composite cements were synthesized by mixing all of powder materials in jar mill. The compressive strength of the composite cement mortars after being cured for 28 days ranges between 229 to 268 kg/cm2. Composite cement mortars exhibit lower compressive strength than ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mortars but is still capable of meeting the SNI 15-7064-2004 standards. The highest compressive strength is obtained by shifting the cement blend composition to the direction of increasing clinker and gypsum proportions as well as reducing glass proportion. The lower compressive strength of composite cement is caused by expansion due to ettringite and ASR gel. Based on the experimental result, the composite cement containing 80% clinker, 15% glass and 5% gypsum has the highest compressive strength. As such, the preliminary technical feasibility of reuse of waste glass as SCM has been confirmed.

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".

High-performance green semiconductor devices: materials, designs, and fabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Yei Hwan; Zhang, Huilong; Gong, Shaoqin; Ma, Zhenqiang

2017-06-01

From large industrial computers to non-portable home appliances and finally to light-weight portable gadgets, the rapid evolution of electronics has facilitated our daily pursuits and increased our life comforts. However, these rapid advances have led to a significant decrease in the lifetime of consumer electronics. The serious environmental threat that comes from electronic waste not only involves materials like plastics and heavy metals, but also includes toxic materials like mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and lead, which can leak into the ground and contaminate the water we drink, the food we eat, and the animals that live around us. Furthermore, most electronics are comprised of non-renewable, non-biodegradable, and potentially toxic materials. Difficulties in recycling the increasing amount of electronic waste could eventually lead to permanent environmental pollution. As such, discarded electronics that can naturally degrade over time would reduce recycling challenges and minimize their threat to the environment. This review provides a snapshot of the current developments and challenges of green electronics at the semiconductor device level. It looks at the developments that have been made in an effort to help reduce the accumulation of electronic waste by utilizing unconventional, biodegradable materials as components. While many semiconductors are classified as non-biodegradable, a few biodegradable semiconducting materials exist and are used as electrical components. This review begins with a discussion of biodegradable materials for electronics, followed by designs and processes for the manufacturing of green electronics using different techniques and designs. In the later sections of the review, various examples of biodegradable electrical components, such as sensors, circuits, and batteries, that together can form a functional electronic device, are discussed and new applications using green electronics are reviewed.

Optimization of greenhouse gas emissions in second-hand consumer product recovery through reuse platforms.

PubMed

Fortuna, Lorena M; Diyamandoglu, Vasil

2017-08-01

Product reuse in the solid waste management sector is promoted as one of the key strategies for waste prevention. This practice is considered to have favorable impact on the environment, but its benefits have yet to be established. Existing research describes the perspective of "avoided production" only, but has failed to examine the interdependent nature of reuse practices within an entire solid waste management system. This study proposes a new framework that uses optimization to minimize the greenhouse gas emissions of an integrated solid waste management system that includes reuse strategies and practices such as reuse enterprises, online platforms, and materials exchanges along with traditional solid waste management practices such as recycling, landfilling, and incineration. The proposed framework uses material flow analysis in combination with an optimization model to provide the best outcome in terms of GHG emissions by redistributing product flows in the integrated solid waste management system to the least impacting routes and processes. The optimization results provide a basis for understanding the contributions of reuse to the environmental benefits of the integrated solid waste management system and the exploration of the effects of reuse activities on waste prevention. A case study involving second-hand clothing is presented to illustrate the implementation of the proposed framework as applied to the material flow. Results of the case study showed the considerable impact of reuse on GHG emissions even for small replacement rates, and helped illustrate the interdependency of the reuse sector with other waste management practices. One major contribution of this study is the development of a framework centered on product reuse that can be applied to identify the best management strategies to reduce the environmental impact of product disposal and to increase recovery of reusable products. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consumer preferences for reduced packaging under economic instruments and recycling policy.

PubMed

Yamaguchi, Keiko; Takeuchi, Kenji

2016-02-01

This study was conducted using a web-based survey and bidding game in contingent valuation method to evaluate consumer preferences for packaging with less material. Results revealed that people who live in a municipality implementing unit-based pricing of waste have a higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a product. Economic instruments can affect the purchase of products with reduced packaging because a higher disposal cost increases the attractiveness of source reduction. However, unit-based pricing combined with plastic separation for recycling reduces WTP. This result suggests that recycling policy weakens the effect of economic instruments on source reduction of waste. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Generation, characterization and reuse of solid wastes from a biodiesel production plant.

PubMed

Oliveira, Fernando Jorge Santos; Santana, Daniele Dos Santos; Costa, Simone Soraya Brito; Oliveira, Lenise Diniz; Liduino, Vitor Silva; Servulo, Eliana Flávia Camporese

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to identify and characterize industrial solid wastes generated by a biodiesel production plant in Brazil, as well as to present strategies for the management of these materials. This plant produces every year around 100,000tons of biodiesel from vegetable oils and animal fats. The methodology of the study included technical visits, interviews with the operational and environmental management staff as well as analysis of documents, reports and computerized data systems. An approach to reduce the generation of hazardous waste was investigated. It was take into account the amount of raw material that was processed, reduction of landfill disposal, and the maximization of the their recycling and reuse. The study also identified the sources of waste generation and accordingly prepared an evaluation matrix to determine the types of waste with the higher potential for minimization. The most important residue of the process was the filter material impregnated with oil and biodiesel, requiring, therefore, measures for its minimization. The use of these residues in the production of ceramic artefacts (light bricks) was considered to be very promising, since no significant effect on the physico-chemical and mechanical properties of the artefacts produced was observed. Phytotoxicity test using seeds of Lactuva sativa (lettuce), Brassica juncea (mustard), Abelmoschus esculentus (okra), Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (daisy), Dendranthema grandiflorum (chrysanthemum) and Allium porrum (leek) were carried out. The results clearly show incorporation of the waste material into bricks did not influence relative germination and relative root elongation in comparison to control tests. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Waste Away--Information and Activities for Investigating Trash Problems and Solutions for Upper Elementary and Junior High School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vermont Inst. of Natural Science, Woodstock.

The solid waste problem is so pervasive that it can no longer be ignored. The purpose of this set of materials is to encourage a lifestyle that includes the use of the three R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It was designed to educate upper elementary and junior high school students who may educate their classmates, families, and community about the…

Biodegradable and compostable alternatives to conventional plastics.

PubMed

Song, J H; Murphy, R J; Narayan, R; Davies, G B H

2009-07-27

Packaging waste forms a significant part of municipal solid waste and has caused increasing environmental concerns, resulting in a strengthening of various regulations aimed at reducing the amounts generated. Among other materials, a wide range of oil-based polymers is currently used in packaging applications. These are virtually all non-biodegradable, and some are difficult to recycle or reuse due to being complex composites having varying levels of contamination. Recently, significant progress has been made in the development of biodegradable plastics, largely from renewable natural resources, to produce biodegradable materials with similar functionality to that of oil-based polymers. The expansion in these bio-based materials has several potential benefits for greenhouse gas balances and other environmental impacts over whole life cycles and in the use of renewable, rather than finite resources. It is intended that use of biodegradable materials will contribute to sustainability and reduction in the environmental impact associated with disposal of oil-based polymers. The diversity of biodegradable materials and their varying properties makes it difficult to make simple, generic assessments such as biodegradable products are all 'good' or petrochemical-based products are all 'bad'. This paper discusses the potential impacts of biodegradable packaging materials and their waste management, particularly via composting. It presents the key issues that inform judgements of the benefits these materials have in relation to conventional, petrochemical-based counterparts. Specific examples are given from new research on biodegradability in simulated 'home' composting systems. It is the view of the authors that biodegradable packaging materials are most suitable for single-use disposable applications where the post-consumer waste can be locally composted.

Multi-step process for concentrating magnetic particles in waste sludges

DOEpatents

Watson, John L.

1990-01-01

This invention involves a multi-step, multi-force process for dewatering sludges which have high concentrations of magnetic particles, such as waste sludges generated during steelmaking. This series of processing steps involves (1) mixing a chemical flocculating agent with the sludge; (2) allowing the particles to aggregate under non-turbulent conditions; (3) subjecting the mixture to a magnetic field which will pull the magnetic aggregates in a selected direction, causing them to form a compacted sludge; (4) preferably, decanting the clarified liquid from the compacted sludge; and (5) using filtration to convert the compacted sludge into a cake having a very high solids content. Steps 2 and 3 should be performed simultaneously. This reduces the treatment time and increases the extent of flocculation and the effectiveness of the process. As partially formed aggregates with active flocculating groups are pulled through the mixture by the magnetic field, they will contact other particles and form larger aggregates. This process can increase the solids concentration of steelmaking sludges in an efficient and economic manner, thereby accomplishing either of two goals: (a) it can convert hazardous wastes into economic resources for recycling as furnace feed material, or (b) it can dramatically reduce the volume of waste material which must be disposed.

Multi-step process for concentrating magnetic particles in waste sludges

DOEpatents

Watson, J.L.

1990-07-10

This invention involves a multi-step, multi-force process for dewatering sludges which have high concentrations of magnetic particles, such as waste sludges generated during steelmaking. This series of processing steps involves (1) mixing a chemical flocculating agent with the sludge; (2) allowing the particles to aggregate under non-turbulent conditions; (3) subjecting the mixture to a magnetic field which will pull the magnetic aggregates in a selected direction, causing them to form a compacted sludge; (4) preferably, decanting the clarified liquid from the compacted sludge; and (5) using filtration to convert the compacted sludge into a cake having a very high solids content. Steps 2 and 3 should be performed simultaneously. This reduces the treatment time and increases the extent of flocculation and the effectiveness of the process. As partially formed aggregates with active flocculating groups are pulled through the mixture by the magnetic field, they will contact other particles and form larger aggregates. This process can increase the solids concentration of steelmaking sludges in an efficient and economic manner, thereby accomplishing either of two goals: (a) it can convert hazardous wastes into economic resources for recycling as furnace feed material, or (b) it can dramatically reduce the volume of waste material which must be disposed. 7 figs.

Recycled tetrahedron-like CuCl from waste Cu scraps for lithium ion battery anode.

PubMed

Hou, Hongying; Yao, Yuan; Liu, Song; Duan, Jixiang; Liao, Qishu; Yu, Chengyi; Li, Dongdong; Dai, Zhipeng

2017-07-01

The wide applications of metal Cu inevitably resulted in a large quantity of waste Cu materials. In order to recover the useful Cu under the mild conditions and reduce the environmental emission, waste Cu scraps were recycled in the form of CuCl powders with high economic value added (EVA) via the facile hydrothermal route. The recycled CuCl powders were characterized in terms of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results suggested that the recycled CuCl powders consisted of many regular tetrahedron-like micro-particles. Furthermore, in order to reduce the cost of lithium ion battery (LIB) anode and build the connection of waste Cu scraps and LIB, the recycled CuCl powders were evaluated as the anode active material of LIB. As expected, the reversible discharge capacity was about 171.8mAh/g at 2.0C even after 50 cycles, implying the satisfactory cycle stability. Clearly, the satisfactory results may open a new avenue to develop the circular economy and the sustainable energy industry, which would be very important in terms of both the resource recovery and the environmental protection. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effect of unground oil palm ash as mixing ingredient towards properties of concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulaiman, M. A.; Muthusamy, K.; Mat Aris, S.; Rasid, M. H. Mohd; Paramasivam, R.; Othman, R.

2018-04-01

Malaysia being one of the world largest palm oil producers generates palm oil fuel ash (POFA), a by-product in increasing quantity. This material which usually disposed as solid waste causes pollution to the environment. Success in converting this waste material into benefitting product would reduce amount of waste disposed and contributes towards cleaner environment. This research explores the potential of unground oil palm ash being used as partial sand replacement in normal concrete production. Experimental work has been conducted to determine the workability, compressive strength and flexural strength of concrete when unground oil palm ash is added as partial sand replacement. A total of five mixes containing various percentage of oil palm ash, which are 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% have been prepared. All specimens were water cured until the testing date. The slump test, compressive strength test and flexural strength test was conducted. The findings show that mix produced using 10% of palm oil fuel ash exhibit higher compressive strength and flexural strength as compared to control specimen. Utilization of unground oil palm ash as partial sand replacement would be able to reduce dependency of construction industry on natural sand supply and also as one of the solution to reuse palm oil industry waste.

Waste Material Based "Terrazzo" Tiles: The Effect Of Curing Time And Extreme Environmental Conditions Over Glass Aggregate/Cement Matrix Boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paris, E.; Radica, F.; Stabile, P.; Ansaloni, F.; Giuli, G.; Carroll, M. R.

2017-12-01

Currently, more than half of all materials extracted globally (over three billion tonnes/year in the EU only) are transformed for use in construction. Before year 2020, the EU aims to reduce the environmental impact of the construction sector by recycling or re-using large amounts of these materials, thus reducing the consumption of raw materials and helping promote the sector's economic stability. With this challenge in mind an aesthetically pleasant and fully recycled (up to 78%) pre-cast cement based tile (Terrazzo tiles) was designed by replacing raw materials with Glass Waste (GW) and Construction/Demolition Waste (CDW). Several recent studies explored the effect of the addition of GW in the manufacture of urban pavements, concluding that the use of GW can improve various phases of pavement life and structure by enhancing the structural performance, durability, environmental friendliness, and aesthetic features. In this study we extend this knowledge also to interior cement-based tiles by evaluating the technical performances of this this novel designed tile, in particular by focusing on the interface between the GW aggregates and different Portland cement based matrix at extreme environmental conditions. For this work three representative waste material based "terrazzo" tiles were selected and characterized by means of XRD and SEM imaging in order to study the boundary effect between GW aggregate and different binding materials: limestone powder, quartz powder and fine ground WG powder. A fourth additional mixture of Portland cement and CDW material was characterized. Fragments of a Limestone matrix tile were also thermally threated at -18°C and at 60°C for one week to witness the possible formation of new harmful phases at the grain-matrix boundary. Preliminary results on X-ray diffraction patterns show that 1 year after manufacture and/or thermal treatment there is no new formation of harmful phases other than the starting ones. High magnification SEM imaging further confirmed this observation also highlighting the good binding performances of a mixture composed by the 78% of recycled WG.

Computational modelling of a thermoforming process for thermoplastic starch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szegda, D.; Song, J.; Warby, M. K.; Whiteman, J. R.

2007-05-01

Plastic packaging waste currently forms a significant part of municipal solid waste and as such is causing increasing environmental concerns. Such packaging is largely non-biodegradable and is particularly difficult to recycle or to reuse due to its complex composition. Apart from limited recycling of some easily identifiable packaging wastes, such as bottles, most packaging waste ends up in landfill sites. In recent years, in an attempt to address this problem in the case of plastic packaging, the development of packaging materials from renewable plant resources has received increasing attention and a wide range of bioplastic materials based on starch are now available. Environmentally these bioplastic materials also reduce reliance on oil resources and have the advantage that they are biodegradable and can be composted upon disposal to reduce the environmental impact. Many food packaging containers are produced by thermoforming processes in which thin sheets are inflated under pressure into moulds to produce the required thin wall structures. Hitherto these thin sheets have almost exclusively been made of oil-based polymers and it is for these that computational models of thermoforming processes have been developed. Recently, in the context of bioplastics, commercial thermoplastic starch sheet materials have been developed. The behaviour of such materials is influenced both by temperature and, because of the inherent hydrophilic characteristics of the materials, by moisture content. Both of these aspects affect the behaviour of bioplastic sheets during the thermoforming process. This paper describes experimental work and work on the computational modelling of thermoforming processes for thermoplastic starch sheets in an attempt to address the combined effects of temperature and moisture content. After a discussion of the background of packaging and biomaterials, a mathematical model for the deformation of a membrane into a mould is presented, together with its finite element discretisation. This model depends on material parameters of the thermoplastic and details of tests undertaken to determine these and the results produced are given. Finally the computational model is applied for a thin sheet of commercially available thermoplastic starch material which is thermoformed into a specific mould. Numerical results of thickness and shape for this problem are given.

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.

Clinical solid waste management practices and its impact on human health and environment - A review

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

Hossain, Md. Sohrab; Santhanam, Amutha; Nik Norulaini, N.A.

2011-04-15

Research highlights: > Appropriate waste management technology for safe handling and disposal of clinical solid waste. > Infectious risk assessment on unsafe handling of clinical solid waste. > Recycling-reuse program of clinical solid waste materials. > Effective sterilization technology to reduce exposure of infectious risk. - Abstract: The management of clinical solid waste (CSW) continues to be a major challenge, particularly, in most healthcare facilities of the developing world. Poor conduct and inappropriate disposal methods exercised during handling and disposal of CSW is increasing significant health hazards and environmental pollution due to the infectious nature of the waste. This articlemore » summarises a literature review into existing CSW management practices in the healthcare centers. The information gathered in this paper has been derived from the desk study of open literature survey. Numerous researches have been conducted on the management of CSW. Although, significant steps have been taken on matters related to safe handling and disposal of the clinical waste, but improper management practice is evident from the point of initial collection to the final disposal. In most cases, the main reasons of the mismanagement of CSW are the lack of appropriate legislation, lack of specialized clinical staffs, lack of awareness and effective control. Furthermore, most of the healthcare centers of the developing world have faced financial difficulties and therefore looking for cost effective disposal methods of clinical waste. This paper emphasizes to continue the recycle-reuse program of CSW materials after sterilization by using supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SF-CO2) sterilization technology at the point of initial collection. Emphasis is on the priority to inactivate the infectious micro-organisms in CSW. In that case, waste would not pose any threat to healthcare workers. The recycling-reuse program would be carried out successfully with the non-specialized clinical staffs. Therefore, the adoption of SF-CO2 sterilization technology in management of clinical solid waste can reduce exposure to infectious waste, decrease labor, lower costs, and yield better compliance with regulatory. Thus healthcare facilities can both save money and provide a safe environment for patients, healthcare staffs and clinical staffs.« less

Possible global environmental impacts of solid waste practices

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

Davis, M.M.; Holter, G.M.; DeForest, T.J.

1994-09-01

Pollutants resulting from the management of solid waste have been shown to affect the air, land, oceans, and waterways. In addition, solid wastes have other, more indirect impacts such as reduction in feedstocks of natural resources, because useful materials are disposed of rather than recycled. The objective of this study is to evaluate solid waste management practices that have negative implications on the global environment and develop recommendations for reducing such impacts. Recommendations identifying needed changes are identified that will reduce global impacts of solid waste practices in the future. The scope of this study includes the range of non-hazardousmore » solid wastes produced within our society, including municipal solid waste (MSW) and industrial solid waste (ISW), as well as industry-specific wastes from activities such as construction, demolition, and landclearing. Most solid waste management decisions continue to be made and implemented at very local levels, predominantly with a short-term focus to respond to relatively immediate pressures of landfill shortages, funding problems, political considerations, and the like. In this rush to address immediate local problems, little consideration is being given to potential impacts, either short- or long-term, at the national or global level resulting from solid waste management practices. More and more, the cumulative impacts from local decisions concerning solid waste management are beginning to manifest themselves in broader, longer-term impacts than are being addressed by the decision-makers or, at the very least, are presenting a greater and greater potential for such impacts.« less

Optimization of the Electrochemical Extraction and Recovery of Metals from Electronic Waste Using Response Surface Methodology

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

Diaz, Luis A.; Clark, Gemma G.; Lister, Tedd E.

The rapid growth of the electronic waste can be viewed both as an environmental threat and as an attractive source of minerals that can reduce the mining of natural resources, and stabilize the market of critical materials, such as rare earths. Here in this article surface response methodology was used to optimize a previously developed electrochemical recovery process for base metals from electronic waste using a mild oxidant (Fe 3+). Through this process an effective extraction of base metals can be achieved enriching the concentration of precious metals and significantly reducing environmental impacts and operational costs associated with the wastemore » generation and chemical consumption. The optimization was performed using a bench-scale system specifically designed for this process. Operational parameters such as flow rate, applied current density and iron concentration were optimized to reduce the specific energy consumption of the electrochemical recovery process to 1.94 kWh per kg of metal recovered at a processing rate of 3.3 g of electronic waste per hour.« less

Optimization of the Electrochemical Extraction and Recovery of Metals from Electronic Waste Using Response Surface Methodology

DOE PAGES

Diaz, Luis A.; Clark, Gemma G.; Lister, Tedd E.

2017-06-08

The rapid growth of the electronic waste can be viewed both as an environmental threat and as an attractive source of minerals that can reduce the mining of natural resources, and stabilize the market of critical materials, such as rare earths. Here in this article surface response methodology was used to optimize a previously developed electrochemical recovery process for base metals from electronic waste using a mild oxidant (Fe 3+). Through this process an effective extraction of base metals can be achieved enriching the concentration of precious metals and significantly reducing environmental impacts and operational costs associated with the wastemore » generation and chemical consumption. The optimization was performed using a bench-scale system specifically designed for this process. Operational parameters such as flow rate, applied current density and iron concentration were optimized to reduce the specific energy consumption of the electrochemical recovery process to 1.94 kWh per kg of metal recovered at a processing rate of 3.3 g of electronic waste per hour.« less

Microbial keratinases: industrial enzymes with waste management potential.

PubMed

Verma, Amit; Singh, Hukum; Anwar, Shahbaz; Chattopadhyay, Anirudha; Tiwari, Kapil K; Kaur, Surinder; Dhilon, Gurpreet Singh

2017-06-01

Proteases are ubiquitous enzymes that occur in various biological systems ranging from microorganisms to higher organisms. Microbial proteases are largely utilized in various established industrial processes. Despite their numerous industrial applications, they are not efficient in hydrolysis of recalcitrant, protein-rich keratinous wastes which result in environmental pollution and health hazards. This paved the way for the search of keratinolytic microorganisms having the ability to hydrolyze "hard to degrade" keratinous wastes. This new class of proteases is known as "keratinases". Due to their specificity, keratinases have an advantage over normal proteases and have replaced them in many industrial applications, such as nematicidal agents, nitrogenous fertilizer production from keratinous waste, animal feed and biofuel production. Keratinases have also replaced the normal proteases in the leather industry and detergent additive application due to their better performance. They have also been proved efficient in prion protein degradation. Above all, one of the major hurdles of enzyme industrial applications (cost effective production) can be achieved by using keratinous waste biomass, such as chicken feathers and hairs as fermentation substrate. Use of these low cost waste materials serves dual purposes: to reduce the fermentation cost for enzyme production as well as reducing the environmental waste load. The advent of keratinases has given new direction for waste management with industrial applications giving rise to green technology for sustainable development.

Potential of utilizing asphalt dust waste as filler material in the production of sustainable self compacting concrete (SCC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Isham; Shahidan, Shahiron; Bahari, Nur Amira Afiza Saiful

2017-12-01

Waste materials from many industries are widely used in the production of sustainable green concrete. Utilizing asphalt dust waste (ADW) as a filler material in the development of self-compacting concrete (SCC) is one of the alternative solutions for reducing environmental waste. SCC is an innovative concrete that does not require vibration for placing and compaction. However, there is limited information on the effects of utilizing ADW in the development of SCC. Therefore, this research study examines the effects of various w/b ratios (0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) and differing amounts of ADW (0% to 50%) on the rheological properties of fresh state concrete. The compressive strength of the SCC was tested only for 7 and 28 days as preliminary studies. The results revealed that mixtures MD730, MD740 and MD750 showed satisfactory results for the slump flow, J-Ring, L-Box and V-Funnel test during the fresh state. The compressive strength values obtained after 28 days for MD730, MD740 and MD750 were 35.1 MPa, 36.8 MPa and 29.4 MPa respectively. In conclusion, the distribution of materials in mixtures has significant effect in achieving rheological properties and compressive strength of SCC.

Utilization of household food waste for the production of ethanol at high dry material content.

PubMed

Matsakas, Leonidas; Kekos, Dimitris; Loizidou, Maria; Christakopoulos, Paul

2014-01-08

Environmental issues and shortage of fossil fuels have turned the public interest to the utilization of renewable, environmentally friendly fuels, such as ethanol. In order to minimize the competition between fuels and food production, researchers are focusing their efforts to the utilization of wastes and by-products as raw materials for the production of ethanol. household food wastes are being produced in great quantities in European Union and their handling can be a challenge. Moreover, their disposal can cause severe environmental issues (for example emission of greenhouse gasses). On the other hand, they contain significant amounts of sugars (both soluble and insoluble) and they can be used as raw material for the production of ethanol. Household food wastes were utilized as raw material for the production of ethanol at high dry material consistencies. A distinct liquefaction/saccharification step has been included to the process, which rapidly reduced the viscosity of the high solid content substrate, resulting in better mixing of the fermenting microorganism. This step had a positive effect in both ethanol production and productivity, leading to a significant increase in both values, which was up to 40.81% and 4.46 fold, respectively. Remaining solids (residue) after fermentation at 45% w/v dry material (which contained also the unhydrolyzed fraction of cellulose), were subjected to a hydrothermal pretreatment in order to be utilized as raw material for a subsequent ethanol fermentation. This led to an increase of 13.16% in the ethanol production levels achieving a final ethanol yield of 107.58 g/kg dry material. In conclusion, the ability of utilizing household food waste for the production of ethanol at elevated dry material content has been demonstrated. A separate liquefaction/saccharification process can increase both ethanol production and productivity. Finally, subsequent fermentation of the remaining solids could lead to an increase of the overall ethanol production yield.

Utilization of household food waste for the production of ethanol at high dry material content

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Environmental issues and shortage of fossil fuels have turned the public interest to the utilization of renewable, environmentally friendly fuels, such as ethanol. In order to minimize the competition between fuels and food production, researchers are focusing their efforts to the utilization of wastes and by-products as raw materials for the production of ethanol. household food wastes are being produced in great quantities in European Union and their handling can be a challenge. Moreover, their disposal can cause severe environmental issues (for example emission of greenhouse gasses). On the other hand, they contain significant amounts of sugars (both soluble and insoluble) and they can be used as raw material for the production of ethanol. Results Household food wastes were utilized as raw material for the production of ethanol at high dry material consistencies. A distinct liquefaction/saccharification step has been included to the process, which rapidly reduced the viscosity of the high solid content substrate, resulting in better mixing of the fermenting microorganism. This step had a positive effect in both ethanol production and productivity, leading to a significant increase in both values, which was up to 40.81% and 4.46 fold, respectively. Remaining solids (residue) after fermentation at 45% w/v dry material (which contained also the unhydrolyzed fraction of cellulose), were subjected to a hydrothermal pretreatment in order to be utilized as raw material for a subsequent ethanol fermentation. This led to an increase of 13.16% in the ethanol production levels achieving a final ethanol yield of 107.58 g/kg dry material. Conclusions In conclusion, the ability of utilizing household food waste for the production of ethanol at elevated dry material content has been demonstrated. A separate liquefaction/saccharification process can increase both ethanol production and productivity. Finally, subsequent fermentation of the remaining solids could lead to an increase of the overall ethanol production yield. PMID:24401142

Literature review: Assessment of DWPF melter and melter off-gas system lifetime

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

Reigel, M. M.

2015-07-30

A glass melter for use in processing radioactive waste is a challenging environment for the materials of construction (MOC) resulting from a combination of high temperatures, chemical attack, and erosion/corrosion; therefore, highly engineered materials must be selected for this application. The focus of this report is to review the testing and evaluations used in the selection of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), glass contact MOC specifically the Monofrax ® K-3 refractory and Inconel ® 690 alloy. The degradation or corrosion mechanisms of these materials during pilot scale testing and in-service operation were analyzed over a range of oxidizing andmore » reducing flowsheets; however, DWPF has primarily processed a reducing flowsheet (i.e., Fe 2+/ΣFe of 0.09 to 0.33) since the start of radioactive operations. This report also discusses the materials selection for the DWPF off-gas system and the corrosion evaluation of these materials during pilot scale testing and non-radioactive operations of DWPF Melter #1. Inspection of the off-gas components has not been performed during radioactive operations with the exception of maintenance because of plugging.« less

Literature review: Assessment of DWPF melter and melter off-gas system lifetime

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

Reigel, M.

2015-07-30

A glass melter for use in processing radioactive waste is a challenging environment for the materials of construction (MOC) resulting from a combination of high temperatures, chemical attack, and erosion/corrosion; therefore, highly engineered materials must be selected for this application. The focus of this report is to review the testing and evaluations used in the selection of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), glass contact MOC specifically the Monofrax® K-3 refractory and Inconel® 690 alloy. The degradation or corrosion mechanisms of these materials during pilot scale testing and in-service operation were analyzed over a range of oxidizing and reducing flowsheets;more » however, DWPF has primarily processed a reducing flowsheet (i.e., Fe 2+/ΣFe of 0.09 to 0.33) since the start of radioactive operations. This report also discusses the materials selection for the DWPF off-gas system and the corrosion evaluation of these materials during pilot scale testing and non-radioactive operations of DWPF Melter #1. Inspection of the off-gas components has not been performed during radioactive operations with the exception of maintenance because of plugging.« less

Electrochemical incineration of wastes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhardwaj, R. C.; Sharma, D. K.; Bockris, J. OM.

1990-01-01

The novel technology of waste removal in space vehicles by electrochemical methods is presented to convert wastes into chemicals that can be eventually recycled. The important consideration for waste oxidation is to select a right kind of electrode (anode) material that should be stable under anodic conditions and also a poor electrocatalyst for oxygen and chlorine evolution. On the basis of long term electrolysis experiments on seven different electrodes and on the basis of total organic carbon reduced, two best electrodes were identified. The effect of redox ions on the electrolyte was studied. Though most of the experiments were done in mixtures of urine and waste, the experiments with redox couples involved 2.5 M sulfuric acid in order to avoid the precipitation of redox ions by urea. Two methods for long term electrolysis of waste were investigated: (1) the oxidation on Pt and lead dioxide electrodes using the galvanostatic methods; and (2) potentiostatic method on other electrodes. The advantage of the first method is the faster rate of oxidation. The chlorine evolution in the second method is ten times less then in the first. The accomplished research has shown that urine/feces mixtures can be oxidized to carbon dioxide and water, but current densities are low and must be improved. The perovskite and Ti4O7 coated with RuO2 are the best electrode materials found. Recent experiment with the redox agent improves the current density, however, sulphuric acid is required to keep the redox agent in solution to enhance oxidation effectively. It is desirable to reduce the use of acid and/or find substitutes.

The influence of temperature on the formation of liquid fuel from Polypropylene plastic wastes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martynis, M.; Mulyazmi; Praputri, E.; Witri, R.; Putri, N.

2018-03-01

The current trend of municipal waste management in urban areas is caused by rapid changes in social, economic, political and cultural life. As a non-biodegradable polymers that have become essential materials, plastic wastes have created a very serious environmental challenge because of the huge quantities and their disposal problems. Recycling of plastics is seen as one method for reducing environmental and resource depletion. The most attractive technique of plastics recycling is pyrolysis involving the degradation of the polymeric materials by heating in the absence of oxygen. This study investigated the characteristics of pyrolysis liquid fuel (PLF) produced from polypropylene plastic wastes with temperature variations. Pyrolisis was carried out on 200 grams of polypropylene waste plastics at the operating temperature of 200°C, 250°C, 300 °C and 350 °C for 45 minutes. The liquid products were found to have carbon chain length in the range of C8-C9, similar with gasoline. The maximum density, volume and calorific value of the oil obtained were 0.8 g/cm3, 61 ml and 1307 cal/gr, respectively.

Effect of storage conditions on the calorific value of municipal solid waste.

PubMed

Nzioka, Antony Mutua; Hwang, Hyeon-Uk; Kim, Myung-Gyun; Yan, Cao Zheng; Lee, Chang-Soo; Kim, Young-Ju

2017-08-01

Storage conditions are considered to be an important factor as far as waste material characteristics are concerned. This experimental investigation was conducted using municipal solid waste (MSW) with a high moisture content and varying composition of organic waste. The objective of this study was to understand the effect of storage conditions and temperature on the moisture content and calorific value of the waste. Samples were subjected to two different storage conditions and investigated at specified temperatures. The composition of sample materials investigated was varied for each storage condition and temperature respectively. Gross calorific value was determined experimentally while net calorific value was calculated using empirical formulas proposed by other researchers. Results showed minimal changes in moisture content as well as in gross and net calorific values when the samples were subjected to sealed storage conditions. Moisture content reduced due to the ventilation process and the rate of moisture removal increased with a rise in storage temperature. As expected, rate of moisture removal had a positive effect on gross and net calorific values. Net calorific values also increased at varying rates with a simultaneous decrease in moisture content. Experimental investigation showed the effectiveness of ventilation in improving the combustion characteristics of the waste.

Food waste conversion options in Singapore: environmental impacts based on an LCA perspective.

PubMed

Khoo, Hsien H; Lim, Teik Z; Tan, Reginald B H

2010-02-15

Proper management and recycling of huge volumes of food waste is one of the challenges faced by Singapore. Semakau island - the only offshore landfill of the nation - only accepts inert, inorganic solid waste and therefore a large bulk of food waste is directed to incinerators. A remaining small percent is sent for recycling via anaerobic digestion (AD), followed by composting of the digestate material. This article investigates the environmental performance of four food waste conversion scenarios - based on a life cycle assessment perspective - taking into account air emissions, useful energy from the incinerators and AD process, as well as carbon dioxide mitigation from the compost products derived from the digestate material and a proposed aerobic composting system. The life cycle impact results were generated for global warming, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidation and energy use. The total normalized results showed that a small-scale proposed aerobic composting system is more environmentally favorable than incinerators, but less ideal compared to the AD process. By making full use of the AD's Recycling Phase II process alone, the Singapore Green Plan's 2012 aim to increase the recycling of food waste to 30% can easily be achieved, along with reduced global warming impacts.

Contribution of plastic waste recovery to greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in Spain.

PubMed

Sevigné-Itoiz, Eva; Gasol, Carles M; Rieradevall, Joan; Gabarrell, Xavier

2015-12-01

This paper concentrates on the quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of post-consumer plastic waste recovery (material or energy) by considering the influence of the plastic waste quality (high or low), the recycled plastic applications (virgin plastic substitution or non-plastic substitution) and the markets of recovered plastic (regional or global). The aim is to quantify the environmental consequences of different alternatives in order to evaluate opportunities and limitations to select the best and most feasible plastic waste recovery option to decrease the GHG emissions. The methodologies of material flow analysis (MFA) for a time period of thirteen years and consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) have been integrated. The study focuses on Spain as a representative country for Europe. The results show that to improve resource efficiency and avoid more GHG emissions, the options for plastic waste management are dependent on the quality of the recovered plastic. The results also show that there is an increasing trend of exporting plastic waste for recycling, mainly to China, that reduces the GHG benefits from recycling, suggesting that a new focus should be introduced to take into account the split between local recycling and exporting. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nutrient recycling of lipid-extracted waste in the production of an oleaginous thraustochytrid.

PubMed

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

2016-05-01

Improving the economics of microalgae production for the recovery of microbial oil requires a comprehensive exploration of the measures needed to improve productivity as well as to reduce the overall processing costs. One avenue for cost reduction involves recycling the effluent waste water remaining after lipid extraction. This study investigates the feasibility of recycling those wastes for growing thraustochytrid biomass, a heterotrophic microalgae, where wastes were generated from the enzymatic extraction of the lipids from the cell biomass. It was demonstrated that secondary cultures of the tested thraustochytrid grown in the recycled wastes performed favorably in terms of cell and oil production (20.48 g cells L(-1) and 40.9 % (w/w) lipid) compared to the control (13.63 g cells L(-1) and 56.8 % (w/w) lipid). Further, the significant uptake of solubilized cell material (in the form of amino acids) demonstrated that the recycled waste has the potential for offsetting the need for fresh medium components. These results indicate that the implementation of a nutrient recycling strategy for industrial microalgae production could be possible, with significant added benefits such as conserving water resources, improving production efficiency, and decreasing material inputs.

Production of L- and D-lactic acid from waste Curcuma longa biomass through simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation.

PubMed

Nguyen, Cuong Mai; Kim, Jin-Seog; Nguyen, Thanh Ngoc; Kim, Seul Ki; Choi, Gyung Ja; Choi, Yong Ho; Jang, Kyoung Soo; Kim, Jin-Cheol

2013-10-01

Simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation (SSCF) of Curcuma longa waste biomass obtained after turmeric extraction to L- and D-lactic acid by Lactobacillus coryniformis and Lactobacillus paracasei, respectively, was investigated. This is a rich, starchy, agro-industrial waste with potential for use in industrial applications. After optimizing the fermentation of the biomass by adjusting nitrogen sources, enzyme compositions, nitrogen concentrations, and raw material concentrations, the SSCF process was conducted in a 7-l jar fermentor at 140 g dried material/L. The maximum lactic acid concentration, average productivity, reducing sugar conversion and lactic acid yield were 97.13 g/L, 2.7 g/L/h, 95.99% and 69.38 g/100 g dried material for L-lactic acid production, respectively and 91.61 g/L, 2.08 g/L/h, 90.53% and 65.43 g/100 g dried material for D-lactic acid production, respectively. The simple and efficient process described in this study could be utilized by C. longa residue-based lactic acid industries without requiring the alteration of plant equipment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computer simulation of the pneumatic separator in the pneumatic-electrostatic separation system for recycling waste printed circuit boards with electronic components.

PubMed

Xue, Mianqiang; Xu, Zhenming

2013-05-07

Technologies could be integrated in different ways into automatic recycling lines for a certain kind of electronic waste according to practical requirements. In this study, a new kind of pneumatic separator with openings at the dust hooper was applied combing with electrostatic separation for recycling waste printed circuit boards. However, the flow pattern and the particles' movement behavior could not be obtained by experimental methods. To better control the separation quantity and the material size distribution, computational fluid dynamics was used to model the new pneumatic separator giving a detailed understanding of the mechanisms. Simulated results showed that the tangential velocity direction reversed with a relatively small value. Axial velocity exhibited two sharp decreases at the x axis. It is indicated that the bottom openings at the dust hopper resulted in an enormous change in the velocity profile. A new phenomenon that was named dusting was observed, which would mitigate the effect of particles with small diameter on the following electrostatic separation and avoid materials plugging caused by the waste printed circuit boards special properties effectively. The trapped materials were divided into seven grades. Experimental results showed that the mass fraction of grade 5, grade 6, and grade 7 materials were 27.54%, 15.23%, and 17.38%, respectively. Grade 1 particles' mass fraction was reduced by 80.30% compared with a traditional separator. Furthermore, the monocrystalline silicon content in silicon element in particles with a diameter of -0.091 mm was 18.9%, higher than that in the mixed materials. This study could serve as guidance for the future material flow control, automation control, waste recycling, and semiconductor storage medium destruction.

Compacting biomass waste materials for use as fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ou

Every year, biomass waste materials are produced in large quantity. The combustibles in biomass waste materials make up over 70% of the total waste. How to utilize these waste materials is important to the nation and the world. The purpose of this study is to test optimum processes and conditions of compacting a number of biomass waste materials to form a densified solid fuel for use at coal-fired power plants or ordinary commercial furnaces. Successful use of such fuel as a substitute for or in cofiring with coal not only solves a solid waste disposal problem but also reduces the release of some gases from burning coal which cause health problem, acid rain and global warming. The unique punch-and-die process developed at the Capsule Pipeline Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia was used for compacting the solid wastes, including waste paper, plastics (both film and hard products), textiles, leaves, and wood. The compaction was performed to produce strong compacts (biomass logs) under room temperature without binder and without preheating. The compaction conditions important to the commercial production of densified biomass fuel logs, including compaction pressure, pressure holding time, back pressure, moisture content, particle size, binder effects, and mold conditions were studied and optimized. The properties of the biomass logs were evaluated in terms of physical, mechanical, and combustion characteristics. It was found that the compaction pressure and the initial moisture content of the biomass material play critical roles in producing high-quality biomass logs. Under optimized compaction conditions, biomass waste materials can be compacted into high-quality logs with a density of 0.8 to 1.2 g/cm3. The logs made from the combustible wastes have a heating value in the range 6,000 to 8,000 Btu/lb which is only slightly (10 to 30%) less than that of subbituminous coal. To evaluate the feasibility of cofiring biomass logs with coal, burn tests were conducted in a stoke boiler. A separate burning test was also carried out by burning biomass logs alone in an outdoor hot-water furnace for heating a building. Based on a previous coal compaction study, the process of biomass compaction was studied numerically by use of a non-linear finite element code. A constitutive model with sufficient generality was adapted for biomass material to deal with pore contraction during compaction. A contact node algorithm was applied to implement the effect of mold wall friction into the finite element program. Numerical analyses were made to investigate the pressure distribution in a die normal to the axis of compaction, and to investigate the density distribution in a biomass log after compaction. The results of the analyses gave generally good agreement with theoretical analysis of coal log compaction, although assumptions had to be made about the variation in the elastic modulus of the material and the Poisson's ratio during the compaction cycle.

Areas on which to focus when seeking to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of commercial waste management. A case study of a hypermarket, Finland.

PubMed

Hupponen, M; Grönman, K; Horttanainen, M

2018-03-22

This study focuses on commercial waste, which has received less attention than household waste in regards to greenhouse gas emission research. First, the global warming potential (GWP) of commercial waste management was calculated. Second, the impacts of different waste fractions and the processes of waste management were recognised. Third, the key areas on which to focus when aiming to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of commercial waste management were determined. This study was conducted on the waste generated by a real hypermarket in South-East Finland and included eight different waste fractions. The waste treatment plants were selected based on the actual situation. Three different scenarios were employed to evaluate the environmental impact of managing mixed waste: landfilling, combustion and more accurate source separation. The GaBi software and impact assessment methodology CML 2001 were used to perform a life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts associated with the waste management. The results indicated that the total GWP of commercial waste management could be reduced by 93% by directing the mixed waste to combustion instead of landfill. A further 5% GWP reduction could be achieved by more accurate source separation of the mixed waste. Utilisation of energy waste had the most significant influence (41-52%) on the total GWP (-880 to -860 kgCO 2 -eq./t), followed by landfilling of mixed waste (influence 15-23% on the total GWP, 430 kgCO 2 -eq./t), recycling polyethylene (PE) plastic (influence 18-21% on the total GWP, -1800 kgCO 2 -eq./t) and recycling cardboard (influence 11-13% on the total GWP, 51 kgCO 2 -eq./t). A key focus should be placed on treatment processes and substitutions, especially in terms of substitutions of energy waste and PE plastic. This study also clarified the importance of sorting PE plastic, even though the share of this waste fraction was not substantial. The results of this paper were compared to those of previous studies. The output of this analysis indicated that the total GWP can be significantly reduced by identifying an alternative recycling or incineration location for cardboard where it is used to substitute virgin material or replace fossil fuels respectively. In conclusion, it is essential to note that waste management companies have a notable influence on the emissions of commercial waste management because they choose the places at which the waste fractions are treated and utilised. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of medical waste management at a primary health-care center in Sao Paulo, Brazil

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

Moreira, A.M.M., E-mail: anamariainforme@hotmail.com; Guenther, W.M.R.

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Assessment of medical waste management at health-care center before/after intervention. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Qualitative and quantitative results of medical waste management plan are presented. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Adjustments to comply with regulation were adopted and reduction of waste was observed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The method applied could be useful for similar establishments. - Abstract: According to the Brazilian law, implementation of a Medical Waste Management Plan (MWMP) in health-care units is mandatory, but as far as we know evaluation of such implementation has not taken place yet. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the improvements deriving from the implementation of amore » MWMP in a Primary Health-care Center (PHC) located in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The method proposed for evaluation compares the first situation prevailing at this PHC with the situation 1 year after implementation of the MWMP, thus allowing verification of the evolution of the PHC performance. For prior and post-diagnosis, the method was based on: (1) application of a tool (check list) which considered all legal requirements in force; (2) quantification of solid waste subdivided into three categories: infectious waste and sharp devices, recyclable materials and non-recyclable waste; and (3) identification of non-conformity practices. Lack of knowledge on the pertinent legislation by health workers has contributed to non-conformity instances. The legal requirements in force in Brazil today gave origin to a tool (check list) which was utilized in the management of medical waste at the health-care unit studied. This tool resulted into an adequate and simple instrument, required a low investment, allowed collecting data to feed indicators and also conquered the participation of the unit whole staff. Several non-conformities identified in the first diagnosis could be corrected by the instrument utilized. Total waste generation increased 9.8%, but it was possible to reduce the volume of non-recyclable materials (11%) and increase the volume of recyclable materials (4%). It was also possible to segregate organic waste (7%), which was forwarded for production of compost. The rate of infectious waste generation in critical areas decreased from 0.021 to 0.018 kg/procedure. Many improvements have been observed, and now the PHC complies with most of legal requirements, offers periodic training and better biosafety conditions to workers, has reduced the volume of waste sent to sanitary landfills, and has introduced indicators for monitoring its own performance. This evaluation method might subsidize the creation and evaluation of medical waste management plans in similar heath institutions.« less

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.

Potential for energy recovery and greenhouse gas mitigation from municipal solid waste using a waste-to-material approach.

PubMed

Chen, Ying-Chu

2016-12-01

Energy recovery and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastes are getting noticed in recent years. This study evaluated the potential for energy recovery and GHG mitigation from municipal solid waste (MSW) with a waste-to-material (WTM) approach. Waste generated in Taiwan contains a large amount of paper, food waste, and plastics, which previously were mostly sent to waste-to-energy (WTE) plants for incineration. However, the mitigation of GHGs by the WTM approach has been especially successful in the recycling of metals (averaging 1.83×10 6 kgCO 2 -eq/year) and paper (averaging 7.38×10 5 kgCO 2 -eq/year). In addition, the recycling of paper (1.33×10 10 kWh) and plastics (1.26×10 10 kWh) has contributed greatly to energy saving. Both metal and glass are not suitable for incineration due to their low energy content. The volumes of paper and food waste contained in the MSW are positively related to the carbon concentration, which may contribute to increased GHGs during incineration. Therefore, the recycling of paper, metals, and food waste is beneficial for GHG mitigation. Measures to reduce GHGs were also suggested in this study. The development of the WTM approach may be helpful for the proper management of MSW with regards to GHG mitigation. The results of this study can be a successful example for other nations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microwave-assisted synthesis of organics and nanomaterials

EPA Science Inventory

Microwave-assisted chemistry techniques and greener reaction media are dramatically reducing chemical waste and reaction times in several organic transformations and material synthesis. This presentation summarizes author’s own experience in developing MW-assisted chemical proces...

The Acoustical Properties of the Polyurethane Concrete Made of Oyster Shell Waste Comparing Other Concretes as Architectural Design Components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setyowati, Erni; Hardiman, Gagoek; Purwanto

2018-02-01

This research aims to determine the acoustical properties of concrete material made of polyurethane and oyster shell waste as both fine aggregate and coarse aggregate comparing to other concrete mortar. Architecture needs aesthetics materials, so the innovation in architectural material should be driven through the efforts of research on materials for building designs. The DOE methods was used by mixing cement, oyster shell, sands, and polyurethane by composition of 160 ml:40 ml:100 ml: 120 ml respectively. Refer to the results of previous research, then cement consumption is reduced up to 20% to keep the concept of green material. This study compared three different compositions of mortars, namely portland cement concrete with gravel (PCG), polyurethane concrete of oyster shell (PCO) and concrete with plastics aggregate (PCP). The methods of acoustical tests were conducted refer to the ASTM E413-04 standard. The research results showed that polyurethane concrete with oyster shell waste aggregate has absorption coefficient 0.52 and STL 63 dB and has a more beautiful appearance when it was pressed into moulding. It can be concluded that polyurethane concrete with oyster shell aggregate (PCO) is well implemented in architectural acoustics-components.

Replacement of Fine Aggregate by using Recyclable Materials in Paving Blocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koganti, Shyam Prakash; Hemanthraja, Kommineni; Sajja, Satish

2017-08-01

Cement concrete paving blocks are precast hard products complete out of cement concrete. The product is made in various sizes and shapes like square, round and rectangular blocks of different dimensions with designs for interlocking of adjacent tiles blocks. Several Research Works have been carried out in the past to study the possibility of utilizing waste materials and industrial byproducts in the manufacturing of paver blocks. Various industrial waste materials like quarry dust, glass powder, ceramic dust and coal dust are used as partial replacement of fine aggregate and assessed the strength parameters and compared the profit percentages after replacement with waste materials. Quarry dust can be replaced by 20% and beyond that the difference in strength is not much higher but considering cost we can replace upto 40% so that we can get a profit of almost 10%. Similarly we can replace glass powder and ceramic dust by 20% only beyond that there is decrement in strength and even with 20% replacement we can get 1.34 % and 2.42% of profit. Coal dust is not suitable for alternative material as fine aggregate as it reduces the strength.

Study on the quality and stability of compost through a Demo Compost Plant.

PubMed

Hasan, K M M; Sarkar, G; Alamgir, M; Bari, Q H; Haedrich, G

2012-11-01

This study is concerned with the performance of a Demo Compost Plant for the development of acceptable composting technology in Bangladesh. The Demo Compost Plant was setup at the adjacent area of an existing compost plant located at Khulna city in Bangladesh. Four different composting technologies were considered, where Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) were used as a raw material for composting, collected from the adjacent areas of the plant. Initially the whole composting system was conducted through two experimental setups. In the 1st setup three different types of aerators (horizontal and vertical passively aerator and forced aerator) were selected. For a necessary observation four piles, using only MSW as the input materials in the first three compost pile, the fourth one was the existing Samadhan's compost pile. Based on the analysis of the experimental findings, the horizontal passively aerated composting technique is suitable for Bangladesh as it had better performance for reducing composting period than that of the others. It was being observed from the quality parameters of compost in the both 1st and 2nd setup that as the waste directly come from kitchen, degradation rate of waste shows a positive result for reducing this waste and there is no possibility of toxic contamination, when it would be used as a soil conditioner. Though there is no significant improvement in the quality of the final product in the 2nd setup as comparing with the 1st setup but it fulfills one of the main objectives of this study is to reduce the whole composting period as well as immediate management of the increasing amount of waste and reducing load on landfill. Selfheating tests reveal that degree of stability of compost with respect to maturation period was remained in the acceptable level, which was further accelerated due to the use of organic additives. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incorporating technetium in minerals and other solids: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luksic, Steven A.; Riley, Brian J.; Schweiger, Michael; Hrma, Pavel

2015-11-01

Technetium (Tc) can be incorporated into a number of different solids including spinel, sodalite, rutile, tin dioxide, pyrochlore, perovskite, goethite, layered double hydroxides, cements, and alloys. Synthetic routes are possible for each of these phases, ranging from high-temperature ceramic sintering to ball-milling of constituent oxides. However, in practice, Tc has only been incorporated into solid materials by a limited number of the possible syntheses. A review of the diverse ways in which Tc-immobilizing materials can be made shows the wide range of options available. Special consideration is given to hypothetical application to the Hanford Tank Waste and Vitrification Plant, such as adding a Tc-bearing mineral to waste glass melter feed. A full survey of solid Tc waste forms, the common synthesis routes to those waste forms, and their potential for application to vitrification processes are presented. The use of tin dioxide or ferrite spinel precursors to reduce Tc(VII) out of solution and into a durable form are shown to be of especially high potential.

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.

Recent advances in 2D thermoelectric materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jiabing; Sun, Qiang; Jena, Puru

2016-12-01

The waste heat generated by car engines, power plants, home furnaces and other fossil fuel-burning machinery play an adverse role in the climate. Development of efficient, light-weight, cost-effective, and environmentally-benign thermoelectric materials can help in converting wasted heat into useable energy, thus helping the environment. In this brief review we discuss theoretical methods that can complement experimental search for efficient thermoelectric materials. Using Boltzmann transport theory with a constant relaxation time approximation and non-equilibrium Green's function approach we study thermoelectric parameters by focusing on two dimensional materials ranging from graphene and graphdiyne to phosphorene, transition metal dichalogenides and metal carbides. In some circumstances, the reduced dimension is found to increase the Seebeck coefficient and decrease the thermal conductivity, necessary for improving thermoelectric conversion performance. We also suggest some future studies in this topic.

Regulatory Exclusions and Alternative Standards for the Recycling of Materials, Solid Wastes and Hazardous Wastes

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Determining the Level of Regulation for Hazardous Waste Recycling, Recycled Materials that are not Subject to RCRA Hazardous Waste Regulation, Materials Subject to Alternative Regulatory Controls, Materials Subject to Full Hazardous Waste Regulations.

"Control-alt-delete": rebooting solutions for the E-waste problem.

PubMed

Li, Jinhui; Zeng, Xianlai; Chen, Mengjun; Ogunseitan, Oladele A; Stevels, Ab

2015-06-16

A number of efforts have been launched to solve the global electronic waste (e-waste) problem. The efficiency of e-waste recycling is subject to variable national legislation, technical capacity, consumer participation, and even detoxification. E-waste management activities result in procedural irregularities and risk disparities across national boundaries. We review these variables to reveal opportunities for research and policy to reduce the risks from accumulating e-waste and ineffective recycling. Full regulation and consumer participation should be controlled and reinforced to improve local e-waste system. Aiming at standardizing best practice, we alter and identify modular recycling process and infrastructure in eco-industrial parks that will be expectantly effective in countries and regions to handle the similar e-waste stream. Toxicity can be deleted through material substitution and detoxification during the life cycle of electronics. Based on the idea of "Control-Alt-Delete", four patterns of the way forward for global e-waste recycling are proposed to meet a variety of local situations.

Towards zero waste production in the minerals and metals sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rankin, William J.

The production of mineral and metal commodities results in large quantities of wastes (solid, liquid and gaseous) at each stage of value-adding — from mining to manufacturing. Waste production (both consumer and non-consumer) is a major contributor to environmental degradation. Approaches to waste management in the minerals industry are largely `after the event'. These have moved progressively from foul-and-flee to dilute-and-disperse to end end-of-pipe treatments. There is now a need to move to approaches which aim to reduce or eliminate waste production at source. Modern waste management strategies include the application of cleaner production principles, the use of wastes as raw materials, the reengineering of process flowsheets to minimise waste production, and use of industrial symbioses through industrial ecology to convert wastes into useful by-products. This paper examines how these can be adopted by the minerals industry, with some recent examples. The financial, technical, systemic and regulatory drivers and barriers are also examined.

One project`s waste is another project`s resource

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

Short, J.

1997-02-01

The author describes the efforts being made toward pollution prevention within the DOE complex, as a way to reduce overall project costs, in addition to decreasing the amount of waste to be handled. Pollution prevention is a concept which is trying to be ingrained into project planning. Part of the program involves the concept that ultimately the responsibility for waste comes back to the generator. Parts of the program involve efforts to reuse materials and equipment on new projects, to recycle wastes to generate offsetting revenue, and to increase awareness, accountability and incentives so as to stimulate action on thismore » plan. Summaries of examples are presented in tables.« less

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

Crolley, R.; Thompson, M.

There has been a need for a faster and cheaper deployment model for information technology (IT) solutions to address waste management needs at US Department of Energy (DOE) complex sites for years. Budget constraints, challenges in deploying new technologies, frequent travel, and increased job demands for existing employees have prevented IT organizations from staying abreast of new technologies or deploying them quickly. Despite such challenges, IT organizations have added significant value to waste management handling through better worker safety, tracking, characterization, and disposition at DOE complex sites. Systems developed for site-specific missions have broad applicability to waste management challenges andmore » in many cases have been expanded to meet other waste missions. Radio frequency identification (RFID) and global positioning satellite (GPS)-enabled solutions have reduced the risk of radiation exposure and safety risks. New web-based and mobile applications have enabled precision characterization and control of nuclear materials. These solutions have also improved operational efficiencies and shortened schedules, reduced cost, and improved regulatory compliance. Collaboration between US Department of Energy (DOE) complex sites is improving time to delivery and cost efficiencies for waste management missions with new information technologies (IT) such as wireless computing, global positioning satellite (GPS), and radio frequency identification (RFID). Integrated solutions developed at separate DOE complex sites by new technology Centers of Excellence (CoE) have increased material control and accountability, worker safety, and environmental sustainability. CoEs offer other DOE sister sites significant cost and time savings by leveraging their technology expertise in project scoping, implementation, and ongoing operations.« less

Cleaner production options for reducing industrial waste: the case of batik industry in Malang, East Java-Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sirait, M.

2018-01-01

The aim of this research is to conduct cleaner production options for improving the environmental performance during the production of batik industry, the case of UKM batik, Malang, East Java. Batik industry is one of small and medium textile industry which has contribution to economic growth in Malang. However, during production the batik, it generates wastewater that has potential to decrease the environmental performance. Wastewater from Celaket batik industry has BOD, COD, TSS, and pH level is far larger than the threshold of water quality standard as a result of use chemical substance during the dyes processing. In order to prevent generating wastewater, this study utilized cleaner production options, such as substitution of input material.Substitution of input material for dyes process was implemented by replacement chemical dyes (e.g.indigosol, nafthol, rapid) with natural dyes (e.g. Indigofero Tintoria). Modifying of technology/equipment was conducted by developing wastewater treatment equipment to reduce waste of batik production. The implementation of this strategy was carried out by changing input material from chemical dyes with natural dyes. The CP uptake could reduce significantly the environmental impact in term of reduction of COD, BOD, and TSS.

Asphalt dust waste material as a paste volume in developing sustainable self compacting concrete (SCC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Isham; Shahidan, Shahiron; Bahari, Nur Amira Afiza Saiful

2017-12-01

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) mixtures are usually designed to have high workability during the fresh state through the influence of higher volumes of paste in concrete mixtures. Asphalt dust waste (ADW) is one of disposed materials obtained during the production of asphalt premix. These fine powder wastes contribute to environmental problems today. However, these waste materials can be utilized in the development of sustainable and economical SCC. This paper focuses on the preliminary evaluations of the fresh properties and compressive strength of developed SCC for 7 and 28 days only. 144 cube samples from 24 mixtures with varying water binder ratios (0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) and ADW volume (0% to 100%) were prepared. MD940 and MD950 showed a satisfactory performance for the slump flow, J-Ring, L-Box and V-Funnel tests at fresh state. The compressive strength after 28 days for MD940 and MD950 was 36.9 MPa and 28.0 MPa respectively. In conclusion, the use of ADW as paste volume should be limited and a higher water binder ratio will significantly reduce the compressive strength.

Synthesis of hydrophilic and hydrophobic carbon quantum dots from waste of wine fermentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varisco, Massimo; Zufferey, Denis; Ruggi, Albert; Zhang, Yucheng; Erni, Rolf; Mamula, Olimpia

2017-12-01

Wine lees are one of the main residues formed in vast quantities during the fermentation of wine. While toxic when applied to plants and wetlands, it is a biodegradable material, and several alternatives have been proposed for its valorization as: dietary supplement in animal feed, source for various yeast extracts and bioconversion feedstock. The implementation of stricter environment protection regulations resulted in increasing costs for wineries as their treatment process constitutes an unavoidable and expensive step in wine production. We propose here an alternative method to reduce waste and add value to wine production by exploiting this rich carbon source and use it as a raw material for producing carbon quantum dots (CQDs). A complete synthetic pathway is discussed, comprising the carbonization of the starting material, the screening of the most suitable solvent for the extraction of CQDs from the carbonized mass and their hydrophobic or hydrophilic functionalization. CQDs synthesized with the reported procedure show a bright blue emission (λmax = 433 ± 13 nm) when irradiated at 366 nm, which is strongly shifted when the wavelength is increased (e.g. emission at around 515 nm when excited at 460 nm). Yields and luminescent properties of CQDs, obtained with two different methods, namely microwave and ultrasound-based extraction, are discussed and compared. This study shows how easy a residue can be converted into an added-value material, thus not only reducing waste and saving costs for the wine-manufacturing industry but also providing a reliable, affordable and sustainable source for valuable materials.

Synthesis of hydrophilic and hydrophobic carbon quantum dots from waste of wine fermentation

PubMed Central

Varisco, Massimo; Zufferey, Denis; Ruggi, Albert; Zhang, Yucheng; Erni, Rolf

2017-01-01

Wine lees are one of the main residues formed in vast quantities during the fermentation of wine. While toxic when applied to plants and wetlands, it is a biodegradable material, and several alternatives have been proposed for its valorization as: dietary supplement in animal feed, source for various yeast extracts and bioconversion feedstock. The implementation of stricter environment protection regulations resulted in increasing costs for wineries as their treatment process constitutes an unavoidable and expensive step in wine production. We propose here an alternative method to reduce waste and add value to wine production by exploiting this rich carbon source and use it as a raw material for producing carbon quantum dots (CQDs). A complete synthetic pathway is discussed, comprising the carbonization of the starting material, the screening of the most suitable solvent for the extraction of CQDs from the carbonized mass and their hydrophobic or hydrophilic functionalization. CQDs synthesized with the reported procedure show a bright blue emission (λmax = 433 ± 13 nm) when irradiated at 366 nm, which is strongly shifted when the wavelength is increased (e.g. emission at around 515 nm when excited at 460 nm). Yields and luminescent properties of CQDs, obtained with two different methods, namely microwave and ultrasound-based extraction, are discussed and compared. This study shows how easy a residue can be converted into an added-value material, thus not only reducing waste and saving costs for the wine-manufacturing industry but also providing a reliable, affordable and sustainable source for valuable materials. PMID:29308232

Current status of circularity for aluminum from household waste in Austria.

PubMed

Warrings, R; Fellner, J

2018-02-20

Aluminum (Al) represents the metal with the highest consumption growth in the last few decades. Beside its increasing usage in the transport (lightweight construction of vehicles) and building sector, Al is used ever more frequently for household goods like packaging material, which represents a readily available source for secondary aluminum due to its short lifetime. The present paper investigates the extent to which this potential source for recycling of Al is already utilized in Austria and highlights areas for future improvements. Thereto a detailed material flow analysis for Al used in packaging & household non-packaging in 2013 was conducted. In practice, all Al flows starting from market entrance through waste collection and processing until its final recycling or disposal have been investigated. The results indicate that about 25,100 t/a (2.96 kg/cap/a) of Al packaging & household non-packaging arose as waste. At present about 9800 t/a, or 39%, are recycled as secondary Al, of which 26% is regained from separate collection and sorting, 8% from bottom ash and 5% from mechanical treatment. The type of Al packaging & household non-packaging affects the recycling rate: 82% of the total recycled quantities come from rigid packaging & household non-packaging, while only 3% of the total recycled Al derives from flexible materials. A significant amount of Al was lost during thermal waste treatment due to oxidation (10%) and insufficient recovery of Al from both waste incineration bottom ash and municipal solid waste treated in mechanical biological treatment plants (49%). Overall it can be concluded that once Al ends up in commingled waste the recovery of Al becomes less likely and its material quality is reduced. Although Austria can refer to a highly developed recycling system, the Austrian packaging industry, collection and recovery systems and waste management need to increase their efforts to comply with future recycling targets. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nuclear Waste Package Mockups: A Study of In-situ Redox State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helean, K.; Anderson, B.; Brady, P. V.

2006-05-01

The Yucca Mountain Repository (YMR), located in southern Nevada, is to be the first facility in the U.S. for the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuels. Total system performance assessment(TSPA) has indicated that among the major radionuclides contributing to dose are Np, Tc, and I. These three radionuclides are mobile in most geochemical settings, and therefore sequestering them within the repository horizon is a priority for the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP). Corroding steel may offset radionuclide transport processes within the proposed waste packages at YMR by retaining radionuclides, creating locally reducing conditions, and reducing porosity. Ferrous iron has been shown to reduce UO22+ to UO2s, and some ferrous iron-bearing ion-exchange materials have been shown to adsorb radionuclides and heavy metals. Locally reducing conditions may lead to the reduction and subsequent immobilization of problematic dissolved species such as TcO4-, NpO2+, and UO22+ and can also inhibit corrosion of spent nuclear fuel. Water occluded during corrosion produces bulky corrosion products, and consequently less porosity is available for water and radionuclide transport. The focus of this study is on the nature of Yucca Mountain waste package corrosion products and their effects on local redox conditions, radionuclide transport, and porosity. In order to measure in-situ redox, six small-scale (1:40) waste package mockups were constructed using A516 and 316 stainless steel, the same materials as the proposed Yucca Mountain waste packages. The mockups are periodically injected with a simulated groundwater and the accumulated effluent and corrosion products are evaluated for their Fe(II)/Fe(III) content and mineralogy. Oxygen fugacities are then calculated and, thus, in-situ redox conditions are determined. Early results indicate that corrosion products are largely amorphous Fe-oxyhydroxides, goethite and magnetite. That information together with the measured Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratios in the mockup effluent constrain the oxygen fugacity to approximately 10-38 atm, many orders of magnitude below ambient. These results and their impact on radionuclide migration from YMR will be discussed.

Trash-to-Gas: Converting Space Trash into Useful Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caraccio, Anne J.; Hintze, Paul E.

2013-01-01

NASA's Logistical Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project is a collaborative effort in which NASA is determined to reduce total logistical mass through reduction, reuse and recycling of various wastes and components of long duration space missions and habitats. LRR is focusing on four distinct advanced areas of study: Advanced Clothing System, Logistics-to-Living, Heat Melt Compactor and Trash to Supply Gas (TtSG). The objective of TtSG is to develop technologies that convert material waste, human waste and food waste into high-value products. High-value products include life support oxygen and water, rocket fuels, raw material production feedstocks, and other energy sources. There are multiple pathways for converting waste to products involving single or multi-step processes. This paper discusses thermal oxidation methods of converting waste to methane. Different wastes, including food, food packaging, Maximum Absorbent Garments (MAGs), human waste simulants, and cotton washcloths have been evaluated in a thermal degradation reactor under conditions promoting pyrolysis, gasification or incineration. The goal was to evaluate the degradation processes at varying temperatures and ramp cycles and to maximize production of desirable products and minimize high molecular weight hydrocarbon (tar) production. Catalytic cracking was also evaluated to minimize tar production. The quantities of CO2, CO, CH4, and H2O were measured under the different thermal degradation conditions. The conversion efficiencies of these products were used to determine the best methods for producing desired products.

Trash to Gas: Converting Space Trash into Useful Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nur, Mononita

2013-01-01

NASA's Logistical Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project is a collaborative effort in which NASA is determined to reduce total logistical mass through reduction, reuse and recycling of various wastes and components of long duration space missions and habitats. LRR is focusing on four distinct advanced areas of study: Advanced Clothing System, Logistics-to-Living, Heat Melt Compactor and Trash to Supply Gas (TtSG). The objective of TtSG is to develop technologies that convert material waste, human waste and food waste into high-value products. High-value products include life support oxygen and water, rocket fuels, raw material production feedstocks, and other energy sources. There are multiple pathways for converting waste to products involving single or multi-step processes. This paper discusses thermal oxidation methods of converting waste to methane. Different wastes, including food, food packaging, Maximum Absorbent Garments (MAGs), human waste simulants, and cotton washcloths have been evaluated in a thermal degradation reactor under conditions promoting pyrolysis, gasification or incineration. The goal was to evaluate the degradation processes at varying temperatures and ramp cycles and to maximize production of desirable products and minimize high molecular weight hydrocarbon (tar) production. Catalytic cracking was also evaluated to minimize tar production. The quantities of C02, CO, CH4, and H20 were measured under the different thermal degradation conditions. The conversion efficiencies of these products were used to determine the best methods for producing desired products.

Biodegradation of the alkaline cellulose degradation products generated during radioactive waste disposal.

PubMed

Rout, Simon P; Radford, Jessica; Laws, Andrew P; Sweeney, Francis; Elmekawy, Ahmed; Gillie, Lisa J; Humphreys, Paul N

2014-01-01

The anoxic, alkaline hydrolysis of cellulosic materials generates a range of cellulose degradation products (CDP) including α and β forms of isosaccharinic acid (ISA) and is expected to occur in radioactive waste disposal sites receiving intermediate level radioactive wastes. The generation of ISA's is of particular relevance to the disposal of these wastes since they are able to form complexes with radioelements such as Pu enhancing their migration. This study demonstrates that microbial communities present in near-surface anoxic sediments are able to degrade CDP including both forms of ISA via iron reduction, sulphate reduction and methanogenesis, without any prior exposure to these substrates. No significant difference (n = 6, p = 0.118) in α and β ISA degradation rates were seen under either iron reducing, sulphate reducing or methanogenic conditions, giving an overall mean degradation rate of 4.7 × 10(-2) hr(-1) (SE ± 2.9 × 10(-3)). These results suggest that a radioactive waste disposal site is likely to be colonised by organisms able to degrade CDP and associated ISA's during the construction and operational phase of the facility.

Incident Waste Decision Support Tool - Waste Materials ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Report This is the technical documentation to the waste materials estimator module of I-WASTE. This document outlines the methodology and data used to develop the Waste Materials Estimator (WME) contained in the Incident Waste Decision Support Tool (I-WASTE DST). Specifically, this document reflects version 6.4 of the I-WASTE DST. The WME is one of four primary features of the I-WASTE DST. The WME is both a standalone calculator that generates waste estimates in terms of broad waste categories, and is also integrated into the Incident Planning and Response section of the tool where default inventories of specific waste items are provided in addition to the estimates for the broader waste categories. The WME can generate waste estimates for both common materials found in open spaces (soil, vegetation, concrete, and asphalt) and for a vast array of items and materials found in common structures.

Power plant wastes capitalization as geopolymeric building materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciobanu, Gabriela; Litu, Loredana; Harja, Maria

2017-11-01

In this innovative study, we are present an investigation over the properties of geopolymeric materials prepared using ash supplied by power plant Iasi, Romania and sodium hydroxide solutions/pellets. Having as objective a minimum consumption of energy and materials was developed a class of advanced eco-materials. New synthesized materials can be used as a binder for cement replacement or for the removal/immobilization of pollutants from waste waters or soils. It offers an advanced and low cost-effective solution too many problems, where waste must be capitalized. The geopolymer formation, by hydrothermal method, is influenced by: temperature (20-600°C), alkali concentration (2M-6M), solid /liquid ratio (1-2), ash composition, time of heating (2-48 h), etc. The behaviour of the FTIR peak of 6M sample indicated upper quantity of geopolymer formation at the first stage of the reaction. XRD spectra indicated phases like sodalite, faujasite, Na-Y, which are known phases of geopolymer/zeolite. Advanced destroyed of ash particles due to geopolymerisation reaction were observed when the temperature was higher. At the constant temperature the percentage of geopolymer increases with increasing of curing time, from 4-48 h. Geopolymer materials are environmentally friendly, for its obtaining energy consumption, and CO2 emission is reduced compared to cement binder.

Wastes as Aggregates, Binders or Additions in Mortars: Selecting Their Role Based on Characterization.

PubMed

Farinha, Catarina Brazão; de Brito, Jorge; Veiga, Rosário; Fernández, J M; Jiménez, J R; Esquinas, A R

2018-03-20

The production of waste has increased over the years and, lacking a recycle or recovery solution, it is forwarded to landfill. The incorporation of wastes in cement-based materials is a solution to reduce waste deposition. In this regard, some researchers have been studying the incorporation of wastes with different functions: aggregate, binder and addition. The incorporation of wastes should take advantage of their characteristics. It requires a judicious analysis of their particles. This research involves the analysis of seven industrial wastes: biomass ashes, glass fibre, reinforced polymer dust, sanitary ware, fluid catalytic cracking, acrylic fibre, textile fibre and glass fibre. The main characteristics and advantages of each waste are enunciated and the best type of introduction in mortars is discussed. The characterization of the wastes as particles is necessary to identify the most suitable incorporation in mortars. In this research, some wastes are studied with a view to their re-use or recycling in mortars. Thus, this research focuses on the chemical, physical and mechanical characterization of industrial wastes and identification of the potentially most advantageous type of incorporation.

Wastes as Aggregates, Binders or Additions in Mortars: Selecting Their Role Based on Characterization

PubMed Central

de Brito, Jorge; Veiga, Rosário

2018-01-01

The production of waste has increased over the years and, lacking a recycle or recovery solution, it is forwarded to landfill. The incorporation of wastes in cement-based materials is a solution to reduce waste deposition. In this regard, some researchers have been studying the incorporation of wastes with different functions: aggregate, binder and addition. The incorporation of wastes should take advantage of their characteristics. It requires a judicious analysis of their particles. This research involves the analysis of seven industrial wastes: biomass ashes, glass fibre, reinforced polymer dust, sanitary ware, fluid catalytic cracking, acrylic fibre, textile fibre and glass fibre. The main characteristics and advantages of each waste are enunciated and the best type of introduction in mortars is discussed. The characterization of the wastes as particles is necessary to identify the most suitable incorporation in mortars. In this research, some wastes are studied with a view to their re-use or recycling in mortars. Thus, this research focuses on the chemical, physical and mechanical characterization of industrial wastes and identification of the potentially most advantageous type of incorporation. PMID:29558418

Microwave-assisted 'greener' synthesis of organics and nanomaterials

EPA Science Inventory

Microwave selective heating techniques in conjunction with greener reaction media are dramatically reducing chemical waste and reaction times in several organic transformations and material synthesis. This presentation summarizes author’s own experience in developing MW-assisted ...

GUIDE TO CLEANER TECHNOLOGIES: ORGANIC COATING REMOVAL

EPA Science Inventory

A cleaner technology is a source reduction or recycle method |applied to eliminate or significantly reduce hazardous waste generation. Source reduction includes product changes and source control. Source control can be further characterized as input material changes, technology...

The Louisiana State University waste-to-energy incinerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1994-10-01

This proposed action is for cost-shared construction of an incinerator/steam-generation facility at Louisiana State University under the State Energy Conservation Program (SECP). The SECP, created by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, calls upon DOE to encourage energy conservation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency by providing Federal technical and financial assistance in developing and implementing comprehensive state energy conservation plans and projects. Currently, LSU runs a campus-wide recycling program in order to reduce the quantity of solid waste requiring disposal. This program has removed recyclable paper from the waste stream; however, a considerable quantity of other non-recyclable combustible wastes are produced on campus. Until recently, these wastes were disposed of in the Devil's Swamp landfill (also known as the East Baton Rouge Parish landfill). When this facility reached its capacity, a new landfill was opened a short distance away, and this new site is now used for disposal of the University's non-recyclable wastes. While this new landfill has enough capacity to last for at least 20 years (from 1994), the University has identified the need for a more efficient and effective manner of waste disposal than landfilling. The University also has non-renderable biological and potentially infectious waste materials from the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Student Health Center, primarily the former, whose wastes include animal carcasses and bedding materials. Renderable animal wastes from the School of Veterinary Medicine are sent to a rendering plant. Non-renderable, non-infectious animal wastes currently are disposed of in an existing on-campus incinerator near the School of Veterinary Medicine building.

Sustainable Materials Management: Non-Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Hierarchy

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA developed the non-hazardous materials and waste management hierarchy in recognition that no single waste management approach is suitable for managing all materials and waste streams in all circumstances.

Co-composting of Beef Cattle Feedlot Manure with Construction and Demolition Waste.

PubMed

Hao, Xiying; Hill, Brett; Caffyn, Pam; Travis, Greg; Olson, Andrew F; Larney, Francis J; McAllister, Tim; Alexander, Trevor

2014-09-01

With increased availability of dried distillers' grains with solubles (DDGS) as cattle feed and the need to recycle organic wastes, this research investigated the feasibility of co-composting DDGS cattle feedlot manure with construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Manure was collected from cattle fed a typical western Canadian finishing diet (CK) of 860 g rolled barley ( L.) grain, 100 g barley silage, and 40 g vitamin and mineral supplement kg dry matter (DM) and from cattle fed the same diet but (DG manure) with 300 g kg DM barley grain being replaced by DDGS. The CK and DG manures were co-composted with and without C&D waste in 13 m bins. Compost materials were turned on Days 14, 37, and 64, and terminated on Day 99. Adding C&D waste led to higher compost temperatures (0.4 to 16.3°C, average 7.2°C) than manure alone. Final composts had similar total C, total N, C/N ratios, and water-extractable K, Mg, and NO content across all treatments. However, adding C&D waste increased δC, δN, water-extractable SO, and Ca contents and decreased pH, total P (TP), water-extractable C, N, and P and most volatile fatty acids (VFA). The higher C&D compost temperatures should reduce pathogens while reduced VFA content should reduce odors. When using the final compost product, the increased SO and reduced TP and available N and P content in C&D waste compost should be taken into consideration. Increased S content in C&D compost may be beneficial for some crops grown on S-deficient soils. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

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

Trash to Gas (TtG) Simulant Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miles, John D., II; Hintze, Paul E.

2014-01-01

Space exploration in outer earths orbit is a long-term commitment, where the reuse of discarded materials is a critical component for its success. The Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project under the NASA Advanced Exploration System Program is a project focused on technologies that reduce the amount of consumables that are needed to be sent into space, repurpose items sent to space, or convert wastes to commodities. In particular, Trash to Gas (TtG), part of the LRR project, is a novel space technology capable of converting raw elements from combustible waste including food waste and packaging, paper, wipes and towels, nitrile gloves, fecal matter, urine brine, maximum absorbency garments, and other organic wastes from human space exploration into useful gases. Trash to gas will ultimately reduce mission cost by producing a portion of important consumables in situ. This paper will discuss results of waste processing by steam reforming. Steam reforming is a thermochemical process developed as part of TtG, where waste is heated in the presence of oxygen and steam to produce carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane and water. The aim of this experiment is to investigate the processing of different waste simulants and their gaseous products. This will lay a foundation for understating and optimizing the production of useful gases for propulsion and recovery of water for life support.

Treatment of halogen-containing waste and other waste materials

DOEpatents

Forsberg, Charles W.; Beahm, Edward C.; Parker, George W.

1997-01-01

A process for treating a halogen-containing waste material. The process provides a bath of molten glass containing a sacrificial metal oxide capable of reacting with a halogen in the waste material. The sacrificial metal oxide is present in the molten glass in at least a stoichiometric amount with respect to the halogen in the waste material. The waste material is introduced into the bath of molten glass to cause a reaction between the halogen in the waste material and the sacrificial metal oxide to yield a metal halide. The metal halide is a gas at the temperature of the molten glass. The gaseous metal halide is separated from the molten glass and contacted with an aqueous scrubber solution of an alkali metal hydroxide to yield a metal hydroxide or metal oxide-containing precipitate and a soluble alkali metal halide. The precipitate is then separated from the aqueous scrubber solution. The molten glass containing the treated waste material is removed from the bath as a waste glass. The process of the invention can be used to treat all types of waste material including radioactive wastes. The process is particularly suited for separating halogens from halogen-containing wastes.

Treatment of halogen-containing waste and other waste materials

DOEpatents

Forsberg, C.W.; Beahm, E.C.; Parker, G.W.

1997-03-18

A process is described for treating a halogen-containing waste material. The process provides a bath of molten glass containing a sacrificial metal oxide capable of reacting with a halogen in the waste material. The sacrificial metal oxide is present in the molten glass in at least a stoichiometric amount with respect to the halogen in the waste material. The waste material is introduced into the bath of molten glass to cause a reaction between the halogen in the waste material and the sacrificial metal oxide to yield a metal halide. The metal halide is a gas at the temperature of the molten glass. The gaseous metal halide is separated from the molten glass and contacted with an aqueous scrubber solution of an alkali metal hydroxide to yield a metal hydroxide or metal oxide-containing precipitate and a soluble alkali metal halide. The precipitate is then separated from the aqueous scrubber solution. The molten glass containing the treated waste material is removed from the bath as a waste glass. The process of the invention can be used to treat all types of waste material including radioactive wastes. The process is particularly suited for separating halogens from halogen-containing wastes. 3 figs.

Complex thermoelectric materials.

PubMed

Snyder, G Jeffrey; Toberer, Eric S

2008-02-01

Thermoelectric materials, which can generate electricity from waste heat or be used as solid-state Peltier coolers, could play an important role in a global sustainable energy solution. Such a development is contingent on identifying materials with higher thermoelectric efficiency than available at present, which is a challenge owing to the conflicting combination of material traits that are required. Nevertheless, because of modern synthesis and characterization techniques, particularly for nanoscale materials, a new era of complex thermoelectric materials is approaching. We review recent advances in the field, highlighting the strategies used to improve the thermopower and reduce the thermal conductivity.

Evaluation of dry solid waste recycling from municipal solid waste: case of Mashhad city, Iran.

PubMed

Farzadkia, Mahdi; Jorfi, Sahand; Akbari, Hamideh; Ghasemi, Mehdi

2012-01-01

The recycling for recovery and reuse of material and energy resources undoubtedly provides a substantial alternative supply of raw materials and reduces the dependence on virgin feedstock. The main objective of this study was to assess the potential of dry municipal solid waste recycling in Mashhad city, Iran. Several questionnaires were prepared and distributed among various branches of the municipality, related organizations and people. The total amount of solid waste generated in Mashhad in 2008 was 594, 800  tons with per capita solid waste generation rate of 0.609  kg  person(-1) day(-1). Environmental educational programmes via mass media and direct education of civilians were implemented to publicize the advantages and necessity of recycling. The amount of recycled dry solid waste was increased from 2.42% of total dry solid waste (2588.36  ton  year(-1)) in 1999 to 7.22% (10, 165  ton  year(-1)) in 2008. The most important fractions of recycled dry solid waste in Mashhad included paper and board (51.33%), stale bread (14.59%), glass (9.73%), ferrous metals (9.73%), plastic (9.73%), polyethylene terephthalate (2.62%) and non-ferrous metals (0.97%). It can be concluded that unfortunately the potential of dry solid waste recycling in Mashhad has not been considered properly and there is a great effort to be made in order to achieve the desired conditions of recycling.

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

Biodegradable and compostable alternatives to conventional plastics

PubMed Central

Song, J. H.; Murphy, R. J.; Narayan, R.; Davies, G. B. H.

2009-01-01

Packaging waste forms a significant part of municipal solid waste and has caused increasing environmental concerns, resulting in a strengthening of various regulations aimed at reducing the amounts generated. Among other materials, a wide range of oil-based polymers is currently used in packaging applications. These are virtually all non-biodegradable, and some are difficult to recycle or reuse due to being complex composites having varying levels of contamination. Recently, significant progress has been made in the development of biodegradable plastics, largely from renewable natural resources, to produce biodegradable materials with similar functionality to that of oil-based polymers. The expansion in these bio-based materials has several potential benefits for greenhouse gas balances and other environmental impacts over whole life cycles and in the use of renewable, rather than finite resources. It is intended that use of biodegradable materials will contribute to sustainability and reduction in the environmental impact associated with disposal of oil-based polymers. The diversity of biodegradable materials and their varying properties makes it difficult to make simple, generic assessments such as biodegradable products are all ‘good’ or petrochemical-based products are all ‘bad’. This paper discusses the potential impacts of biodegradable packaging materials and their waste management, particularly via composting. It presents the key issues that inform judgements of the benefits these materials have in relation to conventional, petrochemical-based counterparts. Specific examples are given from new research on biodegradability in simulated ‘home’ composting systems. It is the view of the authors that biodegradable packaging materials are most suitable for single-use disposable applications where the post-consumer waste can be locally composted. PMID:19528060

Food waste conversion to microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates.

PubMed

Nielsen, Chad; Rahman, Asif; Rehman, Asad Ur; Walsh, Marie K; Miller, Charles D

2017-11-01

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biopolymers with desirable material properties similar to petrochemically derived plastics. PHAs are naturally produced by a wide range of microorganisms as a carbon storage mechanism and can accumulate to significantly high levels. PHAs are an environmentally friendly alternative to their petroleum counterparts because they can be easily degraded, potentially reducing the burden on municipal waste systems. Nevertheless, widespread use of PHAs is not currently realistic due to a variety of factors. One of the major constraints of large-scale PHA production is the cost of carbon substrate for PHA-producing microbes. The cost of production could potentially be reduced with the use of waste carbon from food-related processes. Food wastage is a global issue and therefore harbours immense potential to create valuable bioproducts. This article's main focus is to examine the state of the art of converting food-derived waste into carbon substrates for microbial metabolism and subsequent conversion into PHAs. © 2017 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

Direct and indirect effects of waste management policies on household waste behaviour: The case of Sweden.

PubMed

Andersson, Camilla; Stage, Jesper

2018-03-28

Swedish legislation makes municipalities responsible for recycling or disposing of household waste. Municipalities therefore play an important role in achieving Sweden's increased levels of ambition in the waste management area and in achieving the goal of a more circular economy. This paper studies how two municipal policy instruments - weight-based waste tariffs and special systems for the collection of food waste - affect the collected volumes of different types of waste. We find that a system of collecting food waste separately is more effective overall than imposing weight-based waste tariffs in respect not only of reducing the amounts of waste destined for incineration, but also of increasing materials recycling and biological recovery, despite the fact that the direct incentive effects of these two systems should be similar. Separate food waste collection was associated with increased recycling not only of food waste but also of other waste. Introducing separate food waste collection indirectly signals to households that recycling is important and desirable, and our results suggest that this signalling effect may be as important as direct incentive effects. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Spring 2004 Industry Study Final Report: Strategic Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

decreasing processing costs. Processing costs can be reduced by using powder metallurgy technology to reduce waste and by seeking new markets to... market share is likely to remain fierce until the arrival of the next miniaturization technology , nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS). Smart...the transportation, medical, energy, information technology , and environmental industries will create the strongest economic pull for the

Using life cycle assessment to address stakeholders' potential for improving municipal solid waste management.

PubMed

de Andrade Junior, Milton Aurelio Uba; Zanghelini, Guillherme Marcelo; Soares, Sebastião Roberto

2017-05-01

Because the consumption of materials is generally higher than their recovery rate, improving municipal solid waste (MSW) management is fundamental for increasing the efficiency of natural resource use and consumption in urban areas. More broadly, the characteristics of a MSW management system influence the end-of-life (EOL) impacts of goods consumed by households. We aim to indicate the extent to which greenhouse gas emissions from a MSW management system can be reduced by increasing waste paper recycling. We also address the stakeholders' contribution for driving transition towards an improved scenario. Life cycle assessment (LCA) addresses the EOL impacts of the paper industry, driven by the characteristics of MSW management in Florianópolis, Brazil, by varying the level of stakeholders' commitment through different recycling scenarios. The results show that 41% of the climate change impacts from waste paper management could be reduced when increasing the waste paper recycling rates and reducing waste paper landfilling. To achieve such emissions reduction, the industry contribution to the MSW management system would have to increase from 17% in the business-as-usual scenario to 74% in the target scenario. We were able to measure the differences in stakeholders' contribution by modelling the MSW management system processes that are under the industry's responsibility separately from the processes that are under the government's responsibility, based on the Brazilian legal framework. The conclusions indicate that LCA can be used to support policy directions on reducing the impacts of MSW management by increasing resource recovery towards a circular economy.

Conversion of organic material by black soldier fly larvae: establishing optimal feeding rates.

PubMed

Diener, Stefan; Zurbrügg, Christian; Tockner, Klement

2009-09-01

Larvae of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), are voracious feeders of organic material and may thus be used in simple engineered systems to reduce organic waste in low- and middle-income countries. Controlled feeding experiments with standard fodder were conducted to assess the optimum amount of organic waste to be added to a CORS system (Conversion of Organic Refuse by Saprophages). A daily feeding rate of 100 mg chicken feed (60% moisture content) per larva resulted in an optimum trade-off between material reduction efficiency (41.8%, SE 0.61) and biomass production (prepupal dry weight: 48.0 mg, SE 2.0). Applied to market waste and human faeces, this corresponds to a potential daily feeding capacity of 3-5 kg/m(2) and 6.5 kg/m(2), respectively. In addition, H. illucens prepupae quality was assessed to determine their suitability to substitute fishmeal in animal feed production. The chitin-corrected crude protein content ranged from 28.2 to 42.5%, depending on the amount of food provided to the larvae. Based on our study, a waste processing unit could yield a daily prepupal biomass of 145 g (dry mass) per m(2). We conclude that larvae of the black soldier fly are potentially capable of converting large amounts of organic waste into protein-rich biomass to substitute fishmeal, thereby contributing to sustainable aquaculture.

Recovery of fissile materials from nuclear wastes

DOEpatents

Forsberg, Charles W.

1999-01-01

A process for recovering fissile materials such as uranium, and plutonium, and rare earth elements, from complex waste feed material, and converting the remaining wastes into a waste glass suitable for storage or disposal. The waste feed is mixed with a dissolution glass formed of lead oxide and boron oxide resulting in oxidation, dehalogenation, and dissolution of metal oxides. Carbon is added to remove lead oxide, and a boron oxide fusion melt is produced. The fusion melt is essentially devoid of organic materials and halogens, and is easily and rapidly dissolved in nitric acid. After dissolution, uranium, plutonium and rare earth elements are separated from the acid and recovered by processes such as PUREX or ion exchange. The remaining acid waste stream is vitrified to produce a waste glass suitable for storage or disposal. Potential waste feed materials include plutonium scrap and residue, miscellaneous spent nuclear fuel, and uranium fissile wastes. The initial feed materials may contain mixtures of metals, ceramics, amorphous solids, halides, organic material and other carbon-containing material.

Hydrothermal modification and recycling of nonmetallic particles from waste print circuit boards.

PubMed

Gao, Xuehua; Li, Qisheng; Qiu, Jun

2018-04-01

Nonmetallic particles recycled from waste print circuit boards (NPRPs) were modified by a hydrothermal treatment method and the catalysts, solvents, temperature and time were investigated, which affected the modification effect of NPRPs. The mild hydrothermal treatment method does not need high temperature, and would not cause secondary pollution. Further, the modified NPRPs were used as the raw materials for the epoxy resin and glass fibers/epoxy resin composites, which were prepared by pouring and hot-pressing method. The mechanical properties and morphology of the composites were discussed. The results showed that relative intensity of the hydroxyl bonds on the surface of NPRPs increased 58.9% after modification. The mechanical tests revealed that both flexural and impact properties of the composites can be significantly improved by adding the modified NPRPs. Particularly, the maximum increment of flexural strength, flexural modulus and impact strength of the epoxy matrix composites with 30% modified NPRPs is 40.1%, 80.0% and 79.0%, respectively. Hydrothermal treatment can modify surface of NPRPs successfully and modified NPRPs can not only improve the properties of the composites, but also reduce the production cost of the composites and environmental pollution. Thus, we develop a new way to recycle nonmetallic materials of waste print circuit boards and the highest level of waste material recycling with the raw materials-products-raw materials closed cycle can be realized through the hydrothermal modification and reuse of NPRPs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Utilization of flotation wastes of copper slag as raw material in cement production.

PubMed

Alp, I; Deveci, H; Süngün, H

2008-11-30

Copper slag wastes, even if treated via processes such as flotation for metal recovery, still contain heavy metals with hazardous properties posing environmental risks for disposal. This study reports the potential use of flotation waste of a copper slag (FWCS) as iron source in the production of Portland cement clinker. The FWCS appears a suitable raw material as iron source containing >59% Fe(2)O(3) mainly in the form of fayalite (Fe(2)SiO(4)) and magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)). The clinker products obtained using the FWCS from the industrial scale trial operations over a 4-month period were characterised for the conformity of its chemical composition and the physico-mechanical performance of the resultant cement products was evaluated. The data collected for the clinker products produced using an iron ore, which is currently used as the cement raw material were also included for comparison. The results have shown that the chemical compositions of all the clinker products including those of FWCS are typical of a Portland cement clinker. The mechanical performance of the standard mortars prepared from the FWCS clinkers were found to be similar to those from the iron ore clinkers with the desired specifications for the industrial cements e.g. CEM I type cements. Furthermore, the leachability tests (TCLP and SPLP) have revealed that the mortar samples obtained from the FWCS clinkers present no environmental problems while the FWCS could act as the potential source of heavy metal contamination. These findings suggest that flotation wastes of copper slag (FWCS) can be readily utilised as cement raw material due to its availability in large quantities at low cost with the further significant benefits for waste management/environmental practices of the FWCS and the reduced production and processing costs for cement raw materials.

Method for efficient recovery of high-purity polycarbonates from electronic waste.

PubMed

Weeden, George S; Soepriatna, Nicholas H; Wang, Nien-Hwa Linda

2015-02-17

More than one million tons of polycarbonates from waste electrical and electronic equipment are consigned to landfills at an increasing rate of 3-5% per year. Recycling the polymer waste should have a major environmental impact. Pure solvents cannot be used to selectively extract polycarbonates from mixtures of polymers with similar properties. In this study, selective mixed solvents are found using guidelines from Hansen solubility parameters, gradient polymer elution chromatography, and solubility tests. A room-temperature sequential extraction process using two mixed solvents is developed to recover polycarbonates with high yield (>95%) and a similar purity and molecular weight distribution as virgin polycarbonates. The estimated cost of recovery is less than 30% of the cost of producing virgin polycarbonates from petroleum. This method would potentially reduce raw materials from petroleum, use 84% less energy, reduce emission by 1-6 tons of CO2 per ton of polycarbonates, and reduce polymer accumulation in landfills and associated environmental hazards.

Research on Recycling and Utilization of Solid Waste in Civil Airport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Bo; Zhang, Wen; Wang, Jianping; Yi, Wei

2018-05-01

The aviation industry is embracing unprecedented prosperity together with the economic development. Building green airports resource-saving, environment-friendly and sustainable has become the inevitability of the times. The operation of airport will generate the large amount of waste every day, which certainly exposes airports and surrounding regions to waste disposal and ecological environment pressure. Waste disposal directly affects the surrounding environment of airports, which can be effectively mitigated by disposing waste into resources, i.e., sorting and recycling them into renewable materials. The development of green airport can also be promoted in this process. The article elaborates on the current methods of waste disposal adopted by airports. According to the principle of waste reduction, harmlessness, and resource recycling, a set of solid waste recycling and utilization methods suitable for airports are proposed, which can reduce the costs of waste transported to other places and landfilled. Various environmental pollution caused by landfill and other disposal methods can also be contained effectively. At the same time, resources can be fully recycled, converting waste into useful resources in an efficient and environmental-friendly way.

Mineralogical conversion of asbestos containing materials

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

Pulsford, S.K.; Foltz, A.D.; Ek, R.B.

The principal objective of the Technical Task Plan (TTP) is to demonstrate a thermal-chemical mineralogical asbestos conversion unit at the Hanford Site, which converts non-radiological asbestos containing materials (ACMs) into an asbestos-free material. The permanent thermal-chemical mineralogical conversion of ACMs to a non-toxic, non-hazardous, potentially marketable end product should not only significantly reduce the waste stream volumes but terminate the {open_quotes}cradle to grave{close_quotes} ownership liabilities.

Bring on the heat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schierning, Gabi

2018-02-01

One third of industrial processes occur at high temperatures above 1300 K, but current methods of waste heat recovery at these temperatures are limited. Now, reduced graphene oxide is shown to be a highly efficient and reliable thermoelectric material up to 3000 K.

Real-time monitoring and control of the plasma hearth process

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

Power, M.A.; Carney, K.P.; Peters, G.G.

1996-05-01

A distributed monitoring and control system is proposed for a plasma hearth, which will be used to decompose hazardous organic materials, encapsulate actinide waste in an obsidian-like slag, and reduce storage volume of actinide waste. The plasma hearth will be installed at ANL-West with the assistance of SAIC. Real-time monitoring of the off-gas system is accomplished using a Sun Workstation and embedded PCs. LabWindows/CVI software serves as the graphical user interface.

Upgrade Recycling of Cast Iron Scrap Chips towards β-FeSi₂ Thermoelectric Materials.

PubMed

Laila, Assayidatul; Nanko, Makoto; Takeda, Masatoshi

2014-09-04

The upgrade recycling of cast-iron scrap chips towards β-FeSi₂ thermoelectric materials is proposed as an eco-friendly and cost-effective production process. By using scrap waste from the machining process of cast-iron components, the material cost to fabricate β-FeSi₂ is reduced and the industrial waste is recycled. In this study, β-FeSi₂ specimens obtained from cast iron scrap chips were prepared both in the undoped form and doped with Al and Co elements. The maximum figure of merit ( ZT ) indicated a thermoelectric performance of approximately 70% in p-type samples and nearly 90% in n-type samples compared to β-FeSi₂ prepared from pure Fe and other published studies. The use of cast iron scrap chips to produce β-FeSi₂ shows promise as an eco-friendly and cost-effective production process for thermoelectric materials.

Edible packaging materials.

PubMed

Janjarasskul, Theeranun; Krochta, John M

2010-01-01

Research groups and the food and pharmaceutical industries recognize edible packaging as a useful alternative or addition to conventional packaging to reduce waste and to create novel applications for improving product stability, quality, safety, variety, and convenience for consumers. Recent studies have explored the ability of biopolymer-based food packaging materials to carry and control-release active compounds. As diverse edible packaging materials derived from various by-products or waste from food industry are being developed, the dry thermoplastic process is advancing rapidly as a feasible commercial edible packaging manufacturing process. The employment of nanocomposite concepts to edible packaging materials promises to improve barrier and mechanical properties and facilitate effective incorporation of bioactive ingredients and other designed functions. In addition to the need for a more fundamental understanding to enable design to desired specifications, edible packaging has to overcome challenges such as regulatory requirements, consumer acceptance, and scaling-up research concepts to commercial applications.

Element exchange in a water-and gas-closed biological life support system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1997-01-01

Liquid human wastes and household water used for nutrition of wheat made possible to realize 24% closure for the mineral exchange in an experiment with a 2-component version of ``Bios-3'' life support system (LSS) Input-output balances of revealed, that elements (primarily trace elements) within the system. The structural materials (steel, titanium), expanded clay aggregate, and catalytic furnace catalysts. By the end of experiment, the permanent nutrient solution, plants, and the human diet gradually built up Ni, Cr, Al, Fe, V, Zn, Cu, and Mo. Thorough selection and pretreatment of materials can substantially reduce this accumulation. To enhance closure of the mineral exchange involves processing of human- metabolic wastes and inedible biomes inside LSS. An efficient method to oxidize wastes by hydrogen peroxide in a quartz reactor at the temperature of 80°C controlled electromagnetic field is proposed.

Element exchange in a water-and gas-closed biological life support system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gribovskaya, I. V.; Kudenko, Yu. A.; Gitelson, J. I.

1997-01-01

Liquid human wastes and household water used for nutrition of wheat made possible to realize 24% closure for the mineral exchange in an experiment with a 2-component version of ``Bios-3'' life support system (LSS) Input-output balances of revealed, that elements (primarily trace elements) within the system. The structural materials (steel, titanium), expanded clay aggregate, and catalytic furnace catalysts. By the end of experiment, the permanent nutrient solution, plants, and the human diet gradually built up Ni, Cr, Al, Fe, V, Zn, Cu, and Mo. Thorough selection and pretreatment of materials can substantially reduce this accumulation. To enhance closure of the mineral exchange involves processing of human- metabolic wastes and inedible biomes inside LSS. An efficient method to oxidize wastes by hydrogen peroxide in a quartz reactor at the temperature of 80 degC controlled electromagnetic field is proposed.

Properties of Clay for Ceramics with Rock Waste for Production Structural Block by Pressing and Firing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerqueira, N. A.; Choe, D.; Alexandre, J.; Azevedo, A. R. G.; Xavier, C. G.; Souza, V. B.

Building work requires optimization of materials and labor, so that the execution of its subsystems contribute to the quality, reduce costs, decrease waste in buildings, productivity, practicality and especially agility. Thus, the fitting blocks can contribute in this direction. This work therefore consists of physical characterization (determination of fitness levels, grain size and bulk density), chemical (EDX) and thermal (DTA and TGA) sample clay Campos dos Goytacazes-RJ and waste rock ornamental Cachoeiro de Itapemirim-ES, to verify potential for producing red ceramic blocks, pressed and burned, male and female type. The output of block will be with different pe rcentages of incorporation of residues of ornamental rocks (0%, 5% and 10%). With the results obtained, it was found that the raw materials under consideration has the potential for application in the production of ceramic articles.

Review: Application of coal bottom ash as aggregate replacement in highway embankment, acoustic absorbing wall and asphalt mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afiza Mohammed, Syakirah; Rehan Karim, Mohamed

2017-06-01

Worldwide annual production of coal bottom ash waste was increased in the last decade and is being dumped on landfill over the years. Its improper disposal has become an environmental concern and resulted in a waste of recoverable resources. There is a pressing and on-going need to develop new recycling methods for coal bottom ash. The utilization of coal bottom ash in highway engineering is one of the options to reduce the environmental problems related to the disposal of bottom ash. The present review describe the physical and chemical properties of coal bottom ash waste and its current application as highway embankment material, as acoustic absorbing material and as aggregate replacement in asphalt mixtures. The purpose of this review is to stimulate and promote the effective recycling of coal bottom ash in highway engineering industry.

Complex use of waste in wastewater and circulating water treatment from oil in heat power stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolaeva, L. A.; Iskhakova, R. Ya.

2017-06-01

Sewage and circulating water from oil of thermal power plants (TPP) generated in fuel-oil shops during washing of electrical equipment and its running into the storm drainage system from the industrial site has been considered in the paper. It has been suggested to use the carbonate sludge of water treatment modified with hydrophobing emulsion as a sorption material for waste and circulating water treatment in thermal power plants. The carbonate sludge is waste accumulated in clarifiers at the stage of natural water pretreatment. General technical characteristics of the sludge, such as moisture, bulk density, total pore volume, ash, etc., have been determined. It has been found that the sludge without additional treatment is a hydrophilic material that has low adsorption capacity and wettability with nonpolar compounds. Therefore, the sludge is treated with organosilicon compounds to reduce the moisture capacity and increase its floatation. Several types of sorption materials based on the carbonate sludge subjected to surface and volume hydrophobization have been developed. During the volume treatment, the hydrophobing compound has been introduced into the material along with the plastifier. In case of the surface treatment, heat-treated granules have been soaked into hydrophobing emulsion. It has been shown that surface hydrophobization is most economically advantageous, because it reduces the consumption of water-repelling agent, wherein the total pore volume and sorption capacity during surface hydrophobization increase by 45 and 25% compared to that during volume hydrophobization. Based on the obtained results, the most effective sorption material has been chosen. To produce this material, it is necessary to sequentially carry out mixing of carbonate sludge with the binder, granulation, calcination, impregnation with a waterrepellent emulsion, and drying of the finished material. The suggested technology to produce the material and use it as a sorbent allows efficient wastewater treatment from oil as well as reduction of anthropogenic pressure on the environment and economic costs of the station for nature protection measures.

Integration of Waste Valorization for Sustainable Production of Chemicals and Materials via Algal Cultivation.

PubMed

Chen, Yong; Sun, Li-Ping; Liu, Zhi-Hui; Martin, Greg; Sun, Zheng

2017-11-27

Managing waste is an increasing problem globally. Microalgae have the potential to help remove contaminants from a range of waste streams and convert them into useful biomass. This article presents a critical review of recent technological developments in the production of chemicals and other materials from microalgae grown using different types of waste. A range of novel approaches are examined for efficiently capturing CO 2 in flue gas via photosynthetic microalgal cultivation. Strategies for using microalgae to assimilate nitrogen, organic carbon, phosphorus, and metal ions from wastewater are considered in relation to modes of production. Generally, more economical open cultivation systems such as raceway ponds are better suited for waste conversion than more expensive closed photobioreactor systems, which might have use for higher-value products. The effect of cultivation methods and the properties of the waste streams on the composition the microalgal biomass is discussed relative to its utilization. Possibilities include the production of biodiesel via lipid extraction, biocrude from hydrothermal liquefaction, and bioethanol or biogas from microbial conversion. Microalgal biomass produced from wastes may also find use in higher-value applications including protein feeds or for the production of bioactive compounds such as astaxanthin or omega-3 fatty acids. However, for some waste streams, further consideration of how to manage potential microbial and chemical contaminants is needed for food or health applications. The use of microalgae for waste valorization holds promise. Widespread implementation of the available technologies will likely follow from further improvements to reduce costs, as well as the increasing pressure to effectively manage waste.

Solid-shape energy fuels from recyclable municipal solid waste and plastics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gug, Jeongin

Diversion of waste streams, such as plastics, wood and paper, from municipal landfills and extraction of useful materials from landfills is an area of increasing interest across the country, especially in densely populated areas. One promising technology for recycling MSW (municipal solid waste) is to burn the high energy content components in standard coal boilers. This research seeks to reform wastes into briquette that are compatible with typical coal combustion processes. In order to comply with the standards of coal-fired power plants, the feedstock must be mechanically robust, moisture resistance, and retain high fuel value. Household waste with high paper and fibers content was used as the base material for this study. It was combined with recyclable plastics such as PE, PP, PET and PS for enhanced binding and energy efficiency. Fuel pellets were processed using a compression molding technique. The resulting moisture absorption, proximate analysis from burning, and mechanical properties were investigated after sample production and then compared with reference data for commercial coals and biomass briquettes. The effects of moisture content, compression pressure and processing temperature were studied to identify the optimal processing conditions with water uptake tests for the durability of samples under humid conditions and burning tests to examine the composition of samples. Lastly, mechanical testing revealed the structural stability of solid fuels. The properties of fuel briquettes produced from waste and recycled plastics improved with higher processing temperature but without charring the material. Optimization of moisture content and removal of air bubbles increased the density, stability and mechanical strength. The sample composition was found to be more similar to biomass fuels than coals because the majority of the starting material was paper-based solid waste. According to the proximate analysis results, the waste fuels can be expected to have low temperature ignition, less char formation and reduced CO2 emission with the high heating energy value similar to coal. It is concluded that solid fuels from paper based waste and plastics can be a good energy resource as an alternative and sustainable fuel, which may help to alleviate the environmental problems related to landfill space at the same time.

Evaluations of catalysts for wet oxidation waste management in CELSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oguchi, Mitsuo; Nitta, Keiji

1992-11-01

A wet oxidation method is considered to be one of the most effective methods of waste processing and recycling in CELSS (Controlled Ecological Life Support System). The first test using rabbit waste as raw material was conducted under a decomposition temperature of 280 °C for 30 minutes and an initial pure oxygen pressure of 4.9 MPa (50 kgf/cm2) before heating, and the following results were obtained. The value of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) was reduced 82.5 % by the wet oxidation. And also the Kjeldahl nitrogen concentration was decreased 98.8%. However, the organic carbon compound in the residual solution was almost acetic acid and ammonia was produced. In order to activate the oxidation more strongly, the second tests using catalysts such as Pd, Ru and Ru+Rh were conducted. As the results of these tests, the effectiveness of catalysts for oxidizing raw material ws shown as follows: COD and the Kjeldahl nitrogen values were drastically decreased 99.65 % and 99.88 %, respectively. Furthermore, the quantity of acetic acid and ammonia were reduced considerably. On the other hand, nitrate was showed a value 30 times as much as without catalytic oxidation.

Ability of Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Larvae to Recycle Food Waste.

PubMed

Nguyen, Trinh T X; Tomberlin, Jeffery K; Vanlaerhoven, Sherah

2015-04-01

Accumulation of organic wastes, especially in livestock facilities, can be a potential pollution issue. The black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens L. (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), can consume a wide range of organic material and has the potential to be used in waste management. In addition, the prepupae stage of this insect can be harvested and used as a valuable nutritious feed for animal livestock. Five waste types with a wide range of organic source matter were specifically chosen to evaluate the consumption and reduction ability of black soldier fly larvae. H. illucens was able to reduce all waste types examined: 1) control poultry feed, 2) pig liver, 3) pig manure, 4) kitchen waste, 5) fruits and vegetables, and 6) rendered fish. Kitchen waste had the greatest mean rate of reduction (consumption by black soldier fly) per day and produced the longest and heaviest black soldier flies. Larvae reared on liver, manure, fruits and vegetables, and fish were approximately the same length and weight as larvae fed the control feed, although some diets produced larvae with a higher nutritional content. The black soldier fly has the ability to consume and reduce organic waste and be utilized as valuable animal feed. Exploration of the potential use of black soldier flies as an agent for waste management on a large-scale system should continue. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Tentative to use wastes from thermal power plants for construction building materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bui, Quoc-Bao; Phan, To-Anh-Vu; Tran, Minh-Tung; Le, Duc-Hien

2018-04-01

Thermal power plants (TPP) generates wastes (bottom and fly ashes) which become a serious environmental problem in Vietnam. Indeed, although in several countries fly ash can be used for cement industry, fly ash from actual TPP in Vietnam does not have enough good quality for cement production, because the fly ash treatment phase has not yet included in the generations of existing Vietnamese TPP. That is why bottom ash and fly ash purely become wastes and their evacuation is an urgent demand of the society. This paper presents an investigation using fly and bottom ashes in the manufacturing of construction materials. The main aims of this study is to reduce environmental impacts of fly and bottom ashes, and to test another non-conventional binder to replace cement in the manufacture of unburnt bricks. Several proportions of fly ash, bottom ash, cement, gravel, sand and water were tested to manufacture concretes. Then, geopolymer was prepared from the fly ash and an activator. Specimens were tested in uniaxial compressions. Results showed that the cement concrete tested had the compressive strengths which could be used for low rise constructions and the material using geopolymer could be used for non-load-bearing materials (unburnt bricks).

Development of a pyrolysis waste recovery model with designs, test plans, and applications for space-based habitats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberson, Bobby J.

1992-01-01

Extensive literature searches revealed the numerous advantages of using pyrolysis as a means of recovering usable resources from inedible plant biomass, paper, plastics, other polymers, and human waste. A possible design of a pyrolysis reactor with test plans and applications for use on a space-based habitat are proposed. The proposed system will accommodate the wastes generated by a four-person crew while requiring solar energy as the only power source. Waste materials will be collected and stored during the 15-day lunar darkness periods. Resource recovery will occur during the daylight periods. Usable gases such as methane and hydrogen and a solid char will be produced while reducing the mass and volume of the waste to almost infinitely small levels. The system will be operated economically, safely, and in a non-polluting manner.

Polymer recycling: potential application of radiation technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burillo, Guillermina; Clough, Roger L.; Czvikovszky, Tibor; Guven, Olgun; Le Moel, Alain; Liu, Weiwei; Singh, Ajit; Yang, Jingtian; Zaharescu, Traian

2002-04-01

Management of solid waste is an important problem, which is becoming progressively worse as a byproduct of continuing economic growth and development. Polymeric materials (plastics and rubbers) comprise a steadily increasing proportion of the municipal and industrial waste going into landfill. Development of technologies for reducing polymeric waste, which are acceptable from the environmental standpoint, and which are cost-effective, has proven to be a difficult challenge due to complexities inherent in the reuse of polymers. Establishing optimal processes for the reuse/recycling of polymeric materials thus remains a worldwide challenge as we enter the new century. Due to the ability of ionizing radiation to alter the structure and properties of bulk polymeric materials, and the fact that it is applicable to essentially all polymer types, irradiation holds promise for impacting the polymer waste problem. The three main possibilities for use of radiation in this application are: (1) enhancing the mechanical properties and performance of recovered materials or material blends, principally through crosslinking, or through surface modification of different phases being combined; (2) treatment causing or enhancing the decomposition of polymers, particularly through chain scission, leading to recovery of either low molecular weight mixtures, or powders, for use as chemical feedstocks or additives; (3) production of advanced polymeric materials designed for environmental compatibility. This paper provides an overview of the polymer recycling problem, describes the major technological obstacles to the implementation of recycling technologies, and outlines some of the approaches being taken. A review of radiation-based recycling research is then provided, followed by a discussion of future directions where irradiation may be relevant to the problems currently inhibiting the widespread recycling of polymeric materials.

Bulky waste quantities and treatment methods in Denmark.

PubMed

Larsen, Anna W; Petersen, Claus; Christensen, Thomas H

2012-02-01

Bulky waste is a significant and increasing waste stream in Denmark. However, only little research has been done on its composition and treatment. In the present study, data about collection methods, waste quantities and treatment methods for bulky waste were obtained from two municipalities. In addition a sorting analysis was conducted on combustible waste, which is a major fraction of bulky waste in Denmark. The generation of bulky waste was found to be 150-250 kg capita(-1) year(-1), and 90% of the waste was collected at recycling centres; the rest through kerbside collection. Twelve main fractions were identified of which ten were recyclable and constituted 50-60% of the total quantity. The others were combustible waste for incineration (30-40%) and non-combustible waste for landfilling (10%). The largest fractions by mass were combustible waste, bricks and tile, concrete, non-combustible waste, wood, and metal scrap, which together made up more than 90% of the total waste amounts. The amount of combustible waste could be significantly reduced through better sorting. Many of the waste fractions consisted of composite products that underwent thorough separation before being recycled. The recyclable materials were in many cases exported to other countries which made it difficult to track their destination and further treatment.

Production of an innovative fertilizer from organic waste: process monitoring by hyperspectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serranti, Silvia; Bonifazi, Giuseppe; Fabbri, Andrea; Dall'Ara, Alice; Garcia Izquierdo, Carlos

2015-05-01

The European directive 2008/98/CE establishes a legal framework for the treatment of waste within the Community. It aims at protecting the environment and human health through the prevention of the harmful effects of waste generation and waste management. In order to better protect the environment, the Member States should adopt measures for the treatment of their waste according to a hierarchy as outlined: prevention, preparing for reuse, recycling, energy recovery, disposal. In this context, the European project LIFE12 ENV/IT/000356 "RESAFE" is addressed to produce and utilize a new class of fertilizers characterized by reduced salinity in order to substitute chemical and mineral fertilizers through a technological route based on Urban Organic Waste (UOW), Farm Organic Residues (FOR), Bio-Chars (BC) and Vegetable Active Principles (VAP) processing. Following this approach, it will be possible for farmers and urban waste managers to reduce costs and to obtain environmental and economic incomes. Furthermore, environmental impacts will be also reduced contributing to decrease the greenhouse emissions from landfills and from the production of mineral fertilizers. In this paper, specific innovative sensing architectures, based on Hyper-Spectral Imaging (HSI) devices working in the near infrared (NIR) range, and related detection architectures, is presented and discussed in order to define and apply smart detection engines to follow the transformations of the complex material, resulting from UOW, FOR, BC and VAP based recipes during the different stages of the fertilizer production process. Results show as the fertilizer production process can be monitored adopting the NIR-HSI approach.

Underground waste barrier structure

DOEpatents

Saha, Anuj J.; Grant, David C.

1988-01-01

Disclosed is an underground waste barrier structure that consists of waste material, a first container formed of activated carbonaceous material enclosing the waste material, a second container formed of zeolite enclosing the first container, and clay covering the second container. The underground waste barrier structure is constructed by forming a recessed area within the earth, lining the recessed area with a layer of clay, lining the clay with a layer of zeolite, lining the zeolite with a layer of activated carbonaceous material, placing the waste material within the lined recessed area, forming a ceiling over the waste material of a layer of activated carbonaceous material, a layer of zeolite, and a layer of clay, the layers in the ceiling cojoining with the respective layers forming the walls of the structure, and finally, covering the ceiling with earth.

Medical waste to energy: experimental study.

PubMed

Arcuri, C; Luciani, F; Piva, P; Bartuli, F N; Ottria, L; Mecheri, B; Licoccia, S

2013-04-01

Although waste is traditionally assessed as a pollutant which needs to be reduced or lessened, its management is certainly necessary. Nowadays, biological fuel cells, through the direct conversion of organic matter to electricity using biocatalysts, represent a technology able to produce sustainable energy by means of waste treatment. This study aims to propose a mean to generate energy from blood and saliva, that are common risk-infectious medical waste. Material employed (purchased by Sigma-Aldrich) were: Glucose oxidase (GOx), Nafion perfluorinated resin solution at 5% in a mixture of lower aliphatic alcohols and water, Polyethylene oxide. Stock solutions of D (+) glucose were prepared in a 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution and stored at 4 °C for at least 24 h before use. Carbon cloth electrode ELAT HT 140 E-W with a platinum loading of 5 gm-2 was purchased by E-Tek. Electrospun Nafion fibers were obtained as follows. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the electrode morphologies. In order to develop an effective immobilization strategy of GOx on the electrode surface, Nafion fibers (a fully fluorinated ion conducting polymer used as a membrane material in enzymatic fuel cells - EFC) were selected as immobilizing polymer matrix. In this work, exploiting the nafion fibers capability of being able to cathalize Gox activity, we have tried to produce an enzymatic fuel cell which could produce energy from the blood and the saliva within medical-dental waste. Medical waste refers to all those materials produced by the interaction among doctor and patient, such as blood and saliva. During our research we will try to complete an EFC prototype able to produce energy from blood and saliva inside the risk-infectious medical waste in order to contribute to the energy requirements of a consulting room.

Microwave-assisted transformations and synthesis of polymer nanocomposites and nanomaterials

EPA Science Inventory

The use of emerging MW-assisted chemistry techniques in conjunction with greener reaction media is dramatically reducing chemical waste and reaction times in several organic transformations and material synthesis. This account summarizes our own experience in developing MW-assist...

Effect of biogas generation on radon emissions from landfills receiving radium-bearing waste from shale gas development.

PubMed

Walter, Gary R; Benke, Roland R; Pickett, David A

2012-09-01

Dramatic increases in the development of oil and natural gas from shale formations will result in large quantities of drill cuttings, flowback water, and produced water. These organic-rich shale gas formations often contain elevated concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), such as uranium, thorium, and radium. Production of oil and gas from these formations will also lead to the development of technologically enhanced NORM (TENORM) in production equipment. Disposal of these potentially radium-bearing materials in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills could release radon to the atmosphere. Risk analyses of disposal of radium-bearing TENORM in MSW landfills sponsored by the Department of Energy did not consider the effect of landfill gas (LFG) generation or LFG control systems on radon emissions. Simulation of radon emissions from landfills with LFG generation indicates that LFG generation can significantly increase radon emissions relative to emissions without LFG generation, where the radon emissions are largely controlled by vapor-phase diffusion. Although the operation of LFG control systems at landfills with radon source materials can result in point-source atmospheric radon plumes, the LFG control systems tend to reduce overall radon emissions by reducing advective gas flow through the landfill surface, and increasing the radon residence time in the subsurface, thus allowing more time for radon to decay. In some of the disposal scenarios considered, the radon flux from the landfill and off-site atmospheric activities exceed levels that would be allowed for radon emissions from uranium mill tailings. Increased development of hydrocarbons from organic-rich shale formations has raised public concern that wastes from these activities containing naturally occurring radioactive materials, particularly radium, may be disposed in municipal solid waste landfills and endanger public health by releasing radon to the atmosphere. This paper analyses the processes by which radon may be emitted from a landfill to the atmosphere. The analyses indicate that landfill gas generation can significantly increase radon emissions, but that the actual level of radon emissions depend on the place of the waste, construction of the landfill cover, and nature of the landfill gas control system.

An economic and ecological perspective of ethanol production from renewable agro waste: a review

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Agro-industrial wastes are generated during the industrial processing of agricultural products. These wastes are generated in large amounts throughout the year, and are the most abundant renewable resources on earth. Due to the large availability and composition rich in compounds that could be used in other processes, there is a great interest on the reuse of these wastes, both from economical and environmental view points. The economic aspect is based on the fact that such wastes may be used as low-cost raw materials for the production of other value-added compounds, with the expectancy of reducing the production costs. The environmental concern is because most of the agro-industrial wastes contain phenolic compounds and/or other compounds of toxic potential; which may cause deterioration of the environment when the waste is discharged to the nature. Although the production of bioethanol offers many benefits, more research is needed in the aspects like feedstock preparation, fermentation technology modification, etc., to make bioethanol more economically viable. PMID:23217124

The Louisiana State University waste-to-energy incinerator

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

Not Available

1994-10-26

This proposed action is for cost-shared construction of an incinerator/steam-generation facility at Louisiana State University under the State Energy Conservation Program (SECP). The SECP, created by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, calls upon DOE to encourage energy conservation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency by providing Federal technical and financial assistance in developing and implementing comprehensive state energy conservation plans and projects. Currently, LSU runs a campus-wide recycling program in order to reduce the quantity of solid waste requiring disposal. This program has removed recyclable paper from the waste stream; however, a considerable quantity of other non-recyclable combustible wastes aremore » produced on campus. Until recently, these wastes were disposed of in the Devil`s Swamp landfill (also known as the East Baton Rouge Parish landfill). When this facility reached its capacity, a new landfill was opened a short distance away, and this new site is now used for disposal of the University`s non-recyclable wastes. While this new landfill has enough capacity to last for at least 20 years (from 1994), the University has identified the need for a more efficient and effective manner of waste disposal than landfilling. The University also has non-renderable biological and potentially infectious waste materials from the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Student Health Center, primarily the former, whose wastes include animal carcasses and bedding materials. Renderable animal wastes from the School of Veterinary Medicine are sent to a rendering plant. Non-renderable, non-infectious animal wastes currently are disposed of in an existing on-campus incinerator near the School of Veterinary Medicine building.« less

Physical performance of biodegradable films intended for antimicrobial food packaging.

PubMed

Marcos, Begonya; Aymerich, Teresa; Monfort, Josep M; Garriga, Margarita

2010-10-01

Antimicrobial films were prepared by including enterocins to alginate, polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), and zein films. The physical performance of the films was assessed by measuring color, microstructure (SEM), water vapor permeability (WVP), and tensile properties. All studied biopolymers showed poor WVP and limited tensile properties. PVOH showed the best performance exhibiting the lowest WVP values, higher tensile properties, and flexibility among studied biopolymers. SEM of antimicrobial films showed increased presence of voids and pores as a consequence of enterocin addition. However, changes in microstructure did not disturb WVP of films. Moreover, enterocin-containing films showed slight improvement compared to control films. Addition of enterocins to PVOH films had a plasticizing effect, by reducing its tensile strength and increasing the strain at break. The presence of enterocins had an important effect on tensile properties of zein films by significantly reducing its brittleness. Addition of enterocins, thus, proved not to disturb the physical performance of studied biopolymers. Development of new antimicrobial biodegradable packaging materials may contribute to improving food safety while reducing environmental impact derived from packaging waste. Practical Application: Development of new antimicrobial biodegradable packaging materials may contribute to improving food safety while reducing environmental impact derived from packaging waste.

Agricultural wastes as a resource of raw materials for developing low-dielectric glass-ceramics

PubMed Central

Danewalia, Satwinder Singh; Sharma, Gaurav; Thakur, Samita; Singh, K.

2016-01-01

Agricultural waste ashes are used as resource materials to synthesize new glass and glass-ceramics. The as-prepared materials are characterized using various techniques for their structural and dielectric properties to check their suitability in microelectronic applications. Sugarcane leaves ash exhibits higher content of alkali metal oxides than rice husk ash, which reduces the melting point of the components due to eutectic reactions. The addition of sugarcane leaves ash in rice husk ash promotes the glass formation. Additionally, it prevents the cristobalite phase formation. These materials are inherently porous, which is responsible for low dielectric permittivity i.e. 9 to 40. The presence of less ordered augite phase enhances the dielectric permittivity as compared to cristobalite and tridymite phases. The present glass-ceramics exhibit lower losses than similar materials synthesized using conventional minerals. The dielectric permittivity is independent to a wide range of temperature and frequency. The glass-ceramics developed with adequately devitrified phases can be used in microelectronic devices and other dielectric applications. PMID:27087123

Redistribution of elements between wastes and organic-bearing material in the dispersion train of gold-bearing sulfide tailings: Part I. Geochemistry and mineralogy.

PubMed

Saryg-Ool, B Yu; Myagkaya, I N; Kirichenko, I S; Gustaytis, M A; Shuvaeva, O V; Zhmodik, S M; Lazareva, E V

2017-03-01

Migration and redistribution of elements during prolonged interaction of cyanide wastes with the underlying natural organic-bearing material have been studied in two ~40cm deep cores that sample primary ores and their weathering profile (wastes I and II, respectively) in the dispersion train of gold-bearing sulfide tailings in Siberia. Analytical results of SR-XRF, whole-rock XRF, AAS, CHNS, and SEM measurements of core samples show high K, Sr, Ti, and Fe enrichments and correlation of P 2 O 5 and Mn with LOI and C org . Organic material interlayered or mixed with the wastes accumulates Cu, Zn, Se, Cd, Ag, Au, and Hg. The peat that contacts wastes II bears up to 3wt.% Zn, 1000g/t Se, 100g/t Cd, and 8000g/t Hg. New phases of Zn and Hg sulfides and Hg selenides occur as abundant sheaths over bacterial cells suggesting microbial mediation in sorption of elements. Organic-bearing material in the cores contains 10-30g/t Au in 2-5cm thick intervals, both within and outside the intervals rich in sulfides and selenides. Most of gold is invisible but reaches 345g/t and forms 50nm to 1.5μm Au 0 particles in a thin 2-3cm interval of organic remnants mixed with wastes I. Vertical and lateral infiltration of AMD waters in peat and oxidative dissolution of wastes within the dispersion train of the Ursk tailings lead to redistribution of elements and their accumulation by combined physical (material's permeability, direction AMD), chemical (complexing, sorption by organic matter and Fe(III) hydroxides) and biochemical (metabolism of sulfate-reducing bacteria) processes. The accumulated elements form secondary sulfates, and Hg and Zn selenides. The results provide insights into accumulation of elements in the early history of coal and black shale deposits and have implications for remediation of polluted areas and for secondary enrichment technologies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aqueous Electrochemical Mechanisms in Actinide Residue Processing

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

Morris, David E.; Burns, Carol J.; Smith, Wayne H.

2000-12-31

Plutonium and uranium residues (e.g., incinerator ash, combustibles, and sand/slag/crucibles) resulting from the purification and processing of nuclear materials constitute an enormous volume of ''lean'' processing waste and represent a significant fraction of the U. S. Department of Energy's (DOE) legacy waste from fifty years of nuclear weapons production activities. Much of this material is presently in storage at sites throughout the DOE weapons production complex (most notably Rocky Flats, Savannah River and Hanford) awaiting further processing and/or final disposition. The chemical and physical stability of much of this material has been called into question recently by the Defense Nuclearmore » Facility Safety Board (DNFSB) and resulted in the issuance of a mandate by the DNFSB to undertake a program to stabilize these materials [1]. The ultimate disposition for much of these materials is anticipated to be geologic repositories such as the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. However, in light of the mandate to stabilize existing residues and the probable concomitant increase in the volume of material to be disposed as a result of stabilization (e.g., from repackaging at lower residue densities), the projected storage volume for these wastes within anticipated geologic repositories will likely be exceeded simply to handle existing wastes. Additional processing of some of these residue waste streams to reduce radionuclide activity levels, matrix volume, or both is a potentially important strategy to achieve both stabilization and volume reduction so that the anticipated geologic repositories will provide adequate storage volume. In general, the plutonium and uranium that remains in solid residue materials exists in a very stable chemical form (e.g., as binary oxides), and the options available to remove the actinides are limited. However, there have been some demonstrated successes in this vain using aqueous phase electrochemical methods such as the Catalyzed Electrochemical Plutonium Oxide Dissolution (CEPOD) process pioneered by workers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the mid-1970s [2]. The basis for most of these mediated electrochemical oxidation/reduction (MEO/R) processes is the generation of a dissolved electrochemical catalyst, such as Ag2+, which is capable of oxidizing or reducing solid-phase actinide species or actinide sorbates via 7 heterogeneous electron transfer to oxidation states that have significantly greater solubilities (e.g., PuO2(s) to PuO2 2+ (dissolved)). The solubilized actinide can then be recovered by ion exchange or other mechanisms. These aqueous electrochemical methods for residue treatment have been considered in many of the ''trade studies'' to evaluate options for stabilization of the various categories of residue materials. While some concerns generally arise (e.g., large secondary waste volumes could results since the process stream normally goes th rough anion exchange or precipitation steps to remove the actinide), the real utility and versatility of these methods should not be overlooked. They are low temperature, ambient pressure processes that operate in a non-corrosive environment. In principle, they can be designed to be highly selective for the actinides (i.e., no substrate degradation occurs), they can be utilized for many categories of residue materials with little or no modification in hardware or operating conditions, and they can conceivably be engineered to minimize secondary waste stream volume. However, some fundamental questions remain concerning the mechanisms through which these processes act, and how the processes might be optimized to maximize efficiency while minimizing secondary waste. In addition, given the success achieved to date on the limited set of residues, further research is merited to extend the range of applicability of these electrochemical methods to other residue and waste streams. The principal goal of the work described here is to develop a fundamental understanding of the heterogeneous electron transfer thermodynamics and kinetics that lie at the heart of the MEO/R processes for actinide solids and actinide species entrained in or surface-bound to residue substrates. This has been accomplished as described in detail below through spectroscopic characterization of actinide-bearing substrates and electrochemical investigations of electron transfer reactions between uranium- and plutonium- (or surrogates) bearing solids (dispersed actinide solid phases and actinides sorbed to inorganic and organic colloids) and polarizable electrode materials. In general, the actinide solids or substrate-supported species were chosen to represent relevant residue materials (e.g., incinerator ash, sand/slag/crucible, and combustibles).« less

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.

Technology integration performance assessment using lean principles in health care.

PubMed

Rico, Florentino; Yalcin, Ali; Eikman, Edward A

2015-01-01

This study assesses the impact of an automated infusion system (AIS) integration at a positron emission tomography (PET) center based on "lean thinking" principles. The authors propose a systematic measurement system that evaluates improvement in terms of the "8 wastes." This adaptation to the health care context consisted of performance measurement before and after integration of AIS in terms of time, utilization of resources, amount of materials wasted/saved, system variability, distances traveled, and worker strain. The authors' observations indicate that AIS stands to be very effective in a busy PET department, such as the one in Moffitt Cancer Center, owing to its accuracy, pace, and reliability, especially after the necessary adjustments are made to reduce or eliminate the source of errors. This integration must be accompanied by a process reengineering exercise to realize the full potential of AIS in reducing waste and improving patient care and worker satisfaction. © The Author(s) 2014.

Avocado waste for finishing pigs: Impact on muscle composition and oxidative stability during chilled storage.

PubMed

Hernández-López, Silvia H; Rodríguez-Carpena, Javier G; Lemus-Flores, Clemente; Grageola-Nuñez, Fernando; Estévez, Mario

2016-06-01

The utilization of agricultural waste materials for pig feeding may be an interesting option for reducing production costs and contributing to sustainability and environmental welfare. In the present study, a mixed diet enriched with avocado waste (TREATED) is used for finishing industrial genotype pigs. The muscle longissimus thoracis et lomborum (LTL) from TREATED pigs was analyzed for composition and oxidative and color stability and compared with muscles obtained from pigs fed a CONTROL diet. Dietary avocado had significant impact on the content and composition of intramuscular fat (IMF), reducing the lipid content in LTL muscles and increasing the degree of unsaturation. This did not increase the oxidative instability of samples. On the contrary, muscles from TREATED pigs had significantly lower lipid and protein oxidation rates during chilled storage. The color of the muscles from TREATED pigs was also preserved from oxidation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economic and employment potential in textile waste management of Faisalabad.

PubMed

Noman, Muhammad; Batool, Syeda Adila; Chaudhary, Muhammad Nawaz

2013-05-01

The aim of this study is to characterize the waste from the textile industry, to identify the sources and types of waste generation and to find out the economic and employment potential in this sector. Textile waste, its management, and the economic and employment potential in this sector are unrevealed facts in developing countries such as Pakistan. The textile industry is ranked first in export earning in Pakistan. Textile export of yarn and cloth from Faisalabad is US$3 billion per year. On average 161 325 people are employed in the textile sector in Faisalabad, of which 11 860 are involved in solid waste handling and management. The textile industries generate solid wastes such as fibre, metal, plastic and paper waste. A total of 794 209 kg day(-1) (289 886 285 kg year(-1)) solid waste is produced from this sector and purchased by cotton waste junkshop owners at US$125 027 day(-1) (US$45 634 855 year(-1)). Only pre-consumer textile waste is considered. Interestingly no waste is sent to landfill. The waste is first segregated into different categories/ types by hand and then weighed. Cotton waste is sold to brick kilns where it is used as an alternative fuel as it is cheaper than wood/coal. Iron scrap is sold in the junk market from where it is resold to recycling industries. Paper waste is recycled, minimizing the virgin material used for producing new paper products. Iron and plastic drums are returned to the chemical industries for refilling, thus decreasing the cost of dyes and decreasing the demand for new drums. Cutting rags are used for making different things such as ropes and underlay, it is also shredded and used as fillings for pillows and mattresses, thus improving waste management, reducing cost and minimizing the need for virgin material. As no system of quality control and no monitoring of subsequent products exist there is a need to carry out quality control and monitoring.

Promoting the use of crumb rubber concrete in developing countries.

PubMed

Batayneh, Malek K; Marie, Iqbal; Asi, Ibrahim

2008-11-01

The use of accumulated waste materials in third world countries is still in its early phases. It will take courage for contractors and others in the construction industry to recycle selected types of waste materials in the concrete mixes. This paper addresses the recycling of rubber tires accumulated every year in Jordan to be used in concrete mixes. The main objectives of this research were to provide more scientific evidence to support the use of legislation or incentive-based schemes to promote the reuse of accumulated waste tires. This research focused on using crumb tires as a replacement for a percentage of the local fine aggregates used in the concrete mixes in Jordan. Different concrete specimens were prepared and tested in terms of uniaxial compression and splitting tension. The main variable in the mixture was the volumetric percentage of crumb tires used in the mix. The test results showed that even though the compressive strength is reduced when using the crumb tires, it can meet the strength requirements of light weight concrete. In addition, test results and observations indicated that the addition of crumb rubber to the mix has a limited effect toward reducing the workability of the mixtures. The mechanical test results demonstrated that the tested specimens of the crumb rubber concrete remained relatively intact after failure compared to the conventional concrete specimens. It is also concluded that modified concrete would contribute to the disposal of the non-decaying scrap tires, since the amount being accumulated in third world countries is creating a challenge for proper disposal. Thus, obliging authorities to invest in facilitating the use of waste tires in concrete, a fundamental material to the booming construction industry in theses countries, serves two purposes.

Infectious waste feed system

DOEpatents

Coulthard, E. James

1994-01-01

An infectious waste feed system for comminuting infectious waste and feeding the comminuted waste to a combustor automatically without the need for human intervention. The system includes a receptacle for accepting waste materials. Preferably, the receptacle includes a first and second compartment and a means for sealing the first and second compartments from the atmosphere. A shredder is disposed to comminute waste materials accepted in the receptacle to a predetermined size. A trough is disposed to receive the comminuted waste materials from the shredder. A feeding means is disposed within the trough and is movable in a first and second direction for feeding the comminuted waste materials to a combustor.

Characterization and open windrow composting of MSW in Jodhpur City, Rajasthan, India.

PubMed

Ambade, Bhushan; Sharma, Sunil; Sharma, Yukti; Sharma, Yagya

2013-07-01

Solid waste is sometimes not suitable for direct land application. Processing solid waste through composting converts it to a humus-containing organic material advantageous for agriculture/horticulture use. Major advantages of composting are stabilization of the wastes; substantially reduced C/N ratio and gas formation, and virtually elimination of odors and pathogens. Composting is accomplished under aerobic conditions developing temperatures of 55 degrees C or above. The windrow technique is simple and accomplished easily with standard equipments. The open windrow composting of municipal solid waste (MSW) in windrows was analyzed in this study for six weeks. The raw MSW was introduced to active composting without any source segregations. The moisture content of the MSW dropped from 58.88% to 48.06% and windrow attained a thermophillic temperature for about two weeks. It was observed that the pH, C/N ratio and temperature variations were comparable to that of traditional windrow composting. The peak temperature recorded was 68 degrees C and temperature remained above 60 degrees C for more than three weeks. The volume reduction was obtained by using one-cu.m. cage. The results indicate that the bulk composting could reduce by about 29% the total mass of the waste.

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

Hamilton, T.; Jones, H.; Wong, K.

The Marshall Islands Environmental Characterization and Dose Assessment Program has recently implemented waste minimization measures to reduce low level radioactive (LLW) and low level mixed (LLWMIXED) waste streams at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Several thousand environmental samples are collected annually from former US nuclear test sites in the Marshall Islands, and returned to LLNL for processing and radiometric analysis. In the past, we analyzed coconut milk directly by gamma-spectrometry after adding formaldehyde (as preservative) and sealing the fluid in metal cans. This procedure was not only tedious and time consuming but generated storage and waste disposal problems. Wemore » have now reduced the number of coconut milk samples required for analysis from 1500 per year to approximately 250, and developed a new analytical procedure which essentially eliminates the associated mixed radioactive waste stream. Coconut milk samples are mixed with a few grams of ammonium-molydophosphate (AMP) which quantitatively scavenges the target radionuclide cesium 137 in an ion-exchange process. The AMP is then separated from the mixture and sealed in a plastic container. The bulk sample material can be disposed of as a non- radioactive non-hazardous waste, and the relatively small amount of AMP conveniently counted by gamma-spectrometry, packaged and stored for future use.« less

Papercrete brick as an alternate building material to control Environmental Pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudarsan, J. S.; Ramesh, S.; Jothilingam, M.; Ramasamy, Vishalatchi; Rajan, Rajitha J.

2017-07-01

Utilization of concrete in the construction industry is increasing day by day. The increasing demand for concrete in the future is the major issue, for which an alternate option is to find out at a reduced or no additional cost and to reduce the environmental impact due to increase of cement industries that are important ingredient to economic development. It turns out urgent to find out alternate for the partial replacement of concrete and cement, as natural sources of aggregates are becoming exhausted. As large quantity of paper waste is generated from different countries all over the world which causes serious environmental problems, So in this present study abandoned paper waste was used as a partial replacement material in concrete,. Study indicates that 80% of the construction cost of a building was contributed by building material and still millions of people in developing countries like India are not able to afford the cost of construction of house. This study is based on potential use of light weight composite brick as a building material and potential use of paper waste for producing at low-cost. Experimental investigation was carried out to analyse optimization of mix for papercrete bricks depending upon the water absorption, compressive strength and unit weight. Papercrete bricks were prepared out of waste paper, and quarry dust with partial replacement of cement by another industrial by-product Fly Ash in varying proportions of 25%, 40% and 55%. The properties like mechanical strength, standard quality comparisons with the conventional bricks through standard tests like hardness, soundness, fire resistance and Cost-Benefit Analysis were performed and studied. The specimens of dimension 230mm x 110mm x 80mm were subjected to 7 Days and 28 days air curing and sun drying before tests were performed on them. Based on the study it was found that for non-load bearing walls papercrete bricks are best suited.

Recent progress in half-Heusler thermoelectric materials

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

Huang, Lihong; Zhang, Qinyong; Yuan, Bo

2016-04-15

Highlights: • Summarize the recent progress and advances in HH thermoelectric materials. • Preparing nanocomposites could reduce thermal conductivity. • Introducing enhance phonon scattering could further reduce the thermal conductivity. • Forming ternary systems to reducing the cost effectively. • The new class of HHs presents another opportunity to further optimize the HH system. - Abstract: Half-Heusler (HH) thermoelectric (TE) materials have been attracting extensive research interest over the last two decades, owing to their thermal stability, mechanical strength, and moderate ZT. This material system are potential candidates for medium to high temperature applications, which is close to the temperaturemore » range of most industrial waste heat sources. In this mini-review article, we briefly summarize the recent progress and advances in HH thermoelectric materials. Some effectively available approaches, such as HH nanocomposites to reduce thermal conductivity, using larger atomic mass and size differences to enhance phonon scattering to further reduce the thermal conductivity, forming ternary systems following the cost effective approach. In addition, new thermoelectric HH members are also discussed in this article, which points out that many new HH compounds may be possible for TE applications.« less

[Economic effects of single-pack dental hygienic materials introduced into daily clinical practice].

PubMed

Sunakawa, Mitsuhiro; Matsumoto, Hiroyuki; Izumi, Yuichi

2011-03-01

To improve and maintain medical safety and quality, it is necessary to construct and manage a safe and economical medical system. Almost five years have passed since single-pack dental hygienic materials were introduced into daily clinical practice in the University Hospital, Faculty of Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University. The costs of purchasing hygienic materials themselves are higher when using outsourced sterilized single packed ones, compared with when using intra-murally sterilized ones in the past. Proper usage of single-pack hygienic materials sterilized with Ethylene Oxide Gas (EOG) would reduce waste of unused materials and save labor for staff in the Section of Central Supplies. Financially, the use of hygienic materials could be reduced if single-pack dental hygienic materials by outsourcing were introduced into the hospital, because all costs for sterilizing hygienic materials in the hospital could be eliminated.

A system dynamics approach for healthcare waste management: a case study in Istanbul Metropolitan City, Turkey.

PubMed

Ciplak, Nesli; Barton, John R

2012-06-01

Healthcare waste consists of various types of waste materials generated at hospitals, medical research centres, clinics and laboratories. Although 75-90% of this waste is classified as 'domestic' in nature, 20-25% is deemed to be hazardous, which if not disposed of appropriately, poses a risk to healthcare workers, patients, the environment and even the whole community. As long as healthcare waste is mixed with municipal waste and not segregated prior to disposal, costs will increase substantially. In this study, healthcare waste increases along with the potential to decrease the amounts by implementing effective segregation at healthcare facilities are projected to 2040. Our long-term aim is to develop a system to support selection and planning of the future treatment capacity. Istanbul in Turkey was used as the case study area. In order to identify the factors affecting healthcare waste generation in Istanbul, observations were made and interviews conducted in Istanbul over a 3 month period. A system dynamics approach was adopted to build a healthcare waste management model using a software package, Vensim Ple Plus. Based on reported analysis, the non-hazardous municipal fraction co-disposed with healthcare waste is around 65%. Using the projected waste generation flows, reducing a municipal fraction to 30% has the potential to avoid some 8000 t year(-1) of healthcare waste by 2025 and almost 10 000 t year(-1) by 2035. Furthermore, if segregation practices ensured healthcare waste requiring incineration was also selectively managed, 77% of healthcare waste could be diverted to alternative treatment technologies. As the throughput capacity of the only existing healthcare waste treatment facility in Istanbul, Kemerburgaz Incinerator, has already been exceeded, it is evident that improved management could not only reduce overall flows and costs but also permit alternative and cheaper treatment systems (e.g. autoclaving) to be adopted for the healthcare waste.

From waste to sustainable materials management: Three case studies of the transition journey.

PubMed

Silva, Angie; Rosano, Michele; Stocker, Laura; Gorissen, Leen

2017-03-01

Waste policy is increasingly moving on from the 'prevention of waste' to a 'sustainable materials policy' focused agenda recognising individual wastes as a resource. In order to comparatively analyse policy developments in enhanced waste management, three case studies were selected; San Francisco's Zero Waste Program, Flanders's Sustainable Materials Management Initiative and Japan's Sound Material-Cycle Society Plan. These case studies were chosen as an opportunity to investigate the variety of leading approaches, governance structures, and enhanced waste policy outcomes, emerging globally. This paper concludes that the current transitional state of waste management across the world, is only in the first leg of the journey towards Circular Economy closed loop production models of waste as a resource material. It is suggested that further development in government policy, planning and behaviour change is required. A focus on material policy and incorporating multiple front runners across industry and knowledge institutions are offered as potential directions in the movement away from end-pipe land-fill solutions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Independent Power Generation in a Modern Electrical Substation Based on Thermoelectric Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Z. M.; Zhao, Y. Q.; Liu, W.; Wei, B.; Qiu, M.; Lai, X. K.

2017-05-01

Because of many types of electrical equipment with high power in substations, the potentiality of energy conservation is quite large. From this viewpoint, thermoelectric materials may be chosen to produce electrical energy using the waste heat produced in substations. Hence, a thermoelectric generation system which can recycle the waste heat from electric transformers was proposed to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the burden of the oil cooling system. An experimental prototype was fabricated to perform the experiment and to verify the feasibility. The experimental results showed that the output power could achieve 16 W from waste heat of 900 W, and that the power conversion efficiency was approximately 1.8%. Therefore, power generation is feasible by using the waste heat from the transformers based on thermoelectric technology.

Trash to Supply Gas (TtSG) Project Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hintze, Paul; Santiago-Maldonado, Edgardo; Kulis, Michael J.; Lytle, John K.; Fisher, John W.; Vaccaro, Helen; Ewert, Michael K.; Broyan, James L.

2012-01-01

Technologies that reduce logistical needs are a key to long term space missions. Currently, trash and waste generated during a mission is carried during the entire roundtrip mission or stored inside a logistic module which is de-orbited into Earth's atmosphere for destruction. The goal of the Trash to Supply Gas (TtSG) project is to develop space technology alternatives for converting trash and other waste materials from human spaceflight into high-value products that might include propellants or power system fuels in addition to life support oxygen and water. In addition to producing a useful product from waste, TtSG will decrease the volume needed to store waste on long term space missions. This paper presents an overview of the TtSG technologies and future plans for the project.

Use of inorganic and organic wastes for in situ immobilisation of Pb and Zn in a contaminated alkaline soil.

PubMed

Zhou, Y-F; Haynes, R J; Naidu, R

2012-05-01

This study aims to examine whether addition of immobilising agents to a sandy, alkaline (pH = 8.1) soil, which had been contaminated with Pb and Zn by airborne particles from a Pb/Zn smelter, would substantially reduce metal bioavailability. The effectiveness of five waste materials (blast furnace (BF) slag, alum water treatment (WT) sludge, red mud, sugar mill mud and green waste compost) as metal immobilising agents was evaluated by incubating them with a contaminated soil for a period of 12 months at rates of 5% and 10% (w/w), after which, Rhodes grass was grown in the soils in a greenhouse study. Additions of WT sludge, BF slag and red mud reduced CaCl(2), CH(3)COOH, HCl and EDTA-extractable Zn but compost and mill mud had no appreciable immobilising effects. Additions of all amendments reduced levels of CaCl(2), CH(3)COOH and HCl-extractable Pb although concentrations of EDTA-extractable Pb remained unchanged. A sequential extraction procedure showed that additions of mill mud and compost increased the percentage of total Pb and Zn present in the oxidisable fraction whilst additions of the other materials increased the percentage present in the residual fraction. Rhodes grass yields were promoted greatly by additions of red mud, compost and particularly mill mud, and yields were negatively correlated with tissue Pb concentrations and extractable Pb. Red mud was the most effective material for lowering extractable Pb and Zn levels simultaneously while mill mud and compost were notably effective for Pb. A field evaluation in the study area is justified.

Infrared analysis of clay bricks incorporated with spent shea waste from the shea butter industry.

PubMed

Adazabra, A N; Viruthagiri, G; Shanmugam, N

2017-04-15

The peculiar challenge of effective disposing abundant spent shea waste and the excellent compositional variation tolerance of clay material offered an impetus to examine the incorporation of spent shea waste into clay material as an eco-friendly disposal route in making clay bricks. For this purpose, the chemical constituent, mineralogical compositions and thermal behavior of both clay material and spent shea waste were initially characterized from which modelled brick specimens incorporating 5-20 wt% of the waste into the clay material were prepared. The clay material showed high proportions of SiO 2 (52.97 wt%) and Al 2 O 3 (27.10 wt%) indicating their rich kaolinitic content: whereas, the inert nature of spent shea waste was exhibited by their low oxide content. The striking similarities in infrared absorption bands of pristine clay material and clay materials incorporated with 15 wt% of spent shea waste showed that the waste incorporation had no impact on bond formation of the clay bricks. Potential performance benefits of developing bricks from clay material incorporated with spent shea waste included improved fluxing agents, economic sintering and making of sustainable bricks. Consequently, the analytical results authenticate the incorporation of spent shea waste into clay materials for various desired benefits aside being an environmental correct route of its disposal. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmentally-Friendly Geopolymeric Binders Made with Silica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erdogan, S. T.

2013-12-01

Portland cement (PC) is the ubiquitous binding material for constructions works. It is a big contributor to global warming and climate change since its production is responsible for 5-10 % of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Half of this emission arises from the calcination of calcareous raw materials and half from kiln fuel burning and cement clinker grinding. Recently there have been efforts to develop alternative binders with lower greenhouse gas emissions. One such class of binders is geopolymers, formed by activating natural or waste materials with suitable alkaline or acidic solutions. These binders use natural or industrial waste raw materials with a very low CO2 footprint from grinding of the starting materials, and some from the production of the activating chemicals. The total CO2 emissions from carefully formulated mixtures can be as low as 1/10th - 1/5th of those of PC concrete mixtures with comparable properties. While use of industrial wastes as raw materials is environmentally preferable, the variability of their chemical compositions over time renders their use difficult. Use of natural materials depletes resources but can have more consistent properties and can be more easily accepted. Silica sand is a natural material containing very high amounts of quartz. Silica fume is a very fine waste from silicon metal production that is mostly non-crystalline silica. This study describes the use of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solutions to yield mortars with mechanical properties comparable to those of portland cement mortars and with better chemical and thermal durability. Strength gain is slower than with PC mixtures at room temperature but adequate ultimate strength can be achieved with curing at slightly elevated temperatures in less than 24 h. The consistency of the chemical compositions of these materials and their abundance in several large, developing countries makes silica attractive for producing sustainable concretes with reduced carbon footprints.

29 CFR 1926.252 - Disposal of waste materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... fire regulations. (e) All solvent waste, oily rags, and flammable liquids shall be kept in fire... 29 Labor 8 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Disposal of waste materials. 1926.252 Section 1926.252..., Use, and Disposal § 1926.252 Disposal of waste materials. (a) Whenever materials are dropped more than...

The influence of residents' behaviour on waste electrical and electronic equipment collection effectiveness.

PubMed

Nowakowski, Piotr

2016-11-01

Government agencies have implemented regulations to reduce the volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment to protect the environment and encourage recycling. The effectiveness of systems through which waste electrical and electronic equipment is collected and recycled depends on (a) the development and operation of new programmes to process this material and (b) on information dissemination programmes aimed at manufacturers, retail sellers, and the consuming public. This study analyses these two elements. The main focus is to better understand household residents' behaviour in regards to the proper methods of handling waste electrical and electronic equipment and possible storage of the obsolete equipment that brings disturbances with collection of the waste equipment. The study explores these issues depending on size of municipality and the household residents' knowledge about legal methods of post-consumer management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Poland, where the collection rate of that type of waste is about 40% of the total mass of waste electrical and electronic equipment appearing in the market.The research was informed by various sources of information, including non-government organisations, Inspectorate of Environmental Protection and Central Statistics Office in Poland, questionnaires, and interviews with the household residents. The questionnaires were distributed to daytime and vocational students from different universities and the customers of an electronic equipment superstore. The results show that a resident's behaviour in regards to the handling of obsolete waste electrical and electronic equipment can significantly reduce the collection rate, especially when the waste is discarded improperly - mixed with municipal waste or sold in scrapyards. It is possible to identify points that are necessary to be improved to achieve a higher collection rate. © The Author(s) 2016.

Natural diatomite process for removal of radioactivity from liquid waste.

PubMed

Osmanlioglu, Ahmet Erdal

2007-01-01

Diatomite has a number of unique physical properties and has found diversified industrial utilization. The filtration characteristics are particularly significant in the purification of liquids. The purpose of this study was to test natural diatomaceous earth (diatomite) as an alternative material that could be used for removal of radioactivity from liquid waste. A pilot-scale column-type device was designed. Natural diatomite samples were ground, sieved and prepared to use as sorption media. In this study, real waste liquid was used as radioactive liquid having special conditions. The liquid waste contained three radionuclides (Cs-137, Cs-134 and Co-60). Following the treatment by diatomite, the radioactivity of liquid waste was reduced from the initial 2.60 Bq/ml to less than 0.40 Bq/ml. The results of this study show that most of the radioactivity was removed from the solution by processing with diatomite.

Solid waste generation and characterization in the University of Lagos for a sustainable waste management.

PubMed

Adeniran, A E; Nubi, A T; Adelopo, A O

2017-09-01

Waste characterization is the first step to any successful waste management policy. In this paper, the characterization and the trend of solid waste generated in University of Lagos, Nigeria was carried out using ASTM D5231-92 and Resource Conservation Reservation Authority RCRA Waste Sampling Draft Technical Guidance methods. The recyclable potential of the waste is very high constituting about 75% of the total waste generated. The estimated average daily solid waste generation in Unilag Akoka campus was estimated to be 32.2tons. The solid waste characterization was found to be: polythene bags 24% (7.73tons/day), paper 15% (4.83tons/day), organic matters 15%, (4.83tons/day), plastic 9% (2.90tons/day), inert materials 8% (2.58tons/day), sanitary 7% (2.25tons/day), textile 7% (2.25tons/day), others 6% (1.93tons/day), leather 4% (1.29tons/day) metals 3% (0.97tons/day), glass 2% (0.64tons/day) and e-waste 0% (0.0tons/day). The volume and distribution of polythene bags generated on campus had a positive significant statistical correlation with the distribution of commercial and academic structures on campus. Waste management options to optimize reuse, recycling and reduce waste generation were discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Promising Thermoelectric Bulk Materials with 2D Structures.

PubMed

Zhou, Yiming; Zhao, Li-Dong

2017-12-01

Given that more than two thirds of all energy is lost, mostly as waste heat, in utilization processes worldwide, thermoelectric materials, which can directly convert waste heat to electricity, provide an alternative option for optimizing energy utilization processes. After the prediction that superlattices may show high thermoelectric performance, various methods based on quantum effects and superlattice theory have been adopted to analyze bulk materials, leading to the rapid development of thermoelectric materials. Bulk materials with two-dimensional (2D) structures show outstanding properties, and their high performance originates from both their low thermal conductivity and high Seebeck coefficient due to their strong anisotropic features. Here, the advantages of superlattices for enhancing the thermoelectric performance, the transport mechanism in bulk materials with 2D structures, and optimization methods are discussed. The phenomenological transport mechanism in these materials indicates that thermal conductivities are reduced in 2D materials with intrinsically short mean free paths. Recent progress in the transport mechanisms of Bi 2 Te 3 -, SnSe-, and BiCuSeO-based systems is summarized. Finally, possible research directions to enhance the thermoelectric performance of bulk materials with 2D structures are briefly considered. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Revolutionary advances in medical waste management. The Sanitec system.

PubMed

Edlich, Richard F; Borel, Lise; Jensen, H Gordon; Winters, Kathryne L; Long, William B; Gubler, K Dean; Buschbacher, Ralph M; Becker, Daniel G; Chang, Dillon E; Korngold, Jonathan; Chitwood, W Randolph; Lin, Kant Y; Nichter, Larry S; Berenson, Susan; Britt, L D; Tafel, John A

2006-01-01

It is the purpose of this collective review to provide a detailed outline of a revolutionary medical waste disposal system that should be used in all medical centers in the world to prevent pollution of our planet from medical waste. The Sanitec medical waste disposal system consists of the following seven components: (1) an all-weather steel enclosure of the waste management system, allowing it to be used inside or outside of the hospital center; (2) an automatic mechanical lift-and-load system that protects the workers from devastating back injuries; (3) a sophisticated shredding system designed for medical waste; (4) a series of air filters including the High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter; (5) microwave disinfection of the medical waste material; (6) a waste compactor or dumpster; and (7) an onboard microprocessor. It must be emphasized that this waste management system can be used either inside or outside the hospital. From start to finish, the Sanitec Microwave Disinfection system is designed to provide process and engineering controls that assure complete disinfection and destruction, while minimizing the operator's exposure to risk. There are numerous technologic benefits to the Sanitec systems, including environmental, operational, physical, and disinfection efficiency as well as waste residue disinfection. Wastes treated through the Sanitec system are thoroughly disinfected, unrecognizable, and reduced in volume by approximately 80% (saving valuable landfill space and reducing hauling requirements and costs). They are acceptable in any municipal solid waste program. Sanitec's Zero Pollution Advantage is augmented by a complete range of services, including installation, startup, testing, training, maintenance, and repair, over the life of this system. The Sanitec waste management system has essentially been designed to provide the best overall solution to the customer, when that customer actually looks at the total cost of dealing with the medical waste issue. The Sanitec system is the right choice for healthcare and medical waste professionals around the world.

Opportunities for Waste Heat Recovery at Contingency Bases

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-01

thermal insulation around the reactor to reduce heating requirements. Calculations demonstrate that about 44 W-hrs are required to heat a gallon of...tank ( ), which considers the convective heat transfer inside and outside the tank, the tank material, and insulation surrounding...well as provide excellent insulation to reduce heat loss during transport. Any non-buried portion (e.g., at tank or heat exchanger connec- tions

Agronomic value of sewage sludge and corn cob biochar in an infertile Oxisol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deenik, J. L.; Cooney, M. J.; Antal, M. J., Jr.

2013-12-01

Disposal of sewage sludge and other agricultural waste materials has become increasingly difficult in urban environments with limited land space. Carbonization of the hazardous waste produces biochar as a soil amendment with potential to improve soil quality and productivity. A series of greenhouse pot experiments were conducted to assess the agrnomic value of two biochars made from domestic wastewater sludge and corn cob waste. The ash component of the sewage sludge biochar was very high (65.5%) and high for the corn cob (11.4%) biochars. Both biochars contained low concentrations of heavy metals and met EPA land application criteria. The sewage sludge biochar was a better liming material and source of mineral nutrients than the corn cob biochar, but the corn cob biochar showed the greatest increase in soil carbon and total nitrogen. Both biochar materials increased soil pH compared with soils not receiving biochar, but the sewage sludge biochar was a more effective liming material maintaining elevated soil pH throughout the 3 planting cycles. The sewage sludge biochar also showed the greatest increase in extractable soil P and base cations. In the first planting cycle, both biochars in combination with conventional fertilizers produced significantly higher corn seedling growth than the fertilized control. However, the sewage sludge biochar maintained beneficial effects corn seedling growth through the third planting cycle showing 3-fold increases in biomass production compared with the control in the third planting. The high ash content and associated liming properties and mineral nutrient contributions in the sewage sludge biochar explain benefits to plant growth. Conversion of sewage sludge waste into biochar has the potential to effectively address several environmental issues: 1) convert a hazardous waste into a valuable soil amendment, 2) reduce land and water contamination, and 3) improve soil quality and productivity.

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.

Utilization of on-site resources for regenerative life support systems at Lunar and Martian outposts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ming, Douglas W.; Golden, D. C.; Henninger, Donald L.

1993-01-01

Lunar and martian materials can be processed and used at planetary outposts to reduce the need (and thus the cost) of transportng supplies from Earth. A variety of uses for indigenous, on-site materials have been suggested, including uses as rocket propellants, construction materials, and life support materials. Utilization of on-site resources will supplement Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) that will be needed to regenerate air, water, wastes, and to produce food (e.g., plants) for human consumption during long-duration space missions. Natural materials on the Moon and/or Mars may be used for a variety of RLSS needs including (1) soils or solid-support substrate for plant growth, (2) sources for extraction of essential plant-growth nutrients, (3) sources of O2, H2, CO2, and water, (4) substrates for microbial populations in the degradation of wastes, and (5) shielding materials surrounding outpost structures to protect humans, plants, and microorganisms from radiation. In addition to the regolith, the martian atmosphere will provide additional resources at a Mars outpost, including water, CO2 and other atmospheric gases.

EPA Works with Rhode Island Company to Reduce Risks from Hazardous Materials

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A Lincoln, RI, metals etching company has made changes in its manufacturing equipment and process to ensure that it is complying with federal clean air and hazardous waste laws and to settle claims of violations by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Screening tests for hazard classification of complex waste materials - Selection of methods

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

Weltens, R., E-mail: reinhilde.weltens@vito.be; Vanermen, G.; Tirez, K.

In this study we describe the development of an alternative methodology for hazard characterization of waste materials. Such an alternative methodology for hazard assessment of complex waste materials is urgently needed, because the lack of a validated instrument leads to arbitrary hazard classification of such complex waste materials. False classification can lead to human and environmental health risks and also has important financial consequences for the waste owner. The Hazardous Waste Directive (HWD) describes the methodology for hazard classification of waste materials. For mirror entries the HWD classification is based upon the hazardous properties (H1-15) of the waste which canmore » be assessed from the hazardous properties of individual identified waste compounds or - if not all compounds are identified - from test results of hazard assessment tests performed on the waste material itself. For the latter the HWD recommends toxicity tests that were initially designed for risk assessment of chemicals in consumer products (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biocides, food, etc.). These tests (often using mammals) are not designed nor suitable for the hazard characterization of waste materials. With the present study we want to contribute to the development of an alternative and transparent test strategy for hazard assessment of complex wastes that is in line with the HWD principles for waste classification. It is necessary to cope with this important shortcoming in hazardous waste classification and to demonstrate that alternative methods are available that can be used for hazard assessment of waste materials. Next, by describing the pros and cons of the available methods, and by identifying the needs for additional or further development of test methods, we hope to stimulate research efforts and development in this direction. In this paper we describe promising techniques and argument on the test selection for the pilot study that we have performed on different types of waste materials. Test results are presented in a second paper. As the application of many of the proposed test methods is new in the field of waste management, the principles of the tests are described. The selected tests tackle important hazardous properties but refinement of the test battery is needed to fulfil the a priori conditions.« less

Lipase-catalyzed biodiesel production from waste activated bleaching earth as raw material in a pilot plant.

PubMed

Park, Enoch Y; Sato, Masayasu; Kojima, Seiji

2008-05-01

The production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) from waste activated bleaching earth (ABE) discarded by the crude oil refining industry using lipase from Candida cylindracea was investigated in a 50-L pilot plant. Diesel oil or kerosene was used as an organic solvent for the transesterification of triglycerides embedded in the waste ABE. When 1% (w/w) lipase was added to waste ABE, the FAME content reached 97% (w/w) after reaction for 12 h at 25 degrees C with an agitation rate of 30 rpm. The FAME production rate was strongly dependent upon the amount of enzyme added. Mixtures of FAME and diesel oil at ratios of 45:55 (BDF-45) and 35:65 (BDF-35) were assessed and compared with the European specifications for biodiesel as automotive diesel fuel, as defined by pr EN 14214. The biodiesel quality of BDF-45 met the EN 14214 standard. BDF-45 was used as generator fuel, and the exhaust emissions were compared with those of diesel oil. The CO and SO2 contents were reduced, but nitrogen oxide emission increased by 10%. This is the first report of a pilot plant study of lipase-catalyzed FAME production using waste ABE as a raw material. This result demonstrates a promising reutilization method for the production of FAME from industrial waste resources containing vegetable oils for use as a biodiesel fuel.

Characterization of Low Firing Temperature Ceramic Glaze Using Phuket MSW and Soda Lime Cullet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ketboonruang, P.; Jinawat, S.; Kashima, D. P.; Wasanapiarnpong, T.; Sujaridworakun, P.; Buggakuptav, W.; Traipol, N.; Jiemsirilers, S.

2011-10-01

The normal firing temperature of ceramic products is around 1200 °C. In order to reduce firing temperature, industrial wastes were utilized in ceramic glaze. Phuket municipal solid waste (MSW), soda lime cullet, and borax were used as raw materials for low firing temperature glazes. The glaze compositions were designed using a triaxial diagram. Stoneware ceramic body was glazed then fired at 1000 and 1150 °C for 15 minutes. Morphology and phase composition of glazes were analyzed by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thermal expansion compatibility of Stoneware body and glazes were investigated using a dilatometer. Melting behaviour of selected glaze was analyzed by heating stage microscopy. Phuket MSW and Soda lime glass cullet can be used in high percentage as major raw materials for low firing temperature ceramic glaze that show good texture and vitrified at lower firing temperature without using any commercial ceramic frits. The firing temperature can be reduced up to 150 °C in this study.

Electrolytic decontamination of conductive materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, George M.; Nelson, Timothy O.; Parker, John L.; Getty, Richard H.; Hergert, Tom R.; Lindahl, Kirk A.; Peppers, Larry G.

1994-10-01

Using the electrolytic method, we have demonstrated removal of Pu and Am from contaminated conductive material. At EG and G /Rocky Flats, we electrolytically decontaminated stainless steel. Results from this work show removal of fixed contamination, including the following geometries: planar, large radius, bolt holes, glove ports, and protruding studs. More specifically, fixed contamination was reduced from levels ranging from greater than 1 000 000 counts per minute (cpm) down to levels ranging from 1500 to 250 cpm using the electrolytic method. More recently, the electrolytic work has continued at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a joint project with EG and G/Rocky Flats. Impressively, electrolytic decontamination of Pu /Am from U surfaces (10 sq cm per side) shows decreases in swipable contamination from 500 000-1 500 000 disintegrations per minute (dpm) down to 0-2 dpm. Moreover, the solid waste product of the electrolytic method is reduced in volume by more than 50 times compared with the liquid waste produced by the previous U decontamination method -- a hot concentrated acid spray leach process.

Handling Radioactive Waste from the Proton Accelerator Facility at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) - Always Surprising? - 13320

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

Mueth, Joachim

The Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) is the largest national research centre in Switzerland. Its multidisciplinary research is dedicated to a wide field in natural science and technology as well as particle physics. In this context, PSI is operating, amongst others, a large proton accelerator facility since more than 30 years. In two cyclotrons, protons are accelerated to high speeds and then guided along roughly 100 m of beam line to three different target stations to produce secondary particles like mesons and neutrons for experiments and a separately beam line for UCN. The protons induce spallation processes in the target materials,more » and also at other beam loss points along the way, with emission of protons, neutrons, hydrogen, tritium, helium, heavier fragments and fission processes. In particular the produced neutrons, due to their large penetration depth, will then interact also with the surrounding materials. These interactions of radiation with matter lead to activation and partly to contamination of machine components and the surrounding infrastructures. Maintenance, operation and decommissioning of installations generate inevitably substantial amounts of radioactive operational and dismantling waste like targets, magnets, collimators, shielding (concrete, steel) and of course secondary waste. To achieve an optimal waste management strategy for interim storage or final disposal, radioactive waste has to be characterized, sorted and treated. This strategy is based on radiation protection demands, raw waste properties (size, material, etc.), and requirements to reduce the volume of waste, mainly for legal and economical reasons. In addition, the radiological limitations for transportation of the waste packages to a future disposal site have to be taken into account, as well as special regulatory demands. The characterization is a task of the waste producer. The conditioning processes and quality checks for radioactive waste packages are part of an accredited waste management process of PSI, especially of the Section Dismantling and Waste Management. Strictly proven and accepted methods needed to be developed and enhanced for safe treatment, transport, conditioning and storage. But in the field of waste from research activities, individual and new solutions have to be found in an increasingly growing administrative environment. Furthermore, a wide variety of components, with a really large inventory of radioactive nuclides, has to be handled. And there are always surprising challenges concerning the unusual materials or the nuclide inventory. In case of the operational and dismantling radioactive accelerator waste, the existing conditioning methods are in the process of a continuous enhancement - technically and administratively. The existing authorized specifications of conditioning processes have to be extended to optimize and fully describe the treatment of the inevitably occurring radioactive waste from the accelerator facility. Additional challenges are the changes with time concerning the legal and regulatory requirements - or do we have to consider it as business as usual? This paper gives an overview of the current practices in radioactive waste management and decommissioning of the existing operational accelerator waste. (authors)« less

Emission of volatile sulfur compounds during composting of municipal solid waste (MSW)

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

Zhang, Hongyu; College of Resources and Environment Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094; Schuchardt, Frank

2013-04-15

Highlights: ► We compare the volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) emissions during three types of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) composting. ► The VSCs released from the kitchen waste composting was significantly higher than that from 15–80 mm fraction of MSW. ► Among the five VSCs, H{sub 2}S was the most abundant compound with 39.0–43.0% of total VSCs released. ► Addition of 20% cornstalks could significantly reduce the VSCs emissions during kitchen waste composting. - Abstract: Volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) are the main source for malodor from composting plants. In this study, the VSCs generated from composting of 15–80 mm municipal solidmore » waste (T0), kitchen waste (T1) and kitchen waste mixed dry cornstalks (T2) were measured in 60 L reactors with forced aeration for a period of 30 days. The VSCs detected in all treatments were hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S), methyl mercaptan (MM), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), carbon bisulfide (CS{sub 2}) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS). Over 90% of the VSCs emissions occurred during the first 15 days, and reached their peak values at days 4–7. The emission profiles of five VSCs species were significantly correlated with internal materials temperature and outlet O{sub 2} concentration (p < 0.05). Total emissions of the VSCs were 216.1, 379.3 and 126.0 mg kg{sup −1} (dry matter) for T0, T1 and T2, respectively. Among the five VSCs, H{sub 2}S was the most abundant compound with 39.0–43.0% of total VSCs released. Composting of kitchen waste from separate collection posed a negative influence on the VSC and leachate production because of its high moisture content. An addition of dry cornstalks at a mixing ratio of 4:1 (wet weight) could significantly reduce the VSCs emissions and avoid leachate. Compared to pure kitchen waste, VSCs were reduced 66.8%.« less

Assessment of application of selected waste for production of biogas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawlita-Posmyk, Monika; Wzorek, Małgorzata

2017-10-01

Recently, the idea of biogas production has become a popular topic in Poland. Biogas is a valuable source of renewable energy with a potential application in electricity and heat production. Numerous types of technological solutions of biogas production are closely linked to the availability of substrates in the area, as well as their quantity and their properties. The paper presents the assessment of application in biogas production selected wastes such as communal and household sewage sludge and waste from a paper production in Opole region (Poland). The annual productions of methane, biogas and electricity were estimated. Chosen physico-chemical properties important in fermentation process were taken into consideration in the assessment. The highest value of potential energy was obtained using waste from the paper industry but the most appropriate parameters for this process has sewage sludge from the municipal sewage treatment plant. The use of sewage sludge from domestic and municipal sewage and waste from the paper industry creates the opportunity to reduce the amount of waste materials.

System for decision analysis support on complex waste management issues

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

Shropshire, D.E.

1997-10-01

A software system called the Waste Flow Analysis has been developed and applied to complex environmental management processes for the United States Department of Energy (US DOE). The system can evaluate proposed methods of waste retrieval, treatment, storage, transportation, and disposal. Analysts can evaluate various scenarios to see the impacts to waste slows and schedules, costs, and health and safety risks. Decision analysis capabilities have been integrated into the system to help identify preferred alternatives based on a specific objectives may be to maximize the waste moved to final disposition during a given time period, minimize health risks, minimize costs,more » or combinations of objectives. The decision analysis capabilities can support evaluation of large and complex problems rapidly, and under conditions of variable uncertainty. The system is being used to evaluate environmental management strategies to safely disposition wastes in the next ten years and reduce the environmental legacy resulting from nuclear material production over the past forty years.« less

Potential Environmental Benefits from Blending Biosolids with Other Organic Amendments before Application to Land.

PubMed

Paramashivam, Dharini; Dickinson, Nicholas M; Clough, Timothy J; Horswell, Jacqui; Robinson, Brett H

2017-05-01

Biosolids disposal to landfill or through incineration is wasteful of a resource that is rich in organic matter and plant nutrients. Land application can improve soil fertility and enhance crop production but may result in excessive nitrate N (NO-N) leaching and residual contamination from pathogens, heavy metals, and xenobiotics. This paper evaluates evidence that these concerns can be reduced significantly by blending biosolids with organic materials to reduce the environmental impact of biosolids application to soils. It appears feasible to combine organic waste streams for use as a resource to build or amend degraded soils. Sawdust and partially pyrolyzed biochars provide an opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of biosolids application, with studies showing reductions of NO-N leaching of 40 to 80%. However, other organic amendments including lignite coal waste may result in excessive NO-N leaching. Field trials combining biosolids and biochars for rehabilitation of degraded forest and ecological restoration are recommended. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Synthesis of high-purity precipitated calcium carbonate during the process of recovery of elemental sulphur from gypsum waste.

PubMed

de Beer, M; Doucet, F J; Maree, J P; Liebenberg, L

2015-12-01

We recently showed that the production of elemental sulphur and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from gypsum waste by thermally reducing the waste into calcium sulphide (CaS) followed by its direct aqueous carbonation yielded low-grade carbonate products (i.e. <90 mass% as CaCO3). In this study, we used the insight gained from our previous work and developed an indirect aqueous CaS carbonation process for the production of high-grade CaCO3 (i.e. >99 mass% as CaCO3) or precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). The process used an acid gas (H2S) to improve the aqueous dissolution of CaS, which is otherwise poorly soluble. The carbonate product was primarily calcite (99.5%) with traces of quartz (0.5%). Calcite was the only CaCO3 polymorph obtained; no vaterite or aragonite was detected. The product was made up of micron-size particles, which were further characterised by XRD, TGA, SEM, BET and true density. Results showed that about 0.37 ton of high-grade PCC can be produced from 1.0 ton of gypsum waste, and generates about 0.19 ton of residue, a reduction of 80% from original waste gypsum mass to mass of residue that needs to be discarded off. The use of gypsum waste as primary material in replacement of mined limestone for the production of PPC could alleviate waste disposal problems, along with converting significant volumes of waste materials into marketable commodities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physico-chemical characterisation of material fractions in residual and source-segregated household waste in Denmark.

PubMed

Götze, R; Pivnenko, K; Boldrin, A; Scheutz, C; Astrup, T Fruergaard

2016-08-01

Physico-chemical waste composition data are paramount for the assessment and planning of waste management systems. However, the applicability of data is limited by the regional, temporal and technical scope of waste characterisation studies. As Danish and European legislation aims for higher recycling rates evaluation of source-segregation and recycling chains gain importance. This paper provides a consistent up-to-date dataset for 74 physico-chemical parameters in 49 material fractions from residual and 24 material fractions from source-segregated Danish household waste. Significant differences in the physico-chemical properties of residual and source-segregated waste fractions were found for many parameters related to organic matter, but also for elements of environmental concern. Considerable differences in potentially toxic metal concentrations between the individual recyclable fractions within one material type were observed. This indicates that careful planning and performance evaluation of recycling schemes are important to ensure a high quality of collected recyclables. Rare earth elements (REE) were quantified in all waste fractions analysed, with the highest concentrations of REE found in fractions with high content of mineral raw materials, soil materials and dust. The observed REE concentrations represent the background concentration level in non-hazardous waste materials that may serve as a reference point for future investigations related to hazardous waste management. The detailed dataset provided here can be used for assessments of waste management solutions in Denmark and for the evaluation of the quality of recyclable materials in waste. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Construction materials as a waste management solution for cellulose sludge

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

Modolo, R., E-mail: regina.modolo@ua.pt; Ferreira, V.M.; Machado, L.M.

2011-02-15

Sustainable waste management system for effluents treatment sludge has been a pressing issue for pulp and paper sector. Recycling is always recommended in terms of environmental sustainability. Following an approach of waste valorisation, this work aims to demonstrate the technical viability of producing fiber-cement roof sheets incorporating cellulose primary sludge generated on paper and pulp mills. From the results obtained with preliminary studies it was possible to verify the possibility of producing fiber-cement sheets by replacing 25% of the conventional used virgin long fiber by primary effluent treatment cellulose sludge. This amount of incorporation was tested on an industrial scale.more » Environmental parameters related to water and waste, as well as tests for checking the quality of the final product was performed. These control parameters involved total solids in suspension, dissolved salts, chlorides, sulphates, COD, metals content. In the product, parameters like moisture, density and strength were controlled. The results showed that it is possible to replace the virgin long fibers pulp by primary sludge without impacts in final product characteristics and on the environment. This work ensures the elimination of significant waste amounts, which are nowadays sent to landfill, as well as reduces costs associated with the standard raw materials use in the fiber-cement industrial sector.« less

Irradiated recycled plastic as a concrete additive for improved chemo-mechanical properties and lower carbon footprint.

PubMed

Schaefer, Carolyn E; Kupwade-Patil, Kunal; Ortega, Michael; Soriano, Carmen; Büyüköztürk, Oral; White, Anne E; Short, Michael P

2018-01-01

Concrete production contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions, thus a need exists for the development of durable and sustainable concrete with a lower carbon footprint. This can be achieved when cement is partially replaced with another material, such as waste plastic, though normally with a tradeoff in compressive strength. This study discusses progress toward a high/medium strength concrete with a dense, cementitious matrix that contains an irradiated plastic additive, recovering the compressive strength while displacing concrete with waste materials to reduce greenhouse gas generation. Compressive strength tests showed that the addition of high dose (100kGy) irradiated plastic in multiple concretes resulted in increased compressive strength as compared to samples containing regular, non-irradiated plastic. This suggests that irradiating plastic at a high dose is a viable potential solution for regaining some of the strength that is lost when plastic is added to cement paste. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Backscattered Electron Microscopy (BSE), and X-ray microtomography explain the mechanisms for strength retention when using irradiated plastic as a filler for cement paste. By partially replacing Portland cement with a recycled waste plastic, this design may have a potential to contribute to reduced carbon emissions when scaled to the level of mass concrete production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acidification with nitric acid improves chemical characteristics and reduces phytotoxicity of alkaline chars.

PubMed

Fornes, Fernando; Belda, Rosa Maria

2017-04-15

Charred organic matter is recently receiving attention for its potential use as soilless growth medium. However, depending on its origin and on the manufacturing technology, it can result toxic for plants. This fact implies that a detoxifying treatment ought to be devised in order to reclaim char in this way. We have studied three materials which combine these factors: two pyrolyzed biochars, one from forest waste (BCH-FW) and another from olive mill waste (BCH-OMW), and one hydrothermally carbonized hydrochar from forest waste (HYD-FW). These materials are suspicious of phytotoxicity due to their high pH, high salinity, or presence of organic toxics. For these new materials, it is mandatory to select fast and reliable bioassays to predict their potential phytotoxicity. In order to achieve this goal water extracts of the three chars were subjected to bioassays of seed germination and bioassays of seedling growth in hydroponic conditions. The biochar from olive mill waste and the hydrochar, but not the biochar from forest waste, showed considerable phytotoxicity as seed germination and plant growth were negatively affected (e.g. BCH-OMW reduced seed germination by 80% and caused early seedling death). In order to adjust pH and electrical conductivity for plant growth, treatments of acidification and salt leaching with optimal diluted HNO 3 solutions (0.3 N, 0.2 N, and 0.75 N for BCH-OMW, BCH-FW, and HYD-FW, respectively) as calculated from titration curves, were conducted. The acid treatment reduced electrical conductivity in BCH-OMW (from 9.2 to 4.5 dS m -1 ), pH (maximum in BCH-FW from 9.6 to 6.2) and water soluble carbonaceous compounds (maximum in HYD-FW from 5969 to 2145 mg kg -1 ) in the three chars, and increased N content (maximum in BCH-OMW from 50 to 6342 mg kg -1 ) in the three chars. Bioassays on acid-treated chars demonstrated the absence of phytotoxicity and even stimulation of seedling growth over the control (increase of 86% and 56% for BCH-FW and HYD-FW, respectively). We conclude that acidification of chars with diluted HNO 3 is a viable technique to conform chars to standards for plant growth purposes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Additional Equipment for Soil Biodegradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vondráčková, Terezie; Kraus, Michal; Šál, Jiří

2017-12-01

Intensification of industrial production, increasing citizens’ living standards, expanding the consumer assortment mean in the production - consumption cycle a constantly increasing occurrence of waste material, which by its very nature must be considered as a source of useful raw materials in all branches of human activity. In addition to strict legislative requirements, a number of circumstances characterize waste management. It is mainly extensive transport associated with the handling and storage of large volumes of substances with a large assortment of materials (substances of all possible physical and chemical properties) and high demands on reliability and time coordination of follow-up processes. Considerable differences in transport distances, a large number of sources, processors and customers, and not least seasonal fluctuations in waste and strong price pressures cannot be overlooked. This highlights the importance of logistics in waste management. Soils that are contaminated with oil and petroleum products are hazardous industrial waste. Methods of industrial waste disposal are landfilling, biological processes, thermal processes and physical and chemical methods. The paper focuses on the possibilities of degradation of oil pollution, in particular biodegradation by bacteria, which is relatively low-cost among technologies. It is necessary to win the fight with time so that no ground water is contaminated. We have developed two additional devices to help reduce oil accident of smaller ranges. In the case of such an oil accident, it is necessary to carry out the permeability test of contaminated soil in time and, on this basis, to choose the technology appropriate to the accident - either in-sit biodegradation - at the site of the accident, or on-sit - to remove the soil and biodegrade it on the designated deposits. A special injection drill was developed for in-sit biodegradation, tossing and aeration equipment of the extracted soil was developed for on-sit biodegradation.

COSMOS-rice technology abrogates the biotoxic effects of municipal solid waste incinerator residues.

PubMed

Guarienti, Michela; Cardozo, Sdenka Moscoso; Borgese, Laura; Lira, Gloria Rodrigo; Depero, Laura E; Bontempi, Elza; Presta, Marco

2016-07-01

Fly ashes generated by municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) are classified as hazardous waste and usually landfilled. For the sustainable reuse of these materials is necessary to reduce the resulting impact on human health and environment. The COSMOS-rice technology has been recently proposed for the treatment of fly ashes mixed with rice husk ash, to obtain a low-cost composite material with significant performances. Here, aquatic biotoxicity assays, including daphnidae and zebrafish embryo-based tests, were used to assess the biosafety efficacy of this technology. Exposure to lixiviated MSWI fly ash caused dose-dependent biotoxic effects on daphnidae and zebrafish embryos with alterations of embryonic development, teratogenous defects and apoptotic events. On the contrary, no biotoxic effects were observed in daphnidae and zebrafish embryos exposed to lixiviated COSMOS-rice material. Accordingly, whole-mount in situ hybridization analysis of the expression of various tissue-specific genes in zebrafish embryos provided genetic evidence about the ability of COSMOS-rice stabilization process to minimize the biotoxic effects of MSWI fly ash. These results demonstrate at the biological level that the newly developed COSMOS-rice technology is an efficient and cost-effective method to process MSWI fly ash, producing a biologically safe and reusable material. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic Digestion.

PubMed

Liebetrau, Jan; Sträuber, Heike; Kretzschmar, Jörg; Denysenko, Velina; Nelles, Michael

2017-04-09

The term anaerobic digestion usually refers to the microbial conversion of organic material to biogas, which mainly consists of methane and carbon dioxide. The technical application of the naturally-occurring process is used to provide a renewable energy carrier and - as the substrate is often waste material - to reduce the organic matter content of the substrate prior to disposal.Applications can be found in sewage sludge treatment, the treatment of industrial and municipal solid wastes and wastewaters (including landfill gas utilization), and the conversion of agricultural residues and energy crops.For biorefinery concepts, the anaerobic digestion (AD) process is, on the one hand, an option to treat organic residues from other production processes. Concomitant effects are the reduction of organic carbon within the treated substance, the conversion of nitrogen and sulfur components, and the production of an energy-rich gas - the biogas. On the other hand, the multistep conversion of complex organic material offers the possibility of interrupting the conversion chain and locking out intermediates for utilization as basic material within the chemical industry.

Radioactive Waste Characterization Strategies; Comparisons Between AK/PK, Dose to Curie Modeling, Gamma Spectroscopy, and Laboratory Analysis Methods- 12194

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

Singledecker, Steven J.; Jones, Scotty W.; Dorries, Alison M.

2012-07-01

In the coming fiscal years of potentially declining budgets, Department of Energy facilities such as the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) will be looking to reduce the cost of radioactive waste characterization, management, and disposal processes. At the core of this cost reduction process will be choosing the most cost effective, efficient, and accurate methods of radioactive waste characterization. Central to every radioactive waste management program is an effective and accurate waste characterization program. Choosing between methods can determine what is classified as low level radioactive waste (LLRW), transuranic waste (TRU), waste that can be disposed of under an Authorizedmore » Release Limit (ARL), industrial waste, and waste that can be disposed of in municipal landfills. The cost benefits of an accurate radioactive waste characterization program cannot be overstated. In addition, inaccurate radioactive waste characterization of radioactive waste can result in the incorrect classification of radioactive waste leading to higher disposal costs, Department of Transportation (DOT) violations, Notice of Violations (NOVs) from Federal and State regulatory agencies, waste rejection from disposal facilities, loss of operational capabilities, and loss of disposal options. Any one of these events could result in the program that mischaracterized the waste losing its ability to perform it primary operational mission. Generators that produce radioactive waste have four characterization strategies at their disposal: - Acceptable Knowledge/Process Knowledge (AK/PK); - Indirect characterization using a software application or other dose to curie methodologies; - Non-Destructive Analysis (NDA) tools such as gamma spectroscopy; - Direct sampling (e.g. grab samples or Surface Contaminated Object smears) and laboratory analytical; Each method has specific advantages and disadvantages. This paper will evaluate each method detailing those advantages and disadvantages including; - Cost benefit analysis (basic materials costs, overall program operations costs, man-hours per sample analyzed, etc.); - Radiation Exposure As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) program considerations; - Industrial Health and Safety risks; - Overall Analytical Confidence Level. The concepts in this paper apply to any organization with significant radioactive waste characterization and management activities working to within budget constraints and seeking to optimize their waste characterization strategies while reducing analytical costs. (authors)« less

40 CFR 260.42 - Notification requirement for hazardous secondary materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: GENERAL Rulemaking Petitions § 260.42... according to the exclusion (reported as the EPA hazardous waste numbers that would apply if the hazardous secondary materials were managed as hazardous wastes); (8) For each hazardous secondary material, whether...

40 CFR 260.42 - Notification requirement for hazardous secondary materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: GENERAL Rulemaking Petitions § 260.42... according to the exclusion (reported as the EPA hazardous waste numbers that would apply if the hazardous secondary materials were managed as hazardous wastes); (8) For each hazardous secondary material, whether...

40 CFR 260.42 - Notification requirement for hazardous secondary materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: GENERAL Rulemaking Petitions § 260.42... according to the exclusion (reported as the EPA hazardous waste numbers that would apply if the hazardous secondary materials were managed as hazardous wastes); (8) For each hazardous secondary material, whether...

40 CFR 260.42 - Notification requirement for hazardous secondary materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: GENERAL Rulemaking Petitions § 260.42... according to the exclusion (reported as the EPA hazardous waste numbers that would apply if the hazardous secondary materials were managed as hazardous wastes); (8) For each hazardous secondary material, whether...

Landfill Mining - Wet mechanical treatment of fine MSW with a wet jigger.

PubMed

Wanka, Sebastian; Münnich, Kai; Fricke, Klaus

2017-01-01

The motives for landfill mining are various. In the last couple of years Enhanced Landfill Mining (ELFM) has become increasingly important in academic discourse and practical implementation. The main goal of ELFM is to recover as much material as possible from deposited municipal solid waste (MSW). In most of the projects carried out so far, the main focus has been set on coarse materials such as plastics, woods, papers and metals. These fractions can be separated easily by sieving in combination with magnetic separation. In these projects most of the fine materials, which might represent as much as 60-70% of the total mass of the landfill body, had to be deposited again. A further treatment aiming at reducing the masses of these fine materials, which are still a conglomerate of soil, calorific fractions, metals, minerals and residues, usually did not take place. One topic in the framework of the landfill mining project TÖNSLM, in addition to the separation of the calorific fraction and metals has been the treatment of fine materials with the goal to re-use these e.g. for construction purposes. This paper shows the results obtained after the wet mechanical treatment of fine MSW 10-60mm with a wet jigger. The physical principle of this process is the separation of the mass flux due to the different densities of the waste constituents. As a result, three main waste fluxes are obtained: Dense inert and dense fine fraction with a high content of minerals and a lightweight fraction with a high calorific value between 16 and 20MJ/kg. An additional positive effect of wet mechanical treatment is the removal of the finest particles from the surface of the waste material, thus increasing the quality of the generated waste fluxes. The mass fluxes of the different fractions and their qualities as well as possible recovery paths are described below. An economical and ecological consideration of the treatment of the fine materials does not take place within the framework of this feasibility study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stretch That Budget!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, John R.

1976-01-01

Discusses ways in which industrial education teachers can stretch their budgets, which include reducing waste to a minimum, keeping an accurate and up-to-date inventory, trading surplus or excess materials with neighboring schools, and planning programs more carefully. Money-saving tips concerned with metals, plastics, woods, and printing are also…

10 CFR 1.42 - Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... responsible for regulation and licensing of recycling technologies intended to reduce the amount of waste to... an appropriate regulatory framework, in recycling during development, demonstration, and deployment of new advanced recycling technologies that recycle nuclear fuel in a manner which does not produce...

10 CFR 1.42 - Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... responsible for regulation and licensing of recycling technologies intended to reduce the amount of waste to... an appropriate regulatory framework, in recycling during development, demonstration, and deployment of new advanced recycling technologies that recycle nuclear fuel in a manner which does not produce...

10 CFR 1.42 - Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... responsible for regulation and licensing of recycling technologies intended to reduce the amount of waste to... an appropriate regulatory framework, in recycling during development, demonstration, and deployment of new advanced recycling technologies that recycle nuclear fuel in a manner which does not produce...

10 CFR 1.42 - Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... responsible for regulation and licensing of recycling technologies intended to reduce the amount of waste to... an appropriate regulatory framework, in recycling during development, demonstration, and deployment of new advanced recycling technologies that recycle nuclear fuel in a manner which does not produce...

10 CFR 1.42 - Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... responsible for regulation and licensing of recycling technologies intended to reduce the amount of waste to... an appropriate regulatory framework, in recycling during development, demonstration, and deployment of new advanced recycling technologies that recycle nuclear fuel in a manner which does not produce...

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.

MEASUREMENT OF WASTE LOADING IN SALTSTONE

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

Harbour, J; Vickie Williams, V

2008-07-18

One of the goals of the Saltstone variability study is to identify the operational and compositional variables that control or influence the important processing and performance properties of Saltstone grout mixtures. One of those properties of importance is the Waste Loading (WL) of the decontaminated salt solution (DSS) in the Saltstone waste form. Waste loading is a measure of the amount of waste that can be incorporated within a waste form. The value of the Saltstone waste loading ultimately determines the number of vaults that will be required to disposition all of the DSS. In this report, the waste loadingmore » is defined as the volume in milliliters of DSS per liter of Saltstone waste form. The two most important parameters that determine waste loading for Saltstone are water to cementitious material (w/cm) ratio and the cured grout density. Data are provided that show the dependence of waste loading on the w/cm ratio for a fixed DSS composition using the current premix material (45% Blast Furnace Slag (BFS), 45% Fly Ash (FA) and 10% Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)). The impact of cured grout density on waste loading was also demonstrated. Mixes (at 0.60 w/cm) made with a Modular Caustic side extraction Unit (MCU) simulant and either OPC or BFS have higher cured grout densities than mixes made with premix and increase the WL to 709 mL/L for the OPC mix and 689 mL/L for the BFS mix versus the value of 653 mL/L for MCU in premix at 0.60 w/cm ratio. Bleed liquid reduces the waste loading and lowers the effective w/cm ratio of Saltstone. A method is presented (and will be used in future tasks) for correcting the waste loading and the w/cm ratio of the as-batched mixes in those cases where bleed liquid is present. For example, the Deliquification, Dissolution and Adjustment (DDA) mix at an as-batched 0.60 w/cm ratio, when corrected for % bleed, gives a mix with a 0.55 w/cm ratio and a WL that has been reduced from 662 to 625 mL/L. An example is provided that demonstrated the quantitative impact of WL on the number of cells (each Saltstone vault contains two cells) required to disposition all of the {approx}100 million gallons of DSS available in the tanks. This calculation revealed that the number of cells required over the range of 0.48 to 0.62 w/cm ratio (equivalent to a WL range of 591 to 666 mL/L) varies from 65 to 57 cells (33 to 29 vaults). The intent of this oversimplified example was to show the range of variation in vaults expected due to w/cm ratio rather than to estimate the actual number of vaults required. There is a tradeoff between the waste loading and the processing and performance properties of Saltstone. The performance properties improve in general as the w/cm ratio decreases whereas the waste loading is reduced at lower w/cm ratios resulting in a larger number of Saltstone vaults. The final performance and processing requirements of Saltstone will determine the maximum waste loading achievable.« less

In-situ vitrification of waste materials

DOEpatents

Powell, J.R.; Reich, M.; Barletta, R.

1997-10-14

A method for the in-situ vitrification of waste materials in a disposable can that includes an inner container and an outer container is disclosed. The method includes the steps of adding frit and waste materials to the inner container, removing any excess water, heating the inner container such that the frit and waste materials melt and vitrify after cooling, while maintaining the outer container at a significantly lower temperature than the inner container. The disposable can is then cooled to ambient temperatures and stored. A device for the in-situ vitrification of waste material in a disposable can is also disclosed. 7 figs.

In-situ vitrification of waste materials

DOEpatents

Powell, James R.; Reich, Morris; Barletta, Robert

1997-11-14

A method for the in-situ vitrification of waste materials in a disposable can that includes an inner container and an outer container is disclosed. The method includes the steps of adding frit and waste materials to the inner container, removing any excess water, heating the inner container such that the frit and waste materials melt and vitrify after cooling, while maintaining the outer container at a significantly lower temperature than the inner container. The disposable can is then cooled to ambient temperatures and stored. A device for the in-situ vitrification of waste material in a disposable can is also disclosed.

Leaching characteristics of copper flotation waste before and after vitrification.

PubMed

Coruh, Semra; Ergun, Osman Nuri

2006-12-01

Copper flotation waste from copper production using a pyrometallurgical process contains toxic metals such as Cu, Zn, Co and Pb. Because of the presence of trace amounts of these highly toxic metals, copper flotation waste contributes to environmental pollution. In this study, the leaching characteristics of copper flotation waste from the Black Sea Copper Works in Samsun, Turkey have been investigated before and after vitrification. Samples obtained from the factory were subjected to toxicity tests such as the extraction procedure toxicity test (EP Tox), the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) and the "method A" extraction procedure of the American Society of Testing and Materials. The leaching tests showed that the content of some elements in the waste before vitrification exceed the regulatory limits and cannot be disposed of in the present form. Therefore, a stabilization or inertization treatment is necessary prior to disposal. Vitrification was found to stabilize heavy metals in the copper flotation waste successfully and leaching of these metals was largely reduced. Therefore, vitrification can be an acceptable method for disposal of copper flotation waste.

State-of-the-art of recycling e-wastes by vacuum metallurgy separation.

PubMed

Zhan, Lu; Xu, Zhenming

2014-12-16

In recent era, more and more electric and electronic equipment wastes (e-wastes) are generated that contain both toxic and valuable materials in them. Most studies focus on the extraction of valuable metals like Au, Ag from e-wastes. However, the recycling of metals such as Pb, Cd, Zn, and organics has not attracted enough attentions. Vacuum metallurgy separation (VMS) processes can reduce pollution significantly using vacuum technique. It can effectively recycle heavy metals and organics from e-wastes in an environmentally friendly way, which is beneficial for both preventing the heavy metal contaminations and the sustainable development of resources. VMS can be classified into several methods, such as vacuum evaporation, vacuum carbon reduction and vacuum pyrolysis. This paper respectively reviews the state-of-art of these methods applied to recycling heavy metals and organics from several kinds of e-wastes. The method principle, equipment used, separating process, optimized operating parameters and recycling mechanism of each case are illustrated in details. The perspectives on the further development of e-wastes recycling by VMS are also presented.

Management of spent shea waste: An instrumental characterization and valorization in clay bricks construction.

PubMed

Adazabra, A N; Viruthagiri, G; Shanmugam, N

2017-06-01

This work studies the reuse of spent shea waste as an economic construction material in improving fired clay bricks manufacture aside providing a novel approach to ecofriendly managing its excessive generated from the shea agroindustry. For this purpose, the influence of spent shea waste addition on the chemical, mineralogical, molecular bonding and technological properties (i.e. compressive strength and water absorption) of the fired clay bricks were extensively investigated. The results indicated that the chemical, mineralogical, phase transformations, molecular bonding and thermal behavior of the produced bricks were practically unaffected by the addition of spent shea waste. However, spent shea waste addition increased the compressive strengths and water absorptions of the brick products. Potential performance benefits of reusing spent shea waste was improved fluxing agents, energy-contribution reaction, excellent porosifying effect, reduced thermal conductivity and enhanced compressive strengths of the brick products. This research has therefore provided compelling evidence that could create newfound route for the synergistic ecofriendly reuse of spent shea waste to enhance clay brick construction aside being a potential mainstream disposal option. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flows of engineered nanomaterials through the recycling process in Switzerland

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

Caballero-Guzman, Alejandro; Sun, Tianyin; Nowack, Bernd, E-mail: nowack@empa.ch

Highlights: • Recycling is one of the likely end-of-life fates of nanoproducts. • We assessed the material flows of four nanomaterials in the Swiss recycling system. • After recycling, most nanomaterials will flow to landfills or incineration plants. • Recycled construction waste, plastics and textiles may contain nanomaterials. - Abstract: The use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in diverse applications has increased during the last years and this will likely continue in the near future. As the number of applications increase, more and more waste with nanomaterials will be generated. A portion of this waste will enter the recycling system, formore » example, in electronic products, textiles and construction materials. The fate of these materials during and after the waste management and recycling operations is poorly understood. The aim of this work is to model the flows of nano-TiO{sub 2}, nano-ZnO, nano-Ag and CNT in the recycling system in Switzerland. The basis for this study is published information on the ENMs flows on the Swiss system. We developed a method to assess their flow after recycling. To incorporate the uncertainties inherent to the limited information available, we applied a probabilistic material flow analysis approach. The results show that the recycling processes does not result in significant further propagation of nanomaterials into new products. Instead, the largest proportion will flow as waste that can subsequently be properly handled in incineration plants or landfills. Smaller fractions of ENMs will be eliminated or end up in materials that are sent abroad to undergo further recovery processes. Only a reduced amount of ENMs will flow back to the productive process of the economy in a limited number of sectors. Overall, the results suggest that risk assessment during recycling should focus on occupational exposure, release of ENMs in landfills and incineration plants, and toxicity assessment in a small number of recycled inputs.« less

Effect of silica fume on the characterization of the geopolymer materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khater, Hisham M.

2013-12-01

The influence of silica fume (SF) addition on properties of geopolymer materials produced from alkaline activation of alumino-silicates metakaolin and waste concrete produced from demolition works has been studied through the measurement of compressive strength, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Alumino-silicate materials are coarse aggregate included waste concrete and fired kaolin (metakaolin) at 800°C for 3 h, both passing a sieve of 90 μm. Mix specimens containing silica fume were prepared at water/binder ratios in a range of 0.30 under water curing. The used activators are an equal mix of sodium hydroxide and silicate in the ratio of 3:3 wt.%. The control geopolymer mix is composed of metakaolin and waste concrete in an equal mix (50:50, wt.%). Waste concrete was partially replaced by silica fume by 1 to 10 wt.%. The results indicated that compressive strengths of geopolymer mixes incorporating SF increased up to 7% substitution and then decreased up to 10% but still higher than that of the control mix. Results indicated that compressive strengths of geopolymer mixes incorporating SF increases up to 7% substitution and then decreases up to 10% but still higher than the control mix, where 7% SF-digested calcium hydroxide (CH) crystals, decreased the orientation of CH crystals, reduced the crystal size of CH gathered at the interface, and improved the interface more effectively.

Eco-dialysis: the financial and ecological costs of dialysis waste products: is a 'cradle-to-cradle' model feasible for planet-friendly haemodialysis waste management?

PubMed

Piccoli, Giorgina Barbara; Nazha, Marta; Ferraresi, Martina; Vigotti, Federica Neve; Pereno, Amina; Barbero, Silvia

2015-06-01

Approximately 2 million chronic haemodialysis patients produce over 2,000,000 tons of waste per year that includes about 600,000 tons of potentially hazardous waste. The aim of the present study was to analyse the characteristics of the waste that is produced through chronic haemodialysis in an effort to identify strategies to reduce its environmental and financial impact. The study included three dialysis machines and disposables for bicarbonate dialysis, haemodiafiltration (HFR) and lactate dialysis. Hazardous waste is defined as waste that comes into contact with bodily fluids. The weight and cost of waste management was evaluated by various policies of differentiation, ranging from a careful-optimal differentiation to a careless one. The amount of time needed for optimal management was recorded in 30 dialysis sessions. Non-hazardous materials were assessed for potential recycling. The amount of plastic waste that is produced per dialysis session ranges from 1.5 to 8 kg (from 1.1 to 8 kg of potentially hazardous waste), depending upon the type of dialysis machine and supplies, differentiation and emptying policies. The financial cost of waste disposal is high, and is mainly related to hazardous waste disposal, with costs ranging from 2.2 to 16 Euro per session (2.7-21 USD) depending on the waste management policy. The average amount of time needed for careful, optimal differentiation disposal is approximately 1 minute for a haemodialysis session and 2 minutes for HFR. The ecological cost is likewise high: less than one-third of non-hazardous waste (23-28%) is potentially recyclable, while the use of different types of plastic, glues, inks and labels prevents the remaining materials from being recycled. Acknowledging the problem of waste management in dialysis could lead to savings of hundreds of millions of Dollars and to the reuse and recycling of hundreds of tons of plastic waste per year on a world-wide scale with considerable financial and ecological savings. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

Lauryl Amine as heavy metal collector of boiler ash from pulp and paper mill waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sembiring, M. P.; Kaban, J.; Bangun, N.; Saputra, E.

2018-04-01

Theincreasing of demand of pulp and paper products, will following with the growing the pulp and paper industryand generate significant mill waste. The total waste reached 1/3 of the amount raw materials used and ash boiler is the waste with the largest percentage of 52%. For that it takes effort to manage the existing waste. The boiler ash contained the chemical elements, it can be utilized such as fertilizer, because it also contains transition metals in form of heavy metal such as Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Chrome (Cr), Cupprum (Cu), Ferrum (Fe), Nickel (Ni), and Zinc (Zn), the use of boiler ash must follow the threshold specified by the Government. Several studies have been undertaken to reduce and extract heavy metals from ash and sand of the boiler by using carbon dioxide as its ligand. Eelectrochemical method was used to remove and recovery of heavy metals from the incenerator. This study focused on removal of heavy metals using Lauryl Amine as collector and three solvents namely Dichloromethane, Ethanol and n-Hexane. The treatmentswas able to extract the heavy metal and generally reduce the heavy metal content of ash boiler pulp and paper mill waste. The combination treatment used toreduce the heavy metal content of 5 gram Lauryl Amine collector in Dichloromethane solvent for 4 hours process time.

Low Carbon Footprint mortar from Pozzolanic Waste Material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehmannavaz, Taha; Mehman navaz, Hossein Ali; Moayed Zefreh, Fereshteh; Aboata, Zahra

2017-04-01

Nowadays, Portland cement clinker leads to emission of CO2 into the atmosphere and therefore causes greenhouse effect. Incorporating of Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) and Pulverized Fuel Ash (PFA) as partial cement replacement materials into mix of low carbon mortar decreases the amount of cement use and reduces high dependence on cements compared to ordinary mortar. The result of this research supported use of the new concept in preparing low carbon mortar for industrial constructions. Strength of low carbon mortar with POFA and PFA replacement in cement was affected and changed by replacing percent finesse, physical and chemical properties and pozzolanic activity of these wastes. Waste material replacement instead of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) was used in this study. This in turn was useful for promoting better quality of construction and innovative systems in construction industry, especially in Malaysia. This study was surely a step forward to achieving quality products which were affordable, durable and environmentally friendly. Disposing ash contributes to shortage of landfill space in Malaysia. Besides, hazard of ash might be another serious issue for human health. The ash disposal area also might create a new problem, which is the area's sedimentation and erosion.

Use of fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud as a liner material for the disposal of hazardous zinc leach residue waste.

PubMed

Coruh, Semra; Ergun, Osman Nuri

2010-01-15

Increasing amounts of residues and waste materials coming from industrial activities in different processes have become an increasingly urgent problem for the future. The release of large quantities of heavy metals into the environment has resulted in a number of environmental problems. The present study investigated the safe disposal of the zinc leach residue waste using industrial residues such as fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud. In the study, leachability of heavy metals from the zinc leach residue has been evaluated by mine water leaching procedure (MWLP) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). Zinc removal from leachate was studied using fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud. The adsorption capacities and adsorption efficiencies were determined. The adsorption rate data was analyzed according to the pseudo-second-order kinetic, Elovich kinetic and intra-particle diffusion kinetic models. The pseudo-second-order kinetic was the best fit kinetic model for the experimental data. The results show that addition of fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud to the zinc leach residue drastically reduces the heavy metal content in the leachate and could be used as liner materials.

Metal-binding hydrogel particles alleviate soil toxicity and facilitate healthy plant establishment of the native metallophyte grass Astrebla lappacea in mine waste rock and tailings.

PubMed

Bigot, M; Guterres, J; Rossato, L; Pudmenzky, A; Doley, D; Whittaker, M; Pillai-McGarry, U; Schmidt, S

2013-03-15

Soil contaminants are potentially a major threat to human and ecosystem health and sustainable production of food and energy where mineral processing wastes are discharged into the environment. In extreme conditions, metal concentrations in wastes often exceed even the metal tolerance thresholds of metallophytes (metal-tolerant plants) and sites remain barren with high risks of contaminant leaching and dispersion into the environment via erosion. A novel soil amendment based on micron-size thiol functional cross-linked acrylamide polymer hydrogel particles (X3) binds toxic soluble metals irreversibly and significantly reduces their concentrations in the soil solution to below the phytotoxicity thresholds. X3 mixed into the top 50mm of phytotoxic mine waste materials in pots in glasshouse conditions reduced total soluble concentrations of toxic contaminants by 90.3-98.7% in waste rock, and 88.6-96.4% in tailings immediately after application. After 61 days, quality of unamended bottom layer of X3-treated pots was also significantly improved in both wastes. Combination of X3 and metallophytes was more efficient at improving soil solution quality than X3 alone. Addition of X3 to substrates increased substrate water retention and water availability to plants by up to 108% and 98% for waste rock and tailings respectively. Soil quality improvement by X3 allowed successful early establishment of the native metallophyte grass Astrebla lappacea on both wastes where plants failed to establish otherwise. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lean manufacturing analysis to reduce waste on production process of fan products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siregar, I.; Nasution, A. A.; Andayani, U.; Sari, R. M.; Syahputri, K.; Anizar

2018-02-01

This research is based on case study that being on electrical company. One of the products that will be researched is the fan, which when running the production process there is a time that is not value-added, among others, the removal of material which is not efficient in the raw materials and component molding fan. This study aims to reduce waste or non-value added activities and shorten the total lead time by using the tools Value Stream Mapping. Lean manufacturing methods used to analyze and reduce the non-value added activities, namely the value stream mapping analysis tools, process mapping activity with 5W1H, and tools 5 whys. Based on the research note that no value-added activities in the production process of a fan of 647.94 minutes of total lead time of 725.68 minutes. Process cycle efficiency in the production process indicates that the fan is still very low at 11%. While estimates of the repair showed a decrease in total lead time became 340.9 minutes and the process cycle efficiency is greater by 24%, which indicates that the production process has been better.

A comprehensive review on removal of arsenic using activated carbon prepared from easily available waste materials.

PubMed

Mondal, Monoj Kumar; Garg, Ravi

2017-05-01

Arsenic contamination in water bodies is a serious problem and causes various health problems due to which US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) set its maximum permissible limit of 10 ppb. The present review article starts with the removal of toxic arsenic using adsorbents prepared from easily available waste materials. Adsorbent either commercial or low-cost adsorbent can be used for arsenic removal but recent research was focused on the low-cost adsorbent. Preparation and activation of various adsorbents were discussed. Adsorption capacities, surface area, thermodynamic, and kinetics data of various adsorbents for As(III) and As(V) removal were compiled. Desorption followed by regeneration and reuse of adsorbents is an important step in adsorption and leads to economical process. Various desorbing and regenerating agents were discussed for arsenic decontamination from the adsorbent surface. Strong acids, bases, and salts are the main desorbing agents. Disposal of arsenic-contaminated adsorbent and arsenic waste was also a big problem because of the toxic and leaching effect of arsenic. So, arsenic waste was disposed of by proper stabilization/solidification (S/S) technique by mixing it in Portland cement, iron, ash, etc. to reduce the leaching effect.

Radioactive waste material melter apparatus

DOEpatents

Newman, D.F.; Ross, W.A.

1990-04-24

An apparatus for preparing metallic radioactive waste material for storage is disclosed. The radioactive waste material is placed in a radiation shielded enclosure. The waste material is then melted with a plasma torch and cast into a plurality of successive horizontal layers in a mold to form a radioactive ingot in the shape of a spent nuclear fuel rod storage canister. The apparatus comprises a radiation shielded enclosure having an opening adapted for receiving a conventional transfer cask within which radioactive waste material is transferred to the apparatus. A plasma torch is mounted within the enclosure. A mold is also received within the enclosure for receiving the melted waste material and cooling it to form an ingot. The enclosure is preferably constructed in at least two parts to enable easy transport of the apparatus from one nuclear site to another. 8 figs.

Radioactive waste material melter apparatus

DOEpatents

Newman, Darrell F.; Ross, Wayne A.

1990-01-01

An apparatus for preparing metallic radioactive waste material for storage is disclosed. The radioactive waste material is placed in a radiation shielded enclosure. The waste material is then melted with a plasma torch and cast into a plurality of successive horizontal layers in a mold to form a radioactive ingot in the shape of a spent nuclear fuel rod storage canister. The apparatus comprises a radiation shielded enclosure having an opening adapted for receiving a conventional transfer cask within which radioactive waste material is transferred to the apparatus. A plasma torch is mounted within the enclosure. A mold is also received within the enclosure for receiving the melted waste material and cooling it to form an ingot. The enclosure is preferably constructed in at least two parts to enable easy transport of the apparatus from one nuclear site to another.

7 CFR 1450.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...) Food waste and yard waste; and (4) Algae. Eligible material owner, for purposes of the matching payment... and trees; or (D) Algae; (ii) Waste material, including: (A) Crop residue; (B) Other vegetative waste...

Solid waste management in Abuja, Nigeria.

PubMed

Imam, A; Mohammed, B; Wilson, D C; Cheeseman, C R

2008-01-01

The new city of Abuja provided an opportunity to avoid some of the environmental problems associated with other major cities in Africa. The current status of solid waste management in Abuja has been reviewed and recommendations for improvements are made. The existing solid waste management system is affected by unfavourable economic, institutional, legislative, technical and operational constraints. A reliable waste collection service is needed and waste collection vehicles need to be appropriate to local conditions. More vehicles are required to cope with increasing waste generation. Wastes need to be sorted at source as much as possible, to reduce the amount requiring disposal. Co-operation among communities, the informal sector, the formal waste collectors and the authorities is necessary if recycling rates are to increase. Markets for recycled materials need to be encouraged. Despite recent improvements in the operation of the existing dumpsite, a properly sited engineered landfill should be constructed with operation contracted to the private sector. Wastes dumped along roads, underneath bridges, in culverts and in drainage channels need to be cleared. Small-scale waste composting plants could promote employment, income generation and poverty alleviation. Enforcement of waste management legislation and a proper policy and planning framework for waste management are required. Unauthorized use of land must be controlled by enforcing relevant clauses in development guidelines. Accurate population data is necessary so that waste management systems and infrastructure can be properly planned. Funding and affordability remain major constraints and challenges.

Moving from recycling to waste prevention: A review of barriers and enables.

PubMed

Bartl, Andreas

2014-09-01

Current European waste policy does not mainly aim to treat waste streams but rather place in the foreground of interest the complete supply chain of a product. Waste prevention and re-use do have the highest priority and they take effect before the end-of-life phase of a product or a material is reached. Recycling only takes the third place whereas recovery and disposal represent the least favourable options. Recycling can help to decrease the consumption of primary resources but it does not tackle the causes but only the symptoms. In principle, recycling processes require energy and will generate side streams (i.e. waste). Furthermore, there are insuperable barriers and the practice is far from 100% recycling. The philosophy of waste prevention and re-use is completely different since they really tackle the causes. It is self-evident that a decrease of waste will also decrease the consumption of resources, energy and money to process the waste. However, even if European legislation is proceeding in the right direction, a clear decrease in waste generation did not occur up to now. Unfortunately, waste generation represents a positive factor of economic growth. Basically, waste generation is a huge business and numerous stakeholders are not interested to reduce waste. More sophisticated incentives are required to decouple economic growth from waste generation. © The Author(s) 2014.

An overview of the draft for the amendment of 'nuclear materials and radioactive waste management act'

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

Huan Lin; Tai-Wei Lan; Min-Tsang Chang

2013-07-01

The 'Nuclear Materials and Radioactive Waste Management Act' (NMRWMA) in Taiwan has been in use since 2002. To promote further administrative efficiency and improve regulatory capacity, an amendment of the act has been initiated by the Atomic Energy Council (AEC). It is now being reviewed by outside experts and related communities so as to include the best understanding of risk management factors. For the future decommissioning challenges of nuclear facilities, the act is also being amended to comply with the regulatory requirements of the decommissioning mandates. Currently the Taiwan government is conducting government reorganization, and AEC will be reformed butmore » will remain as an independent regulatory body. AEC will then be capable of improving the regulatory capacity for facilitating licensing and inspection, ensuring operational safety, environmental protection and public involvement, and giving a more flexible administrative discretion, such as expending the margin of penalty. The amendment is also required to provide a formal legal basis for the Nuclear Backend Fund, and to mandate the waste producers to take responsibility for any final debt repayment. In addition, this amendment promotes measures to prevent accidents or emergencies concerning radioactive materials and facilities and procedures to reduce the impact and effect of any unexpected events. Furthermore, this amendment intends to implement the concept of information transparency and public participation so as to meet the public needs. Finally, radioactive waste final disposal tasks have to be completed by waste producers under the supervision of the AEC. (authors)« less

From electronic consumer products to e-wastes: Global outlook, waste quantities, recycling challenges.

PubMed

Tansel, Berrin

2017-01-01

Advancements in technology, materials development, and manufacturing processes have changed the consumer products and composition of municipal solid waste (MSW) since 1960s. Increasing quantities of discarded consumer products remain a major challenge for recycling efforts, especially for discarded electronic products (also referred as e-waste). The growing demand for high tech products has increased the e-waste quantities and its cross boundary transport globally. This paper reviews the challenges associated with increasing e-waste quantities. The increasing need for raw materials (especially for rare earth and minor elements) and unregulated e-waste recycling operations in developing and underdeveloped counties contribute to the growing concerns for e-waste management. Although the markets for recycled materials are increasing; there are major challenges for development of the necessary infrastructure for e-waste management and accountability as well as development of effective materials recovery technologies and product design. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Standards for tire-bale erosion control and bank stabilization projects: validation of existing practice and implementation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-09-01

In an effort to promote the use of increasing stockpiles of waste tires and a growing demand for adequate : backfill material in highway construction, NMDOT has embarked on a move to use compressed tire-bales : as a means to reduce cost of constructi...

Making Self-Lubricating Parts By Powder Metallurgy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sliney, Harold E.; Dellacorte, Christopher

1990-01-01

Compositions and parameters of powder-metallurgical fabrication processes determined for new class of low-friction, low-wear, self-lubricating materials. Used in oxidizing or reducing atmospheres in bearings and seals, at temperatures from below 25 degrees C to as high as 900 degrees C. Thick parts made with minimal waste.

Abiotic and Biotic Effect of Poultry Litter Biochar on Ammonia Removal

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the era of climate change, conversion of raw materials such as crop residuals and other waste byproducts into biochar could serve as a sink for carbon sequestration which could help reduce carbon footprint in the atmospheric environment. Biochar could also be used for soil amendment to improve ...

Modernization at the Y-12 National Security Complex: A Case for Additional Experimental Benchmarks

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

Thornbury, Matthew

Electrorefining (ER) is a major part of efforts at the Y-12 National Security Complex to revolutionize the reprocessing and purification of enriched uranium (EU). Successful implementation of ER could drastically reduce the operational costs and footprint, hazardous materials use, and waste generation.

Review: Potential Strength of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Paste with Substitution of Local Waste Materials with High-Temperature Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subekti, S.; Bayuaji, R.; Darmawan, M. S.; Husin, N. A.; Wibowo, B.; Anugraha, B.; Irawan, S.; Dibiantara, D.

2017-11-01

This research provided an overview of the potential fly ash based geopolymer paste for application in building construction. Geopolymer paste with various variations of fly ash substitution with local waste material and high-temperature influence exploited with the fresh and hardened condition. The local waste material which utilized for this study were sandblasting waste, carbide waste, shell powder, bagasse ash, rice husk and bottom ash. The findings of this study indicated that fly-based geopolymer paste with local waste material substitution which had high-temperature influence ash showed a similar nature of OPC binders potentially used in civil engineering applications.

40 CFR 262.215 - Unwanted material that is not solid or hazardous waste.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Unwanted material that is not solid or... (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO GENERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE Alternative... Eligible Academic Entities § 262.215 Unwanted material that is not solid or hazardous waste. (a) If an...

40 CFR 262.215 - Unwanted material that is not solid or hazardous waste.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Unwanted material that is not solid or... (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO GENERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE Alternative... Eligible Academic Entities § 262.215 Unwanted material that is not solid or hazardous waste. (a) If an...

Chemical compatibility screening results of plastic packaging to mixed waste simulants

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

Nigrey, P.J.; Dickens, T.G.

1995-12-01

We have developed a chemical compatibility program for evaluating transportation packaging components for transporting mixed waste forms. We have performed the first phase of this experimental program to determine the effects of simulant mixed wastes on packaging materials. This effort involved the screening of 10 plastic materials in four liquid mixed waste simulants. The testing protocol involved exposing the respective materials to {approximately}3 kGy of gamma radiation followed by 14 day exposures to the waste simulants of 60 C. The seal materials or rubbers were tested using VTR (vapor transport rate) measurements while the liner materials were tested using specificmore » gravity as a metric. For these tests, a screening criteria of {approximately}1 g/m{sup 2}/hr for VTR and a specific gravity change of 10% was used. It was concluded that while all seal materials passed exposure to the aqueous simulant mixed waste, EPDM and SBR had the lowest VTRs. In the chlorinated hydrocarbon simulant mixed waste, only VITON passed the screening tests. In both the simulant scintillation fluid mixed waste and the ketone mixture simulant mixed waste, none of the seal materials met the screening criteria. It is anticipated that those materials with the lowest VTRs will be evaluated in the comprehensive phase of the program. For specific gravity testing of liner materials the data showed that while all materials with the exception of polypropylene passed the screening criteria, Kel-F, HDPE, and XLPE were found to offer the greatest resistance to the combination of radiation and chemicals.« less

The application of waste fly ash and construction-waste in cement filling material in goaf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, W. X.; Xiao, F. K.; Guan, X. H.; Cheng, Y.; Shi, X. P.; Liu, S. M.; Wang, W. W.

2018-01-01

As the process of urbanization accelerated, resulting in a large number of abandoned fly ash and construction waste, which have occupied the farmland and polluted the environment. In this paper, a large number of construction waste and abandoned fly ash are mixed into the filling material in goaf, the best formula of the filling material which containing a large amount of abandoned fly ash and construction waste is obtained, and the performance of the filling material is analyzed. The experimental results show that the cost of filling material is very low while the performance is very good, which have a good prospect in goaf.

Method for treating materials for solidification

DOEpatents

Jantzen, Carol M.; Pickett, John B.; Martin, Hollis L.

1995-01-01

A method for treating materials such as wastes for solidification to form a solid, substantially nonleachable product. Addition of reactive silica rather than ordinary silica to the material when bringing the initial molar ratio of its silica constituent to a desired ratio within a preselected range increases the solubility and retention of the materials in the solidified matrix. Materials include hazardous, radioactive, mixed, and heavy metal species. Amounts of other constituents of the material, in addition to its silica content are also added so that the molar ratio of each of these constituents is within the preselected ranges for the final solidified product. The mixture is then solidified by cement solidification or vitrification. The method can be used to treat a variety of wastes, including but not limited to spent filter aids from waste water treatment, waste sludges, combinations of spent filter aids and waste sludges, combinations of supernate and waste sludges, incinerator ash, incinerator offgas blowdown, combinations of incinerator ash and offgas blowdown, cementitious wastes and contaminated soils.

Method and apparatus for incinerating hazardous waste

DOEpatents

Korenberg, Jacob

1990-01-01

An incineration apparatus and method for disposal of infectious hazardous waste including a fluidized bed reactor containing a bed of granular material. The reactor includes a first chamber, a second chamber, and a vertical partition separating the first and second chambers. A pressurized stream of air is supplied to the reactor at a sufficient velocity to fluidize the granular material in both the first and second chambers. Waste materials to be incinerated are fed into the first chamber of the fluidized bed, the fine waste materials being initially incinerated in the first chamber and subsequently circulated over the partition to the second chamber wherein further incineration occurs. Coarse waste materials are removed from the first chamber, comminuted, and recirculated to the second chamber for further incineration. Any partially incinerated waste materials and ash from the bottom of the second chamber are removed and recirculated to the second chamber for further incineration. This process is repeated until all infectious hazardous waste has been completely incinerated.

Technology development activities for housing research animals on Space Station Freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jenner, Jeffrey W.; Garin, Vladimir M.; Nguyen, Frank D.

1991-01-01

The development and design of animal facilities are described in terms of the technological needs for NASA's Biological Flight Research Laboratory. Animal habitats are presented with illustrations which encompass waste-collection techniques for microgravity conditions that reduce the need for crew participation. The technology is intended to be highly compatible with animal morphology, and airflow is employed as the primary mechanism of waste control. The airflow can be utilized in the form of localized high-speed directed flow that simultaneously provides a clean animal habitat and low airflow rates. The design of an animal-habitat testbed is presented which capitalizes on contamination-control mechanisms and suitable materials for microgravity conditions. The developments in materials and technologies represent significant contributions for the design of the centrifuge facilities for the Space Station Freedom.

Material and energy recovery in integrated waste management systems: the potential for energy recovery.

PubMed

Consonni, Stefano; Viganò, Federico

2011-01-01

This article is part of a set of six coordinated papers 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). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hot Runner Mold Design of Fan Diverter Parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juan, D. J.; Cheng, Y. L.

2017-09-01

In this study, we discuss the case of plastic parts for the production of fan steering gear shaft parts injection molding, and use POM plastic steel to produce plastic parts from traditional cold runners. Because of the parts have a hole, which need side slide. The runner produce more waste after plastic parts injection make the runner waste account for the cost is relatively high, the cost of stock preparation is relatively increased when the product quantity demanded is great. After the crushing treatment of the waste, the backfill will affect the quality, and in the crushing process, the volume generated will make the operator to withstand up to 130 dB of noise. The actual test results show that the production cycle reduce 6.25%, while the production yield increase by about 5% and material costs reduced by 2% . It can be recovered within a year, not to mention the increase of the quality and reduction the noise on the staff of the benefit is impossible to estimate.

Fresh and mechanical properties of self-compacting concrete with coarse aggregate replacement using Waste of Oil Palm Shell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prayuda, Hakas; Saleh, Fadillawaty; Ilham Maulana, Taufiq; Monika, Fanny

2018-05-01

Self-compacting Concrete (SCC) is a real innovation that can solidify itself without the help of tools to ease field practice. In its implementation, SCC can use alternative materials to reduce waste, such as Oil Palm Shell (OPS). In this research, OPS used as a replacement of crushed stone as the main coarse aggregate. The concrete mixture used consists of cement, sand, crushed stone, OPS as a variation of aggregate substitutes, palm oil fuel ash, and superplasticizer. OPS used were variated with 0%, 5%, 10%, 25% and 50% of crushed stone aggregate weight with age up to 28 days. Tests were conducted on fresh and mechanical properties. From the results, it is known that replacement of aggregate using OPS meets fresh properties criteria and although the compressive strength of OPS concrete mixture is lower than normal SCC, OPS still can be an alternative in making SCC and reducing palm oil industrial waste.

Co-composting of eggshell waste in self-heating reactors: monitoring and end product quality.

PubMed

Soares, Micaela A R; Quina, Margarida M J; Quinta-Ferreira, Rosa M

2013-11-01

Industrial eggshell waste (ES) is classified as an animal by-product not intended to human consumption. For reducing pathogen spreading risk due to soil incorporation of ES, sanitation by composting is a pre-treatment option. This work aims to evaluate eggshell waste recycling in self-heating composting reactors and investigate ES effect on process evolution and end product quality. Potato peel, grass clippings and rice husks were the starting organic materials considered. The incorporation of 30% (w/w) ES in a composting mixture did not affect mixture biodegradability, nor its capacity to reach sanitizing temperatures. After 25 days of composting, ES addition caused a nitrogen loss of about 10 g N kg(-1) of initial volatile solids, thus reducing nitrogen nutritional potential of the finished compost. This study showed that a composting mixture with a significant proportion of ES (30% w/w) may be converted into calcium-rich marketable compost to neutralize soil acidity and/or calcium deficiencies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flows of engineered nanomaterials through the recycling process in Switzerland.

PubMed

Caballero-Guzman, Alejandro; Sun, Tianyin; Nowack, Bernd

2015-02-01

The use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in diverse applications has increased during the last years and this will likely continue in the near future. As the number of applications increase, more and more waste with nanomaterials will be generated. A portion of this waste will enter the recycling system, for example, in electronic products, textiles and construction materials. The fate of these materials during and after the waste management and recycling operations is poorly understood. The aim of this work is to model the flows of nano-TiO2, nano-ZnO, nano-Ag and CNT in the recycling system in Switzerland. The basis for this study is published information on the ENMs flows on the Swiss system. We developed a method to assess their flow after recycling. To incorporate the uncertainties inherent to the limited information available, we applied a probabilistic material flow analysis approach. The results show that the recycling processes does not result in significant further propagation of nanomaterials into new products. Instead, the largest proportion will flow as waste that can subsequently be properly handled in incineration plants or landfills. Smaller fractions of ENMs will be eliminated or end up in materials that are sent abroad to undergo further recovery processes. Only a reduced amount of ENMs will flow back to the productive process of the economy in a limited number of sectors. Overall, the results suggest that risk assessment during recycling should focus on occupational exposure, release of ENMs in landfills and incineration plants, and toxicity assessment in a small number of recycled inputs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reducing waste contamination from animal-processing plants by anaerobic thermophilic fermentation and by flesh fly digestion.

PubMed

Marchaim, U; Gelman, A; Braverman, Y

2003-01-01

There is currently no market in Israel for the large amounts of waste from fish- and poultry-processing plants. Therefore, this waste is incinerated, as part of the measures to prevent the spread of pathogens. Anaerobic methanogenic thermophilic fermentation (AMTF) of wastes from the cattle-slaughtering industry was examined previously, as an effective system to treat pathogenic bacteria, and in this article, we discuss a combined method of digestion by thermophilic anaerobic bacteria and by flesh flies, as a means of waste treatment. The AMTF process was applied to the wastes on a laboratory scale, and digestion by rearing of flesh fly (Phaenicia sericata) and housefly (Musca domestica) larvae on the untreated raw material was done on a small scale and showed remarkable weight conversion to larvae. The yield from degradation of poultry waste by flesh fly was 22.47% (SD = 3.89) and that from fish waste degradation was 35.34% (SD = 12.42), which is significantly higher than that from rearing houseflies on a regular rearing medium. Bacterial contents before and after thermophilic anaerobic digestion, as well as the changes in the chemical composition of the components during the rearing of larvae, were also examined.

Canyon transfer neutron absorber to fissile material ratio analysis. Revision 1

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

Clemmons, J.S.

1994-03-04

Waste tank fissile material and non-fissile material estimates are used to evaluate criticality safety for the existing sludge inventory and batches of sludge sent to Extended Sludge Processing (ESP). This report documents the weight ratios of several non-fissile waste constituents to fissile waste constituents from canyon reprocessing waste streams. Weight ratios of Fe, Mn, Al, Mi, and U-238 to fissile material are calculated from monthly loss estimates from the F and H Canyon Low Heat Waste (LHW) and High Heat Waste (HHW) streams. The monthly weight ratios for Fe, Mn and U-238 are then compared to calculated minimum safe weightmore » ratios. Documented minimum safe weight ratios for Al and Ni to fissile material are currently not available. Total mass data for the subject sludge constituents is provided along with scatter plots of the monthly weight ratios for each waste stream.« less

Recovery technologies for building materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karu, Veiko; Nurme, Martin; Valgma, Ingo

2015-04-01

Mining industry provides building materials for construction. Civil engineers have settled the quality parameters for construction materials. When we produce high quality building materials from carbonate rock (limestone, dolostone), then the estimated waste share is 25% to 30%, depending on crushing principles and rock quality. The challenge is to find suitable technology for waste recovery. During international mining waste related cooperation project MIN-NOVATION (www.min-novation.eu), partners mapped possibilities for waste recovery in mining industry and pointed out good examples and case studies. One example from Estonia showed that when we produce limestone aggregate, then we produce up to 30% waste material (fines with size 0-4mm). This waste material we can see as secondary raw material for building materials. Recovery technology for this fine grained material has been achieved with CDE separation plant. During the process the plant washes out minus 63 micron material from the limestone fines. This technology allows us to use 92% of all limestone reserves. By-product from 63 microns to 4 mm we can use as filler in concrete or as fine limestone aggregate for building or building materials. MIN-NOVATION project partners also established four pilot stations to study other mineral waste recovery technologies and solutions. Main aims on this research are to find the technology for recovery of mineral wastes and usage for new by-products from mineral mining waste. Before industrial production, testing period or case studies are needed. This research is part of the study of Sustainable and environmentally acceptable Oil shale mining No. 3.2.0501.11-0025 http://mi.ttu.ee/etp and the project B36 Extraction and processing of rock with selective methods - http://mi.ttu.ee/separation; http://mi.ttu.ee/miningwaste/

A testing program to evaluate the effects of simulant mixed wastes on plastic transportation packaging components

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

Nigrey, P.J.; Dickens, T.G.; Dickman, P.T.

1997-08-01

Based on regulatory requirements for Type A and B radioactive material packaging, a Testing Program was developed to evaluate the effects of mixed wastes on plastic materials which could be used as liners and seals in transportation containers. The plastics evaluated in this program were butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer (Nitrile rubber), cross-linked polyethylene, epichlorohydrin, ethylene-propylene rubber (EPDM), fluorocarbons, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), butyl rubber, polypropylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). These plastics were first screened in four simulant mixed wastes. The liner materials were screened using specific gravity measurements and seal materials by vapor transport rate (VTR) measurements. For the screening of linermore » materials, Kel-F, HDPE, and XLPE were found to offer the greatest resistance to the combination of radiation and chemicals. The tests also indicated that while all seal materials passed exposure to the aqueous simulant mixed waste, EPDM and SBR had the lowest VTRs. In the chlorinated hydrocarbon simulant mixed waste, only Viton passed the screening tests. In both the simulant scintillation fluid mixed waste and the ketone mixture waste, none of the seal materials met the screening criteria. Those materials which passed the screening tests were subjected to further comprehensive testing in each of the simulant wastes. The materials were exposed to four different radiation doses followed by exposure to a simulant mixed waste at three temperatures and four different exposure times (7, 14, 28, 180 days). Materials were tested by measuring specific gravity, dimensional, hardness, stress cracking, VTR, compression set, and tensile properties. The second phase of this Testing Program involving the comprehensive testing of plastic liner has been completed and for seal materials is currently in progress.« less

Life cycle assessment of integrated waste management systems for alternative legacy scenarios of the London Olympic Park.

PubMed

Parkes, Olga; Lettieri, Paola; Bogle, I David L

2015-06-01

This paper presents the results of the life cycle assessment (LCA) of 10 integrated waste management systems (IWMSs) for 3 potential post-event site design scenarios of the London Olympic Park. The aim of the LCA study is to evaluate direct and indirect emissions resulting from various treatment options of municipal solid waste (MSW) annually generated on site together with avoided emissions resulting from energy, materials and nutrients recovery. IWMSs are modelled using GaBi v6.0 Product Sustainability software and results are presented based on the CML (v.Nov-10) characterisation method. The results show that IWMSs with advanced thermal treatment (ATT) and incineration with energy recovery have the lowest Global Warming Potential (GWP) than IWMSs where landfill is the primary waste treatment process. This is due to higher direct emissions and lower avoided emissions from the landfill process compared to the emissions from the thermal treatment processes. LCA results demonstrate that significant environmental savings are achieved through substitution of virgin materials with recycled ones. The results of the sensitivity analysis carried out for IWMS 1 shows that increasing recycling rate by 5%, 10% and 15% compared to the baseline scenario can reduce GWP by 8%, 17% and 25% respectively. Sensitivity analysis also shows how changes in waste composition affect the overall result of the system. The outcomes of such assessments provide decision-makers with fundamental information regarding the environmental impacts of different waste treatment options necessary for sustainable waste management planning. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Mass, energy and material balances of SRF production process. Part 2: SRF produced from construction and demolition waste.

PubMed

Nasrullah, Muhammad; Vainikka, Pasi; Hannula, Janne; Hurme, Markku; Kärki, Janne

2014-11-01

In this work, the fraction of construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) complicated and economically not feasible to sort out for recycling purposes is used to produce solid recovered fuel (SRF) through mechanical treatment (MT). The paper presents the mass, energy and material balances of this SRF production process. All the process streams (input and output) produced in MT waste sorting plant to produce SRF from C&D waste are sampled and treated according to CEN standard methods for SRF. Proximate and ultimate analysis of these streams is performed and their composition is determined. Based on this analysis and composition of process streams their mass, energy and material balances are established for SRF production process. By mass balance means the overall mass flow of input waste material stream in the various output streams and material balances mean the mass flow of components of input waste material stream (such as paper and cardboard, wood, plastic (soft), plastic (hard), textile and rubber) in the various output streams of SRF production process. The results from mass balance of SRF production process showed that of the total input C&D waste material to MT waste sorting plant, 44% was recovered in the form of SRF, 5% as ferrous metal, 1% as non-ferrous metal, and 28% was sorted out as fine fraction, 18% as reject material and 4% as heavy fraction. The energy balance of this SRF production process showed that of the total input energy content of C&D waste material to MT waste sorting plant, 74% was recovered in the form of SRF, 16% belonged to the reject material and rest 10% belonged to the streams of fine fraction and heavy fraction. From the material balances of this process, mass fractions of plastic (soft), paper and cardboard, wood and plastic (hard) recovered in the SRF stream were 84%, 82%, 72% and 68% respectively of their input masses to MT plant. A high mass fraction of plastic (PVC) and rubber material was found in the reject material stream. Streams of heavy fraction and fine fraction mainly contained non-combustible material (such as stone/rock, sand particles and gypsum material). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Use of Basalt, Basalt Fibers and Modified Graphite for Nuclear Waste Repository - 12150

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

Gulik, V.I.; Biland, A.B.

2012-07-01

New materials enhancing the isolation of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel are continuously being developed.. Our research suggests that basalt-based materials, including basalt roving chopped basalt fiber strands, basalt composite rebar and materials based on modified graphite, could be used for enhancing radioactive waste isolation during the storage and disposal phases and maintaining it during a significant portion of the post-closure phase. The basalt vitrification process of nuclear waste is a viable alternative to glass vitrification. Basalt roving, chopped basalt fiber strands and basalt composite rebars can significantly increase the strength and safety characteristics of nuclear waste and spentmore » nuclear fuel storages. Materials based on MG are optimal waterproofing materials for nuclear waste containers. (authors)« less

Radioactive cobalt removal from Salem liquid radwaste with cobalt selective media

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

Maza R.; Wilson, J.A.; Hetherington, R.

This paper reports results of benchtop tests using ion exchange material to selectively remove radioactive cobalt from high conductivity liquid radwaste at the Salem Nuclear Generating Station. The purpose of this test program is to reduce the number of curies in liquid releases without increasing the solid waste volume. These tests have identified two cobalt selective materials that together remove radioactive cobalt more effectively than the single component currently used. All test materials were preconditioned by conversion to the divalent calcium or sulfate form to simulate chemically exhausted media.

Staphylococcus xylosus fermentation of pork fatty waste: raw material for biodiesel production.

PubMed

Marques, Roger Vasques; Paz, Matheus Francisco da; Duval, Eduarda Hallal; Corrêa, Luciara Bilhalva; Corrêa, Érico Kunde

2016-01-01

The need for cleaner sources of energy has stirred research into utilising alternate fuel sources with favourable emission and sustainability such as biodiesel. However, there are technical constraints that hinder the widespread use of some of the low cost raw materials such as pork fatty wastes. Currently available technology permits the use of lipolytic microorganisms to sustainably produce energy from fat sources; and several microorganisms and their metabolites are being investigated as potential energy sources. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterise the process of Staphylococcus xylosus mediated fermentation of pork fatty waste. We also wanted to explore the possibility of fermentation effecting a modification in the lipid carbon chain to reduce its melting point and thereby act directly on one of the main technical barriers to obtaining biodiesel from this abundant source of lipids. Pork fatty waste was obtained from slaughterhouses in southern Brazil during evisceration of the carcasses and the kidney casing of slaughtered animals was used as feedstock. Fermentation was performed in BHI broth with different concentrations of fatty waste and for different time periods which enabled evaluation of the effect of fermentation time on the melting point of swine fat. The lowest melting point was observed around 46°C, indicating that these chemical and biological reactions can occur under milder conditions, and that such pre-treatment may further facilitate production of biodiesel from fatty animal waste. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Waste Materials in Hot Mix Asphalt - An Overview

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1992-12-01

Numerous waste materials result from manufacturing operations, service industries, sewage treatment plants, households and mining. Legislation has been enacted by several states in recent years to either mandate the use of some waste materials or to ...

Engineering and sustainability aspect of palm oil shell powder in cement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karim, Mohammad Razaul; Hossain, Md. Moktar; Yusoff, Sumiani Binti

2017-06-01

Palm oil shell (POS) is a waste material which significantly produced in palm oil mills. In current practice, this waste is dumped in open land or landfill sites or is used as fuel to run a steam turbine of a boiler, which leads to environmental pollutions. The characterization, engineering and sustainability aspect of this waste for using in cement-based applications lead to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and cost, save natural resources for cement production and also sustainable usage of waste material. The characterization was carried out using particle size analyzer, XRF, SEM and total organic carbon analyzer. ASTM standard methods were used to observe the setting time and water for normal consistency. The compressive strength of palm oil shell powder (POSP) blended cement was explored with the water to cement and cement to sand ratio of 0.40 and 0.50, respectively up to 40% replacement levels of OPC. Result found that the setting time and water demand were increased, but compressive strength was decreased to replacement levels. However, the incorporation of POSP in cement was reduced 9.6% of CO2 emission, 25 % of the cost and save natural resource, i.e. limestone, clay, iron ore, silica shale and gypsum of 35.1%, 4.95%, 0.9%, 4.05 % and 1.2 %, respectively at 30% replacement level of OPC. The results of this extensive study on POSP characterization, effect on basic cement properties and sustainability aspect provide the guidance for using the POSP at industrial scale for cement production.

40 CFR 241.3 - Standards and procedures for identification of non-hazardous secondary materials that are solid...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... identification of non-hazardous secondary materials that are solid wastes when used as fuels or ingredients in...) SOLID WASTES SOLID WASTES USED AS FUELS OR INGREDIENTS IN COMBUSTION UNITS Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Wastes When Used as Fuels or Ingredients in Combustion Units...

40 CFR 266.23 - Standards applicable to users of materials that are used in a manner that constitutes disposal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... OF SPECIFIC HAZARDOUS WASTES AND SPECIFIC TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES Recyclable... material, which is contaminated with dioxin or any other hazardous waste (other than a waste identified... materials that are used in a manner that constitutes disposal. 266.23 Section 266.23 Protection of...

40 CFR 61.155 - Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free) material. 61.155 Section 61.155... EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard for Asbestos § 61.155 Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free...

40 CFR 61.155 - Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free) material. 61.155 Section 61.155... EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard for Asbestos § 61.155 Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free...

40 CFR 61.155 - Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free) material. 61.155 Section 61.155... EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard for Asbestos § 61.155 Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free...

40 CFR 61.155 - Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free) material. 61.155 Section 61.155... EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard for Asbestos § 61.155 Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free...

40 CFR 61.155 - Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free) material. 61.155 Section 61.155... EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard for Asbestos § 61.155 Standard for operations that convert asbestos-containing waste material into nonasbestos (asbestos-free...

Systematic Evaluation of Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Food Waste Management Strategies in the United States.

PubMed

Hodge, Keith L; Levis, James W; DeCarolis, Joseph F; Barlaz, Morton A

2016-08-16

New regulations and targets limiting the disposal of food waste have been recently enacted in numerous jurisdictions. This analysis evaluated selected environmental implications of food waste management policies using life-cycle assessment. Scenarios were developed to evaluate management alternatives applicable to the waste discarded at facilities where food waste is a large component of the waste (e.g., restaurants, grocery stores, and food processors). Options considered include anaerobic digestion (AD), aerobic composting, waste-to-energy combustion (WTE), and landfilling, and multiple performance levels were considered for each option. The global warming impact ranged from approximately -350 to -45 kg CO2e Mg(-1) of waste for scenarios using AD, -190 to 62 kg CO2e Mg(-1) for those using composting, -350 to -28 kg CO2e Mg(-1) when all waste was managed by WTE, and -260 to 260 kg CO2e Mg(-1) when all waste was landfilled. Landfill diversion was found to reduce emissions, and diverting food waste from WTE generally increased emissions. The analysis further found that when a 20 year GWP was used instead of a 100 year GWP, every scenario including WTE was preferable to every scenario including landfill. Jurisdictions seeking to enact food waste disposal regulations should consider regional factors and material properties before duplicating existing statutes.

Fuels from pyrolysis of waste plastic

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A large quantity of carbon containing materials, such as waste plastic, used tires, food waste, and biomass end up in landfills. These materials represent a rich energy source that is currently untapped or underutilized. Municipal solid waste is comprised of 12% waste plastic, but only a small fract...

Disposable diapers biodegradation by the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus.

PubMed

Espinosa-Valdemar, Rosa María; Turpin-Marion, Sylvie; Delfín-Alcalá, Irma; Vázquez-Morillas, Alethia

2011-08-01

This research assesses the feasibility of degrading used disposable diapers, an important component (5-15% in weight) of urban solid waste in Mexico, by the activity of the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus, also known as oyster mushroom. Disposable diapers contain polyethylene, polypropylene and a super absorbent polymer. Nevertheless, its main component is cellulose, which degrades slowly. P. ostreatus has been utilized extensively to degrade cellulosic materials of agroindustrial sources, using in situ techniques. The practice has been extended to the commercial farming of the mushroom. This degradation capacity was assayed to reduce mass and volume of used disposable diapers. Pilot laboratory assays were performed to estimate the usefulness of the following variables on conditioning of used diapers before they act as substrate for P. ostreatus: (1) permanence vs removal of plastic cover; (2) shredding vs grinding; (3) addition of grape wastes to improve structure, nitrogen and trace elements content. Wheat straw was used as a positive control. After 68 days, decrease of the mass of diapers and productivity of fungus was measured. Weight and volume of degradable materials was reduced up to 90%. Cellulose content was diminished in 50% and lignine content in 47%. The highest efficiency for degradation of cellulosic materials corresponded to the substrates that showed highest biological efficiency, which varied from 0% to 34%. Harvested mushrooms had good appearance and protein content and were free of human disease pathogens. This research indicates that growing P. ostreatus on disposable diapers could be a good alternative for two current problems: reduction of urban solid waste and availability of high protein food sources. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Testing of candidate waste-package backfill and canister materials for basalt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, M. I.; Anderson, W. J.; Aden, G. D.

1982-09-01

The Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) is developing a multiple-barrier waste package to contain high-level nuclear waste as part of an overall system (e.g., waste package, repository sealing system, and host rock) designed to isolate the waste in a repository located in basalt beneath the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington. The three basic components of the waste package are the waste form, the canister, and the backfill. An extensive testing program is under way to determine the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of potential canister and backfill materials. The data derived from this testing program will be used to recommend those materials that most adequately perform the functions assigned to the canister and backfill.

Liquid secondary waste: Waste form formulation and qualification

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

Cozzi, A. D.; Dixon, K. L.; Hill, K. A.

The Hanford Site Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF) currently treats aqueous waste streams generated during site cleanup activities. When the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) begins operations, including Direct Feed Low Activity Waste (DFLAW) vitrification, a liquid secondary waste (LSW) stream from the WTP will need to be treated. The volume of effluent for treatment at the ETF will increase significantly. The powdered salt waste form produced by the ETF will be replaced by a stabilized solidified waste form for disposal in Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). Washington River Protection Solutions is implementing a Secondary Liquid Waste Immobilizationmore » Technology Development Plan to address the technology needs for a waste form and solidification process to treat the increased volume of waste planned for disposal at the IDF. Waste form testing to support this plan is composed of work in the near term to provide data as input to a performance assessment (PA) for Hanford’s IDF. In 2015, three Hanford Liquid Secondary Waste simulants were developed based on existing and projected waste streams. Using these waste simulants, fourteen mixes of Hanford Liquid Secondary Waste were prepared and tested varying the waste simulant, the water-to-dry materials ratio, and the dry materials blend composition.1 In FY16, testing was performed using a simulant of the EMF process condensate blended with the caustic scrubber—from the Low Activity Waste (LAW) melter—, processed through the ETF. The initial EMF-16 simulant will be based on modeling efforts performed to determine the mass balance of the ETF for the DFLAW.2 The compressive strength of all of the mixes exceeded the target of 3.4 MPa (500 psi) to meet the requirements identified as potential IDF Waste Acceptance Criteria in Table 1 of the Secondary Liquid Waste Immobilization Technology Development Plan.3 The hydraulic properties of the waste forms tested (hydraulic conductivity and water characteristic curves) were comparable to the properties measured on the Savannah River Site (SRS) Saltstone waste form. Future testing should include efforts to first; 1) determine the rate and amount of ammonia released during each unit operation of the treatment process to determine if additional ammonia management is required, then; 2) reduce the ammonia content of the ETF concentrated brine prior to solidification, making the waste more amenable to grouting, or 3) manage the release of ammonia during production and ongoing release during storage of the waste form, or 4) develop a lower pH process/waste form thereby precluding ammonia release.« less

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

Covey, S.K.

As this century comes to a close, landfills are being opened, closed and mined for resources; commercial businesses and manufacturers are under pressure to be responsible both environmentally and economically. The timing is right for individuals and organizations to start listening to each other and working cooperatively for a greater good. In 1996, an ad hoc group of state government agencies, private business, not-for-profits and educational institutions met to discuss the potential for a materials exchange in Ohio. The Ohio Materials Exchange (OMEX) exists today from the cooperation and funding form the Ohio Environmental Education Fund (OEEF), The Association ofmore » Ohio Recyclers (AOR) in cooperation with Waste Alternatives, Inc., The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OhEPA) (Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management and the Office of Pollution Prevention), The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention) and the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) (Office of Energy Efficiency OEE). In addition, private business, solid waste management districts and individual organizations who use the exchange actively help guide and market the program. The author was employed with the ODOD-OEE and a member of the planning team. A materials exchange allows companies to trade, sell or give away unwanted materials to one another and use it as raw material for manufacturing or reuse in its existing form (Table 1.). Materials exchanges were both out of necessity in World War II but are continuing due to foresight. (EPA 1994) The exchange of raw product, rejects or waste can reduce waste and save energy. Not only do recycled materials often use less energy to produce the product, the trading may save hauling or disposal costs, that could then be diverted to purchase new, more efficient equipment. The materials available or wanted are collected into lists. These lists may take the form of catalogs, fax-back systems, Internet or computer or index cards with a rolodex and a phone. A form is filled out requesting contact information. From that point, the arrangements are made between the trading partners. Often the exchange host will attempt to find out if a successful trade has been made. All liability issues are usually assumed by the trading partners and not the exchange service. This paper includes references for further reading concerning the history and impact of local, regional and national exchanges.« less

A model for simulating the grinding and classification cyclic system of waste PCBs recycling production line.

PubMed

Yang, Deming; Xu, Zhenming

2011-09-15

Crushing and separating technology is widely used in waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) recycling process. A set of automatic line without negative impact to environment for recycling waste PCBs was applied in industry scale. Crushed waste PCBs particles grinding and classification cyclic system is the most important part of the automatic production line, and it decides the efficiency of the whole production line. In this paper, a model for computing the process of the system was established, and matrix analysis method was adopted. The result showed that good agreement can be achieved between the simulation model and the actual production line, and the system is anti-jamming. This model possibly provides a basis for the automatic process control of waste PCBs production line. With this model, many engineering problems can be reduced, such as metals and nonmetals insufficient dissociation, particles over-pulverizing, incomplete comminuting, material plugging and equipment fever. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of methyl esters from waste cooking oil using construction waste material as solid base catalyst.

PubMed

Balakrishnan, K; Olutoye, M A; Hameed, B H

2013-01-01

The current research investigates synthesis of methyl esters by transesterification of waste cooking oil in a heterogeneous system, using barium meliorated construction site waste marble as solid base catalyst. The pretreated catalyst was calcined at 830 °C for 4h prior to its activity test to obtained solid oxide characterized by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy, BET surface area and pore size measurement. It was found that the as prepared catalyst has large pores which contributed to its high activity in transesterification reaction. The methyl ester yield of 88% was obtained when the methanol/oil molar ratio was 9:1, reaction temperature at 65 °C, reaction time 3h and catalyst/oil mass ratio of 3.0 wt.%. The catalyst can be reused over three cycles, offer low operating conditions, reduce energy consumption and waste generation in the production of biodiesel. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental Assessment: Apalachicola National Forest Helicopter Landing Zones Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-12-01

25 3.12 Hazardous Waste/ Materials ...37 4.11 Hazardous Waste/ Materials .................................................................. 38 4.11.1 Proposed Action Alterative...26 Apalachicola Helicopter Landing Zones 3.12 Hazardous Waste/ Materials No hazardous substances or petroleum substances are generated, stored

Product self-management: evolution in recycling and reuse.

PubMed

Thomas, Valerie M

2003-12-01

This paper explores the potential to make product recycling and reuse easier by shifting responsibility for product management toward the product itself. Examples range from barcode-enabled Internet sales of used products to RFID-enabled garbage trucks that identify recyclable items and provide rebates. Initial steps toward product self-management have made opportunistic use of product bar codes and Internet markets. In the United States, Internet markets are driving increased reuse of products. In the European Union, recycling and waste management policy is driving the use of radio electronics in waste management. Prospects for product self-management are assessed from both a technological and an economic perspective. The technological analysis indicates that radio-frequency tags offer some advantages over bar codes, but their application to product self-management requires considerable investment in the waste management infrastructure. This suggests that early applications of advanced product tags are most suitable for Germany and other countries where the waste management industry has already integrated information technology into its operations. The economic analysis indicates that increased reuse of products can reduce consumption of new products and materials, although on a less than one-to-one basis, simultaneously reducing costs for consumers and deriving more value from existing products.

Waste in Education: The Potential of Materiality and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jørgensen, Nanna Jordt; Madsen, Katrine Dahl; Laessøe, Jeppe

2018-01-01

This article explores how waste materials and waste practices figure in education, pointing to educational potentials of waste which have hitherto received little consideration in environmental and sustainability education practice and research. Building on empirical research on waste education in Danish schools and preschools, we discuss how an…

Renewable Energy Production from Waste to Mitigate Climate Change and Counteract Soil Degradation - A Spatial Explicit Assessment for Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraxner, Florian; Yoshikawa, Kunio; Leduc, Sylvain; Fuss, Sabine; Aoki, Kentaro; Yamagata, Yoshiki

2014-05-01

Waste production from urban areas is growing faster than urbanization itself, while at the same time urban areas are increasingly contributing substantial emissions causing climate change. Estimates indicate for urban residents a per capita solid waste (MSW) production of 1.2 kg per day, subject to further increase to 1.5 kg beyond 2025. Waste water and sewage production is estimated at about 260 liters per capita and day, also at increasing rates. Based on these figures, waste - including e.g. MSW, sewage and animal manure - can generally be assumed as a renewable resource with varying organic components and quantity. This paper demonstrates how new and innovative technologies in the field of Waste-to-Green Products can help in various ways not only to reduce costs for waste treatment, reduce the pressure on largely overloaded dump sites, and reduce also the effect of toxic materials at the landfill site and by that i.e. protect the groundwater. Moreover, Waste-to-Green Products can contribute actively to mitigating climate change through fossil fuel substitution and carbon sequestration while at the same time counteracting negative land use effects from other types of renewable energy and feedstock production through substitution. At the same time, the co-production and recycling of fertilizing elements and biochar can substantially counteract soil degradation and improve the soil organic carbon content of different land use types. The overall objective of this paper is to assess the total climate change mitigation potential of MSW, sewage and animal manure for Japan. A techno-economic approach is used to inform the policy discussion on the suitability of this substantial and sustainable mitigation option. We examine the spatial explicit technical mitigation potential from e.g. energy substitution and carbon sequestration through biochar in rural and urban Japan. For this exercise, processed information on respective Japanese waste production, energy demand (population density) and transport infrastructure is used as input data to an engineering model (BeWhere) for optimizing scale and location of waste treatment plants with potential energy and fertilizer co-generation. Finally, this paper quantifies the economic dimension of mitigation through innovative waste treatment while considering the additional business-feasibility and potential benefits from waste treatment co-products such as energy generation, fertilizer and biochar production for counteracting soil degradation.

Nanomanufacturing and sustainability: opportunities and challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Busnaina, Ahmed A.; Mead, Joey; Isaacs, Jacqueline; Somu, Sivasubramanian

2013-10-01

New nanomanufacturing technologies, although still in research labs, present a great opportunity to drastically reduce the cost of making nanostructures on a large scale and at high-rates. Such new bottom-up directed assembly-based approaches involve adding materials selectively thereby both reducing waste and the number of required processes. Directed assembly-based processes are conducted at room pressure and temperatures which significantly reduces the cost of nanomanufacturing equipment and tools, ensuring long-term sustainability by reducing energy, consumables, and waste costs. This paradigm shift in nanomanufacturing will unleash not only a wave of creativity in sustainable nanomanufacturing but lessons learnt along the way can be used in various other sectors. Along with the exquisite technological promise that nanotechnology holds, nano-enabled products are heralded as a means for energy and resource reduction, resulting in potential manufacturing cost reductions and further, for potential improvements to environmental remediation. Sustainable nanomanufacturing will, by dramatically lowering current nanomanufacturing barriers, spur innovation, and the creation of entirely new industries by leveling the playing and ultimately leading to the democratization of nanomanufacturing.

Low-level radioactive waste management handbook series: Low-level radioactive waste management in medical and biomedical research institutions

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

Not Available

1987-03-01

Development of this handbook began in 1982 at the request of the Radhealth Branch of the California Department of Health Services. California Assembly Bill 1513 directed the DHS to ''evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of (1) reducing the volume, reactivity, and chemical and radioactive hazard of (low-level radioactive) waste and (2) substituting nonradioactive or short-lived radioactive materials for those radionuclides which require long-term isolation from the environment. A contract awarded to the University of California at Irvine-UCI (California Std. Agreement 79902), to develop a document focusing on methods for decreasing low-level radioactive waste (LLW) generation in institutions was amore » result of that directive. In early 1985, the US Department of Energy, through EG and G Idaho, Inc., contracted with UCI to expand, update, and revise the California text for national release.« less

Cellulase production from spent sulfite liquor and paper-mill waste fiber

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

Qu Yinbo; Zhao Xin; Gao Peiji

1991-12-31

Since a high proportion of the overall cost of the conversion of cellulosics to useful products is the expense of cellulose production (1), it is desirable to develop new processes for producing large amounts of cellulase inexpensively. So far, most of the research work on cellulose production has been carried out using milled cellulose powder and inorganic salts as substrates, which significantly increases the cost of enzyme production. In order to reduce the cost of raw materials, we tried to develop from industrial wastes a new medium for the production of cellulose. In this report, we describe a simple methodmore » by which an all-waste medium, which was composed of spent ammonium sulfite liquor and cellulosic waste of a paper mill, and a catabolite derepression mutant of Penicillium decumbens were used to produce the enzyme efficiently.« less

Operation of an aquatic worm reactor suitable for sludge reduction at large scale.

PubMed

Hendrickx, Tim L G; Elissen, Hellen H J; Temmink, Hardy; Buisman, Cees J N

2011-10-15

Treatment of domestic waste water results in the production of waste sludge, which requires costly further processing. A biological method to reduce the amount of waste sludge and its volume is treatment in an aquatic worm reactor. The potential of such a worm reactor with the oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus has been shown at small scale. For scaling up purposes, a new configuration of the reactor was designed, in which the worms were positioned horizontally in the carrier material. This was tested in a continuous experiment of 8 weeks where it treated all the waste sludge from a lab-scale activated sludge process. The results showed a higher worm growth rate compared to previous experiments with the old configuration, whilst nutrient release was similar. The new configuration has a low footprint and allows for easy aeration and faeces collection, thereby making it suitable for full scale application. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Achieving zero waste of municipal incinerator fly ash by melting in electric arc furnaces while steelmaking.

PubMed

Yang, Gordon C C; Chuang, Tsun-Nan; Huang, Chien-Wen

2017-04-01

The main objective of this work was to promote zero waste of municipal incinerator fly ash (MIFA) by full-scale melting in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) of steel mini mills around the world. MIFA, generally, is considered as a hazardous waste. Like in many countries, MIFA in Taiwan is first solidified/stabilized and then landfilled. Due to the scarcity of landfill space, the cost of landfilling increases markedly year by year in Taiwan. This paper presents satisfactory results of treating several hundred tons of MIFA in a full-scale steel mini mill using the approach of "melting MIFA while EAF steelmaking", which is somewhat similar to "molten salt oxidation" process. It was found that this practice yielded many advantages such as (1) about 18wt% of quicklime requirement in EAF steelmaking can be substituted by the lime materials contained in MIFA; (2) MIFA would totally end up as a material in fractions of recyclable EAF dust, oxidized slag and reduced slag; (3) no waste is needed for landfilling; and (4) a capital cost saving through the employment of existing EAFs in steel mini mills instead of building new melting plants for the treatment of MIFA. Thus, it is technically feasible to achieve zero waste of MIFA by the practice of this innovative melting technology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

USBI Booster Production Company's Hazardous Waste Management Program at the Kennedy Space Center, FL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Venuto, Charles

1987-01-01

In response to the hazardous-waste generating processes associated with the launch of the Space Shuttle, a hazardous waste management plan has been developed. It includes waste recycling, product substitution, waste treatment, and waste minimization at the source. Waste material resulting from the preparation of the nonmotor segments of the solid rocket boosters include waste paints (primer, topcoats), waste solvents (methylene chloride, freon, acetone, toluene), waste inorganic compounds (aluminum anodizing compound, fixer), and others. Ways in which these materials are contended with at the Kennedy Space Center are discussed.

A waste walk through clinical pharmacy: how do the 'seven wastes' of Lean techniques apply to the practice of clinical pharmacists.

PubMed

Green, Christopher F; Crawford, Victoria; Bresnen, Gaynor; Rowe, Philip H

2015-02-01

This study used a 'Lean' technique, the 'waste walk' to evaluate the activities of clinical pharmacists with reference to the seven wastes described in 'Lean' including 'defects', 'unnecessary motion', 'overproduction', 'transport of products or material', 'unnecessary waiting', 'unnecessary inventory' and 'inappropriate processing'. The objectives of the study were to categorise the activities of ward-based clinical pharmacists into waste and non-waste, provide detail around what constitutes waste activity and quantify the proportion of time attributed to each category. This study was carried out in a district general hospital in the North West of England. Staff were observed using work-sampling techniques, to categorise activity into waste and non-waste, with waste activities being allocated to each of the seven wastes described earlier and subdivided into recurrent themes. Twenty different pharmacists were observed for 1 h on two separate occasions. Of 1440 observations, 342 (23.8%) were categorised as waste with 'defects' and 'unnecessary motion' accounting for the largest proportions of waste activity. Observation of clinical pharmacists' activities has identified that a significant proportion of their time could be categorised as 'waste'. There are practical steps that could be implemented in order to ensure their time is used as productively as possible. Given the challenges facing the UK National Health Service, the adoption of 'Lean' techniques provides an opportunity to improve quality and productivity while reducing costs. © 2014 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

SHC Project 3.63, Task 2, Beneficial Use of Waste Materials ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

SHC Project 3.63, Task 2, “Beneficial Use of Waste Materials”, is designed to conduct research and analyses to characterize and quantify the risks and benefits of using or reusing waste materials. There are 6 primary research areas in Task 2 that cover a broad spectrum of topics germane to the beneficial use of waste materials and address Agency, Office, Region and other client needs. The 6 research areas include: 1) Materials Recovery Technology, 2) Beneficial Use of Materials Optimization, 3) Novel Products from Waste Materials, 4) Land Application of Biosolids, 5) Soil Remediation Amendments and 6) Improved Leaching Methods for More Accurate Prediction of Environmental Release of Metals. The objectives of each research area, their intended products and progress to date will be presented. The products of this Task will enable communities and the Agency to better protect and enhance human health, well-being and the environment for current and future generations, through the reduction in material consumption, reuse, and recycling of materials. This presentation is designed to convey the rational, purpose and planned research in EPAs Safe and Healthy Communities (SHC) National Research Program Project 3.63 (Sustainable Materials Management) Task 2, “Beneficial Use of Waste Materials”, which is designed to conduct research and analyses to characterize and quantify the risks and benefits of using or reusing waste materials. . This presentation has bee

Applications of Nano palm oil fuel ash and Nano fly ash in concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamada, Hussein M.; Jokhio, Gul Ahmed; Mat Yahaya, Fadzil; Humada, Ali M.

2018-04-01

This paper discusses the applications of Nano waste materials including palm oil fuel ash and fly ash in the concrete production. The implementation of nanotechnology has been instrumental in the development of significant interest among the stakeholders to improve the mechanical and chemical properties of materials involved in the production of concrete. Although many researchers have shown the potential of nanomaterials to increase strength and durability of concrete and improve its physical and chemical properties, there is still a knowledge gap regarding the preparation of Nano waste materials from agricultural waste to use as cement replacement instead of non-renewable materials. Therefore, it should be focused on to study Nano- waste materials to benefit from these characteristics during preparation of concrete mixtures. Therefore, this paper highlights the potential of waste materials in the Nano size to partially replace cement in concrete and achieve the same or better result than the traditional concrete. This paper recommends to conduct further experimental works to improve the concrete material properties by investigating the properties of waste materials in Nano size.

Evaluating the feasibility of biological waste processing for long term space missions.

PubMed

Garland, J L; Alazraki, M P; Atkinson, C F; Finger, B W

1998-01-01

Recycling waste products during orbital (e.g., International Space Station) and planetary missions (e.g., lunar base, Mars transit mission, Martian base) will reduce storage and resupply costs. Wastes streams on the space station will include human hygiene water, urine, faeces, and trash. Longer term missions will contain human waste and inedible plant material from plant growth systems used for atmospheric regeneration, food production, and water recycling. The feasibility of biological and physical-chemical waste recycling is being investigated as part of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. In-vessel composting has lower manpower requirements, lower water and volume requirements, and greater potential for sanitization of human waste compared to alternative bioreactor designs such as continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR). Residual solids from the process (i.e. compost) could be used a biological air filter, a plant nutrient source, and a carbon sink. Potential in-vessel composting designs for both near- and long-term space missions are presented and discussed with respect to the unique aspects of space-based systems.

Evaluating the feasibility of biological waste processing for long term space missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garland, J. L.; Alazraki, M. P.; Atkinson, C. F.; Finger, B. W.; Sager, J. C. (Principal Investigator)

1998-01-01

Recycling waste products during orbital (e.g., International Space Station) and planetary missions (e.g., lunar base, Mars transit mission, Martian base) will reduce storage and resupply costs. Wastes streams on the space station will include human hygiene water, urine, faeces, and trash. Longer term missions will contain human waste and inedible plant material from plant growth systems used for atmospheric regeneration, food production, and water recycling. The feasibility of biological and physical-chemical waste recycling is being investigated as part of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. In-vessel composting has lower manpower requirements, lower water and volume requirements, and greater potential for sanitization of human waste compared to alternative bioreactor designs such as continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR). Residual solids from the process (i.e. compost) could be used a biological air filter, a plant nutrient source, and a carbon sink. Potential in-vessel composting designs for both near- and long-term space missions are presented and discussed with respect to the unique aspects of space-based systems.

Recycling polyethylene terephthalate wastes as short fibers in Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCC).

PubMed

Lin, Xiuyi; Yu, Jing; Li, Hedong; Lam, Jeffery Y K; Shih, Kaimin; Sham, Ivan M L; Leung, Christopher K Y

2018-05-26

As an important portion of the total plastic waste bulk but lack of reuse and recycling, the enormous amounts of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) solid wastes have led to serious environmental issues. This study explores the feasibility of recycling PET solid wastes as short fibers in Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCCs), which exhibit strain-hardening and multiple cracking under tension, and therefore have clear advantages over conventional concrete for many construction applications. Based on micromechanical modeling, fiber dispersion and alkali resistance, the size of recycled PET fibers was first determined. Then the hydrophobic PET surface was treated with NaOH solution followed by a silane coupling agent to achieve the dual purpose of improving the fiber/matrix interfacial frictional bond (from 0.64 MPa to 0.80 MPa) and enhancing the alkali resistance for applications in alkaline cementitious environment. With surface treatment, recycling PET wastes as fibers in SHCCs is a promising approach to significantly reduce the material cost of SHCCs while disposing hazardous PET wastes in construction industry. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solid waste treatment as a high-priority and low-cost alternative for greenhouse gas mitigation.

PubMed

Ayalon, O; Avnimelech, Y; Shechter, M

2001-05-01

The increased concern about environmental problems caused by inadequate waste management, as well as the concern about global warming, promotes actions toward a sustainable management of the organic fraction of the waste. Landfills, the most common means to dispose of municipal solid waste (MSW), lead to the conversion of the organic waste to biogas, containing about 50% methane, a very active greenhouse gas (GHG). One unit of methane has a global warming potential of 21 computed for a 100-year horizon or 56 computed for 20 years. The waste sector in Israel contributes 13% of total greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions for a time horizon of 100 years (for a time horizon of 20 years, the waste sector contribution equals to more than 25% of total GHG emissions). The ultimate goal is to minimize the amount of methane (CH4) by converting it to CO2. This can be achieved by physicochemical means (e.g., landfill gas flare, incineration) or by biological processes (e.g., composting, anaerobic digestion). Since the waste in Israel has a high organic material content, it was found that the most cost-effective means to treat the degradable organic components is by aerobic composting (investment of less than US$ 10 to reduce emission of one ton CO2 equivalent per year). Another benefit of this technology is the ability to implement it within a short period. The suggested approach, which should be implemented especially in developing countries, could reduce a significant amount of GHG at relatively low cost and short time. The development of a national policy for proper waste treatment can be a significant means to abate GHG emissions in the short term, enabling a gain in time to develop other means for the long run. In addition, the use of CO2 quotas will credit the waste sector and will promote profitable proper waste management.

Fluid bed gasification – Plasma converter process generating energy from solid waste: Experimental assessment of sulphur species

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

Morrin, Shane, E-mail: shane.morrin@ucl.ac.uk; Advanced Plasma Power, Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 4DE; Lettieri, Paola, E-mail: p.lettieri@ucl.ac.uk

2014-01-15

Highlights: • We investigate gaseous sulphur species whilst gasifying sulphur-enriched wood pellets. • Experiments performed using a two stage fluid bed gasifier – plasma converter process. • Notable SO{sub 2} and relatively low COS levels were identified. • Oxygen-rich regions of the bed are believed to facilitate SO{sub 2}, with a delayed release. • Gas phase reducing regions above the bed would facilitate more prompt COS generation. - Abstract: Often perceived as a Cinderella material, there is growing appreciation for solid waste as a renewable content thermal process feed. Nonetheless, research on solid waste gasification and sulphur mechanisms in particularmore » is lacking. This paper presents results from two related experiments on a novel two stage gasification process, at demonstration scale, using a sulphur-enriched wood pellet feed. Notable SO{sub 2} and relatively low COS levels (before gas cleaning) were interesting features of the trials, and not normally expected under reducing gasification conditions. Analysis suggests that localised oxygen rich regions within the fluid bed played a role in SO{sub 2}’s generation. The response of COS to sulphur in the feed was quite prompt, whereas SO{sub 2} was more delayed. It is proposed that the bed material sequestered sulphur from the feed, later aiding SO{sub 2} generation. The more reducing gas phase regions above the bed would have facilitated COS – hence its faster response. These results provide a useful insight, with further analysis on a suite of performed experiments underway, along with thermodynamic modelling.« less

Treatment alternatives of slaughterhouse wastes, and their effect on the inactivation of different pathogens: a review.

PubMed

Franke-Whittle, Ingrid H; Insam, Heribert

2013-05-01

Slaughterhouse wastes are a potential reservoir of bacterial, viral, prion and parasitic pathogens, capable of infecting both animals and humans. A quick, cost effective and safe disposal method is thus essential in order to reduce the risk of disease following animal slaughter. Different methods for the disposal of such wastes exist, including composting, anaerobic digestion (AD), alkaline hydrolysis (AH), rendering, incineration and burning. Composting is a disposal method that allows a recycling of the slaughterhouse waste nutrients back into the earth. The high fat and protein content of slaughterhouse wastes mean however, that such wastes are an excellent substrate for AD processes, resulting in both the disposal of wastes, a recycling of nutrients (soil amendment with sludge), and in methane production. Concerns exist as to whether AD and composting processes can inactivate pathogens. In contrast, AH is capable of the inactivation of almost all known microorganisms. This review was conducted in order to compare three different methods of slaughterhouse waste disposal, as regards to their ability to inactivate various microbial pathogens. The intention was to investigate whether AD could be used for waste disposal (either alone, or in combination with another process) such that both energy can be obtained and potentially hazardous materials be disposed of.

Using benchmarking to minimize common DOE waste streams: Volume 5. Office paper waste

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

Levin, V.

Finding innovative ways to reduce waste streams generated at US Department of Energy (DOE) sites by 50% by the year 2000 is a challenge for DOE`s waste minimization efforts. A team composed of members from several DOE facilities used the quality tool known as benchmarking to improve waste minimization efforts. First the team examined office waste generation and handling processes at their sites. Then team members developed telephone and written questionnaires to help identify potential ``best-in-class`` industry partners willing to share information about their best waste minimization techniques and technologies. The team identified two benchmarking partners, NIKE, Inc., in Beaverton,more » Oregon, and Microsoft, Inc., in Redmond, Washington. Both companies have proactive, employee-driven environmental issues programs. Both companies report strong employee involvement, management commitment, and readily available markets for recyclable materials such as white paper and nonwhite assorted paper. The availability of markets, the initiative and cooperation of employees, and management support are the main enablers for their programs. At both companies, recycling and waste reduction programs often cut across traditional corporate divisions such as procurement, janitorial services, environmental compliance, grounds maintenance, cafeteria operations, surplus sales, and shipping and receiving. These companies exhibited good cooperation between these functions to design and implement recycling and waste reduction programs.« less

Treatment alternatives of slaughterhouse wastes, and their effect on the inactivation of different pathogens: A review

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Slaughterhouse wastes are a potential reservoir of bacterial, viral, prion and parasitic pathogens, capable of infecting both animals and humans. A quick, cost effective and safe disposal method is thus essential in order to reduce the risk of disease following animal slaughter. Different methods for the disposal of such wastes exist, including composting, anaerobic digestion (AD), alkaline hydrolysis (AH), rendering, incineration and burning. Composting is a disposal method that allows a recycling of the slaughterhouse waste nutrients back into the earth. The high fat and protein content of slaughterhouse wastes mean however, that such wastes are an excellent substrate for AD processes, resulting in both the disposal of wastes, a recycling of nutrients (soil amendment with sludge), and in methane production. Concerns exist as to whether AD and composting processes can inactivate pathogens. In contrast, AH is capable of the inactivation of almost all known microorganisms. This review was conducted in order to compare three different methods of slaughterhouse waste disposal, as regards to their ability to inactivate various microbial pathogens. The intention was to investigate whether AD could be used for waste disposal (either alone, or in combination with another process) such that both energy can be obtained and potentially hazardous materials be disposed of. PMID:22694189

Municipal solid waste management for total resource recycling: a case study on Haulien County in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chang, Yu-Min; Liu, Chien-Chung; Dai, Wen-Chien; Hu, Allen; Tseng, Chao-Heng; Chou, Chieh-Mei

2013-01-01

This work presents the enforcement performance of recent Haulien County, Taiwan municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling management programs. These programs include: Mandatory Refuse Sorting and Recycling, Diverse Bulk Waste Reuse, Pay-as-you-Discharge, Total Food Waste Recycling, Restricted Use on Plastic Shopping Bags & Plastic Tableware, Recycling Fund Management, and Ash Reuse. These programs provide incentives to reduce the MSW quantity growth rate. It was found that the recycled material fraction of MSW generated in 2001 was from 6.8%, but was 32.4% in 2010 and will increase stably by 2-5% yearly in the near future. Survey data for the last few years show that only 2.68% (based on total MSW generated) of food waste was collected in 2001. However, food waste was up to 9.7% in 2010 after the Total Food Waste Recycling program was implemented. The reutilization rate of bottom ash was 20% in 2005 and up to 65% in 2010 owing to Ash Reuse Program enforcement. A quantified index, the Total Recycle Index, was proposed to evaluate MSW management program performance. The demonstrated county will move toward a zero waste society in 2015 if the Total Recycle Index approaches 1.00. Exact management with available programs can lead to slow-growing waste volume and recovery of all MSW.

The Potential of Sequential Extraction in the Characterisation and Management of Wastes from Steel Processing: A Prospective Review

PubMed Central

Rodgers, Kiri J.; Hursthouse, Andrew; Cuthbert, Simon

2015-01-01

As waste management regulations become more stringent, yet demand for resources continues to increase, there is a pressing need for innovative management techniques and more sophisticated supporting analysis techniques. Sequential extraction (SE) analysis, a technique previously applied to soils and sediments, offers the potential to gain a better understanding of the composition of solid wastes. SE attempts to classify potentially toxic elements (PTEs) by their associations with phases or fractions in waste, with the aim of improving resource use and reducing negative environmental impacts. In this review we explain how SE can be applied to steel wastes. These present challenges due to differences in sample characteristics compared with materials to which SE has been traditionally applied, specifically chemical composition, particle size and pH buffering capacity, which are critical when identifying a suitable SE method. We highlight the importance of delineating iron-rich phases, and find that the commonly applied BCR (The community Bureau of reference) extraction method is problematic due to difficulties with zinc speciation (a critical steel waste constituent), hence a substantially modified SEP is necessary to deal with particular characteristics of steel wastes. Successful development of SE for steel wastes could have wider implications, e.g., for the sustainable management of fly ash and mining wastes. PMID:26393631

The Potential of Sequential Extraction in the Characterisation and Management of Wastes from Steel Processing: A Prospective Review.

PubMed

Rodgers, Kiri J; Hursthouse, Andrew; Cuthbert, Simon

2015-09-18

As waste management regulations become more stringent, yet demand for resources continues to increase, there is a pressing need for innovative management techniques and more sophisticated supporting analysis techniques. Sequential extraction (SE) analysis, a technique previously applied to soils and sediments, offers the potential to gain a better understanding of the composition of solid wastes. SE attempts to classify potentially toxic elements (PTEs) by their associations with phases or fractions in waste, with the aim of improving resource use and reducing negative environmental impacts. In this review we explain how SE can be applied to steel wastes. These present challenges due to differences in sample characteristics compared with materials to which SE has been traditionally applied, specifically chemical composition, particle size and pH buffering capacity, which are critical when identifying a suitable SE method. We highlight the importance of delineating iron-rich phases, and find that the commonly applied BCR (The community Bureau of reference) extraction method is problematic due to difficulties with zinc speciation (a critical steel waste constituent), hence a substantially modified SEP is necessary to deal with particular characteristics of steel wastes. Successful development of SE for steel wastes could have wider implications, e.g., for the sustainable management of fly ash and mining wastes.

Developments in abatement technology for MOCVD processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sweeney, Joseph; Marganski, Paul; Olander, Karl; Watanabe, Tadaharu; Tomita, Nobuyasu; Orlando, Gary; Torres, Robert

2004-12-01

A newly developed technical solution has been developed for hydride gas abatement that utilizes a new material. The ULTIMA-Sorb™ material provides high capacity but low heat of reaction with the hydride gases. The new technology results in a low cost of ownership (COO) with stable operation and also reduces the cost and quantity of waste disposal. This can be significant benefit for device manufacturers since it provides a viable and cost effective solution without any risk of arsenic leakage that is a primary concern with wet chemical scrubber systems. The contents of this paper will discuss the technical and economic benefits of the newly developed material in comparison to conventional abatement materials and systems. The capacity of the dry abatement materials significantly influences both COO relating to cash outflow and the cost of lost production. High capacity materials enable significant savings in cost of lost production in cases of low and high factory utilization conditions. Capacity of the abatement material appears to be the largest single factor to reduce COO of dry abatement systems.

ANIMAL WASTE COMPOSTING WITH CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL

EPA Science Inventory

High rate thermophilic composting of animal wastes with added carbonaceous waste materials followed by land application has considerable potential as a means of treatment and useful final disposal of these wastes. The process described in this report utilizes a mechanically mixed...

Solidification as low cost technology prior to land filling of industrial hazardous waste sludge.

PubMed

El-Sebaie, O; Ahmed, M; Ramadan, M

2000-01-01

The aim of this study is to stabilize and solidify two different treated industrial hazardous waste sludges, which were selected from factories situated close to Alexandria. They were selected to ensure their safe transportation and landfill disposal by reducing their potential leaching of hazardous elements, which represent significant threat to the environment, especially the quality of underground water. The selected waste sludges have been characterized. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Cement Kiln Dust (CKD) from Alexandria Portland Cement Company, and Calcium Sulphate as a by-product from the dye industry were used as potential solidification additives to treat the selected treated waste sludges from tanning and dyes industry. Waste sludges as well as the solidified wastes have been leach-tested, using the General Acid Neutralization Capacity (GANC) procedure. Concentration of concerning metals in the leachates was determined to assess changes in the mobility of major contaminants. The treated tannery waste sludge has an acid neutralization capacity much higher than that of the treated dyes waste sludge. Experiment results demonstrated the industrial waste sludge solidification mix designs, and presented the reduction of contaminant leaching from two types of waste sludges. The main advantages of solidification are that it is simple and low cost processing which includes readily available low cost solidification additives that will convert industrial hazardous waste sludges into inert materials.

Lead recovery and glass microspheres synthesis from waste CRT funnel glasses through carbon thermal reduction enhanced acid leaching process.

PubMed

Mingfei, Xing; Yaping, Wang; Jun, Li; Hua, Xu

2016-03-15

In this study, a novel process for detoxification and reutilization of waste cathode ray tube (CRT) funnel glass was developed by carbon thermal reduction enhanced acid leaching process. The key to this process is removal of lead from the CRT funnel glass and synchronous preparation of glass microspheres. Carbon powder was used as an isolation agent and a reducing agent. Under the isolation of the carbon powder, the funnel glass powder was sintered into glass microspheres. In thermal reduction, PbO in the funnel glass was first reduced to elemental Pb by carbon monoxide and then located on the surface of glass microspheres which can be removed easily by acid leaching. Experimental results showed that temperature, carbon adding amount and holding time were the major parameters that controlled lead removal rate. The maximum lead removal rate was 94.80% and glass microspheres that measured 0.73-14.74μm were obtained successfully by setting the temperature, carbon adding amount and holding time at 1200°C, 10% and 30min, respectively. The prepared glass microspheres may be used as fillers in polymer materials and abrasive materials, among others. Accordingly, this study proposed a practical and economical process for detoxification and recycling of waste lead-containing glass. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrodialytic remediation of municipal solid waste incineration residues using different membranes.

PubMed

Parés Viader, Raimon; Jensen, Pernille Erland; Ottosen, Lisbeth M

2017-02-01

In the present work, three different commercial membrane brands were used in an identical electrodialytic cell setup and operating conditions, in order to reduce the leaching of metals and salt anions of two types of municipal solid waste incineration residues: air pollution control residues of a semi-dry flue-gas cleaning system and fly ashes from a plant with wet flue-gas cleaning system. The results showed a general reduction of the leaching in both residues after ED remediation. For the following elements, the leaching was found to be different after ED treatment depending on the membrane used, with statistical significance: • Air pollution control residues of the semi-dry flue-gas cleaning system: Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn; • Fly ashes from a plant with wet flue-gas cleaning system: Al, Ba, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cl, SO 4 . Final leaching values for some elements and membranes, but not the majority, were below than those of certified coal fly ash (e.g. Al or Cr), a material which is commonly used in construction materials; at the same time, some of these values were reduced to below the Danish law thresholds on the use of contaminated soil in constructions. These results show the potential of ED as a technology to upgrade municipal solid waste incineration residues. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Separability studies of construction and demolition waste recycled sand.

PubMed

Ulsen, Carina; Kahn, Henrique; Hawlitschek, Gustav; Masini, Eldon A; Angulo, Sérgio C

2013-03-01

The quality of recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste (CDW) is strictly related to the content of porous and low strength phases, and specifically to the patches of cement that remain attached to the surface of natural aggregates. This phase increases water absorption and compromises the consistency and strength of concrete made from recycled aggregates. Mineral processing has been applied to CDW recycling to remove the patches of adhered cement paste on coarse recycled aggregates. The recycled fine fraction is usually disregarded due to its high content of porous phases despite representing around 50% of the total waste. This paper focus on laboratory mineral separability studies for removing particles with a high content of cement paste from natural fine aggregate particles (quartz/feldspars). The procedure achieved processing of CDW by tertiary impact crushing to produce sand, followed by sieving and density and magnetic separability studies. The attained results confirmed that both methods were effective in reducing cement paste content and producing significant mass recovery (80% for density concentration and 60% for magnetic separation). The production of recycled sand contributes to the sustainability of the construction environment by reducing both the consumption of raw materials and disposal of CDW, particularly in large Brazilian centers with a low quantity of sand and increasing costs of this material due to long transportation distances. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Methods to ensure the quality of excavated soil material from geogenically metalliferous sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liebhard, Peter; Sager, Manfred

2017-04-01

Soils at geogenically metalliferous sites might exceed heavy metal threshold levels with respect to agricultural use, apart from anthropogenic contamination sources. As a fundamental substrate for green plants and green plant production, soil is not easily renewable, its formation needs long time (e.g. 500 years for 20 mm). In Austria, about 10ha of soil get sealed every day, resulting in complete loss of its biological functions. Excavated soil material has been classified as waste from a legal point of view, which made 33 mill. tons resp. 48% of total waste in Austria in 2010. Recycling of excavated soil material for agricultural use will be an important task to reduce future waste and to enlarge agricultural substrate volumes, but methods to ensure proper qualities are needed to improve regulations. Within this investigation, the transfer of various metals from geogenically metalliferous soils to various crop plants will be investigated, and correlated with various simple soil test methods. Four excavated soil materials from the metalliferous schist zone within the Austrian province of Styria (Kraubath/Mur, Übelbach) and a low-metal reference sample have been taken as substrates to grow raygrass (lolium multiflorum) as a green cover, salad (Lactuca sativa) as a vegetable food item, oats (Avena sativa), maize (Zea mais) and stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) as a hyperaccumulating species. Results and recommendations will be presented.

Control of GHG emission at the microbial community level.

PubMed

Insam, H; Wett, B

2008-01-01

All organic material eventually is decomposed by microorganisms, and considerable amounts of C and N end up as gaseous metabolites. The emissions of greenhouse relevant gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides largely depend on physico-chemical conditions like substrate quality or the redox potential of the habitat. Manipulating these conditions has a great potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Such options are known from farm and waste management, as well as from wastewater treatment. In this paper examples are given how greenhouse gas production might be reduced by regulating microbial processes. Biogas production from manure, organic wastes, and landfills are given as examples how methanisation may be used to save fossil fuel. Methane oxidation, on the other hand, might alleviate the problem of methane already produced, or the conversion of aerobic wastewater treatment to anaerobic nitrogen elimination through the anaerobic ammonium oxidation process might reduce N2O release to the atmosphere. Changing the diet of ruminants, altering soil water potentials or a change of waste collection systems are other measures that affect microbial activities and that might contribute to a reduction of carbon dioxide equivalents being emitted to the atmosphere.

The New Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Virginia State Dept. of Waste Management, Richmond. Div. of Litter & Recycling.

Given the growing interest in the environment and the mounting crisis in solid waste management, many secondary teachers have been seeking curriculum materials which can help them address these issues with their classes. This document is a collection of 12 multidisciplinary activities which are offered to assist in the education of these students.…

Report to the President and to the Council on Environmental Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Citizens Advisory Committee on Environmental Quality.

This report discusses three current environmental concerns. First, the report addresses the energy crisis and recommends the establishment of a balance between increased domestic energy supplies and reduced domestic energy demands, the recycling of solid wastes to save energy and materials, and the need to view short-term and long-term energy…

STONES SAWING SLUDGE AS BY-PRODUCT: characterization for a future recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zichella, Lorena; Bellopede, Rossana; Marini, Paola

2017-04-01

The European Commission, as part of its Thematic Strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste, committed itself to tackle one of the issues around the waste definition, namely the distinction between waste and by-products. This definition has been outlined through the Communication on waste and by-product of the European Court of Justice (Brussels, 21.2.2007 COM(2007) 59 final COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT). By-product is a substance or object, resulting from a production process, the primary aim of which is not the production of that item. By-products can come from a wide range of business sectors, and can have very different environmental impacts. If there is a possibility that the material is in fact not useable, because it does not meet the technical specifications that would be required for its use, then it should continue to be considered as a waste. The status of waste protects the environment from the potential consequences of this uncertainty. If it subsequently happens that a use is found for the waste in question then it will lose its status of waste and it will be considered a by-product. An incorrect classification could be the cause of environmental damage or unnecessary costs for business. For this purpose a characterization of sludge coming from different plants of stone processing was carried out for a better classification of the materials in view of a future recovery. The different stones cutting processes considered for this study are: gangsaw, diamond blade and diamond wire. The cut materials are granites, gneisses, and other stones mainly of silicatic nature. The tests performed on the sawing sludge are the following: particle size analysis, chemical analysis, wet magnetic separation, diffraction and SEM analysis. The study performed is useful for evaluating the possible reuses of the products coming from the magnetic separation: the metal fraction, and the mineral one. In order to avoid a subsequent environmental degradation and to promote a technology innovation (sustainability and circular economy) a proactive waste management strategy trying to optimize on the one hand the processing to obtain reduced waste and the other to improve the process to obtain two reusable by-products was considered.

Evaluation of municipal solid waste management performance by material flow analysis: Theoretical approach and case study.

PubMed

Zaccariello, Lucio; Cremiato, Raffaele; Mastellone, Maria Laura

2015-10-01

The main role of a waste management plan is to define which is the combination of waste management strategies and method needed to collect and manage the waste in such a way to ensure a given set of targets is reached. Objectives have to be sustainable and realistic, consistent with the environmental policies and regulations and monitored to verify the progressive achievement of the given targets. To get the aim, the setting up and quantification of indicators can allow the measurement of efficiency of a waste management system. The quantification of efficiency indicators requires the developing of a material flow analysis over the system boundary, from waste collection to secondary materials selling, processing and disposal. The material flow analysis has been carried out with reference to a case study for which a reliable, time- and site-specific database was available. The material flow analysis allowed the evaluation of the amount of materials sent to recycling, to landfilling and to waste-to-energy, by highlighting that the sorting of residual waste can further increase the secondary materials amount. The utilisation of energy recovery to treat the low-grade waste allows the maximisation of waste diversion from landfill with a low production of hazardous ash. A preliminary economic balance has been carried out to define the gate fee of the waste management system that was in the range of 84-145 € t(-1) without including the separate collection cost. The cost of door-by-door separate collection, designed to ensure the collection of five separate streams, resulted in 250 € t(-1) ±30%. © The Author(s) 2015.

Waste minimization for commercial radioactive materials users generating low-level radioactive waste. Revision 1

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

Fischer, D.K.; Gitt, M.; Williams, G.A.

1991-07-01

The objective of this document is to provide a resource for all states and compact regions interested in promoting the minimization of low-level radioactive waste (LLW). This project was initiated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Massachusetts waste streams have been used as examples; however, the methods of analysis presented here are applicable to similar waste streams generated elsewhere. This document is a guide for states/compact regions to use in developing a system to evaluate and prioritize various waste minimization techniques in order to encourage individual radioactive materials users (LLW generators) to consider these techniques in their own independent evaluations.more » This review discusses the application of specific waste minimization techniques to waste streams characteristic of three categories of radioactive materials users: (1) industrial operations using radioactive materials in the manufacture of commercial products, (2) health care institutions, including hospitals and clinics, and (3) educational and research institutions. Massachusetts waste stream characterization data from key radioactive materials users in each category are used to illustrate the applicability of various minimization techniques. The utility group is not included because extensive information specific to this category of LLW generators is available in the literature.« less

Waste minimization for commercial radioactive materials users generating low-level radioactive waste

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

Fischer, D.K.; Gitt, M.; Williams, G.A.

1991-07-01

The objective of this document is to provide a resource for all states and compact regions interested in promoting the minimization of low-level radioactive waste (LLW). This project was initiated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Massachusetts waste streams have been used as examples; however, the methods of analysis presented here are applicable to similar waste streams generated elsewhere. This document is a guide for states/compact regions to use in developing a system to evaluate and prioritize various waste minimization techniques in order to encourage individual radioactive materials users (LLW generators) to consider these techniques in their own independent evaluations.more » This review discusses the application of specific waste minimization techniques to waste streams characteristic of three categories of radioactive materials users: (1) industrial operations using radioactive materials in the manufacture of commercial products, (2) health care institutions, including hospitals and clinics, and (3) educational and research institutions. Massachusetts waste stream characterization data from key radioactive materials users in each category are used to illustrate the applicability of various minimization techniques. The utility group is not included because extensive information specific to this category of LLW generators is available in the literature.« less

Removal of radioactive and other hazardous material from fluid waste

DOEpatents

Tranter, Troy J [Idaho Falls, ID; Knecht, Dieter A [Idaho Falls, ID; Todd, Terry A [Aberdeen, ID; Burchfield, Larry A [W. Richland, WA; Anshits, Alexander G [Krasnoyarsk, RU; Vereshchagina, Tatiana [Krasnoyarsk, RU; Tretyakov, Alexander A [Zheleznogorsk, RU; Aloy, Albert S [St. Petersburg, RU; Sapozhnikova, Natalia V [St. Petersburg, RU

2006-10-03

Hollow glass microspheres obtained from fly ash (cenospheres) are impregnated with extractants/ion-exchangers and used to remove hazardous material from fluid waste. In a preferred embodiment the microsphere material is loaded with ammonium molybdophosphonate (AMP) and used to remove radioactive ions, such as cesium-137, from acidic liquid wastes. In another preferred embodiment, the microsphere material is loaded with octyl(phenyl)-N-N-diisobutyl-carbamoylmethylphosphine oxide (CMPO) and used to remove americium and plutonium from acidic liquid wastes.

From "farm to fork" strawberry system: current realities and potential innovative scenarios from life cycle assessment of non-renewable energy use and green house gas emissions.

PubMed

Girgenti, Vincenzo; Peano, Cristiana; Baudino, Claudio; Tecco, Nadia

2014-03-01

In this study, we analysed the environmental profile of the strawberry industry in Northern Italy. The analysis was conducted using two scenarios as reference systems: strawberry crops grown in unheated plastic tunnels using currently existing cultivation techniques, post-harvest management practices and consumption patterns (scenario 1) and the same strawberry cultivation chain in which some of the materials used were replaced with bio-based materials (scenario 2). In numerous studies, biodegradable polymers have been shown to be environmentally friendly, thus potentially reducing environmental impacts. These materials can be recycled into carbon dioxide and water through composting. Many materials, such as Mater-BI® and PLA®, are also derived from renewable resources. The methodology chosen for the environmental analysis was a life cycle assessment (LCA) based on a consequential approach developed to assess a product's overall environmental impact from the production system to its usage and disposal. In the field stage, a traditional mulching film (non-biodegradable) could be replaced with a biodegradable product. This change would result in waste production of 0 kg/ha for the bio-based product compared to 260 kg/ha of waste for polyethylene (PE). In the post-harvest stage, the issue addressed was the use and disposal of packaging materials. The innovative scenario evaluated herein pertains to the use of new packaging materials that increase the shelf life of strawberries, thereby decreasing product losses while increasing waste management efficiency at the level of a distribution platform and/or sales outlet. In the event of product deterioration or non-sale of the product, the packaging and its contents could be collected together as organic waste without any additional processes because the packaging is compostable according to EN13432. Scenario 2 would achieve reductions of 20% in the global warming potential and non-renewable energy impact categories. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hybrid waste filler filled bio-polymer foam composites for sound absorbent materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rus, Anika Zafiah M.; Azahari, M. Shafiq M.; Kormin, Shaharuddin; Soon, Leong Bong; Zaliran, M. Taufiq; Ahraz Sadrina M. F., L.

2017-09-01

Sound absorption materials are one of the major requirements in many industries with regards to the sound insulation developed should be efficient to reduce sound. This is also important to contribute in economically ways of producing sound absorbing materials which is cheaper and user friendly. Thus, in this research, the sound absorbent properties of bio-polymer foam filled with hybrid fillers of wood dust and waste tire rubber has been investigated. Waste cooking oil from crisp industries was converted into bio-monomer, filled with different proportion ratio of fillers and fabricated into bio-polymer foam composite. Two fabrication methods is applied which is the Close Mold Method (CMM) and Open Mold Method (OMM). A total of four bio-polymer foam composite samples were produce for each method used. The percentage of hybrid fillers; mixture of wood dust and waste tire rubber of 2.5 %, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10% weight to weight ration with bio-monomer. The sound absorption of the bio-polymer foam composites samples were tested by using the impedance tube test according to the ASTM E-1050 and Scanning Electron Microscope to determine the morphology and porosity of the samples. The sound absorption coefficient (α) at different frequency range revealed that the polymer foam of 10.0 % hybrid fillers shows highest α of 0.963. The highest hybrid filler loading contributing to smallest pore sizes but highest interconnected pores. This also revealed that when highly porous material is exposed to incident sound waves, the air molecules at the surface of the material and within the pores of the material are forced to vibrate and loses some of their original energy. This is concluded that the suitability of bio-polymer foam filled with hybrid fillers to be used in acoustic application of automotive components such as dashboards, door panels, cushion and etc.

Beyond the material grave: Life Cycle Impact Assessment of leaching from secondary materials in road and earth constructions

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

Schwab, Oliver; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Geography and Geoecology, Adenauerring 20, 76131 Karlsruhe; Bayer, Peter, E-mail: bayer@erdw.ethz.ch

Highlights: • We model environmental impacts of leaching from secondary construction material. • Industrial wastes in construction contain up to 45,000 t heavy metals per year (D). • In a scenario, 150 t are leached to the environment within 100 years after construction. • All heavy metals but As, Sb and Mo are adsorbed by 20 cm subsoil in this scenario. • Environmental impacts depend on material, pollutant, construction type, and geography. - Abstract: In industrialized countries, large amounts of mineral wastes are produced. They are re-used in various ways, particularly in road and earth constructions, substituting primary resources suchmore » as gravel. However, they may also contain pollutants, such as heavy metals, which may be leached to the groundwater. The toxic impacts of these emissions are so far often neglected within Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of products or waste treatment services and thus, potentially large environmental impacts are currently missed. This study aims at closing this gap by assessing the ecotoxic impacts of heavy metal leaching from industrial mineral wastes in road and earth constructions. The flows of metals such as Sb, As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, V and Zn originating from three typical constructions to the environment are quantified, their fate in the environment is assessed and potential ecotoxic effects evaluated. For our reference country, Germany, the industrial wastes that are applied as Granular Secondary Construction Material (GSCM) carry more than 45,000 t of diverse heavy metals per year. Depending on the material quality and construction type applied, up to 150 t of heavy metals may leach to the environment within the first 100 years after construction. Heavy metal retardation in subsoil can potentially reduce the fate to groundwater by up to 100%. One major challenge of integrating leaching from constructions into macro-scale LCA frameworks is the high variability in micro-scale technical and geographical factors, such as material qualities, construction types and soil types. In our work, we consider a broad range of parameter values in the modeling of leaching and fate. This allows distinguishing between the impacts of various road constructions, as well as sites with different soil properties. The findings of this study promote the quantitative consideration of environmental impacts of long-term leaching in Life Cycle Assessment, complementing site-specific risk assessment, for the design of waste management strategies, particularly in the construction sector.« less

Charge transfer between biogenic jarosite derived Fe3+and TiO2 enhances visible light photocatalytic activity of TiO2.

PubMed

Chowdhury, Mahabubur; Shoko, Sipiwe; Cummings, Fransciuos; Fester, Veruscha; Ojumu, Tunde Victor

2017-04-01

In this work, we have shown that mining waste derived Fe 3+ can be used to enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 . This will allow us to harness a waste product from the mines, and utilize it to enhance TiO 2 photocatalytic waste water treatment efficiency. An organic linker mediated route was utilized to create a composite of TiO 2 and biogenic jarosite. Evidence of FeOTi bonding in the TiO 2 /jarosite composite was apparent from the FTIR, EFTEM, EELS and ELNEFS analysis. The as prepared material showed enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to pristine TiO 2 , biogenic jarosite and mechanically mixed sample of jarosite and TiO 2 under both simulated and natural solar irradiation. The prepared material can reduce the electrical energy consumption by 4 times compared to pristine P25 for degradation of organic pollutant in water. The material also showed good recyclability. Results obtained from sedimentation experiments showed that the larger sized jarosite material provided the surface to TiO 2 nanoparticles, which increases the settling rate of the materials. This allowed simple and efficient recovery of the catalyst from the reaction system after completion of photocatalysis. Enhanced photocatalytic activity of the composite material was due to effective charge transfer between TiO 2 and jarosite derived Fe 3+ as was shown from the EELS and ELNEFS. Generation of OH was supported by photoluminesence (PL) experiments. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Rare Earth Electrochemical Property Measurements and Phase Diagram Development in a Complex Molten Salt Mixture for Molten Salt Recycle

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

Zhang, Jinsuo; Guo, Shaoqiang

Pyroprocessing is a promising alternative for the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel (UNF) that uses electrochemical methods. Compared to the hydrometallurgical reprocessing method, pyroprocessing has many advantages such as reduced volume of radioactive waste, simple waste processing, ability to treat refractory material, and compatibility with fast reactor fuel recycle. The key steps of the process are the electro-refining of the spent metallic fuel in the LiCl-KCl eutectic salt, which can be integrated with an electrolytic reduction step for the reprocessing of spent oxide fuels.

The Use of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Ash in Various Building Materials: A Belgian Point of View

PubMed Central

Joseph, Aneeta Mary; Snellings, Ruben; Van den Heede, Philip; Matthys, Stijn

2018-01-01

Huge amounts of waste are being generated, and even though the incineration process reduces the mass and volume of waste to a large extent, massive amounts of residues still remain. On average, out of 1.3 billion tons of municipal solid wastes generated per year, around 130 and 2.1 million tons are incinerated in the world and in Belgium, respectively. Around 400 kT of bottom ash residues are generated in Flanders, out of which only 102 kT are utilized here, and the rest is exported or landfilled due to non-conformity to environmental regulations. Landfilling makes the valuable resources in the residues unavailable and results in more primary raw materials being used, increasing mining and related hazards. Identifying and employing the right pre-treatment technique for the highest value application is the key to attaining a circular economy. We reviewed the present pre-treatment and utilization scenarios in Belgium, and the advancements in research around the world for realization of maximum utilization are reported in this paper. Uses of the material in the cement industry as a binder and cement raw meal replacement are identified as possible effective utilization options for large quantities of bottom ash. Pre-treatment techniques that could facilitate this use are also discussed. With all the research evidence available, there is now a need for combined efforts from incineration and the cement industry for technical and economic optimization of the process flow. PMID:29337887

The partitioning behavior of trace element and its distribution in the surrounding soil of a cement plant integrated utilization of hazardous wastes.

PubMed

Yang, Zhenzhou; Chen, Yan; Sun, Yongqi; Liu, Lili; Zhang, Zuotai; Ge, Xinlei

2016-07-01

In the present study, the trace elements partitioning behavior during cement manufacture process were systemically investigated as well as their distribution behaviors in the soil surrounding a cement plant using hazardous waste as raw materials. In addition to the experimental analysis, the thermodynamic equilibrium calculations were simultaneously conducted. The results demonstrate that in the industrial-scale cement manufacture process, the trace elements can be classified into three groups according to their releasing behaviors. Hg is recognized as a highly volatile element, which almost totally partitions into the vapor phase. Co, Cu, Mn, V, and Cr are considered to be non-volatile elements, which are largely incorporated into the clinker. Meanwhile, Cd, Ba, As, Ni, Pb, and Zn can be classified into semi-volatile elements, as they are trapped into clinker to various degrees. Furthermore, the trace elements emitted into the flue gas can be adsorbed onto the fine particles, transport and deposit in the soil, and it is clarified here that the soil around the cement plant is moderately polluted by Cd, slightly polluted by As, Cr, Ba, Zn, yet rarely influenced by Co, Mn, Ni, Cu, Hg, and V elements. It was also estimated that the addition of wastes can efficiently reduce the consumption of raw materials and energy. The deciphered results can thus provide important insights for estimating the environmental impacts of the cement plant on its surroundings by utilizing wastes as raw materials.

Uranium-233 waste definition: Disposal options, safeguards, criticality control, and arms control

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

Forsberg, C.W.; Storch, S.N.; Lewis, L.C.

1998-07-07

The US investigated the use of {sup 233}U for weapons, reactors, and other purposes from the 1950s into the 1970s. Based on the results of these investigations, it was decided not to use {sup 233}U on a large scale. Most of the {sup 233}U-containing materials were placed in long-term storage. At the end of the cold war, the US initiated, as part of its arms control policies, a disposition program for excess fissile materials. Other programs were accelerated for disposal of radioactive wastes placed in storage during the cold war. Last, potential safety issues were identified related to the storagemore » of some {sup 233}U-containing materials. Because of these changes, significant activities associated with {sup 233}U-containing materials are expected. This report is one of a series of reports to provide the technical bases for future decisions on how to manage this material. A basis for defining when {sup 233}U-containing materials can be managed as waste and when they must be managed as concentrated fissile materials has been developed. The requirements for storage, transport, and disposal of radioactive wastes are significantly different than those for fissile materials. Because of these differences, it is important to classify material in its appropriate category. The establishment of a definition of what is waste and what is fissile material will provide the guidance for appropriate management of these materials. Wastes are defined in this report as materials containing sufficiently small masses or low concentrations of fissile materials such that they can be managed as typical radioactive waste. Concentrated fissile materials are defined herein as materials containing sufficient fissile content such as to warrant special handling to address nuclear criticality, safeguards, and arms control concerns.« less

Leaching characteristics of encapsulated controlled low-strength materials containing arsenic-bearing waste precipitates from refractory gold bioleaching.

PubMed

Bouzalakos, S; Dudeney, A W L; Chan, B K C

2016-07-01

We report on the leaching of heavy elements from cemented waste flowable fill, known as controlled low-strength materials (CLSM), for potential mine backfill application. Semi-dynamic tank leaching tests were carried out on laboratory-scale monoliths cured for 28 days and tested over 64 days of leaching with pure de-ionised water as leachant. Mineral processing waste include flotation tailings from a Spanish nickel-copper sulphide concentrate, and two bioleach neutralisation precipitates (from processing at 35°C and 70°C) from a South African arsenopyrite concentrate. Encapsulated CLSM formulations were evaluated to assess the reduction in leaching by encapsulating a 'hazardous' CLSM core within a layer of relatively 'inert' CLSM. The effect of each bioleach waste in CLSM core and tailings in CLSM encapsulating medium, are assessed in combination and in addition to CLSM with ordinary silica sand. Results show that replacing silica sand with tailings, both as core and encapsulating matrix, significantly reduced leachability of heavy elements, particularly As (from 0.008-0.190 mg/l to 0.008-0.060 mg/l), Ba (from 0.435-1.540 mg/l to 0.050-0.565 mg/l), and Cr (from 0.006-0.458 mg/l to 0.004-0.229 mg/l), to below the 'Dutch List' of groundwater contamination intervention values. Arsenic leaching was inherently high from both bioleach precipitates but was significantly reduced to below guideline values with encapsulation and replacing silica sand with tailings. Tailings proved to be a valuable encapsulating matrix largely owing to small particle size and lower hydraulic conductivity reducing diffusion transport of heavy elements. Field-scale trials would be necessary to prove this concept of encapsulation in terms of scale and construction practicalities, and further geochemical investigation to optimise leaching performance. Nevertheless, this work substantiates the need for alternative backfill techniques for sustainable management of hazardous finely-sized bulk mineral residues. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aluminium recovery from waste incineration bottom ash, and its oxidation level.

PubMed

Biganzoli, Laura; Grosso, Mario

2013-09-01

The recovery of aluminium (Al) scraps from waste incineration bottom ash is becoming a common practice in waste management. However, during the incineration process, Al in the waste undergoes oxidation processes that reduce its recycling potential. This article investigates the behaviour of Al scraps in the furnace of two selected grate-fired waste-to-energy plants and the amount recoverable from the bottom ash. About 21-23% of the Al fed to the furnace with the residual waste was recovered and potentially recycled from the bottom ash. Out of this amount, 76-87% was found in the bottom ash fraction above 5 mm and thus can be recovered with standard eddy current separation technology. These values depend on the characteristics and the mechanical strength of the Al items in the residual waste. Considering Al packaging materials, about 81% of the Al in cans can be recovered from the bottom ash as an ingot, but this amount decreases to 51% for trays, 27% for a mix of aluminium and poly-laminated foils and 47% for paper-laminated foils. This shows that the recovery of Al from the incineration residues increases proportionally to the thickness of the packaging.

Study of combustion and emission characteristics of fuel derived from waste plastics by various waste to energy (W-t-E) conversion processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hazrat, M. A.; Rasul, M. G.; Khan, M. M. K.

2016-07-01

Reduction of plastic wastes by means of producing energy can be treated as a good investment in the waste management and recycling sectors. In this article, conversion of plastics into liquid fuel by two thermo-chemical processes, pyrolysis and gasification, are reviewed. The study showed that the catalytic pyrolysis of homogenous waste plastics produces better quality and higher quantity of liquefied fuel than that of non-catalytic pyrolysis process at a lower operating temperature. The syngas produced from gasification process, which occurs at higher temperature than the pyrolysis process, can be converted into diesel by the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction process. Conducive bed material like Olivine in the gasification conversion process can remarkably reduce the production of tar. The waste plastics pyrolysis oil showed brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of about 27.75%, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of 0.292 kg/kWh, unburned hydrocarbon emission (uHC) of 91 ppm and NOx emission of 904 ppm in comparison with the diesel for BTE of 28%, BSFC of 0.276 kg/kWh, uHC of 57 ppm and NOx of 855 ppm. Dissolution of Polystyrene (PS) into biodiesel also showed the potential of producing alternative transport fuel. It has been found from the literature that at higher engine speed, increased EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) quantity based biodiesel blends reduces CO, CO2, NOx and smoke emission. EPS-biodiesel fuel blend increases the brake thermal efficiency by 7.8%, specific fuel consumption (SFC) by 7.2% and reduces brake power (Pb) by 3.2%. More study using PS and EPS with other thermoplastics is needed to produce liquid fuel by dissolving them into biodiesel and to assess their suitability as a transport fuel. Furthermore, investigation to find out most suitable W-t-E process for effective recycling of the waste plastics as fuel for internal combustion engines is necessary to reduce environmental pollution and generate revenue which will be addressed in this article.

40 CFR 258.21 - Cover material requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Section 258.21 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES CRITERIA FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS Operating Criteria § 258.21 Cover material requirements. (a... cover disposed solid waste with six inches of earthen material at the end of each operating day, or at...

40 CFR 258.21 - Cover material requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Section 258.21 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES CRITERIA FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS Operating Criteria § 258.21 Cover material requirements. (a... cover disposed solid waste with six inches of earthen material at the end of each operating day, or at...

Torrefaction Processing for Human Solid Waste Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Serio, Michael A.; Cosgrove, Joseph E.; Wójtowicz, Marek A.; Stapleton, Thomas J.; Nalette, Tim A.; Ewert, Michael K.; Lee, Jeffrey; Fisher, John

2016-01-01

This study involved a torrefaction (mild pyrolysis) processing approach that could be used to sterilize feces and produce a stable, odor-free solid product that can be stored or recycled, and also to simultaneously recover moisture. It was demonstrated that mild heating (200-250 C) in nitrogen or air was adequate for torrefaction of a fecal simulant and an analog of human solid waste (canine feces). The net result was a nearly undetectable odor (for the canine feces), complete recovery of moisture, some additional water production, a modest reduction of the dry solid mass, and the production of small amounts of gas and liquid. The liquid product is mainly water, with a small Total Organic Carbon content. The amount of solid vs gas plus liquid products can be controlled by adjusting the torrefaction conditions (final temperature, holding time), and the current work has shown that the benefits of torrefaction could be achieved in a low temperature range (< 250 C). These temperatures are compatible with the PTFE bag materials historically used by NASA for fecal waste containment and will reduce the energy consumption of the process. The solid product was a dry material that did not support bacterial growth and was hydrophobic relative to the starting material. In the case of canine feces, the solid product was a mechanically friable material that could be easily compacted to a significantly smaller volume (approx. 50%). The proposed Torrefaction Processing Unit (TPU) would be designed to be compatible with the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), now under development by NASA. A stand-alone TPU could be used to treat the canister from the UWMS, along with other types of wet solid wastes, with either conventional or microwave heating. Over time, a more complete integration of the TPU and the UWMS could be achieved, but will require design changes in both units.

Mechanical recycling of waste electric and electronic equipment: a review.

PubMed

Cui, Jirang; Forssberg, Eric

2003-05-30

The production of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing areas. This development has resulted in an increase of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE). In view of the environmental problems involved in the management of WEEE, many counties and organizations have drafted national legislation to improve the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes so as to reduce disposal. Recycling of WEEE is an important subject not only from the point of waste treatment but also from the recovery of valuable materials.WEEE is diverse and complex, in terms of materials and components makeup as well as the original equipment's manufacturing processes. Characterization of this waste stream is of paramount importance for developing a cost-effective and environmentally friendly recycling system. In this paper, the physical and particle properties of WEEE are presented. Selective disassembly, targeting on singling out hazardous and/or valuable components, is an indispensable process in the practice of recycling of WEEE. Disassembly process planning and innovation of disassembly facilities are most active research areas. Mechanical/physical processing, based on the characterization of WEEE, provides an alternative means of recovering valuable materials. Mechanical processes, such as screening, shape separation, magnetic separation, Eddy current separation, electrostatic separation, and jigging have been widely utilized in recycling industry. However, recycling of WEEE is only beginning. For maximum separation of materials, WEEE should be shredded to small, even fine particles, generally below 5 or 10mm. Therefore, a discussion of mechanical separation processes for fine particles is highlighted in this paper. Consumer electronic equipment (brown goods), such as television sets, video recorders, are most common. It is very costly to perform manual dismantling of those products, due to the fact that brown goods contain very low-grade precious metals and copper. It is expected that a mechanical recycling process will be developed for the upgrading of low metal content scraps.

GeoMelt{sup R} ICV{sup TM} Treatment of Sellafield Pond Solids Waste - 13414

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

Witwer, Keith; Woosley, Steve; Campbell, Brett

2013-07-01

Kurion, Inc., in partnership with AMEC Ltd., is demonstrating its GeoMelt{sup R} In-Container Vitrification (ICV){sup TM} Technology to Sellafield Ltd. (SL). SL is evaluating the proposition of directly converting a container (skip/box/drum) of raw solid ILW into an immobilized waste form using thermal treatment, such that the resulting product is suitable for interim storage at Sellafield and subsequent disposal at a future Geological Disposal Facility. Potential SL feed streams include sludges, ion-exchange media, sand, plutonium contaminated material, concrete, uranium, fuel cladding, soils, metals, and decommissioning wastes. The solid wastes have significant proportions of metallic constituents in the form of containers,more » plant equipment, structural material and swarf arising from the nuclear operations at Sellafield. GeoMelt's proprietary ICV process was selected for demonstration, with the focus being high and reactive metal wastes arising from solid ILW material. A composite surrogate recipe was used to demonstrate the technology towards treating waste forms of diverse types and shapes, as well as those considered difficult to process; all the while requiring few (if any) pre-treatment activities. Key strategic objectives, along with their success criterion, were established by SL for this testing, namely: 1. Passivate and stabilize the raw waste simulant, as demonstrated by the entire quantity of material being vitrified, 2. Immobilize the radiological and chemo-toxic species, as demonstrated via indicative mass balance using elemental analyses from an array of samples, 3. Production of an inert and durable product as evidenced by transformation of reactive metals to their inert oxide forms and satisfactory leachability results using PCT testing. Two tests were performed using the GeoMelt Demonstration Unit located at AMEC's Birchwood Park Facilities in the UK. Post-melt examination of the first test indicated some of the waste simulant had not fully processed, due to insufficient processing time and melt temperature. A second test, incorporating operational experience from the first test, was performed and resulted in all of the 138 kg of feed material being treated. The waste simulant portion, at 41 kg, constituted 30 wt% of the total feed mass, with over 90% of this being made up of various reactive and non-reactive metals. The 95 liters of staged material was volume reduced to 41 liters, providing a 57% overall feed to product volume reduction in a fully passivated two-phase glass/metal product. The GeoMelt equipment operated as designed, vitrifying the entire batch of waste simulant. Post-melt analytical testing verified that 91-99+% of the radiological tracer metals were uniformly distributed within the glass/cast refractory/metal product, and the remaining fraction was captured in the offgas filtration systems. PCT testing of the glass and inner refractory liner showed leachability results that outperform the DOE regulatory limit of 2 g/m{sup 2} for the radiological species of interest (Sr, Ru, Cs, Eu, Re), and by more than an order of magnitude better for standard reference analytes (B, Na, Si). (authors)« less

Remediation of subsurface and groundwater contamination with uranium from fuel fabrication facilities at Hanau (Germany)

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

Nitzsche, Olaf; Thierfeldt, Stefan; Hummel, Lothar

2013-07-01

This paper presents aspects of site decommissioning and clearance of a former fuel fabrication facility (development and production of fuel assemblies for research reactors and HTR) at Hanau (Germany). The main pathways for environmental contamination were deposition on soil surface and topsoil and pollution of deep soil and the aquifer by waste water channel leakage. Soil excavation could be done by classical excavator techniques. An effective removal of material from the saturated zone was possible by using advanced drilling techniques. A large amount of demolished building structure and excavated soil had to be classified. Therefore the use of conveyor detectormore » was necessary. Nearly 100000 Mg of material (excavated soil and demolished building material) were disposed of at an underground mine. A remaining volume of 700 m{sup 3} was classified as radioactive waste. Site clearance started in 2006. Groundwater remediation and monitoring is still ongoing, but has already provided excellent results by reducing the remaining Uranium considerably. (authors)« less

Technical and Regulatory Considerations in Using Freight Containers as Industrial Packages

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

Hawk, Mark B; Opperman, Erich; Natali, Ronald

2008-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Environmental Management (EM), is actively pursuing activities to reduce the radiological risk and clean up the environmental legacy of the nation's nuclear weapons programmes. The EM has made significant progress in recent years in the clean-up and closure of sites and is also focusing on longer term activities necessary for the completion of the clean-up programme. The packaging and transportation of contaminated demolition debris and low level waste materials in a safe and cost effective manner are essential in completing this mission. Toward this end, the US Department of Transportation's Final Rulemore » on Hazardous Materials Regulation issued on 26 January 2004, included a new provision authorising the use of freight containers (e.g. 20 and 40 ft ISO containers) as industrial packages type 2 or 3. This paper will discuss the technical and regulatory considerations in using these newly authorised and large packages for the packaging and transportation of low level waste materials.« less

Inkjet-Printed Graphene/PEDOT:PSS Temperature Sensors on a Skin-Conformable Polyurethane Substrate.

PubMed

Vuorinen, Tiina; Niittynen, Juha; Kankkunen, Timo; Kraft, Thomas M; Mäntysalo, Matti

2016-10-18

Epidermal electronic systems (EESs) are skin-like electronic systems, which can be used to measure several physiological parameters from the skin. This paper presents materials and a simple, straightforward fabrication process for skin-conformable inkjet-printed temperature sensors. Epidermal temperature sensors are already presented in some studies, but they are mainly fabricated using traditional photolithography processes. These traditional fabrication routes have several processing steps and they create a substantial amount of material waste. Hence utilizing printing processes, the EES may become attractive for disposable systems by decreasing the manufacturing costs and reducing the wasted materials. In this study, the sensors are fabricated with inkjet-printed graphene/PEDOT:PSS ink and the printing is done on top of a skin-conformable polyurethane plaster (adhesive bandage). Sensor characterization was conducted both in inert and ambient atmosphere and the graphene/PEDOT:PSS temperature sensors (thermistors) were able reach higher than 0.06% per degree Celsius sensitivity in an optimal environment exhibiting negative temperature dependence.

Thermal and catalytic coprocessing of coal and waste materials

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

Orr, E.C.; Tuntawiroon, W.; Ding, W.B.

1995-12-31

Coprocessing of coal with waste materials to produce liquid fuels with emphasis on finding reasonable reaction pathways and catalysts for such processing is presently the subject of intensive investigation. Polymer wastes such as polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene and used rubber tires are not naturally degraded over time. More than 22 million tons of plastic waste are annually discarded in landfills and over 75 percent of used rubber tires are similarly treated. In order to obtain distillate liquids or petroleum compatible refined products from coal, addition of hydrogen is necessary. A possible method for hydrogen addition is coprocessing of coal with polymericmore » waste materials since these latter materials contain hydrogen at levels much higher than are found in coal. The breakdown of waste rubber tires is interesting because the liquids derived may prove to be important as a coal dissolution and/or hydrogen donor solvent. Recently, Badger and coworkers reported that hydrogenated tire oils (hydrogenated in the presence of CoMo catalyst) were effective for the dissolution of coal. Studies on the coprocessing of coal and waste materials have only recently been done intensively. Limited data are available on reaction conditions and catalytic effects for processing coal mixed with post-consumer wastes. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of reaction temperature, pressure, catalysts, and mixture ratio on the coprocessing of coal and waste materials.« less

Apparatus for the processing of solid mixed waste containing radioactive and hazardous materials

DOEpatents

Gotovchikov, Vitaly T.; Ivanov, Alexander V.; Filippov, Eugene A.

1999-03-16

Apparatus for the continuous heating and melting of a solid mixed waste bearing radioactive and hazardous materials to form separate metallic, slag and gaseous phases for producing compact forms of the waste material to facilitate disposal includes a copper split water-cooled (cold) crucible as a reaction vessel for receiving the waste material. The waste material is heated by means of the combination oaf plasma torch directed into the open upper portion of the cold crucible and an electromagnetic flux produced by induction coils disposed about the crucible which is transparent to electromagnetic fields. A metallic phase of the waste material is formed in a lower portion of the crucible and is removed in the form of a compact ingot suitable for recycling and further processing. A glass-like, non-metallic slag phase containing radioactive elements is also formed in the crucible and flows out of the open upper portion of the crucible into a slag ingot mold for disposal. The decomposition products of the organic and toxic materials are incinerated and converted to environmentally safe gases in the melter.

Processing of solid mixed waste containing radioactive and hazardous materials

DOEpatents

Gotovchikov, Vitaly T.; Ivanov, Alexander V.; Filippov, Eugene A.

1998-05-12

Apparatus for the continuous heating and melting of a solid mixed waste bearing radioactive and hazardous materials to form separate metallic, slag and gaseous phases for producing compact forms of the waste material to facilitate disposal includes a copper split water-cooled (cold) crucible as a reaction vessel for receiving the waste material. The waste material is heated by means of the combination of a plasma torch directed into the open upper portion of the cold crucible and an electromagnetic flux produced by induction coils disposed about the crucible which is transparent to electromagnetic fields. A metallic phase of the waste material is formed in a lower portion of the crucible and is removed in the form of a compact ingot suitable for recycling and further processing. A glass-like, non-metallic slag phase containing radioactive elements is also formed in the crucible and flows out of the open upper portion of the crucible into a slag ingot mold for disposal. The decomposition products of the organic and toxic materials are incinerated and converted to environmentally safe gases in the melter.

Apparatus for the processing of solid mixed waste containing radioactive and hazardous materials

DOEpatents

Gotovchikov, V.T.; Ivanov, A.V.; Filippov, E.A.

1999-03-16

Apparatus for the continuous heating and melting of a solid mixed waste bearing radioactive and hazardous materials to form separate metallic, slag and gaseous phases for producing compact forms of the waste material to facilitate disposal includes a copper split water-cooled (cold) crucible as a reaction vessel for receiving the waste material. The waste material is heated by means of the combination of a plasma torch directed into the open upper portion of the cold crucible and an electromagnetic flux produced by induction coils disposed about the crucible which is transparent to electromagnetic fields. A metallic phase of the waste material is formed in a lower portion of the crucible and is removed in the form of a compact ingot suitable for recycling and further processing. A glass-like, non-metallic slag phase containing radioactive elements is also formed in the crucible and flows out of the open upper portion of the crucible into a slag ingot mold for disposal. The decomposition products of the organic and toxic materials are incinerated and converted to environmentally safe gases in the melter. 6 figs.

Processing of solid mixed waste containing radioactive and hazardous materials

DOEpatents

Gotovchikov, V.T.; Ivanov, A.V.; Filippov, E.A.

1998-05-12

Apparatus for the continuous heating and melting of a solid mixed waste bearing radioactive and hazardous materials to form separate metallic, slag and gaseous phases for producing compact forms of the waste material to facilitate disposal includes a copper split water-cooled (cold) crucible as a reaction vessel for receiving the waste material. The waste material is heated by means of the combination of a plasma torch directed into the open upper portion of the cold crucible and an electromagnetic flux produced by induction coils disposed about the crucible which is transparent to electromagnetic fields. A metallic phase of the waste material is formed in a lower portion of the crucible and is removed in the form of a compact ingot suitable for recycling and further processing. A glass-like, non-metallic slag phase containing radioactive elements is also formed in the crucible and flows out of the open upper portion of the crucible into a slag ingot mold for disposal. The decomposition products of the organic and toxic materials are incinerated and converted to environmentally safe gases in the melter. 6 figs.

Feasibility Studies of Palm Oil Mill Waste Aggregates for the Construction Industry.

PubMed

Kanadasan, Jegathish; Fauzi, Auni Filzah Ahmad; Razak, Hashim Abdul; Selliah, Paramananthan; Subramaniam, Vijaya; Yusoff, Sumiani

2015-09-22

The agricultural industry in Malaysia has grown rapidly over the years. Palm oil clinker (POC) is a byproduct obtained from the palm oil industry. Its lightweight properties allows for its utilization as an aggregate, while in powder form as a filler material in concrete. POC specimens obtained throughout each state in Malaysia were investigated to evaluate the physical, chemical, and microstructure characteristics. Variations between each state were determined and their possible contributory factors were assessed. POC were incorporated as a replacement material for aggregates and their engineering characteristics were ascertained. Almost 7% of density was reduced with the introduction of POC as aggregates. A sustainability assessment was made through greenhouse gas emission (GHG) and cost factor analyses to determine the contribution of the addition of POC to the construction industry. Addition of POC helps to lower the GHG emission by 9.6% compared to control specimens. By channeling this waste into the construction industry, an efficient waste-management system can be promoted; thus, creating a cleaner environment. This study is also expected to offer some guides and directions for upcoming research works on the incorporation of POC.

Fabrication of spherical biochar by a two-step thermal process from waste potato peel.

PubMed

Yang, Xiao; Kwon, Eilhann E; Dou, Xiaomin; Zhang, Ming; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Tsang, Daniel C W; Ok, Yong Sik

2018-06-01

The aim of this study was to develop a new approach for the preparation of spherical biochar (SBC) by employing a two-step thermal technology to potato peel waste (PPW). Potato starch (PS), as a carbon-rich material with microscale spherical shape, was separated from PPW as a precursor to synthesizing SBC. The synthesis process comprised (1) pre-oxidization (preheating under air) of PS at 220 °C and (2) subsequent pyrolysis of the pretreated sample at 700 °C. Results showed that the produced SBC successfully retained the original PS morphology and that pre-oxidization was the key for its shape maintenance, as it reduced surface tension and enhanced structural stability. The SBC possessed excellent chemical inertness (high aromaticity) and uniform particle size (10-30 μm). Zero-cost waste material with a facile and easy-to-control process allows the method to be readily scalable for industrialization, while offering a new perspective on the full use of PPW. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Industrial waste utilization for foam concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishnan, Gokul; Anand, K. B.

2018-02-01

Foam concrete is an emerging and useful construction material - basically a cement based slurry with at least 10% of mix volume as foam. The mix usually containing cement, filler (usually sand) and foam, have fresh densities ranging from 400kg/m3 to 1600kg/m3. One of the main drawbacks of foam concrete is the large consumption of fine sand as filler material. Usage of different solid industrial wastes as fillers in foam concrete can reduce the usage of fine river sand significantly and make the work economic and eco-friendly. This paper aims to investigate to what extent industrial wastes such as bottom ash and quarry dust can be utilized for making foam concrete. Foam generated using protein based agent was used for preparing and optimizing (fresh state properties). Investigation to find the influence of design density and air-void characteristics on the foam concrete strength shows higher strength for bottom ash mixes due to finer air void distribution. Setting characteristics of various mix compositions are also studied and adoption of Class C flyash as filler demonstrated capability of faster setting.

40 CFR 262.210 - Making the hazardous waste determination in the laboratory before the unwanted material is...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...)(3) for acute hazardous waste, or § 261.5(g)(3) for hazardous waste. (e) An unwanted material that is... 40 Protection of Environment 27 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Making the hazardous waste....210 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED...

40 CFR 262.210 - Making the hazardous waste determination in the laboratory before the unwanted material is...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...)(3) for acute hazardous waste, or § 261.5(g)(3) for hazardous waste. (e) An unwanted material that is... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Making the hazardous waste....210 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED...

40 CFR 262.210 - Making the hazardous waste determination in the laboratory before the unwanted material is...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...)(3) for acute hazardous waste, or § 261.5(g)(3) for hazardous waste. (e) An unwanted material that is... 40 Protection of Environment 27 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Making the hazardous waste....210 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED...

40 CFR 262.210 - Making the hazardous waste determination in the laboratory before the unwanted material is...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...)(3) for acute hazardous waste, or § 261.5(g)(3) for hazardous waste. (e) An unwanted material that is... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Making the hazardous waste....210 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED...