Composting, vermicomposting, biogas production, thermal treatment, incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, biological treatment, Sanitary land filling, land fill leachate and gas management Latest Advances and Rules related to SWM, Hazardous Waste, Plastic Waste and E-Waste Management

1. Treatment and Disposal of Solid Waste

10. Very low emissions of airborne particulate pollutants measured from
two municipal solid waste incineration plants in Switzerland
Pollutants emitted by two municipal solid waste incineration plants were measured.
Electrostatic precipitators and bag-house filters removed >99% of particles.

12. PROCESS ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF BIO-OIL
PRODUCTION FROM WOOD RESIDUE
USING PYROLYSIS IN SOUTH-WESTERN
NIGERIA

15. Gasification is a unique process that transforms a carbon-
based material, such as MSW or biomass, into other forms of
energy without actually burning it.
Instead, gasification converts the solid and
liquid waste materials into a gas through a chemical reaction.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) includes “trash” such as kitchen
waste, electronics, light bulbs, plastics, used tires, old paint
and yard waste. In the U.S., Japan, and Europe, laws and
regulations have significantly increased recycling and reuse of
materials from MSW.
What is Gasification..?

16. However, despite significant increases in recycling and energy recovery in those areas, only
about a fourth of the total MSW is recovered—leaving the remaining three-fourths to be
disposed of in landfills or incinerated (burned). But these traditional methods of waste disposal
are increasingly becoming less viable. In some countries, where there is limited landfill space, or
where new laws and regulations either ban disposal of MSW in landfills or have very high landfill
disposal fees, the traditional options of landfilling and incineration are becoming less
feasible. In addition to consuming valuable land, decomposing MSW generates methane, a
greenhouse gas, and the leaching wastes may also pose a threat to surface water and
groundwater. Furthermore, some areas have banned incineration of waste because of the
negative environmental impacts. Faced with the costly problem of waste disposal and the need
for more energy, a growing number of countries are turning to gasification, a time-tested and
environmentally-sound way of converting the energy in MSW into useful products such as
electricity, fertilizers, transportation fuels and chemicals. On average, conventional waste-to-
energy plants that use mass-burn incineration can convert one ton of MSW to about 550
kilowatt-hours of electricity. With gasification technology, one ton of MSW can be used to
produce up to 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, a much more efficient and cleaner way to
utilize this source of energy. Gasification can help the world both manage its waste and
produce the energy and products needed to fuel economic growth.

18. The gasification process represents significant advances over incineration. In order to
understand the advantages of gasification when compared to incineration, it’s important to
understand the differences between the two processes:
Incineration literally means to render to ash. Incineration uses MSW as a fuel, burning it with
high volumes of air to form carbon dioxide and heat. In a waste-to-energy plant that uses
incineration, these hot gases are used to make steam, which is then used to generate electricity.
Gasification converts MSW to a usable synthesis gas, or syngas. It is the production of this syngas
which makes gasification so different from incineration. In the gasification process, the MSW is
not a fuel, but a feedstock for a high temperature chemical conversion process. Instead of
producing just heat and electricity, as is done in a waste-to-energy plant using incineration, the
syngas produced by gasification can be turned into higher value commercial products such as
transportation fuels, chemicals, fertilizers, and even substitute natural gas. Incineration cannot
achieve this. Gasification does not compete with recycling. In fact, it enhances recycling
programs. Materials can and should be recycled and conservation should be
encouraged. However, many materials, such as metals and glass, must be removed from the
MSW stream before it is fed into the gasifier. Pre-processing systems are added up-front to
accomplish the extraction of metals, glass and inorganic materials, resulting in the increased
recycling and utilization of materials.

19. In addition, a wide range of plastics cannot be recycled further, and would otherwise end up in
a landfill. Such plastics can be excellent, high energy feedstock for gasification. There are many
types of gasifiers for waste gasification including Plasma Gasifiers. These gasifiers vary in size
and the type of MSW that they can gasify. Some gasifiers are designed to gasify construction
and demolition debris, others are for MSW. Many gasifiers require some type of pre-processing
of the MSW to remove the inorganic materials (such as metals and glass) that cannot be
gasified. Some gasifiers require the shredding, drying and sizing of the feedstock before it is sent
into the gasifier.
Gasification presents a greater opportunity to remove waste feedstock from our society while
playing a major role in the circular green economy. Municipal solid waste, reject plastics and
paper, forest biomass waste and many other wastes contain molecules waiting for release in a
process to repurpose the molecules into a valuable syngas such as hydrogen, aviation fuel and
bio-gasoline to name a few.
Gasification can be an integral part of the circular economy, converting waste streams to
valuable fuel in a more efficient process than current technologies today. Robust efficient
gasification of waste will play a growing solution to meet decarbonization targets.

21. Plasma Gasification

24. The terms mechanical biological treatment or mechanical biological pre-treatment relate to a
group of solid waste treatment systems. These systems enable the recovery of materials
contained within the mixed waste and facilitate the stabilisation of the biodegradable
component of the material. In microbiological terms, biological waste-treatment processes are
effectively large man-made microbial culture systems designed to transform large amounts of
carbonaceous material into inoffensive products. The organic fraction of Municipal Solid
Waste (MSW) can be transformed by a variety of biological and thermal processes. The most
commonly used biological transformation process is aerobic composting. Composting is
an aerobic process and a large fraction of the degradable organic carbon (DOC) in
the waste material is converted into carbon dioxide (CO2). The
presented biological wastewater treatment processes include: (1) bioremediation of
wastewater that includes aerobic treatment (oxidation ponds, aeration lagoons, aerobic
bioreactors, activated sludge, percolating or trickling filters, biological filters,
rotating biological contactors etc.
Biological Treatment of Solid Waste

38. Leachate is the liquid formed when waste breaks down in the landfill and water filters through
that waste. This liquid is highly toxic and can pollute the land, ground water and water ways.
However, studies have shown that leachate produced by landfills can be toxic to groundwater,
and even to humans in proximity to the landfill. Leachate can be controlled in
lined landfills with leachate collection and storage systems. These systems typically include
provisions for the drainage of leachate within the landfill and pumping the leachate to storage
tanks. The stored leachate can then be trucked or pumped to a wastewater treatment plant.
Leachate from sanitary landfills is recognised as one of the important ground water pollutants.
The contaminants are released from the solid waste to the water through physical, chemical,
and microbial process and percolate through the unsaturated soil, polluting the ground water
with organic and inorganic matters. Leachate is a widely used term in the environmental
sciences where it has the specific meaning of a liquid that has dissolved or entrained
environmentally harmful substances that may then enter the environment. It is most
commonly used in the context of land-filling of putrescible or industrial waste. Medical
Literature tells us that some general health conditions caused by
consuming leachate contaminated water can range from sweating, bleeding stomach disorders,
to blood disorders, congenital disabilities and even cancer.
Landfill Leachate and Gas Management

39. However, based on the different hazardous components of these leachates, the effects vary.
There are many methods of leachate treatment such as: Aerobic Biological Treatment such as
aerated lagoons and activated sludge. Anaerobic Biological Treatment such as anaerobic
lagoons, reactors. Physiochemical treatement such as air stripping, pH adjustment, chemical
precipitation, oxidation, and reduction.

42. Parameters Units Leachate After Treatment

43. Sanitary land filling
In 1935, a new system of waste disposal, called sanitary landfills, was created in Fresno,
California. Currently, over 55% of all municipal solid waste that is created in the United States is
disposed of in sanitary landfills. Sanitary landfills are a method of waste disposal where the
waste is buried either underground or in large piles.

48. Latest Advances and Rules Related to SWM

59. The most important legislation directly dealing with electronic waste is the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986 in which three penal provisions are given i.e., section 15, 16 and 17. The
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 is an umbrella act and E waste rules are the product of EPA
only.
Latest Advances and Rules Related to EWM