Environmental Studies:

Science and Engineering

By
Dr. Anurag Garg
28 February 2011
 Course Outline
• Solid and hazardous waste management
• River, lake and groundwater pollution
• Principles of water and wastewater treatment

References
• Cunningham W.P. and Cunningham M.A. (2002), Principles of Environmental Science, Tata
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, New Delhi.
• Nathanson, J.A. (2002), Basic Environmental Technology: Water Supply Waste
Management and Pollution Control, 4th Ed. Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
• Masters, G.M. (2004), Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Science, Prentice-Hall
of India, Second Indian Reprint.
• Davis, M. L. and Cornwell D. A. (1998), Introduction to Environmental Engineering, 2nd Ed.,
McGraw Hill, Singapore.
• Wright, R.T. (2007), Environmental Science: Towards a Sustainable Future, 9th Ed, Prentice
Hall of India, New Delhi.
• Supplementary Reading Materials (Selected Book Chapters and Papers)

Weightage: 33 marks; End sem: 20 marks; Quizz/ class performance: 13 marks

 What is Sustainable Development?
• Is a development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their needs.

• Sustainable development is a way of

improving or advancing our culture in a way
that can be maintained over the long haul.

• Sustainable development is a means of

meeting present needs in ways that do not
impair future generations – and other
species – from meeting their needs.
 Sustainable Development

Social

Environment Economic

Traditional decision making Decision making in a sustainable

society

Sustainable development requires strategy that satisfy social,

economic and environmental goals simultaneously.
 Operating Principles of Sustainable
Development
• Stabilize our population

• Better manage how we grow

• Use resources much more efficiently

• Clean, renewable energy supplies

• Manufacture a large portion of our goods with

recycled materials

• Restore natural systems

 Matrix Showing The Systems and Principles of
Sustainability
Systems Principles of sustainable development
Conservation Recycling and Renewable Habitat Growth
(efficiency composting resource use protection, management
and frugality) restoration and
sustainable
management
Transportation Buy fuel –
efficient car
Housing and •Build home •Build compact
other buildings using recycled cities
materials •Create urban
•Build a growth
compost bin boundaries
Agriculture, •Use
food biodiesel in
processing and farm
distribution machinery
•Install wind
generators
Business Protect native
vegetation
 Zero Waste Communities
• Reduction in the extraction of new resources and
reducing waste at the source by designing
products that are non-toxic and can be reused,
repaired, or recycled back into nature or back into
the marketplace and stimulating the marketplace
to use those materials.

• Seeks to redesign the products

• Zero waste concept transforms a liability (waste)

into an asset (resources) that yields local
economic benefits.
 The Process Chain

• The key to achieving

Resource Management is
ensuring effective
operation of the process
chain over the lifecycle of
goods and services –
sourcing of raw materials,
design, manufacture and
consumption
Examples for Zero Waste Communities
Examples for Zero Waste Communities…..
 Environmental Studies:
Science and Engineering
By
Dr. Anurag Garg
1 March 2011
 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

• The term municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is

generally used to describe most of the non-
hazardous waste from a city, town or village.

• MSW comprises
– Residential,
– Commercial,
– Institutional,
– Industrial (not from the process) waste
– Construction & demolition waste
 Major Components of MSW

Refuse MSW Trash

Garbage and rubbish Bulky material

The quantity of MSW generated depends factors such as (Sharholy et

al, 2008):
• Food habits
• Standard of living
• Degree of commercial activities
• Seasonal variation
MSW Management
Municipal Solid Waste

Refuse Trash

Routine Aperiodic
collection collection

Waste Processing
Energy Recovery
Recycling

Final Disposal
 Energy Savings Of Recycling
Material Relative energy needed to
manufacture versus energy
generated from EfW incineration
Newspaper 2.6 times

Office paper 4.3 times

Glass containers 30 times
Tin cans 30 times
Aluminum cans 350 times
Plastics 3 – 5 times
Textiles 5 – 8 times
 Comparison of MSW in 7 OECD and Asian countries
http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/municipal_solid_waste_composition_for_7_oecd_countri
es_and_7_asian_cities
 Comparison of MSW in 7 OECD and Asian countries
http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/municipal_solid_waste_composition_for_7_oecd_countri
es_and_7_asian_cities
 Comparison of MSW in 7 OECD and Asian countries
http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/municipal_solid_waste_composition_for_7_oecd_countri
es_and_7_asian_cities
 Collection of MSW
• Collection costs account for around 70 – 85%
of the total solid waste management costs.

• There are three basic methods for waste

collection:
– Curbside collection
– Set-out, set-back collection
– Backyard pickup or total barrel method

• Curbside collection is considered the

quickest and most economical method.
 Transfer Stations
• A transfer station is a facility at which solid
wastes from individual collection trucks are
consolidated into larger vehicles.

• Individual transfer station capacities may

vary from less than 100 tons to more than
500 tons of waste per day.

• Two basic modes of operation: direct

discharge and storage discharge
Waste Hierarchy
 Methods for Waste Management
• Wealth from waste (processing of organic waste)

(A) Waste to compost

(i) Aerobic/ anaerobic composting

(ii) Vermicomposting

(B) Waste to energy

(i) Refuse derived fuel (RDF)/ pelletization

(ii) Bio-methanation

(C) Reuse of waste

• Sanitary landfilling
 Major outputs

Composting Compost
Biological
processes

Anaerobic Biogas and

digestion digestate

Waste
processing
methods

Heat, gaseous
Incineration
emissions and
ash

Thermal
processes

Gasification/ Producer gas, solid

Pyrolysis fuel and tar

Major treatment processes for MSW and end products

 Biological Processes
• Composting
9 Composting is a process in which the organic
fraction of MSW is decomposed by microbes
under controlled aerobic conditions.

9 As a result, a stabilized product (also called

compost) is produced that can be used as soil
cover at landfills or conditioner.

9 Using composting process, the volume of the

solid waste can be reduced by around 50%.

9 Composting process can be done in two ways:

Windrow and in-vessel.
Windrow Composting In-vessel Composting

Compost produced
 Biological Processes…..
• Composting…..
9 Sometimes, sewage sludge or agricultural
residues are also added with MSW. This is called
‘co-composting’.

9 Composting can also have negative impacts:

™Water pollution may exist if moisture content is
very high (> 65%)
™Odor is another major problem from
composting sites using open windrow method.
 Home Composting

Holding Units Turning Units

Which wastes? Non-woody yard
wastes are the most appropriate.
Which wastes? Non-woody yard wastes are
appropriate. Kitchen wastes without meat,
bones or fatty foods can be added to the
center of a pile if it is turned weekly and
reaches high temperatures.
 Vermicomposting
• Vermicomposting is a method of preparing compost
with the help of earthworm.

• Vermicomposting is a simple biotechnological

process of composting, in which certain species of
earthworms are used to enhance the process of
waste conversion and produce a better end product.

• The process is faster in comparison to conventional

composting.
 Advantages of Vermicomposting
• Productive utilization of organic wastes
materials such as agricultural wastes, animal
dropping, forest litter and agro based industrial
wastes for production of vermicompost.

• Vermicompost improve the physical, chemical

and biological properties of the soil and crop
productivity.

• Earthworms effectively harness the beneficial

soil micro flora and destroy soil pathogen.
 Precautions
• Maintain the moisture at 50-60 % level in the
pit.

• Temperature remains between 25 – 28 ºC.

• Base material (Farm yard manure) should be

partially decomposed.

• Proper aeration should be provided without

disturbing the worms.
 Biological Processes…..
• Anaerobic digestion (Biomethanation)
9 If the organic waste is buried in pits under
anaerobic conditions, it will be decomposed by
anaerobic bacteria.

9 Thermophilic digestion is much faster and leads

to the energy recovery through biogas generation.

9 Biogas contains 55 – 60% CH4 and 35 – 40% CO2.

9 There is a little experience in treatment of solid

organic waste in India.
 Thermal Treatment Processes
• Incineration
9 It is a thermal process in which combustible
portion of MSW is oxidized at high temperatures
of around 1000°C.

9 Incineration can reduce municipal refuse by about

80 - 90% volume.

9 The major residue formed after the process

include (bottom and fly ash) that may contain
heavy metals.

9 In addition, gaseous emissions like CO2, NOx,

dioxins etc. are also of major concern.
 Pre-treatment Methods
• Shredding and pulverizing
– Used for size reduction of waste components
– Shredding refers to the actions of cutting and tearing
– Pulverizing refers to the actions of crushing and grinding
– Hammer mills is the most common type of equipment used
for processing MSW into a uniform or homogeneous mass.

• Baling
– Compacting solid waste into the form of rectangular blocks or
bales is called baling.
– MSW bales are typically 1.5 m3 in size and weigh roughly 1
kN.
– Bales are produced by compacting the solid waste under high
pressures (~ 0.7 MPa)
– Solid waste compaction ratio can be expressed in terms of
compaction ratio.
Compaction ratio = initial volume/ final volume
 Computation of Percent Volume
Reduction After Compaction
• The initial volume of Solution:
a mass of solid Percent volume
waste is 15 m3. After reduction =
compaction, the (15 – 3)*100/15
volume is reduced
to 3 m3. Compute = 80%
the percent volume Compaction ratio =
reduction and the 15/3 = 5
compaction ratio.
 Landfilling
• This is the oldest and most widely used
method for waste disposal.

• Land disposal may be done in two

ways:
9Open dumping
9Sanitary landfilling
 Landfilling……
• Sanitary landfilling has three key
characteristics:
9 Waste is placed in an organized manner.
¾ Waste material is spread and compacted.
¾ The waste is covered each day with a layer of compacted
soil.

9 Provisions for capturing the landfill gas (CH4 and

CO2 – two major constituents) are made.

9 Proper leachate (wastewater generated from a

landfill site) collection system is also present.
 Estimation of Landfill Area
• Estimate how many hectares of
land would be required for a
sanitary landfill, under the
following conditions:
9 Design life of the site = 30
years
9 MSW generation rate = 25
N/person/day
9 MSW compacted unit weight =
5 kN/m3
9 Average fill depth = 10 m
9 Community population = 50,000
9 MSW to cover ratio = 4:1 (20%
of volume for cover)
Solution
The quantity of MSW generated
per year = 25 x 50000 x 365 =
4.56 x 105 kN/yr
The volume of compacted refuse
= 4.56 x 105/ 5 = 91250 m3/yr
The additional volume for soil
cover = 91250/4 = 22813 m3/yr
Total required volume = 91250 +
22813 = 114063 m3/yr
The area required = volume/depth
= 114063/10
= 11406 m2/yr
Total landfill area required
= 11406 x (30 yrs)/ 104 ha
= 34 ha