Due to the increase in energy cost by constantly high oil prices and the obligation to reduce greenhouse effect gases, landfill gas is frequently used as an alternative energy source for producing heat and electricity. Most of landfill gas utility facilities, however, are experiencing problems controlling siloxanes from landfill gas as their catalytic oxidizers are becoming fouled by silicon dioxide dust. To evaluate adsorption characteristics of siloxanes, an adsorption equilibrium test was conducted and parameters in the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were analyzed. Coconut activated carbon (CA1), coal activated carbon (CA2), impregnated activated carbon (CA3), silicagel (NCA1), and activated alumina (NCA2) were used for the adsorption of the mixed siloxane which contained hexamethyldisiloxane (L2), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5). L2 had higher removal efficiency in noncarbon adsorbents compared to carbon adsorbents. The application of Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm demonstrated that coconut based CA1 and CA3 provided higher adsorption capacity on L2. And CA2 and NCA1 provided higher adsorption capacity on D4 and D5. Based on the experimental results, L2, D4, and D5 were converted by adsorption and desorption in noncarbon adsorbents. Adsorption affinity of siloxane is considered to be affect by the pore size distribution of the adsorbents and by the molecular size of each siloxane.

This research has been motivated by a real-life problem of a waste cooking oil collection system characterized by the existence of multiple depots with an outsourced vehicle fleet, where the collection routes have to be plan. The routing problem addressed allows open routes between depots, i.e., all routes start at one depot but can end at the same or at a different one, depending on what minimizes the objective function considered. Such problem is referred as a Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing Problem with Mixed Closed and Open Inter-Depot Routes and is, in this paper, modeled through a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation where capacity and duration constraints are taken into account. The model developed is applied to the real case study providing, as final results, the vehicle routes planning where a decrease of 13% on mileage and 11% on fleet hiring cost are achieved, when comparing with the current company solution.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are formed during waste incineration and in waste-to-energy boilers. Incomplete combustion, too short residence times at low combustion temperatures (<700°C), incineration of electronic waste and plastic waste containing chlorine are all factors influencing the formation of PCDD/Fs in boilers. The impact of chlorine and catalysing metals (such as copper and iron) in the fuel on PCDD/F formation was studied in a 12MWth circulating fluidised bed (CFB) boiler. The PCDD/F concentrations in the raw gas after the convection pass of the boiler and in the fly ashes were compared. The fuel types were a so-called clean biomass with low content of chlorine, biomass with enhanced content of chlorine from supply of PVC, and solid recovered fuel (SRF) which is a waste fuel containing higher concentrations of both chlorine, and catalysing metals. The PCDD/F formation increased for the biomass with enhanced chlorine content and it was significantly reduced in the raw gas as well as in the fly ashes by injection of ammonium sulphate. A link, the alkali chloride track, is demonstrated between the level of alkali chlorides in the gas phase, the chlorine content in the deposits in the convection pass and finally the PCDD/F formation. The formation of PCDD/Fs was also significantly reduced during co-combustion of SRF with municipal sewage sludge (MSS) compared to when SRF was fired without MSS as additional fuel.

In this study, mercury (Hg) leaching characteristics of the waste treatment residues (fly ash, bottom ash, sludge, and phosphor powder) generated from various sources (municipal, industrial, medical waste incinerators, sewage sludge incinerator, oil refinery, coal-fired power plant, steel manufacturing plant, fluorescent lamp recycler, and cement kiln) in Korea were investigated. First, both Hg content analysis and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) testing was conducted for 31 collected residue samples. The Hg content analysis showed that fly ash from waste incinerators contained more Hg than the other residue samples. However, the TCLP values of fly ash samples with similar Hg content varied widely based on the residue type. Fly ash samples with low and high Hg leaching ratios (RL) were further analyzed to identify the major factors that influence the Hg leaching potential. Buffering capacity of the low-RL fly ash was higher than that of the high-RL fly ash. The Hg speciation results suggest that the low-RL fly ashes consisted primarily of low-solubility Hg compounds (Hg2Cl2, Hg(0) or HgS), whereas the high-RL fly ashes contain more than 20% high-solubility Hg compounds (HgCl2 or HgSO4).

The manufacturing of orange juice generates high volumes of orange peel waste which should not be deposited in landfill according to current recommendations. Furthermore, glycerol is a compound co-generated in biodiesel manufacturing, but the volume generated is higher than the current demand for pure glycerol. The anaerobic co-digestion of orange peel waste with residual glycerol could reduce the inhibitory effect of some compounds and provide a correct nutrient balance. Under mesophilic temperature and semi-continuous conditions, a mixture of orange peel waste-residual glycerol of 1:1 (in COD) operated favorably for organic loads up to 2.10g VS/L. At higher organic loads, the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and a decrease in the pH caused process destabilization. The methane yield coefficient was quite constant, with a mean value of 330±51mLSTP/gVSadded, while the organic loading rate (OLR) reached a mean value of 1.91±0.37kgVS/m(3)d (17.59±2.78kgmixture/m(3)d) and the hydraulic retention time (HRT) varied in a range of 8.5-30.0 d.

Urban waste management is becoming an increasingly complex task, absorbing a huge amount of resources, and having a major environmental impact. The design of a waste management system consists in various activities, and one of these is related to the definition of shift schedules for both personnel and vehicles. This activity has a great incidence on the tactical and operational cost for companies. In this paper, we propose an integer programming model to find an optimal solution to the integrated problem. The aim is to determine optimal schedules at minimum cost. Moreover, we design a fast and effective heuristic to face large-size problems. Both approaches are tested on data from a real-world case in Southern Italy and compared to the current practice utilized by the company managing the service, showing that simultaneously solving these problems can lead to significant monetary savings.

A numerical modeling approach has been developed for predicting temperatures in municipal solid waste landfills. Model formulation and details of boundary conditions are described. Model performance was evaluated using field data from a landfill in Michigan, USA. The numerical approach was based on finite element analysis incorporating transient conductive heat transfer. Heat generation functions representing decomposition of wastes were empirically developed and incorporated to the formulation. Thermal properties of materials were determined using experimental testing, field observations, and data reported in literature. The boundary conditions consisted of seasonal temperature cycles at the ground surface and constant temperatures at the far-field boundary. Heat generation functions were developed sequentially using varying degrees of conceptual complexity in modeling. First a step-function was developed to represent initial (aerobic) and residual (anaerobic) conditions. Second, an exponential growth-decay function was established. Third, the function was scaled for temperature dependency. Finally, an energy-expended function was developed to simulate heat generation with waste age as a function of temperature. Results are presented and compared to field data for the temperature-dependent growth-decay functions. The formulations developed can be used for prediction of temperatures within various components of landfill systems (liner, waste mass, cover, and surrounding subgrade), determination of frost depths, and determination of heat gain due to decomposition of wastes.

Bacterial diversity of full scale rotary drum composter from biodegradable organic waste samples were analyzed through two different approaches, i.e., Culture dependent and independent techniques. Culture-dependent enumerations for indigenous population of bacterial isolates mainly total heterotrophic bacteria (Bacillus species, Pseudomonas species and Enterobacter species), Fecal Coliforms, Fecal Streptococci, Escherichia coli, Salmonella species and Shigella species showed reduction during the composting period. On the other hand, Culture-independent method using PCR amplification of specific 16S rRNA sequences identified the presence of Acinetobacter species, Actinobacteria species, Bacillus species, Clostridium species, Hydrogenophaga species, Butyrivibrio species, Pedobacter species, Empedobactor species and Flavobacterium species by sequences clustering in the phylogenetic tree. Furthermore, correlating physico-chemical analysis of samples with bacterial diversity revealed the bacterial communities have undergone changes, possibly linked to the variations in temperature and availability of new metabolic substrates while decomposing organics at different stages of composting.

Of the waste generated from electricity distribution networks, wooden posts treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) and ceramic insulators make up the majority of the materials for which no effective recycling scheme has been developed. This study aims to recycle and reuse this waste as reinforcement elements in polymer composites and hybrid composites, promoting an ecologically and economically viable alternative for the disposal of this waste. The CCA wooden posts were cut, crushed and recycled via acid leaching using 0.2 and 0.4N H2SO4 in triplicate at 70°C and then washed and dried. The ceramic insulators were fragmented in a hydraulic press and separated by particle size using a vibrating sieve. The composites were mixed in a twin-screw extruder and injected into the test specimens, which were subjected to physical, mechanical, thermal and morphological characterization. The results indicate that the acid treatment most effective for removing heavy metals in the wood utilizes 0.4NH2SO4. However, the composites made from wood treated with 0.2NH2SO4 exhibited the highest mechanical properties of the composites, whereas the use of a ceramic insulator produces composites with better thermal stability and impact strength. This study is part of the research and development project of ANEEL (Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica) and funded by CPFL (Companhia Paulista de Força e Luz).

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