ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING II

Unit V: Solid Waste Management sources, composition and properties of solid waste
collection and handling separation and processing.

5.1 SOURCES OF SOLID WASTES:

All solid and semi-solid wastes arising from human and animal activities, that are
normally solid and are discarded as useless or unwanted. It includes garbage rubbish, ashes
and residues, demolition and construction wastes, dead animals, radioactive wastes, etc. The
quantity of solid-wastes produced depends upon the living standards of the population. It will be
more for an industrialized modern society. It also depends upon seasons of a year.

A few important terms used in solid-wastes are:

Rubbish: It includes combustible and non-combustible solid-wastes, excluding food wastes or
putrescible materials. Combustible rubbish includes paper, card-board, textiles, plastics, rubber,
wood, garden-trimmings, etc. Non-combustible rubbish consists of glass, crockery, tin-cans,
aluminium cans, metals construction wastes, etc.

Garbage: It includes putrescible organic waste like the animal, fruit or vegetable residues
resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and eating of foods.

5.1.1 Types of Sources of Solid-Wastes:

There are three general categories of solid-wastes:
1. Municipal wastes,
2. Industrial wastes, and
3. Hazardous wastes.

Municipal wastes: Municipal wastes are those wastes which arise from household activities,
restaurants, public places, institutions, markets, street-sweepings, etc. and typically include
garbage, rubbish ashes (due to burning of coal, wood etc.), demolition and construction wastes,
street-sweepings, dead animals, etc. and also treatment plant waste. The general sources of
municipal solid-waste are residential, commercial (markets, hotels, garages, institutions, etc.)
and open areas (streets, parks, highways, play grounds), etc.

Industrial wastes: Industrial wastes are those wastes which arise from industrial activities,
and typically include rubbish, ashes, construction and demolition wastes, special wastes and
toxic wastes.

Hazardous wastes: Are those wastes that pose a substantial danger immediately or over a
period of time to human, plant or animal life. A waste is said to be hazardous if it exhibits any

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of the following characteristics, viz., ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity or toxicity. Typical
hazardous wastes are radioactive substances, chemicals, biological wastes, flammable wastes,
and explosive. The sources of hazardous wastes are industries, nuclear plants, hospitals,
research institutes, laboratories, etc.

5.1.2 Causes of Solid Wastes:

The main causes for the rapid growth in the quantity of solid wastes are:

Over population: The ever increasing population is increasing all types of pollution. Same is
true for solid waste pollution too.

Urbanization: Solid waste is primarily an urban problem, though it is not exclusively urban.
Solid waste pollution increases with the increase in urbanization. In developed countries, for
instance in USA urban areas produce about 7.0 lac tons of solid wastes each day an amount
sufficient to cover more than 1.6sq.km of land every day to a depth of 3.0m.

Affluence: With production or per capita consumption, there is a tendency to declare items as
obsolete, resulting in their discard. This leads to solid waste pollution.

Technology: Rapidly growing technologies for most economic goods are leading to returnable
packaging to non-returnable packaging. For example, returnable glass bottles / containers being
replaced by non-returnable can, plastic, containers, etc.

5.1.3 Effects of Solid Waste Pollution:

The important handling and transfer of the solid wastes results in various health and
environmental hazards, such as:
Diseases like bacillary dysentery, diarrhea and amoebic dysentery may result in humans
from food and water contamination through flies, which breed on the refuse dump and
solid wastes.
Rats depending upon these solid wastes may also cause plague, salmonellosis,
trichinosis, endemic typhus like diseases through direct bite.
The crops and water supply may also get contaminated and may result in large scale
epidemic of cholera, jaundice, gastro-intestinal diseases, hepatits etc.
Solid wastes may also choke the drains and gully pits resulting in water logging, which in
turn results in the breeding of mosquitoes and thus danger to the surrounding
environment.
There is also aesthetic danger to the surrounding environment, as the stray animals and
scavengers invade the garbage dumps of roadsides.
Obnoxious ordours also pollute the air due to decomposition of organic solid wastes.
Noxious fumes may pollute air due to the burning of waste products especially plastic
materials.

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 Percolation of decomposed garbage dumps into soil may result into pollution of
underground water and land.

5.2 COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF SOLID WASTE

5.2.1 Generation of Solid Waste:
It is estimated that solid waste generated in small, medium and large cities and towns is
about 0.1kg, 0.3-0.4kg and 0.5kg per capital per day respectively.

CPCB sponsored a survey to ascertain the status of municipal solid waste disposal in
metro cities, Class-I cities and Class-II towns of India. The survey was conducted by the
Environment Protection Training Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad. As per the survey, the
quantities of municipal solid wastes generation in metro cities are presented below (1996).
Table: 5.1 Solid Waste Generations in different cities
Sl. City Municipal solid waste Per capita Waste
No (TPD) (Kg/day)
1. Ahmadabad 1683 0.585
2. Bangalore 2000 0.484
3. Bhopal 546 0.514
4. Bombay 5355 0.436
5. Calcutta 3692 0.383
6. Coimbatore 350 0.429
7. Delhi 4000 0.475
8. Hyderabad 1566 0.382
9. Indore 350 0.321
10. Jaipur 580 0.398
11. Kanpur 1200 0.640
12. Kochi 347 0.518
13. Lucknow 1010 0.623
14. Ludhiana 400 0.384
15. Madras 3124 0.657
16. Madurai 370 0.392
17. Nagpur 443 0.273
18. Patna 330 0.360
19. Pune 700 0.312
20. Surat 900 0.600
21. Vadodara 400 0.389
22. Varanasi 412 0.400
23. Visakhapatnam 300 0.400
24. Tirupati 160 0.45

Solid waste characteristics depend on a number of factors such as food habits, cultural
traditions, socio-economic and climatic conditions. Refuse characteristics vary not only from city
to city but even within the same city itself and also seasonally. Quality of refuse should be
assessed taking into account seasonal variation, zonal characteristics, etc.

Physical Analysis: The sample so collected should be sorted out physically into various
ingredients such as paper, glass, plastics, etc. on a sorting platform. The individual components

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are separated, stored in bins and weighed. The weights are then expressed as a percent of the
original sample. The density of the material is measured by using standard method.

Table 5.2 Physical characteristics of Refuse from some cities (All values in per cent by
wet weight)
Characteristics Paper Plastics Metals Glass Ash and Total
fine compostable
matter
City
Calcutta 3.18 0.65 0.66 0.38 34.0 47.0
Delhi 6.29 0.85 1.21 0.57 36.0 35.0
Madras 7.85 0.88 0.95 0.96 28.0 48.0
Hyderabad 4.81 0.83 1.22 0.93 36.0 37.0
Ahmedabad 3.02 0.84 0.42 0.23 34.0 49.0
Kanpur 2.97 0.62 0.45 0.37 46.0 41.0
Jaipur 3.02 0.80 0.64 0.39 50.0 26.0
Jabalpur 2.02 0.69 0.38 0.35 43.0 40.0
Chandigarh 6.17 0.33 0.22 0.20 39.0 35.0
Sangli 3.04 0.35 0.20 0.36 41.0 50.0
Tirupati 2.68 0.95 0.28 0.51 40.6 48.8

Chemical Analysis: Chemical analysis of solid wastes of municipal origin is presented below in
table 5.3.
Table 5.3 Some chemical characteristics* of Indian City Refuse
Characteristics (%) Range of Values Average Values
Moisture Content (%) 22.12 - 31.18 26.10
Organic matter (%) 22.01 - 27.57 25.4
C (%) 12.56 - 15.32 14.5
N (%) 0.58 - 0.60 0.59
P as P2O5 (%) 0.59 - 0.70 0.64
K as K2 (%) 0.67 - 0.70 0.68
C/N 20.35 - 26.23 23.8
HCV in Kcal/Kg 800 - 1140 980

5.3 COLLECTION AND HANDLING:

Water produced from individual households is removed initially by the owner or an
employee and alter by municipal staff. In the case of community bin system adopted in most of
the developing countries, waste is collected and taken to the community bin by the house owner
or an employee from where it is removed by conservancy staff. Wastes from the streets are
collected and taken to the specific collection and disposal site by the industry itself. In house-to-

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house collection system as adopted in most of the developed countries, the collects the waste
from individual premises where it is stored by the owners in standardized containers.

5.3.1 House-to-house collection:

In house-to-house collection, refuse generated and stored in individual premises is
collected by several methods, some of which are indicated here.

Table 5.4 comparison of various Methods of House-to-House Collection

Sl. Description Curb Alley Set-out, Set-out Backyard
No service service set-back service service
service
1. House owners cooperation is
required:
To carry full cans Yes Optional No No No
To carry empty cans Yes Optional No Yes No
2. Scheduled service is necessary Yes No No Yes No
for obtaining house owners
cooperation
3. Prone to upset Yes Yes No Yes No
4. Average crew size 1-3 1-3 3-7 1-5 3-5
5. Complaints regarding Low Low High High High
trespassing
6. Special services - Requires - - -
special
vehicle
7. Evaluation with reference to:
Service to citizens Poor Fair Good Fair Good
Crew cost Low Low High Medium medium

Curb service: The houseowner is responsible for placing the refuse containers at the curb on
the scheduled day, when the workmen from refuse vehicles collect and empty the containers in
the vehicle and place them back at the curb. The houseowner is required to take back the
empty containers to his house.

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Alley service: The containers are placed at the alley line from where they are picked up by
workmen from refuse vehicles who deposit back the empty containers.

Set-Out, Set-back service: Set-out men go to individual houses, collect the containers and
empty them in the refuse vehicle. Another group of persons return them to houseowners yard.

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Set-Out Service: The workers with refuse vehicles collect the containers from individual
houses and empty them in refuse vehicles. The houseowners has to take back the empty
containers.

Backyard Service: The workers with the vehicle carry a bin, wheel-barrow or sack or cloth to
the yard and empty the refuse container in it. The wheelbarrow or bin is then taken to refuse
vehicle where it is emptied.

5.3.2 Community Bin System:

In the community bin system, workers sweep the roads and collect the material at
specific points. If the point has not been marked, depending upon the convenience of local
citizens, a suitable point gets fixed. It should be recognized that most of the citizens would be
aware to locating such points in front of their houses. Such spots where no resistance is offered
get evolved as collection point. Obviously, these may not be near public places. The capacity of
community bins should be at least 50% in excess when collection is daily and 100% in excess
for 6 days a week collection. The spacing of the containers has to be accordingly fixed which in

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no case should be more than 100 metres apart. Larger spacing encourages workers to avoid
transporting wastes to the community bin and private sweepers start working in such cases.

5.3.3 Collection of Waste from Streets:

In addition to the waste generated in individual premises, wastes are generated on
streets also, the collection of which is the responsibility of civic authorities. In most of the
developing countries, collection from streets is by manual labour while in developing countries
mechanical equipment is used. When mechanical equipment is used it sweeps the road, collects
the waste and takes it away for disposal. In manual methods, the collection from the street is
deposited in communal storage bins from where separate vehicles collect for transport to
processing or disposal site. In manual operation it is desirable to have a group of not more than
three persons. One should clean the footpath, the second to sweep the road and collect the
material into heaps in the channels and the third person to transfer it to a wheelbarrow. Larger
groups may be needed when quantities to be cleaned become larger or the work has to be done
in a short time.

5.3.4 Frequency of Collection:

The waste in solid state is generated continuously in residences, commercial and
industrial establishments. In order to keep the environment clean, it should be removed quickly
as in water carriage system of transporting human faeces.

The municipal agencies assume the responsibility for removal of solid waste from
domestic and commercial (including hotels, restaurants, etc.) areas, small factories and street
sweepings. Domestic waste and street sweepings represent the predominant fractions. Though
the constituents of refuse do not change much, their proportion changes from city to city. It has
been observed that the percentage of paper, glass, plastics, etc. increases with increase in the
population of the city and standard of living. The organic matter in solid waste from India and
other developing countries is much higher than that in the waste from developed countries. This
large organic fraction tends to decompose at a faster rate at the higher ambient temperatures
encountered. It is thus necessary to collect and remove this material as quickly as possible.

The higher the density of waste the smaller would be the volume at individual houses.
Hence a lower volumetric capacity of vehicles will be required to collect and remove the material
at greater frequency. Another potential problem is the possibility of fly breeding. The eggs of M.
domestics hatch in 1-2 days, and the larvae feeds for about 5 days before pupation. The adult
emerges from the pupa after 3 more days. The weekly collection prevents the production of
adult flies as the waste is stored in airtight containers from where the larvae cannot migrate. In
India and other developing countries the waste stored at individual house (for a few days) is
deposited in community bin. The houseowners can ensure that fly larvae do not migrate, but it

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is difficult to achieve in community dust bin. It is, hence, necessary to remove the waste from
the site as early as possible, daily or at least thrice a week.

In house-to-house collection, if the dwellings have adequate space to store in closed

containers, daily collection may not be necessary. However, if the dwelling is small or in clusters
and outside storage space is limited daily collection should be encouraged.

5.3.5 Transfer Stations:

These are provided for transfer of waste to large transportation vehicles which transport
it to processing or disposal site. The movement of refuse in these large vehicles is referred to as
secondary collection. The large capacity secondary vehicles move over large distance directly to
processing and disposal site and are found to be economic to operate. Although the transfer
operation offers potential savings, it involves an additional material handling step and the
construction of the transfer facility. Before deciding the use of a transfer station the cost of bulk
transportation to the final disposal site, plus the cost of operating the transfer station should be
compared with the cost of conveying the refuse directly to the disposal site in the collection
vehicle. The short range transfer stations are of two types.

Level sites: Refuse is transferred from one vehicle to another manually at such sites where a
trailor or a bigger vehicle is parked. The smaller vehicle unloads its contents which are then
manually transferred to the other vehicle. The contents of any incoming hand carts can also be
directly tipped inside the bigger vehicle. Due to manual handling, the site is likely to get littered
which could be minimized with a suitable enclosure.

Split Level Site: When a direct discharge of the refuse from primary collection vehicle into
another is desired, split level sites become necessary. Such a site consists of a loading platform
at a height of 3 to 4 metres above the ground level and with a ramp having a slope in 1 in 12 to
1 in 15. The vehicles climb up this ramp and unload their contents from specific points into the
vehicles standing at a lower elevation. A backhoe is used to compact and distribute the refuse
after it is placed in the vehicle below. The smaller collection vehicle climbs down from the other
side of the ramp after unloading. In some cases, the smaller collection vehicle unloads its
contents on the platform and the waste is then pushed by a tractor or bulldozer through an
opening into the vehicle placed below. Though the appearance of such a site may not be good,
the operation of primary and secondary vehicles need not be synchronized allowing the primary
collection vehicle to make more number of trips.

In Bombay and Calcutta such split level sites are being used to transfer the waste from
auto-vehicles to railway wagons. In Bombay the waste is being taken to a site located nearly 20
kilometers away. In Calcutta the railway system transports the waste through a distance of
about 5 kilometers, thus increasing the unit transportation cost. In Madras, four such stations
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are used to transfer the waste from bullock-cartes, which collect it from narrow byelanes to
trucks.

Volume Reduction at Transfer Stations: In order to reduce the capacity of the secondary
collection vehicles, the volume of the waste is reduced at the transfer station. This is adopted in
the developed countries as the refuse is light in weight and bulky containing bulky objects such
as furniture pieces, television sets, refrigerators, etc. The reduction in volume can be achieved
by i) extraction of bulky and salvageable materials, ii) compression by bulldozer or similar
equipment, and iii) size reduction or compaction by static compactor or within the vehicle.
Removal of these objects can reduce the volume. In developing countries, such items are
seldom present where this method will not have much application.

Reduction of volume by bulldozer or tractor will occur when the material dumped on the
platform is over-run by the bulldozer during its normal work of re-arranging and discharging the
material into the hopper. Such incidental compaction can result in reduction in volume of the
light waste material. However, the solid waste from developing countries has otherwise a high
initial density and not much volume reduction is expected from such incidental compaction. If
the material has to be compacted within the transportation vehicle a stronger body and chassis
construction is required. Further the weight of the compaction equipment will result in reducing
the volume of the waste that can be transported. When the waste density is already high
further increase in the compaction vehicle can only be marginal. Static compactors provided at
such sites will have better acceptability. Compaction of waste material helps increase the
density so that a much larger weight of refuse can be carried by the same secondary collection
vehicle. In such a transfer station, refuse from the incoming vehicles is unloaded in a hopper
which then falls into a chamber. The material in the chamber is forced by a hydraulic ram
against a penstock door. The secondary collection vehicle is anchored to the press and ram of
the static compactor. The compacted bale is pushed into the vehicle by the hydraulic ran. Large
capacity trailors having a volume of 45 to 60m 3 capacity are filled in this manner. Such a site is
provided with the necessary pressure gauges to ensure that the static compactor works
effectively. The compacted material is to be fully covered for transport to the final disposal site.
Normally the secondary collection vehicle has a body size slightly larger than the compacted
bale prepared by static compactor. Within each vehicle is provided a single acting hydraulically
actuated piston for discharge of bale at the disposal site.

Vehicles for Secondary Collection: Such vehicles are not in common use in developing
countries. However, in some countries with comparatively higher standard of living large sized
open top vehicles and roll on containers of large size may be used. Other types are:
i. Trailors which can be towed by farm type tractors; and
ii. Semi-trailors of large capacity

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5.4 SEPARATION AND PROCESSING OF SOLID WASTE:
5.4.1 Separation of Solid Waste:
Component separation is a necessary operation in the recovery of resources from solid
wastes and where energy and conversion products are to be recovered from processed wastes.
The required separation may be accomplished manually or mechanically. When manual
separation is used, preprocessing of the wastes is not required; in most mechanical techniques,
however, some form of size reduction is required as a first step. Techniques and equipment used
for the separation of components from municipal solid wastes are delineated in this section. The
techniques considered are listed in Table 5.5 along with information about applications.

Table 5.5 Solid Wastes separation techniques and application information

Technique Source Material Preprocessing required Remarks
separation involved

Handsorting Paper, ferrous None Used to separate corrugated and high-

and nonferrous quality paper, metals and wood at
metals, wood commercial and industrial sites and
newspaper at residences; eco-nomically
feasible if market prices are adequate.

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Centralized
separation
Hand picking Newspaper, None May be economical alternative to source
and Hand corrugated paper separation, depending on labor costs.
sorting
Air separation Combustible Shredding Used to concentrate metals and glass in
materials heavy fraction as well as combustible
materials in a light fraction.
Inertial Combustible Shredding Same as air separation
separation materials
Screening Glass None or shredding, May be used prior to shredding to remove
air separation glass and prior to air separation for similar
reasons. May be used to concentrate
glass-rich fraction from heavy fraction.
Flotation Glass Shredding, air separation Water pollution control may be expensive
Optical sorting Glass Shredding, air separation May be used as an alternative to flotation
to flotation to separate glass from opaque
materials; also used to separate flint from
colored cullet.
Electrostatic Glass Shredding, air separation, Experimental
separation magnetic separation, and
screening
Magnetic Ferrous metal Shredding or wet pulping Proved in numerous full-scale applications
separation
Heavy media Aluminum, other Shredding, air separation May be used to separate a number of
separation nonferrous metals materials by adjusting specific gravity of
media; separate units are required for
each material to be separated.
Linear Aluminum, other Shredding, air separation, Separate units are required to separate
induction nonferrous metals magnetic separation, and aluminum and other nonferrous metals.
separation screening

5.4.2 Processing of Solid Wastes:

Improve the efficiency of operations, to recover resources (usable materials), and to
recover conversion products and energy. These techniques are: 1) Mechanical volume reduction
(compaction), (2) chemical volume reduction (incineration), (3) mechanical size reduction
9shredding), (4) component separation (manual and mechanical), and (5) drying and
dewatering (moisture content reduction).

Mechanical Volume Reduction: volume reduction is an important factor in the development

and operations of almost all solid waste management systems. In most cities, vehicles equipped
with compaction mechanisms are used for the collection of solid wastes. To increase the useful
life of landfills, wastes usually are compacted before being covered. The types and application of
mechanical volume reduction equipment used are reported in table 5.6.

When wastes are compressed, their volume is reduced. The reduction in volume
expressed in percent is given by the following:
Volume reduction (%) = [(Vi Vf)/ Vi] / x 100

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Where Vi = initial volume of wastes before compaction, m3
Vf = final volume of wastes after compaction, m3

The compaction ratio is defined as

Compaction ration = Vi / Vf

Table 5.6 Compaction equipment used for volume reduction

Location or Type of compactor Remarks
operation
Solid waste Stationary / residential Vertical compaction ram; may be
generation points vertical mechanically or hydraulically operated;
usually hand-fed; wastes compacted into
corrugated box containers or paper or
plastic bags; used in medium-and high-
rise apartments
Rotary Ram mechanism used to compact wastes
into paper or plastic bags on rotating
platform. Platform rotates as containers
are filled; used in medium-and high-rise
apartments.
Bag or extruder Compactor can be chute-fed; either
vertical or horizontal rams; single or
continuous multi bags; single bags must
be replaced and continuous bags must be
tied off and replaced; used in medium-and
high-rise apartments.
Under counter Small compactors used in individual
residences and apartment units; wastes
compacted into special paper bags; after
wastes are dropped through a panel door
into bag and door is closed. They are
sprayed for odor control; button is pushed
to activate compaction mechanism.
Stationary / commercial Compactor with vertical or horizontal ram;
waste compressed into steel container;
compressed wastes are manually tied and
removed; used in low-, medium-, and
high-rise apartments commercial and
industrial facilities.
Collection Stationary / packer Collection vehicles equipped with

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 compaction mechanisms
Transfer and/or Stationary / transfer trailer Transport trailer, usually enclosed,
processing stationary equipped with self-contained compaction
station mechanism.
Low pressure Wastes are compacted into large
containers
High pressure Wastes are compacted into dense bales or
other forms
Disposal site Movable wheeled or tracted Specially designed equipment to achieve
-equipment maximum compaction of wastes.
Stationary / track-mounted High pressure movable stationary
compactors used for volume reduction at
disposal sites.

Recovery of Chemical conversion Products: Chemical volume reduction process includes

(1.) Open burning, (2.) Pyrolysis, (3.) Hydrolysis, and (4.) Chemical conversion. These will
reduce volume reduction solid wastes. Chemical conversion products that can be derived from
solid wastes include heat, a variety of oils, gases, and various related organic compounds. The
principal chemical conversion processes that have been used for the recovery of usable
conversion products under solid wastes are reported in table 5.7.

Table 5.7 Chemical processes used for the conversion of solid wastes
Process Conversion Preprocessing Comment
product required
Incineration Energy in the None Markets for steam must be
with heat form of available; proved in numerous
recovery steam full-scale applications; air-quality
regulations may prohibit use.
Supplementary Energy in the Shredding, If least capital investment
fuel firing form of air separation, and desired, existing boiler must be
steam magnetic separation capable of modification; air
quality regulations may prohibit
use.
Fluidized-bed Energy in the Shredding, Fluidized bed incinerator can also
incineration form of air separation, be used for industrial sludges.
steam and
magnetic separation
Pyrolysis Energy in the Shredding, Technology proved only in pilot
form of gas magnetic separation applications; even though
or oil pollution is minimized, air quality
regulations may prohibit use.
Hydrolysis Glucose, Shredding, Technology on laboratory scale
fufural air separation only.

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Chemical Oil, gas, Shredding, Technology on laboratory scale
conversion cellulose air separation only.
acetate

Mechanical Size Reduction: The objective of size reduction is to obtain a final product that is
reasonably uniform and considerably reduced in size in comparison to its original form. The
types of equipment that have been used for reducing the size of land for homogenizing solid
wastes include small grinders, chippers, large grinders, jaw crushers, rasp mills, shredders,
hammer mills, and hydropulpers. The modes of action and principal applications of this
equipment are listed in table 5.8; some of the more commonly used types for solid wastes are
considered further in the following discussion.

Table 5.8 Types, Mode of Action, and Applications of Equipment used for Mechanical
Size Reduction
Type Mode of Action Application
Small grinders Grinding, mashing Organic residential solid wastes
Chippers Cutting, slicing Paper, cardboard, tree trimmings, yard wastes, wood
plastics
Large grinders Grinding, mashing Brittle and friable materials. Used mostly in industrial
operations
Jaw crushers Crushing, breaking Large solids
Rasp mills Shredding, tearing Moistened solid wastes. Most commonly used in Europe.
Shredders Shearing, tearing All types of municipal wastes
Cutters, clippers Shearing, tearing All types of municipal wastes
Hammer mills Breaking, tearing, All types of municipal wastes. Most commonly used
cutting, crushing equipment for reducing size and homogenizing composition
of wastes.
Hydropulper Shearing, tearing Ideally suited for use with pulpable wastes, including paper,
wood chips. Used primarily in the paper making industry.
Also used to destroy paper records.

Drying and Dewatering: In many solid waste energy recover and incineration systems. The
shredded light fraction is predried to decrease weight by removing varying amounts of
moisture, depending on process requirements. When sludge from waste-water treatment plants
is to be incinerated or used as a fuel mixture, some form of dewatering is required.

Table 5.9 Various types of Drying Process

Type of dryer Method of operation
Rotary tray of Material to be dried is spread on the top tray of a series of stacked trays
hearths and raked to lower trays as it dries.
Endless belt Material to be dried is spread at the feed end of the dryer on a continuous
perforated wire-mesh belt or on conveyor bands which are used to move
the material through the dryer. Airflow is usually countercurrent.
Rotary drum Slow-rotating cylindrical shell. Slightly inclined from the horizontal, is
provided with a means for continuously feeding material to be dried. The

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 drying medium can be introduced and made to flow either concurrently or
counter currently with the material to be dried.
Fluid bed Material to be dried is maintained in a fluidized condition. Fluid-bed dryers
are usually in the form of vertical cylindrical columns.
Spray Material to be dried is sprayed into a drying chamber. Movement of
feedstock and the drying medium can be concurrent, counter current, or
combinations of the two.
Flash Material to be dried is entrained in the drying medium and is conveyed in
the process of drying.

The problem of sludge disposal from municipal waste-water treatment plants has
become critical for many large communities in which the use of drying beds, lagoons, or land
spreading is no longer practical or economically feasible. In most cases some form of sludge
dewatering has been adopted to reduce the liquid volume. Once dewatered, the sludge can be
(1) incinerated to reduce the volume, (2) used for the production of recoverable by-products,
(3) used for the production of compost, or (4) buried in a landfill. Centrifugation and the
filtration are the two general methods now used most commonly to dewater treatment plant
sludge.

Recovery of Materials: Paper, rubber, plastics, textiles, glass, ferrous metals, and organic and
inorganic materials are the principal recoverable materials contained in municipal solid wastes.
In any given situation, the decision to recover any of or all these materials is usually based on
an economic evaluation and on local consideration.

Paper, for re-pulping;

Textiles for paper-making, machinery, wipers, etc.;
Metals for re-smelting;
Glass for re-melting or abrasives manufacture etc.;
Rubber for a downgrades use;
Plastics for the production of an inferior grade;

A process flow diagram for material recovery system is presented in fig 5.2.

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