Urban Waste Management: From characterization to process evaluation

Urban Waste Management:

From characterization to process evaluation
Jean Claude Guillaneau & Jacques Villeneuve

In collaboration with
F. Bodenan, S. Brochot, M.-D. Durance, P.-L. Hergibo, P. Piantone, K. Sandvik, H. Vedrine, P.
Wavrer

BRGM
Environment & Process Division
3, avenue Claude Guillemin - BP 6009 - 45060 ORLEANS CEDEX 02 - FRANCE
( 33 (0) 2.38.64.34.34 - Fax 33 (0) 2.38.64.35.18

Abstract
The concern about the urban waste management is increasing with the development of the
concentration of the population in big cities and the continuous growth of waste.
The traditional routes to reuse some of the products are decreasing in efficiency as the type of
waste and their quantity change rapidly.
The analysis of the waste management routes is dedicated to proposing a sound technical way
regarding the local conditions in terms of quality and quantity of the waste and of the
possibility of using some of the byproducts for the industry or the agriculture.
This analysis is first based on a characterization of the resource (e.g. quantity of paper or
putrescible waste) then several processing routes are explored such as sorting, composting,
incineration or land filling with both a technical and an economical standpoints.

Introduction
BRGM has a large experience in analyzing mineral processes through a well-defined procedure
involving sampling strategies, resource characterization, experimental testing, data processing
and process simulation. BRGM has also been involved since the beginning of the seventies in
the definition of recycling processes and in urban waste characterization. Under the authority
of Ademe, the French environmental agency, BRGM has been collaborating in the eighties with
end users to define a waste typology known as the MODECOMã method. This method has been
the starting element to a vast campaign of waste resources evaluation in France conducted by
Ademe with some evaluations done abroad in Germany, Morocco or India. In connection with
this typology, a sampling procedure has been developed and a global approach of waste
treatment evaluation has been set-up involving steps of characterization, process testing and
the use of a process analysis range of software.

Figure 1: Urban Waste characterization method: MODECOMã

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 Urban Waste Management: From characterization to process evaluation

Waste management: a complex system

The way of waste through the collection, recovery, incineration and disposal system is complex
and it requires knowledge and in addition clairvoyance, to develop a system where pollution is
minimized and optimal use is made of valuable constituents. Waste may be subdivided into a
number of types having rather different properties. Urban waste and building waste have large
volumes and also a tendency to become the responsibility of the communities, while heavy
industrial waste usually lend itself better to direct recycling.
Public superstitions

T Matter and
R Energy
E
Mixed urban waste Political decisions A Technology
T
M Economy
E
N Environmental
Rational knowledge T Impact
Figure 2: political, technical and economical management of the urban waste

Waste is comprised of a high number of different objects coming from a large number of
sources. Further it may contain large number of harmful or polluting elements and substances.
The harmful constituents that survive urban waste incineration in modern plants are mainly
metals and 6-8 of those are considered more toxic than the rest and are usually the object of
pollution regulations.
To follow the waste streams and the toxic elements contained in them through a system of
collection and treatment is difficult because the amount of information available is often
collected in bits and pieces and therefore difficult to comprehend. This give problems making
rational decisions regarding what to do with the different parts of the waste such as what to
collect selectively or what to incinerate. A practice of breaking the waste down in a large
number of separate groups such as newspaper, packaging paper, soft plastic, glass, food and
so on has been developed as an aid to facilitate sampling and thereby to make those decisions.
This makes it easier to look at possibilities for recovery as well as to consider treatment.

Urban waste treatment: an example of composting

In the frame of the global environmental management plan in France, several enterprises are
involved in the collection of data from different types of waste treatment. The following case is
a sorting and composting plant fed by raw urban wastes. The process is represented in figure
5. An extensive sampling campaign has given the description of 19 streams: 14 categories in
two size classes (> 63 mm and 20-63 mm), 4 categories in 3 size classes (8-20 mm, 5-8 mm
and < 5 mm). In each category of each size class, 10 metals (Cu, Mn, Zn, Cr, Al, Ni, Pb, Cd, B,
Hg) have been analyzed as well as the loss by ignition.

Figure 3: typical classification of urban waste with the MODECOM method

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 Urban Waste Management: From characterization to process evaluation

At the end, around 8 000 data were collected, each associated with a precision resulting on the
calculation of the fundamental error of sampling added to the analytical errors.

Raw Domestic Waste

Attrition and trommel Tails

Bales
Balistic sorting Separator Press

Heap to Iron Sweepings

composting
= measurement of weight and grades MODECOM
Figure 4: sorting before composting

It is needed here to underline the difficulty to get reliable data at a reasonable cost. As the
material to be sampled is very heterogeneous, big masses have to be collected in order to
determine the proportions of the different categories.
Urban waste

Tails from grinding/cutting

1

Balistics

2 Bales
3 4
Water addition Iron
Sweepings
Fermentation
5

6 7 8

Losses
9
Rain

4 months 3 months 2 months Compost 1 month

Bales
11
15 14 13 12
10 Losses
Fines
Losses
Heavy
Light

Figure 5: Simulation of the sorting and composting plant.

Characterization of waste and process products

Two levels of characterization are used while analyzing the waste management routes: the
definition of the crude waste and of the different products such as the compost, the
concentrates of glass or aluminum to recycled and the products of incineration (bottom ashes
and fumes).
For the waste itself, the combination of typological analysis and of specific sampling, as
presented in figure 3, insure a good quality of the basic information needed for any further
evaluation of the process. As an example, An Indo-French project was run under an agreement
between the municipalities of Bhubaneswar and Calcutta and a Consortium of French
companies. The general objective of the project was to collect technical and economical data
and information in order to define the optimum process for urban waste treatment. In the
frame of this project, ANTEA and the BRGM made the characterisation of urban waste
(household refuse). The survey area was defined by the Municipalities as the zones
surrounding selected dumping sites.

The studies comprised two components: analysis and synthesis of existing information,
definition and analysis of urban waste (household refuse) using the MODECOMTM method.

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 Urban Waste Management: From characterization to process evaluation

Two sampling campaigns for characterisation of urban waste in Calcutta and Bhubaneswar
were focussed on the waste directed to the chosen dumping site. For both cities, the quantity
of dometic waste produced and collected in the defined areas has been estimated.
The partition of the survey areas has been defined according to the main economic activity at
the source of waste production. This criteria has been assessed mainly through the maps of
the land use. For each type of land use, i.e. residential, residential with slums, administrative,
commercial, industrial and recreative zones, a choice of a representative collecting points or
zones has been made mainly following the indications of the responsible of the Municipalities.

The sorting of the waste has been made following the guidelines of the MODECOMTM (Method
for Characterisation of Domestic Waste). The method has been adapted to the waste
(unnecessary categories) and to local constraints.

The results of the sorting into categories show that the waste is clearly interesting for
composting in both cities (high proportion of fermentable categories, low proportion of glass,
metals and special waste).
The seasonal character of the waste has been estimated between the dry and wet season to
show variations of the quantity and quality of waste that can be expected (size distribution
giving structuring elements, proportions of different categories, etc.).

These conclusions have been related to collection methods (clean transfer points, avoiding the
pollution with sweepings and sand, recycling efficiency).

Detailed characterisation help in understanding the present situation of wastes and in

predicting the evolution of their quantity and quality in the frame of a Solid Waste
Management policy.

Figure 6b: composting product

Figure 6a: metal characterization in the
incineration fume.

The second step is the specification of the different products in terms of reusability such as for
the different classical concentrates of paper, plastic or metals but also in terms of agricultural
capabilities as for the compost. This specification has also to be conducted in term of potential
pollution of the incineration residues as detailed previously. A risk analysis has to be conducted
to take these factors into account while evaluating the processing routes.

Process analysis for urban waste treatment

A way to check the reliability of data is to calculate the material balance of the components
which are normally "kept" during the process: the categories of inert and metals. This balance,
calculated from measured data has been done for each step of the process and as expected, it
is not coherent because, even with a well designed and correct sampling, that type of process
is far from being known precisely.

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 Urban Waste Management: From characterization to process evaluation

Fundamental sampling error

30
Fines (< 20 mm)
Putrescible waste
Paper
Cardboard
Cardboard complexes

Relative error (Unit error!)

20
Textiles
Sanitary textiles
Plastic
Non-classed combustible
Glass
Metal
Non-classed non-combustible
10
Special

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000
Sample mass (kg)

Figure 7: analysis of the sampling error in connection with the waste category

Data reconciliation techniques based on statistically coherent material balance and used for
years now in the minerals industry is dedicated to that type of problem. It has provided a
complete set of coherent data, each estimated value of flowrate, category grade and metal
grade being as close as possible to the measured value according to its precision. This set of
coherent data is finally more "reliable" than the original measured one, and will be used for the
further process analysis.

Es tim ated E xperimental P rec is ion

value value (% ) Diffe re nce
Raw was tes W eight (k g) 37530 36190 10 1340
M etals (% ) 8.0 10.3 26.0 -2.1
Tails W eight (k g) 6247 6314 10 -67
M etals (% ) 0.4 0.4 209.0 0.0
Heaps W eight (k g) 24297 25313 10 -1016
M etals (% ) 1.5 1.2 98.0 0.3
Bales W eight (k g) 6190 6174 10 16
M etals (% ) 31.2 28.7 24.0 2.5
Iron W eight (k g) 692 689 10 3
M etals (% ) 97.2 96.3 13.0 0.9
Sweepings W eight (k g) 104 104 10 0
M etals (% ) 1.9 1.9 67.0 0.0
Figure 8: comparison between experimental and equilibrated data from the circuit shown on
figure 4

The art and later engineering subject of mineral processing has been developed for centuries
and the mineral treatment processes are fairly close to waste treatment processes, in fact
much of the equipment used for waste treatment today has its origin in mineral processing.
Over the years a number of programs for doing this have been developed for such purposes.
BRGM has been developing the USIM PAC process simulator. The purpose of the present work
is to utilize USIM PAC ability to follow streams of great diversity through complex processing
flowsheet for waste processing. This way it should be possible to model different scenarios for
treatment of waste. For domestic waste one could start with sorting in the household and
follow the final parts of the waste trough incineration or other treatment methods and
eventually to leaching of heavy metals from the final waste dumps and in ground and surface
waters.

On basis of such modeling it is hoped one should become able to make decisions based upon a
more rational utilization of available data than what has been possible up till now. This will be
useful both for the communities involved and for the government agencies responsible for
formulating environmental policies.

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 Urban Waste Management: From characterization to process evaluation

Simulation of waste incineration

As already mentioned a waste stream to be dealt with has for analytical purposes usually been
broken down into several separate groups or sub-streams of similar composition like
newspaper or plastic foil. This makes it easier to assess the composition of the total stream
and also simpler to formulate policies for treatment. It is also known that for a number of
years there have been policies to phase out poisonous elements from consumer goods like
cadmium, lead and chrome from pigments in plastics for example. Over time this will have an
impact upon the composition of plastic waste.

A model must therefore be able to differentiate between the streams through the process and
be flexible enough to allow selective treatment of the individual streams.
In figure 9 the total treatment of the waste from a community is considered. The treatment in
this case consists of selective collection, incineration, gas cleaning and dumping of the
noncombustible fraction as well as the fly ash. Finally leaching of elements from the dump by
ground or rainwater is indicated.
gas

filter dust
gas cleaning

waste

selective
combustion
collection

Incinerator
paper

metals Ash
dump

runoff

Figure 9. Example of overall flowsheet of waste treatment

For modeling, the flowsheet of figure 9 has to be broken into smaller more fundamental unit
processes, that mathematically may be described more easily. Figure 10 show such unit
processes in a small part of the flowsheet. Here only four specified fractions are shown going
into the urban waste treatment. The model takes care of the content of all recorded elements
in the waste. The first step modeled is collective separation of some of the contained glass and
paper. Then follows incineration. The combustion chamber is subdivided into three processes
to take care of the different reactions taking place.

GAS

Paper
Plastic S1
Selective S2 S3
Glass
collection
Metals

GLASS
Combustion ASH
PAPER
Figure 10. Elements of a model for waste treatment.

The first part of the model S1 describes separation of non-combustible sub-streams such as
glass and non-reacting metals from the rest of the incineration feed. Those fractions will end in
the ash without further reactions. S2 models the combustion where air or oxygen is added.
Hence carbon is transformed into carbon dioxide and hydrogen into water. The volatile matter
such as water and mercury is also evaporated here and a pure gas phase is formed. A third
part of the combustion model S3 is laid in to describe the emission of dust. The division into
the three separate models makes it easier to use chemical reasoning on the processes and the

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 Urban Waste Management: From characterization to process evaluation

modeling of the following gas cleaning system becomes also easier as dust usually is removed
by filtering or precipitation, while gaseous constituents are afterwards removed by a washer.
In the combustion section the described model differs from that of the original mineral-
processing model by the fact that there is transformation from one phase to another. The
original sub-streams, except form the ones that do not burn, disappear.
Important parameters of the model are the separation functions. Those functions express how
the different substances in the feed to a process are distributed to two or more outputs. The
separation functions may be mathematical expressions or simply describe the percentage of
each component of feed ending in a particular product.
Noncom-
H2O bust. Zn Hg

Food 100 10 35 99.9

Paper 100 10 35 99.9

Plastic 100 10 35 99.9 Uncleaned gas

Textiles 100 10 35 99.9

Ash
Figure 11. Principle of the separation function. (The burning process)

Figure 11 shows the separation function for a few components contained in a few sub-streams
in the combustion process described in figure 9 and 10.
Zinc in glass and metal alloys are likely to remain in the glass and alloy throughout the
incineration and different separation function can be allocated the sub-streams given different
paths through the model. The separation functions are the most important part of the model
and calibration against already existing processes is important.
A general program such as USIM PAC do allow a library of separation functions for all relevant
unit processes to be built up over time and stored for later use. It will then be easy to model a
given treatment scheme or plant and to forecast the result of possible changes to a waste
treatment flowsheet.
The city of Trondheim in Norway has a domestic collection system collecting mixed waste.
Glass has partially been selectively collected for some years as there are installed centrally
placed collection containers where 50 % of the bottles probably end up and Norway have in
addition to this a pawn system for reusable bottles that do work. There is also established a
system for separate delivery and reception of hazardous waste.
The plant treats 86 000 tons a year of which 30 000 tons is the combustible fraction arising
from presorting the non-domestic waste. The energy from the combustion process is recovered
and sold for heating of industrial and residential buildings. The plant is equipped with a dust
precipitator and a gas washer.
There has been a public and political movement towards more recycling and there has also
been concern about the gas emissions from the incinerator, which is situated in a residential
area. The environmental authorities are also concerned about runoff from the dumps of ashes
and not incinerated waste. The incinerator operates today at maximum capacity and the
amount of waste appears to increase.

Figure 12: incineration plant

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 Urban Waste Management: From characterization to process evaluation

The model structure already described may be calibrated by the available data from the
Trondheim plant operating as it does today. It can then be used to estimate the effect of
alterations of the process feed such as the schemes of selective collection underway in
Trondheim. The effect of some separation process ahead of incineration can be tried out as can
changes to the gas cleaning systems and so on.

The way this was done is shown in figure 12 where the feed is industrial and domestic waste.
The selective collection is related to the domestic waste only but as the capacity of the
incinerator is constant, the amount of industrial waste has to be adjusted accordingly. The
incineration is broken down into three steps, one removing non-combustibles, one converting
solid into gas and one giving off dust. The dust and the gaseous substances are then removed
in two gas cleaning steps. Final smoke and incineration ashes respectively are comprised of the
products from the preceding processes.

Gas cleaning Cleaned gas

Industrial
waste Selective collection
steps Filter cake

Incineration Fly ash

Domestic steps
waste Special
waste
Paper Plastic Incineration ash
Figure 12. Detailed flowsheet showing all the unit processes used to simulate collection and
incineration alternatives in Trondheim.

A question here is what is best to the environment, incineration and then dumping of ash or
dumping harmful waste directly. This may well be dependent upon the incinerator in question
and its gas cleaning equipment.

Management of the incineration residues

The residues of incineration are becoming a major concern in the waste management and in
some case may conduct to reinforce the sorting routes. Several researches are conducted to
find some solution to reuse these materials but most of it is just dumped.
The long term evolution of these piles has to be carefully taken into account both to choose the
adequate storage place but also the potential effects on the water resources as shown on
figure 13.

Sulfate
mg/l
m
700
0
600
-2
500
-4
400

-6
300

250 -8

200
-10
100
0 40 80 120 160 200 m
Unsaturated zone

Chalky aquifer

t = 5 years
potability limit

Figure 13: Study of the effect of bottom ash storage

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 Urban Waste Management: From characterization to process evaluation

Conclusion
A global approach of the waste management question has been developed by BRGM including
several ranges of know-how including characterization, process analysis, long term
comportment of process residues and land-filling specifications. The evaluation of the local
situation, of the waste processing routes and of the economical context conduct to the
definition of a restricted choice of viable solutions.

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