MSE 452/METE 454: WASTE MANAGEMENT

(3 credits)

2nd Semester, 2022/2023 Academic Year

Department of Materials Engineering.

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Daniel N. Ampong
Credit: Ing. Dr. (Mrs.) Bennetta Koomson
[email protected]
+233 55 304 1496 (whatsApp)
Rm # HA Area 1
 KNUST COVID-19 AWARENESS
COVID-19: Caused by a virus known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-
CoV-2). Spreads very easily from person to person.
Signs and symptoms: Fever or chills, cough, difficulty in breathing, cold, headache, diarrhoea, loss
of taste/smell, and several non-specific symptoms.
Transmission: Respiratory droplets, airborne, contaminated surfaces.
Prevention: Adhere to the KNUST COVID-19 safety protocols
• Respiratory hygiene: Wear a nose mask, cough etiquettes
• Hand hygiene: Frequent hand washing, hand sanitizing
• Maintain ‘safe’ physical distancing
• Avoid crowds and confined/poorly ventilated spaces
Virus is changing itself with even more serious ramifications, so it is important we all
adhere to the safety protocols

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 Class Policy
▪ ATTENDANCE IS COMPULSORY and you are required to sign at each class section.

▪ Only those with tangible permission will be allowed to miss a class. Permissions will
only be granted BEFORE the class.

▪ Those who MISS three or more classes will not be permitted to write the Final Exam.

▪ All ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES must be turned off and stored away (should not be seen)
during all lectures. Failure will lead to CONFISCATION. They will only be released at the
end of the semester. NO excuses will be allowed.

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 Homework
▪ Homework will be assigned roughly once a week.

▪ You may discuss homework with fellow classmates. This is encouraged.

However, you are expected to individually write up (handwritten) your
solutions.

▪ Handwritten homework solutions must be submitted to the TA by the deadline.

Scanned copy of the homework solution must be uploaded on the VIRTUAL
CLASSROOM.

▪ No LATE homework will be accepted.

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 Course Objectives

Students should be able to:

• Identify sources of waste

• Classify and quantify solid wastes

• Carry out Environmental Impact Assessment and waste stream analysis

• Understand the usefulness of recycling

• Describe the most common waste processing techniques

• Acquire Knowledge on Ghana’s Env. Protection Act and Policy

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 Grading

Quizzes 10
Assignments+Project 10
MidSem Exam 10
Final Exam 70
Total 100

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 Course Content
Week Topic
1-2 Introduction, Classification of Solid Waste
3-4 Solid waste management – Functional elements
Waste stream assessment – waste composition and
5
characteristics
6-7 Waste processing techniques
8 Mid-semester exams
9 Product recovery and recycling
10 Incineration and energy recovery
11-12 Hazardous waste and integrated waste management
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 Recommended Books
• S. R. Rao, 2006. Resource Recovery and Recycling from Metallurgical Waste, Elsevier

• Y. Anjaneyulu and V. Manickam, 2007. Environmental Impact Assessment Methodologies, 2nd Edition, BSB Press

• Ali, M., Cotton, A., and Westlake, K. 1999. Solid Waste Disposal for Low-Income Countries. Loughborough
University, London.

• Ramachandra T.V. and Saira Varghese K. 2004. Environmentally sound options for e-wastes management, ENVIS
Journal of Human Settlements (ISSN 0971-9091), March 2004.

• Tchobaanoglous, H., Theisen H., and Samuel A Vigil, 1993. Integrated Solid Waste Management, McGraw-Hill, Inc.,
New Delhi.

• Matsumoto, S., Santiage, V., Sakaguchi, A., and Yamashiki, Y. 2000. Environmentally Sound Technologies for
Freshwater Management, In proceedings: Waste Recycling and Resource Management in Developing World, (Ed:
Jana, B.B., Banerjee, R.D., Guterstam, B. and Heeb, J.), University of Kalyani, Calcutta, Pp 617-620.

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 Waste
• Generally, waste materials ( trash, gangue, refuse, garbage, litter)
are items that people no longer have use for.

Fig. 1 Different Kinds of Waste.

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 Waste Management - Concept

• Waste management is a set of activities that include collection,

transport, treatment and disposal of waste.

• It includes the prevention of waste production through in-process

modification, reuse and recycling.

Why Disposal of waste??

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 Waste Management - Concept
• The term usually relates to all kinds of waste;
– whether generated during the extraction of raw materials,
– the processing of raw materials into intermediate and final
products,
– the consumption of final products, or
– other human activities, including
• municipal (residential, institutional, commercial),
• agricultural, and
• special (health care, household hazardous wastes, sewage sludge).

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 Waste Management - Importance

• Waste management is intended to reduce adverse

effects of waste on health, the environment or
aesthetics.
• Classification of Wastes according to their Effects on Human
Health and the Environment

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 The Environment
This is the sum of all the conditions of our world. It includes:
• Biosphere
• Lithosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Cryosphere
• Atmosphere
• Anthrosphere

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 The Environment
• These four major environmental resources are tapped,
coordinated and transformed to provide value product and
services to the society.

• Man is a resource and coordinates all other resources by

influencing and transforming other resources to provide useful
service and products for the society’s benefit.

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 Limitations to Resource Transformation
• Machine design limitations results in waste generation
• Inefficiency in industrial processes results in waste generation
• Natural packaging results in waste generation
• Man generates waste

NOTE
Unavoidable waste generation in resource transformation

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 Classification of Waste
• Solid Waste
Domestic, commercial, industrial – contains various substances such as
food waste, plastics, styrofoam containers, bottles, cans, papers, scrap
iron, and other trash.

• Liquid waste
Domestic washings, chemicals, oils, wastewater from ponds,
manufacturing industries and other sources.

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 Classification of Waste
• Gaseous Wastes
Mainly from processing plants and may include dust streams

• Other classifications may include biodegradable or non-biodegradable;

hazardous and non-hazardous; toxic and non-toxic

– Biodegradable : usually degraded in the environment with

time by microbes in the environment.

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 Classification of Waste
– Non-Biodegradable waste : substances which cannot be broken
down by natural organisms and acts as a source of pollution. These cannot
be decomposed or dissolved by natural agents.

– Hazardous waste : these contain toxic substances generated from

industrial, hospital, some types of household wastes. These wastes could
be corrosive, inflammable, explosive, or react when exposed to other
materials.

– Nonhazardous waste: these cause no harm to humans / the

environment
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 Classification of Waste
– Toxic waste: unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm
to humans (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the
skin)

– Non-toxic waste: ??

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 Classification of Waste
Hazardous Waste - Characteristics:
• Short-term hazard (acute toxicity by ingestion, inhalation, skin
adsorption, corrosivity, skin or eye contact hazard, risk of explosion),

• Long-term environmental hazard (chronic toxicity as a result of repeated

exposure, carcinogenicity in some cases as a result of acute exposure but
with long latent period, resistance to detoxification processes such as
biodegradation, potential to pollute underground or surface waters, of
offensive odour, etc.),

• As a result of catalytic, synergistic or antagonistic reactions of two or

more substances which are themselves harmless.
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 What are Solid Wastes?
• Solid wastes are the organic and inorganic waste materials produced in a
society, which do not generally carry any value to the first user(s).

• Such waste materials maybe Homogenous or Heterogenous wastes

• Knowledge of the sources and types of solid wastes, composition and the
rate at which wastes are generated / disposed is essential for waste
management.

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Composition of municipal solid waste in 2020

(a) Sub Saharan Africa (b) Global solid waste composition

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Composition of municipal solid waste in 2013
(a) Global average (b) Ghana

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 Classification of Solid Wastes
Source-based classification

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTES

INDUSTRIAL RURAL
Industrial solid waste Agricultural-animal
husbandry solid waste

URBAN
Residential (domestic)
Non-residential (commercial, institutional/services,
construction/demolition, special)
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 Classification of Solid Wastes
Type-based classification
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTES

Community waste Agricultural waste Industrial waste

Non-hazardous
General Household Hazardous waste
waste
waste hazardous waste
Same as general
Refuse Garbage waste
• Toxic waste
• Elastic/rubber • Animal • Battery/flash light • Radioactive waste
• Bottle, Glass • Vegetables • Fluorescent • Chemical waste
• Textile, Paper • Fruits • Paint • Explosive waste
• Metal • Food, etc • Chemical containers • Corrosive waste
• Leather
• Ashes and
residues, etc Bulky wastes and abandoned vehicles??
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 Waste Management Terminologies (4R’s)
• Reduction refers to actions that lessen the quantity of waste generated and
eventually needs to be managed.

• It is also called waste minimization and requires adopting existing

technologies in such a way as to maximize the efficiency of production
and collect the byproducts and 'waste' generated and explore using them
for beneficial purpose.

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 Waste Management Terminologies (4R’s)
• Reuse identifies actions based upon using something over again in its
original form for the same purpose or some new one until such time as it
becomes waste and needs to be managed.

• Recycling represents actions that manage in a way that results in using the
materials making the waste as feed stocks for some product or an
application distinct from disposal.

• This is done by segregating waste at source or by extracting materials from

it by various techniques, physical, chemical, thermal or biological.
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 Waste Management Terminologies (4R’s)

• Resource recovery, serves the dual purpose of reducing the volume of the
waste to be discharged and generating an economic spin-off.

• Some waste materials may contains material of potential value.

• With development of new technologies it is possible to further

process and recover the material of value.

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30
 Solid Waste Management / Functional Elements of SWM

SOLID WASTE
Sources
Cost?? GENERATION

Onsite storage, handling and processing

Collection

Transfer/Transportation Recovery Processing

Disposal

DISPOSAL www.knust.edu.gh

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 Solid Waste Management System
Waste generation
• Wastes are generated at the
start of any process

• The source of waste

generation, determines
quantity, composition and
waste characteristics.

• The most important aspect of

this part of the SWM system
is the identification of waste.
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 Solid Waste Management System
Waste storage
• Collection of wastes never takes place at the source or at
the time of their generation.

• The heterogeneous wastes generated in residential areas

must be removed within 8 days.

• Onsite storage is of primary importance due to aesthetic

consideration, public health and economics involved.

• Storage containers vary in size

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 Solid Waste Management System
Waste collection
• This includes gathering of wastes and hauling them to a location, where the
collection vehicle is emptied, which may be a transfer station, a processing
plant or a disposal site.

• Collection depends on the number of containers, frequency of collection, types of

collection services and routes.

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 Solid Waste Management System
Transfer and transport
• This functional element involves:
• the transfer of wastes from smaller collection vehicles, where necessary to overcome
the problem of narrow access lanes, to larger ones at transfer stations;
• the subsequent transport of the wastes, usually over long distances, to disposal sites.

• The factors that contribute to the designing of a transfer station include the type of transfer
operation, capacity, equipment, accessories and environmental requirements

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 Solid Waste Management System
Processing
• Processing is required to alter the
physical and chemical characteristics of
wastes for energy and resource recovery
and recycling.

• The important processing techniques

include compaction, thermal volume
reduction, manual separation of waste
components, incineration and
composting.
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 Solid Waste Management System
Recovery and recycling
• This includes various techniques,
equipment and facilities used to improve
both the efficiency of disposal system and
recovery of usable material and energy.

• The selection of any recovery process is a

function of economics

• Certain recovered materials like glass,

plastics, paper, etc., can be recycled as they
have economic value.

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 Solid Waste Management System
Waste disposal
• Disposal is the ultimate fate of all solid wastes – land use
planning is important

• A modern sanitary landfill is a method of disposing solid

waste without creating a nuisance and hazard to public
health.

• Generally, engineering principles are followed to confine

the wastes to the smallest possible area, reduce them to
the lowest particle volume by compaction at the site and
cover them after each day’s operation to reduce exposure
to vermin
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 Factors Affecting SWM System
Quantities and characteristics of wastes
• Generally depend on the income level of a family, as higher income category
tends to generate larger quantity of wastes, compared to low-income
category.

• The quantity ranges from about 0.25 to about 2.3 kg per person per day

• One of the measures of waste composition (and characteristics) is density,

which ranges from 150 kg/m3 to 600 kg/m3.

• Proportion of paper and packaging materials in the waste largely account for
the differences.
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 Factors Affecting SWM System
Climate and seasonal variations
• Tropical climates are subjected to sharp seasonal variations from wet
to dry season, which cause significant changes in the moisture content
of solid waste, varying from less than 50% in dry season to greater
than 65% in wet months.

• High temperatures and humidity cause solid wastes to decompose far

more rapidly than they do in colder climates.

• The frequency of waste collection in high temperature and humid

climates should, therefore, be higher than that in cold climates.
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 Factors Affecting SWM System
Physical characteristics of an urban area
• In urban areas, where the layout of streets and houses is such that
access by vehicles is possible and door-to-door collection of solid
wastes is the accepted norm either by large compaction vehicle or
smaller vehicle.

• In the inner and older city areas, narrow lanes make service by
vehicles difficult and often impossible. Problems of solid waste
storage and collection are most acute in such areas.

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 Factors Affecting SWM System
Financial and foreign exchange constraints
• Solid waste management accounts for sizeable proportions of the
budgets of municipal corporations.

• This is allocated for capital resources, which go towards the

purchase of equipment, vehicles, and fuel and labour costs.

• In regions where wage rates are low, the aim is to optimize vehicle
productivity.

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 Factors Affecting SWM System
Cultural constraints
• In some regions, long-standing traditions preclude the intrusion of waste
collection on the precincts of households, and therefore, influence the
collection system.

• Others will not consent to placing storage bins in their immediate vicinity.
Social norms of a community over-ride what many may consider rational
solutions.

• Waste management should, therefore, be sensitive to such local patterns of

living and consider these factors in planning, design and operation.
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 Challenges with SWM

Source Collection
• Poor disposal at source • Collection service not covering all
responsible areas
• Not able to separate general waste
• Lack of containers (primary and communal)
and hazardous waste • Improper containers
• Time consuming when separation is to be
done at source

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 Challenges with SWM
Transportation
• Falling of solid waste
during transportation
• Insufficient transporting
vehicle
• Unsuitable collecting
routing/time

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 Challenges with SWM
Disposal
• Unsuitable location / improper design

• Disposal site
• No solid waste separation
• Incorrect solid waste separation
• Not operated as designed (e.g. open
dump and burn instead of sanitary
landfill)
• Lack of equipment and manpower

• Inadequate disposal area

• Difficult to find disposal site areas

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 Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

MSE 452/METE 454: WASTE MANAGEMENT

(3 credits)

2nd Semester, 2022/2023 Academic Year

Department of Materials Engineering.

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Daniel N. Ampong
Credit: Ing. Dr. (Mrs.) Bennetta Koomson
[email protected]
+233 55 304 1496 (whatsApp)
Rm # HA Area
 Learning Objectives

Students should be able to:

• Explain waste stream assessment

• Understand the usefulness of waste stream assessment

• Carry out waste stream assessment

• Characterize solid waste with varied components

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 Quiz 1

1.Solid waste management teams face

four major challenges. List these.

2.Which five major factors affect waste

management?

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 Waste Stream Assessment (WSA)
• Waste stream assessment (WSA) is a means to determine the basic
aspects of quantity (i.e. terms of weight and volume), composition
(i.e. the different components of waste stream), and sources of
wastes.
• A waste stream assessment is the process of understanding the
material mix in the local waste stream.

• Assessing the waste stream is essential in analyzing short- and long-

term problems within the local waste management system.

• Waste stream assessment, however, is not a one-time activity.

• It is a continuous and dynamic process.

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 Importance of waste stream information

A waste stream assessment provides local governments with the

following benefits:

1. Identifies major material categories and their quantities in the waste

stream.
2. Helps rank materials according to their impact on the local waste
stream.
3. Helps identify specific commercial/industry types and/or facilities
(appropriate technologies and equipment) that should be targeted for
waste reduction.
4. Assists in creating local educational materials on solid waste
management.

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Levels of Waste Stream Assessment

Fig. 1 Target level of Waste Stream Assessment Data

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 Levels of Waste Stream Assessment
Level 1: Borrowed Data
• Much of the data local governments need to have about residential
waste can be garnered from average national and regional data

Composition of municipal solid waste in 2013

(a) Global average (b) Ghana
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 Levels of Waste Stream Assessment
Level 2: Disposal and/or Transfer
Facility Data
• The data gathered in a Level 1 Assessment
can be complemented by simple
recordkeeping techniques at the disposal
facility or transfer station.

• A Level 2 Assessment allows communities to

identify sources and quantities of waste

• Useful for understanding the non-residential

waste stream.

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 Levels of Waste Stream Assessment

Level 3: Commercial/Industrial
Survey

• The waste stream is evaluated from

information gathered about or from the
generators

• Identify the major types of commercial

and industrial businesses in the
community

• It can be written survey or site visit

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Levels of Waste Stream Assessment
Level 4: Waste Sort
• Gives detailed assessment of the waste

• Provides good feedback on the successes and failures

of waste reduction program

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Material Flow and Waste
Generation

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 Waste Composition
General observations
1. The major constituents are paper
and decomposable organic
materials

2. Metal, glass, ceramics, textile,

dirt and wood form part of the
composition. Their relative
proportion depends on local
factors.

3. Average proportions of the

constituents reaching the disposal
sites are consistent

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Typical Waste Composition:
Low/High Income Population

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Typical Waste Composition:
Low/High Income Population

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 Factors causing variation in waste
composition

• Geographic location
• Seasons
• Collection frequency
• Population diversity
• Extent of salvaging and recycling
• Public attitude
• Legislation

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 Waste Characteristics
Physical characteristics
1. Density
• An efficient operation of a landfill demands compaction of wastes to
optimum density.

• Density of waste (kg/m3), is a critical factor in the design of a SWM

system, e.g., the design of sanitary landfills, storage, types of collection
and transport vehicles, etc.

• Any normal compaction equipment can achieve reduction in volume of

wastes by 75%, which increases an initial density of 100 kg/m3 to 400
kg/m3

• Significant changes in density occur spontaneously as the waste moves

from source to disposal
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 Waste Characteristics
Physical characteristics
2. Moisture content
• Moisture content is defined as the ratio of the weight of water (wet weight
- dry weight) to the total weight of the wet waste.

• Moisture increases the weight of solid wastes, and thereby, the cost of
collection and transport.

• Moisture content is a critical determinant in the economic feasibility of

waste treatment by incineration

• Calculation of moisture content (%)

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 Waste Characteristics
Physical characteristics
2. Moisture content

• Calculation of moisture content (%)

𝑊𝑒𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 − 𝐷𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡

𝑀𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 = × 100
𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡

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 Waste Characteristics
Determine the percent moisture content of 100 kg waste sample from the
following data:
Waste Composition Weight (kg) Moisture content (%) Dry weight (kg)
Food wastes 15 70
Paper 45 6
Cardboard 10 5
Plastics 10 2
Garden trimmings 10 60
Wood 5 20
Tin cans 5 3

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 Waste Characteristics
Physical characteristics
3. Size
• Measurement of size distribution of particles in waste stream is
important because of its significance in the design of mechanical
separators and shredders.
• The size and distribution of the components of wastes are
important for the recovery of materials, especially when
mechanical means are used, such as trommel screens and
magnetic separators

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 Waste Characteristics
Chemical characteristics
1. Lipids
• This includes fats, oils and grease
• Principal sources of lipids are garbage, cooking oils and fats.
• Lipids have high heating values, about 38,000 kJ/kg, which makes waste
with high lipid content suitable for energy recovery

2. Carbohydrates
• These are found primarily in food and yard wastes, which encompass sugar
and polymer of sugars (e.g., starch, cellulose, etc.).
• They are biodegraded to products such as carbon dioxide, water and
methane.
• Decomposing carbohydrates attract flies and rats, and therefore, should not
be left exposed for long duration.
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 Waste Characteristics
Chemical characteristics

3. Natural fibres
• These are found in paper products, food and yard wastes and include the
natural compounds, cellulose and lignin, that are resistant to
biodegradation.
• Because they are a highly combustible solid waste, having a high
proportion of paper and wood products, they are suitable for incineration.

4. Synthetic organic material (Plastics)

• They are highly resistant to biodegradation.
• Plastics have a high heating value, about 32,000 kJ/kg, which makes them
very suitable for incineration.
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), when burnt, produces dioxin and acid gas.

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 Waste Characteristics
Chemical characteristics

5. Non-combustibles
• This class includes glass, ceramics, metals, dust and ashes, and accounts for
12 – 25% of dry solids

6. Heating value
• An evaluation of the potential of waste material for use as fuel for
incineration requires a determination of its heating value, expressed as
kilojoules per kilogram (kJ/kg).
• The heating value is determined experimentally using the Bomb
calorimeter test

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 Waste Characteristics
Chemical characteristics

7. Ultimate analysis
• Analysis of waste to determine the proportion of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen and sulphur
• The analysis is done to make mass balance calculation for a chemical or thermal
process.
• Besides, it is necessary to determine ash fraction because of its potentially
harmful environmental effects

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 Waste Characteristics
Chemical characteristics

Typical ultimate analysis values

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 Waste Characteristics
Chemical characteristics

8. Proximate analysis
• This is important in evaluating the combustion properties of wastes or
refuse derived fuel (RDF)

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 Waste Characteristics
Chemical characteristics

Typical proximate analysis values

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 Waste Characteristics
Chemical characteristics

9. Fusion point of ash

• Ash fusion temperatures give an indication of the softening and melting
behavior of fuel ash.

• This temperature is an important parameter for the design and operation

of gasification systems—for those that operate below the ash fusion
temperature so as not to incur fusion, sintering, or clinkering of the ash

• Clinker (agglomerations of carbon and metals) formation temperature

(1100- 1200oC)

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 Waste Characteristics
Energy Content

• Knowledge of the energy content of an organic fraction of solid waste is

essential for evaluating its potential for use as a fuel in a combustion system.

• Depends on the constituents of a sample

• Can be estimated by modified Dulong formula

Energy content (KJ/Kg) = 338.2C + 1430 (H – O/8) + 95.4S

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 Waste Characteristics
Chemical Formula of Solid Waste

1. Derive ultimate analysis and moisture of solid waste components

2. Convert moisture content into hydrogen and oxygen
3. Revise composition in Kg
4. Compute molar composition of waste
5. Compute normalized mole ratio

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 Chemical Formula of Solid Waste
Example
Determine the chemical composition of the organic fraction of the waste described
in Table 1, with/without sulfur and with/without water

Component Wet weight (Kg) % Moisture

Table 1: Composition of solid waste
Food waste 9 70
Paper 34 6
Cardboard 6 5
Step 1
Plastics 7 1 Derive ultimate analysis and moisture
Textiles 2 10 of solid waste components
Rubber 0.5 0
Leather 0.5 20
Yard wastes 18.5 65
Wood 2 20
Inorganic 20.5 3
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Component Wet wt. Dry wt. Composition

Kg Kg C H O N S Ash
Food waste 9.0 2.7 1.30 0.17 1.02 0.07 0.01 0.14
Paper 34.0 32.0 13.90 1.92 14.06 0.10 0.06 1.92
Cardboard 6.0 5.7 2.51 0.34 2.54 0.02 0.01 0.29
Plastics 7.0 6.9 4.16 0.50 1.58 0.00 0.00 0.69
Textiles 2.0 1.8 0.99 0.12 0.56 0.08 0.00 0.05
Rubber 0.5 0.5 0.39 0.05 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.05
Leather 0.5 0.4 0.24 0.03 0.05 0.04 0.00 0.04
Yard wastes 18.5 6.5 3.10 0.39 2.46 0.22 0.02 0.29
Wood 2.0 1.6 0.79 0.10 0.68 0.00 0.00 0.02
TOTAL 79.5 58.1 27.37 3.61 22.95 0.54 0.11 3.48

Total moisture = 79.5 – 58.1 = 21.4 kg

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Step 2
Convert moisture content into hydrogen and oxygen

Determine how much hydrogen and oxygen (Kg) there are in the
wet waste sample.

21.4
For H: 𝑥 1𝑥2 = 2.38 𝑘𝑔
18

21.4
For O: 𝑥 16𝑥1 = 19.02 𝑘𝑔
18

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Step 3
Revise Composition in Kg

Percentage Distribution of the Elements with/without Water

Element Kg (without water) Kg (with water)

Carbon 27.37 27.37
Hydrogen 3.61 5.99
Oxygen 22.95 41.97
Nitrogen 0.54 0.54
Sulphur 0.11 0.11
Ash 3.48 3.48

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Step 4
Compute molar composition of waste (neglecting ash)

Element Atomic wt. Moles (without water) Moles (with water)

Carbon 12.01 2.279 2.279
Hydrogen 1.01 3.574 5.931
Oxygen 16.00 1.434 2.623
Nitrogen 14.01 0.039 0.039
Sulphur 32.07 0.003 0.003

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Step 5
Compute normalized mole ratio (Determine the chemical formula)

To determine the formula without sulfur, use the lowest represented element,
nitrogen as the base; divide each value by the number of moles of nitrogen.

Nitrogen = 1 Sulphur = 1
Element Mole ratio w/o Mole ratio w/ Mole ratio w/o Mole ratio w/
water water water water
Carbon 58.4 58.4 759.7 759.7
Hydrogen 91.6 152.1 1191.3 1977.0
Oxygen 36.8 67.3 478.0 874.3
Nitrogen 1.0 1.0 13.0 13.0
Sulphur 0.1* 0.1* 1.0 1.0

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 Summary of Results

• The chemical formulae without sulphur are:

Without water: C58H92O37N
With water: C58H152O67N

• The chemical formulae with sulphur are:

Without water: C760H1191O478N13S
With water: C760H1977O874N13S

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 Quiz 1
1. Solid waste management teams face four major
challenges. List these.

2. Which five major factors affect waste management?

3. What do you look out for in waste stream

assessment?

4. List the four levels in waste stream assessment.

5. List four factors that affect composition of waste.

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 MSE 452/METE 454: WASTE MANAGEMENT
(3 credits)

2nd Semester, 2022/2023 Academic Year

Department of Materials Engineering.

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Daniel N. Ampong
Credit: Ing. Dr. (Mrs.) Bennetta Koomson
[email protected]
+233 55 304 1496 (whatsApp)
Rm # HA Area
1
 Learning Objectives

Students should be able to:

• Understand and explain waste processing techniques
• Understand waste-to-energy conversion
• Understand waste volume reduction
– Classification, Mechanisms, Equipment & Selection
• Understand and Undertake typical waste component
separation
• Use equations to determine screen efficiency and
effectiveness
2

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 Waste Processing Techniques

Purpose of waste processing

• Improving efficiency
• Reduce transportation and storage
volume requirements before reuse.

• Compaction maximizes land usage.

• Hydraulic and pneumatic transportation

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 Waste Processing Techniques
Purpose of waste processing
• Recovering material for reuse

• Materials having a market, when present in wastes in sufficient

quantity to justify their separation, are most amenable to recovery and
recycling.

• Materials that can be recovered from solid wastes include paper,

cardboard, plastic, glass, ferrous metal, aluminum and other residual
metals.

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 Waste Processing Techniques
Purpose of waste processing

• Waste to energy conversion

• Combustible organic materials can be converted to
intermediate products and ultimately to usable energy.

• This can be done either through incineration,

pyrolysis, composting or bio-digestion.

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 Waste Processing Techniques
Waste-to-energy option

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 Waste Processing Techniques
Calorific Value

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 Waste Processing Techniques
Calorific Value

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Waste Processing Techniques

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 Volume Reduction
• Mechanical volume reduction: By this process the density of
the waste is increased through compaction. They are achieved
by compaction process.

• Thermal Volume reduction: It is a process by which the waste

volume is reduced through thermal methods or temperature
changes. The solid waste is converted into gas, liquid or inert
solid residue. Eg. Incineration, Combustion and Gasification

• Chemical Volume reduction: It is done by altering the

chemical nature of the waste through the addition of chemicals
or temperature changes. Eg. Pyrolysis, hydrolysis and chemical
conversions.

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 Mechanical Volume and Size
Reduction
• Volume reduction (compaction) refers to densifying wastes in
order to reduce their volume

• Size reduction reduces bulky items to particles, the sizes of

which are compactible with a processing equipment

• Benefits of compaction
• reduction in the quantity of materials to be handled at the disposal site
• improved efficiency of collection and disposal of wastes
• increased life of landfills

• Disadvantages??
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 Equipment for Compaction
• Stationary equipment
• Movable equipment

Hydraulic metal compactor

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 Volume Reduction
When wastes are compressed, their volume is reduced, which is
normally expressed in percentage

The compaction ratio of the waste

Vi = volume of waste before compaction (m3)

Vf = volume of waste after compaction (m3)

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 Selecting Compaction Equipment
• Characteristics such as size, composition, moisture content, and bulk density of
the waste to be compacted.

• Method of transferring and feeding wastes to the compactor, and handling.

• Potential uses of compacted waste materials.

• Design characteristics such as the size of loading chamber, compaction

pressure, compaction ratio, etc.

• Operational characteristics such as energy requirements, routine and specialized

maintenance requirement, simplicity of operation, reliability, noise output, and
air and water pollution control requirement.

• Site consideration, including space and height, access, noise and related
environmental limitations.
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 Size Reduction
Size reduction is implemented ahead of:

• Land filling to provide a more homogeneous product

• Recovering materials from the waste stream for recycling.

• Baling the wastes

• Making the waste a better fuel for incineration in waste-to-

energy facilities

• Reducing moisture, i.e., drying and dewatering of wastes

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 Classification of Size Reduction
On the basis of feed and size of the particles, size reduction is
classified into 3 types

1. Coarse size – e.g jaw crusher, gyratory crusher, hammer mill (2-
96 inches)

2. Intermediate size – e.g cone crusher, crushing rolls (1-3 inches)

3. Fine size – e.g ball mill, tube mill, roller mill (0.25 – 0.5 inches)

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Mechanism of Size Reduction

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Mechanism of Size Reduction

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Equipment for Size Reduction

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 Equipment for Size Reduction
Shredders
• Shredders are used to shred
the feed materials with the
help of rotating shaft or sharp
knives.

• E.g. hammer mill, shear

shredder, cutting mills, roller
mills and hydro pulpers.

• The hammer mill is the most

commonly used shredding
device.
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 Equipment for Size Reduction

Glass crushers
• Glass crushers are the
devices employed to mash
glass vessels and other
glass materials present in
municipal solid wastes

• The glass crushers works

under the principle of
compression by the
application of stress forces.

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 Equipment for Size Reduction

Wood grinders
• Most of the wood grinders are
woodchippers and are used to
grate large wooden logs into
chips.

• This could be utilized as a fuel

and fine substances.

• The finer material can be

composted easily.

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 Selecting Size Reduction Equipment
• The properties of materials before and after shredding.

• Size requirements for shredded material by component.

• Method of feeding shredders, provision of adequate shredder hood capacity.

• Types of operation (continuous or intermittent).

• Operational characteristics including energy requirements, routine and

specialized maintenance requirement, simplicity of operation, reliability, noise
output, and air and water pollution control requirements.

• Site considerations, including space and height, access, noise and environmental
limitations.

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 Chemical Volume Reduction
• Chemical volume reduction occurs through chemical changes
brought within the waste either through an addition of chemicals
or changes in temperature

• Examples: incineration, pyrolysis, hydrolysis and chemical

conversions

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 Component Separation
This is required for the:
• recovery of valuable materials for recycling;

• preparation of solid wastes by removing certain components prior

to incineration, energy recovery, composting and biogas
production

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 Types of Separation Processes

• Picking
• Screening
• Magnetic separation
• Air classification
• Flotation
• Electrostatic Separation

• Radiometric Sorting

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 Types of Separation Processes
Picking
• Most positive way to achieve the
recovery and reuse of materials

• Manual separation of solid waste can

be accomplished at source where
• Solid waste are generated
• Transfer station
• Centralized processing station
• Disposal sites

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 Types of Separation Processes
Screening
• Screens are used for achieving
efficient separation of particles
through size differences

• Types of screens
• Rotary drum screen
• Disc screen
• Tromel screen

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 Screening Efficiency
The efficiency of screen can be evaluated in terms of the percentage
recovery of the material in the feed stream

U = weight of material passing through screen (underflow) kg/h

F = weight of material fed to the screen, kg/h
Wu = weight fraction of material of desired size in underflow
Wf = weight fraction of material of desired size in feed

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 Screen Effectiveness
The effectiveness of the screening operation can be determined by:

Therefore, the effectiveness of screen is:

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 Example
Given that 100 tonne/h of solid waste is applied to a rotary screen for
the removal of glass prior to shredding, determine the recovery
efficiency and effectiveness of the screen, based on the following
experimental data:
• The percentage of glass in solid waste = 8 %
• Total weight of material in underflow = 10 tonne/h
• Weight of glass in screen underflow = 7.2 tonne/h

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 Types of Separation Processes

Magnetic
• Used to segregate magnetic
(i.e. ferrous) metal from a
mixture of different types
of materials

• The process is technically

simple and of relatively low
cost

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 Types of Separation Processes

Air classification
• Process of separating
categories of materials by
way of differences in their
respective aerodynamic
characteristics

• Aerodynamic
characteristic of a material
is a function of the size,
geometry and density of
the particle
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 Types of Separation Processes

Flotation
• It separates hydrophobic
particulates from
hydrophilic particulates by
passing fine air bubbles up
through a solid-liquid
mixture

• The fine bubbles attach to

and lift or float the
hydrophobic particles up
where they are collected
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 Types of Separation Processes
Electrostatic separation
• Works based on the difference
in polarity of the material, or
the degree of electrical
conductivity of the particles
• Examples: iron ore,
graphite ore, feldspar,
fluorspar, rock salt,
phosphate, and
different plastics
• Pre-charge the particle surface
and apply polarity
• Feed must be dry!
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 MSE 452/METE 454: WASTE MANAGEMENT
(3 credits)

2nd Semester, 2022/2023 Academic Year

Department of Materials Engineering.

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Daniel N. Ampong
Credit: Ing. Dr. (Mrs.) Bennetta Koomson
[email protected]
+233 55 304 1496 (whatsApp)
Rm # HA Area
1
 Learning Objectives

Students should be able to:

• Understand the economic, health and environmental
importance of SWM.
• Undertake different forms of drying and dewatering in
SWM systems
• Acquire the right knowledge in recycling typical glass
waste materials.
• Recycle all forms of metals : Steel, Zinc, Aluminium etc
and Ferrous slags

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 Recycled Materials and Processes

Importance of recycling include:

• Economic
• Cost reduction
• Employment
• Energy saving
• Reduced health care costs
• Saving costs for other public utilities

• Environmental and health

• Improved environment
• Natural resource conservation
• Alleviation of excessive landtake
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Recycled Materials and Processes

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 Drying and Dewatering

• Separation of components are achieved through air

classifiers, magnetic separators, screens and hand
sorting, flotation, optical sorting and inertial separators.

• The waste consists of moisture and therefore the need to

remove it for efficient management.

• Drying and dewatering are considered the most

appropriate means of removal of moisture.

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 Drying and Dewatering

• Drying and dewatering operations are used primarily for

incineration systems, with or without energy recovery
systems.

• These are also used for drying of sludges in wastewater

treatment plants, prior to their incineration or transport
to land disposal.

• The purpose of drying and dewatering operation is to

remove moisture from wastes and thereby make it a
better fuel.
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 Drying and Dewatering
Moisture Content of Municipal Solid Waste Components

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 Drying
The following three methods are used to apply the heat required
for drying the wastes:

1. Convection drying: In this method, hot air is in direct

contact with the wet solid waste stream.

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 Drying
The following three methods are used to apply the heat required
for drying the wastes:

1. Convection drying: In this method, hot air is in direct

contact with the wet solid waste stream.
2. Conduction drying: In this method, the wet solid waste
stream is in contact with a heated surface.
3. Radiation drying: In this method, heat is transmitted
directly to the wet solid waste stream by radiation from the
heated body.

Of these three methods, convection drying is used most

commonly
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Drying

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 Drying
Some of the factors, we need to consider in the selection
of a drying equipment that include the following:

• Properties of material to be dried.

• Drying characteristics of the materials, including

moisture content, maximum material temperature and
anticipated drying time.

• Specification of final product, including moisture

content.

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 Drying
Some of the factors, we need to consider in the selection of
a drying equipment that include the following:

• Nature of operation, whether continuous or intermittent.

• Operational characteristics, including energy

requirements, maintenance requirements, simplicity of
operation, reliability, noise output and air and water
pollution control requirements.

• Site considerations such as space and height access,

noise and environmental limitations.
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 Dewatering
• Dewatering is more applicable to the problem of sludge
disposal from wastewater treatment of plants.

• The emphasis in the dewatering operation is often on

reducing the liquid volume.

• Once dewatered, the sludge can be mixed with other

solid waste, and the resulting mixture can be:
• incinerated to reduce volume;
• used for the production of recoverable by-products;
• used for production of compost;
• buried in a landfill.
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 Dewatering

• Centrifugation and filtration are the two common

methods for the dewatering of sludge.

• Sludges with solid content of a few percent can be

thickened to about 10 – 15% in centrifugation and
about 20 – 30% in pressure filtration or vacuum
filtration.

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Glass Recycling

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Glass Recycling

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 Glass Recycling
• Glass generally accounts for 2.5% by weight of the total solid
waste generated

• Glasses cause a serious problem of littering. (How?)

• The economic impacts are cost of waste collection and disposal,

reduction in use of natural products and energy consumption.

• Recycling of broken glass reduces the risk of diseases caused by

cuts and wounds.

• Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without

loss in quality or purity.

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Glass Recycling

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 Why Recycle Glasses

• Recycled glass can be substituted

for up to 95% of raw materials.

• Recycled glass reduces emissions

and consumption of raw materials,
extends the life of plant equipment,
such as furnaces, and saves energy.

• Recycled glass containers produces

high-quality recycled container
glasses to meet market demands
for new glass containers.
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End-Markets for Recovered Glasses
Uses for Glass from Single Stream Programs

21

Recycled (Containers &

Insulation)
19 60
Downcycled (Abrasives &
Aggregates)
Trash (Landfilled)

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Steps in Glass Recycling

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 Steps in Glass Recycling

1. Types of glass
• Different types of glass require different recycling processes. For
example, cookware (like Pyrex dishes) must be melted at a much
higher temperature than container glass and processed separately.

• The main types are:

• Container glass – e.g. jam jars, wine bottles, beer bottles
• Float glass – e.g. windows, flat glass
• Cookware – e.g. Pyrex dishes, tableware (plates, wine glasses)
• Automotive glass – e.g. windscreens

• Overall, compared with manufacturing of new glass, recycling

saves 30% of the energy
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 Steps in Glass Recycling

2. Collection
Glass is collected for recycling from
people’s homes, recycling sites and
businesses.

Most glass comes from businesses,

such as bars and restaurants, and
bottle banks.

3. Sorting
If different colors of glass are mixed,
they are separated before being
processed.
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 Steps in Glass Recycling

4. Crushing
At a glass recycling facility,
the glass is crushed to form
what’s called “cullet”.

Cullet is mostly used to make

new glass, but it can be
crushed further into a
powder, used as a substitute
for stone aggregates in
building roads.
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 Steps in Glass Recycling

5. Cleaning
Cullet goes through many processes to remove items that are
not glass:
• A strong magnet picks up ferrous (magnetic) metals such as steel and
iron

• Powerful air jets move non-ferrous (not magnetic) metal pieces away
from the cullet

• Passing through a vacuum separates lightweight items (like paper)

• Any remaining non-glass items (like ceramics), are ejected by a laser

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 Steps in Glass Recycling

6. New glass
Once cleaned, the cullet is now
ready to be made into new glass.

Glass cullet is melted in a furnace

at a temperature of 1500°C to
form a liquid or molten glass.

The molten glass is shaped in

moulds to become new bottles or
jars.

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 Quiz 4

1. Discuss the economic, environmental and health importance of

recycling.

2. Draw a simplified flowsheet of glass recycling process.

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 Recycled Metal Processing
• Ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals exist in the waste stream.

• On an average, metals account for 2% of total solid waste

generated.

• Extraction of metals from natural ores depletes the mineral

resources.

• Metals when dumped at landfill sites produce hazardous leachate

with heavy metals in solution.

• Metal scrap is cheap, and the energy consumption is lower when

products are manufactured from scrap.
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 Recycled Metal Processing
• Both ferrous and non-ferrous metals can be prepared for sale
through some combination of processing by flattening, baling, and
shredding of the material.

• In some cases, processors melt the metal into ingots before selling
it to end-use markets.

• The typical material inputs and product outputs in this industry

are the following:
1. Material inputs: Aluminium, brass, copper, zinc, tin, steel,
etc.
2. Product outputs: Sanitary and gas fittings, funnels, buckets
and storage bins, reinforced steel bars, hand tools, etc.
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Aluminium Recycling

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 Aluminium Cans Recycling

1. Collection
Many things are made from aluminium, but the
most common are cans.

Aluminium cans are collected for recycling

from people’s homes, recycling sites and
businesses.

2. Sorting
Cans made from steel are removed by a magnet
over the conveyor belt.

Cans made from aluminium, a non-ferrous

metal, are not magnetic.
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 Aluminium Cans Recycling

3. Baling and compressing

The aluminium cans are then crushed and compressed
to form bales, and transported to an aluminium
recycling facility.

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 Aluminium Cans Recycling

4. Shredding and cleaning

The cans are shredded and passed through another
magnet to remove any remaining steel or other
ferrous metals.

The shredded aluminium is then passed through hot

air (at 500°C), which removes any paint coating or
print.

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 Aluminium Cans Recycling
5. Melting
The hot cans go straight to a
furnace, where they are melted at
a temperature of 700°C.

The liquid (molten) aluminium is

transferred to a holding furnace –
to eliminate any remaining
contaminants – and on to a
degasser that removes any gas.
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 Aluminium Cans Recycling
6. New aluminium
The liquid aluminium is poured into cooled rectangular-shaped moulds.

A saw trims the ends of the aluminium ingots so they are squared, ready
for transport to a rolling facility.

There the ingots will be rolled into large sheets of aluminium to be made
back into cans.

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 Recycling of Iron and Steel
• A large number of secondary sources – “scraps”
• Discarded metal in the form of machinery, auto parts, etc

• In the steel making industries scraps are the main source of raw
materials

• Three sources of scrap – old, new and home

Old Scraps
• Old or obsolete scrap is iron or steel from postconsumer products

• The largest source is junked automobiles followed by

appliances, machinery, worn out railroad cars and trucks,
demolished steel structures

36
 Recycling of Iron and Steel

New Scraps
• Mainly generated from manufacturing plants

• Scrap accumulates when steel is cut, drawn, cast, extruded, or

machined

• Scrap chemical and physical characteristics are known, so it is

usually transported quickly back to steel plants through scrap
processors and dealers or directly back to the steel plant for
remelting

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 Recycling of Iron and Steel
Home Scraps
• Home or revert scrap consists of scrap that is produced in steel
mills and foundries as a by-product of their operations, as well as
old plant scrap

• This scrap has a known composition and is always recycled to the

furnace for remelting

• Technological advances have significantly reduced the

generation of home scrap

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 Iron and Steel Recycling
1. Collection and Sorting
• Metals are collected in suitable containers or organized system for
the collection of metals

• The second step is sorting the kind of metals which are good for
recycling. The quality of metals matters a lot when it comes to
recycling

2. Processing
• The next step is to compact the metal. Appliances are squeezed
and squashed in the machines so that they don’t occupy that
much space on conveyor belts

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 Iron and Steel Recycling
3. Sweat Furnace
• Sweat furnace is used by many metal scrap recyclers for the
purpose of separating aluminium, zinc, and/or lead from iron in
composite parts
• It can also be used to remove contaminants like dirt, rubber,
plastics and other combustibles from aluminium, zinc, and/or lead
bearing scrap

4. Shredding
• Shred with massive hammer mills to reduce large goods to fist-
sized pieces.
• The ferrous metals are recovered by the shredder operator through
magnetic separation and sold to steel mills

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 Iron and Steel Recycling

5. Melting and purification

• The next step is to melt all this scrap metal in a large furnace

• Each metal has a specially designed furnace depending on its

properties

• Then after melting the metals are purified by using different

methods.

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 Dezincing Technologies
1. Thermal and thermo-mechanical removal
• Galvanized parts are heated to a temperature greater than
900oC to evaporate the zinc
• Galvanized parts are heated to a temperature sufficient to
embrittle the coating, which is then removed by abrasion

2. Chemical and electrolytically aided removal

• Sulphuric acid is used to dissolve the zinc coating. It is
difficult to separate the dissolved iron and zinc
• Zinc coating is leached by ammonia
• Caustic soda is used to dissolve zinc coating. This is
considered to be the most promising

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 Dezincing Technologies
• Zinc is first dissolved from the steel scrap in a caustic soda
electrolyte by applying an electric current

• Then the sodium zincate solution is electrolyzed to recover zinc

in powder form on the cathode

• After electrolysis, the material is passed through a multi-station,

counter-current rinsed cycles to remove entrained sodium zincate

• The zinc-enriched electrolyte is then treated in the electrowinning

section using conventional cells with nickel anodes and cathode

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 Detinning Technologies
• The electrolytic detinning process consists of leaching in a hot
alkaline solution

• The scrap is suspended in baskets in a bath containing about 10%

caustic soda, at a temperature of 80oC

• Steel cathodes surround the baskets

• A spongy tin deposit is formed. It is manually removed,

compacted, melted and cast into ingots and sold to tin refiners

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 Recycled Plastic Processing
• With an average of 8 wt.% of the total amount of domestic waste,
plastic is one of the major constituents in waste stream

• Un-recycled plastic, when burned, contributes to green-house

gases

• The direct benefits of recycling plastic waste are reduction in the

cost of raw material and energy saving

• Plastic recycling also helps in employment generation along with

reduction of volume transport and space requirements for
dumping.

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 What are plastics?

• Plastics are usually synthetic or semi synthetic organic

compounds of very high molecular mass and can be moulded
into solid objects of numerous shapes and sizes

• Plastics generally include a main chain organic link; side linked

molecular groups and some organic and inorganic blends added
as additives, plasticizers, fillers, etc

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 Characteristics of plastics

• Plastics can be very resistant to chemicals and corrosion

• Plastics can be both thermal and electrical insulators

• Plastics have very high strength to weight ratio

• Plastics can be highly durable, resistant to water and have low

toxicity

• Plastics are materials with a seemingly limitless range of

characteristics and colours and are easy to manufacture

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Classification of plastics

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 Properties of thermoplastics

• It may melt before passing through to a gaseous state

• Allow plastic deformation when it is heated
• Chemical composition do not change on heating
• They are brittle and glossy
• They are soluble in certain solvents
• Swell in the presence of certain solvents
• Good resistance to creep

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 Thermoplastics – Pros and Cons
Pros
• Highly recyclable
• Aesthetically-superior finishes
• High-impact resistance
• Remoulding/reshaping capabilities
• Chemical resistant
• Hard crystalline or rubbery surface options
• Eco-friendly manufacturing

Cons
• Generally more expensive than the thermoset
• Can melt if heated

Examples: polyethylene, polypropylene, polystryrene, acrylics, Teflon,

polycarbonate, nylon

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 Properties of Thermosets
• These are soluble in alcohol and certain organic solvents, when
they are in thermoplastic stage. This property is utilized for
making paints and varnishes from these plastics

• They undergo irreversible chemical process

• They are durable, strong and hard

• They are available in a variety of colours

• They are mainly used in engineering application of plastics

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 Thermosets – Pros and Cons
Pros
• More resistant to high temperatures than thermoplastics
• High flexible design
• Thick to thin wall capabilities
• Excellent aesthetic appearance
• High levels of dimensional stability
• Cost effective

Cons
• Cannot be recycled
• More difficult to surface finish
• Cannot be remoulded or reshaped

Examples: epoxies, polyurethane, Phenolics, silicones

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Classification based on resin identification code

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 Major fields of application
• Automotive
• Industrial machinery
• Medical devices
• Building construction
• Electrical and electronics
• Consumer goods
• Packaging
• Optical media

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 Plastic Waste
• Plastic waste is the accumulation of plastic objects in the earth’s
environment that adversely affects the wildlife habitat and humans

• Plastic waste is regarded to be more an aesthetic nuisance than a

hazard, since the material is biologically quit inert

• The main disadvantage of plastic is the shear amount of time they

take to decompose – the average plastic takes 500 years.

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Sorting of Plastic Waste

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 Different processes of management

Plastic waste management technologies across the world have been

traditionally divided into four general categories
1. Mechanical recycling
2. Feedstock recycling
3. Energy recovery
4. Landfilling

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Different processes of management
Plastic Waste
Management

Mechanical Feedstock Energy

Landfill
Recycling Recycling Recycling

Pelletising Pyrolysis Incineration

Extrusion Gasification Co-

Incineration
Injection Waste to fuel
moulding

Drawing

Shredding www.knust.edu.gh

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 Mechanical Recycling
• Mechanical recycling involves processing and conversion of
waste or scrap into a product with similar properties of the
original products

• Mechanical recycling of plastics involves the recovery of

products from plastic scraps while maintaining the original
molecular structure of the material

• Compared to the low cost and easy glass recycling and very
productive recycling of metallic materials, plastic recycling is
quite challenging because of their low density and value of the
material

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Mechanical Recycling

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 Mechanical Recycling
1. Collection
Plastics are collected for recycling from people’s homes, recycling sites and
businesses.

2. Sorting
Before they can be processed, plastics must be sorted according to their type of
polymer. This determines each material’s melt temperature and possible end uses.

These polymer types, stamped on plastic objects (such as cups and bottles) are:
1. PET or PETE – Polyethylene Terephthalate
2. HDPE – High-Density Polyethylene
3. PVC – Polyvinyl Chloride
4. LDPE – Low-Density Polyethylene
5. PP – Polypropylene
6. PS – Polystyrene
7. Other – Plastics including acrylic, polycarbonate, nylon and fiberglass
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 Mechanical Recycling

3. Baling
Once sorted, the plastics are compressed by a machine into a bale
shape and transported to a plastic reprocessing plant.

4. Shredding and cleaning

At the reprocessing plant, the plastic is shredded into small pieces
and then washed. Passing the plastic pieces under a metal detector
removes any metal and another unit removes any lighter particles.

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 Mechanical Recycling

5. Melting and extrusion

The clean plastic pieces are dried and melted. Filtering the melted
plastic removes any remaining contaminants, before it is extruded
(passed through a wire screen) to form fine strands, like spaghetti.
Some may be extruded into very fine strands to be spun into fibre to
make fleeces, sleeping bags or ski jackets.

6. Pelletizing
For other uses, the plastic strands are cut into pellets, cooled in water,
then dried and stored ready to be processed and moulded into new
plastic items.

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 Advantages of mechanical recycling of
plastic
• The toxic components and pathogens are degraded by the use of
high temperatures

• There is a reduction in water volume due to the high operating

temperature

• By using the produced gases as fuel one is able to limit the

supply of external fuel

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 Disadvantages of mechanical recycling
of plastics
• The process of recycling plastic can produce carbon emissions into
the atmosphere

• Much of the recycled plastics find its new home as a less useful
product, often referred to as downcycling.
• For example, a plastic bottle might become plastic furniture. Thus there is still
a demand to produce a new plastic bottles

• Products from recycled waste may not be durable.

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 Feedstock recycling

• It involves several processes like pyrolysis, plastic waste to fuel

conversion and gasification techniques for conversion of plastic
waste into products that have unique properties

• The plastics undergo molecular and structural level changes

during this process and get converted to much simpler raw
material products which have superior thermal properties

• Processes such as gasification and pyrolysis break down plastic

products to produce synthesis gas (syngas) as well as other liquid
and semi-liquid products

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Pyrolysis of plastic waste

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 Advantages of pyrolysis of plastics

• It allows the recycling of waste mixed plastics that cannot be

efficiently recycled by alternative means

• It permits recycling of unwashed and soiled plastics

• It enables recycling of plastic laminates, co-extrusions and

multilayer packaging films

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Disadvantages of pyrolysis of plastics
• The pyrolysis process is complex and requires high operational
and investment costs

• Produced ashes contain high heavy metal content depending on

the concentrations in the to-be-processed flow

• Coking and carbon deposits on heat exchanging surfaces can

create problem

• Stickiness of sand particles in fluidized-bed processes can

destroy it

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 Incineration
• The practice of burning waste products in the presence of oxygen
in excess amount for thermal degradation of the waste is termed as
incineration

• It is a chemical reaction in which hydrogen, carbon and other

elements in the waste mixed with oxygen in the combustion zone
and heat are generated.

• CO2, CO, oxides of nitrogen and water vapour are some of the
principal gas which is produced by incineration process

• Combustion zone of the incinerator is maintained at a temperature

of 900oC-1100oC to ensure proper combustion and elimination of
odour from waste
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 Combustion of waste material

Major Elements of Solid Wastes

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 Combustion of waste material
Ultimate Analysis of Combustible Component

Energy content (KJ/Kg) = 338.2C + 1430 (H – O/8) + 95.4S

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 Incineration Objectives

The purpose of incineration is to combust solid wastes to reduce

their volume to about one-tenth, without producing offensive gases
and ashes

• Volume reduction: - Economical and environmental advantage

• Stabilisation of waste: - Incinerator output (i.e., ash) is

considerably more inert than incinerator input (i.e., solid wastes)

• Recovery of energy from waste (EFW): - Energy recovered

from burning the wastes is used to generate steam for use in on-
site electricity generation

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 Incineration Technology

Equipment is categorized into four core groups based on

their application
• Pre-treatment
• Combustion system
• Energy recovery
• Flue gas cleaning

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Waste to Energy Process

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Advantages of incineration of plastics
• High calorific value of the plastic waste produces high
amount of energy
• CO2 produced by the thermal decomposition of the
organic material and energy can be recuperated for
further power/heat requirement
• Generation of power, income and creation of jobs
• Volume of waste is reduced by incineration process

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 Disadvantages of incineration of
plastics
• Plastic is easy to burn, and it produces toxic gases when burned,
such as styrene is produced during the combustion of polystyrene.
This can cause blindness, vomiting and other symptoms of
inhalation

• PVC burning will produce toxic hydrogen chloride gas

• Requirement of skilled technical labour in operation of plant

• The process demands continuous supply of waste, and so

encourages its production

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 Use of waste plastics in road
construction

1. Aggregates
2. Hot aggregates
3. Plastic coated aggregates (introduction of shredded waste plastic)
4. Plastic coated aggregate bitumen mixture (160oC)
5. Road laying at 120oC

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 Characteristics of waste plastics

• Plastic is a good binder

• Plastic improve aggregate impact value
• Helps to improve the quality of flexible pavement
• Plastic will increase the melting point of the bitumen

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 Paper Recycling
1. Collection
Waste paper is collected for recycling from people’s homes, recycling
sites and businesses.

2. Sorting and grading

Before it can be recycled, collected paper must be sorted and graded;
there are over 50 grades of waste paper.

The four main groups are:

•Low grade – i.e. mixed paper, corrugated board
•De-inking grade – i.e. newspapers, magazines, office paper
•Kraft grade – i.e. unbleached brown packaging
•High grade – i.e. printer cut-offs, unprinted paper
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 Paper Recycling

3. Shredding and baling

Many businesses, offices and some homes shred
documents to protect sensitive information. Large
amounts of graded paper, including shredded paper, are
compressed by a machine into a bale shape before being
transported to a paper mill.

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 Paper Recycling
4. Pulping, screening and de-inking
At the paper mill, the graded paper is placed in a large vat and mixed
with water. This process breaks down the paper into tiny strands of
cellulose (organic plant material) fibres. Eventually, this turns into a
mushy mixture called pulp. The pulp is then filtered and screened to
remove contaminants such as glue and bits of plastic.

For certain uses, pulp must also be de-inked. There are two main
methods of de-inking:
•Washing – Chemicals are used to separate the ink from the paper,
and then washed away with water. The quantities of chemicals and
water used are much less than in the manufacture of new paper, and
the water can often be cleaned and reused.
•Flotation – Air passed through the pulp produces foam, which
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absorbs the ink and can be skimmed off. This may be repeated or
84
combined with a washing process to remove all the remaining ink.
 Paper Recycling
5. Drying
Pulp is poured onto a huge, flat wire screen. On the screen, water
starts to drain from the pulp and the recycled fibres soon bond
together to form a watery sheet.

The sheet, which now resembles paper, passes through a series of

heavy rollers. These squeeze out more water, while some heated
cylinders dry the paper, and another roller irons it.

6. Rolling
Now the paper is wound into a giant roll, which can be as wide as 30
feet and weigh 20 tonnes. The roll is cut into smaller rolls, or
sometimes sheets, before being ready for use.
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 Recycled Batteries Processing
• Battery recycling is not only a response to market condition (i.e.,
price of lead) but also is important due to concern over the toxic
compound including lead, cadmium and mercury present in
many batteries.

• Household batteries come in a variety of types including

alkaline, carbon, zinc, silver, nickel, cadmium, etc.

• Automobiles use lead acid battery, which contains lead and

sulphuric acid, both hazardous materials.

• Battery reprocessing includes breaking open the batteries,

neutralising the acid, chipping the container for recycling and
smelting the lead to produce recyclable lead.
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 Recycled Tyres Processing
• The use of chipped or shredded tyres as a source for fuel is
growing.

• Electricity-generating facilities, pulp and paper mills and cement

kilns are the most common processes using scrap tyres (EPA,
1989 and 1995).

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 MSE 452/METE 454: WASTE MANAGEMENT
(3 credits)

2nd Semester, 2022/2023 Academic Year

Department of Materials Engineering.

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Daniel N. Ampong
Credit: Ing. Dr. (Mrs.) Bennetta Koomson
[email protected]
+233 55 304 1496 (whatsApp)
Rm # HA Area
1
 Learning Objectives
Students should :
• Understand and classify hazardous waste
• Acquire the right knowledge in managing hazardous waste
• Understand the concept of integrated waste management and its
characteristics.
• Understand and apply the hierarchy of waste management in solving
real life issues.
• Understand and Undertake life cycle assessment of selected waste
materials.
• Understand the concept of sustainable development

• Understand and undertake Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

on simple engineering projects 2

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 Hazardous Waste Management
According to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),
hazardous wastes are defined as any waste or combination of wastes
which pose a potential hazard to human health or living organisms.

Such wastes are non‐degradable and can be lethal causing detrimental

cumulative effects

Wastes are classified as hazardous if they exhibit one or more of the

following:
1. Ignitability
2. Corrosivity
3. Reactivity
4. Toxicity
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 Hazardous Waste Management
Ignitability
Wastes that pose a fire hazard during routine handling, storage,
processing, transport, or disposal

If a solid waste possesses any of the following properties:

• Liquid containing less than 24% alcohol by volume and has
flash point less than 60oC
• Liquid capable of causing fire through friction under standard
temperature and pressure
• Is an ignitable compressed gas
• Is an oxidant
• Examples – paint thinners and paint removing compounds,
solvents used for cleaning parts and degreasing

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 Hazardous Waste Management

Flammability
Vapours of volatile organic compounds can ignite in the presence of
a spark

Corrosivity
• Corrosive wastes occur at extreme pH (𝑝𝐻≤2.5; 𝑝𝐻≥12.5)
• Liquid corrodes steel at a rate greater than 6.35 mm per year and
at a temperature of 55oC
• Examples – battery acid, phenol wastes, acidic wastes from
metal plating industries

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 Hazardous Waste Management
Reactivity
• Unstable waste
• Reacts violently with water
• When mixed with water, generates toxic gases/ vapours/ fumes
• Can pose sufficient danger to human health or environment
• Examples: Cyanide or sulphide bearing wastes

Toxicity
• Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) is conducted
on samples to simulate environmental conditions in landfill
• Examples – paint waste containing metals (Pb, Ag, Cd, Cr),
mercury waste, oily wastes and sludge from petroleum industry

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 Hazardous Waste Management
The Mixture Rule
A mixture of any amount of hazardous waste and a solid
nonhazardous waste is considered hazardous waste (Pichtel, 2005).

If the mixture is hazardous owing a particular property, and a

resultant mixture does not exhibit this property, then it cannot be
categorized as hazardous waste.

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 Hazardous Waste Management
The Contained-In Rule
If a contaminant such as a phenolic compound leaks from a storage
container into the groundwater in the area, the contaminated
groundwater is also considered to be a hazardous waste.

The Derived-From Rule

Any solid waste generated from the treatment/ storage/ disposal of
hazardous waste (such as sludge, ash, particulate matter, leachate)
is also considered to be a hazardous waste.

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 Treatment of Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste treatment process is complex due to the following
reasons:

1. Many different contaminants can be present at a hazardous

waste site

2. Concentrations and properties of the contaminants are varied

3. Groundwater/ surface soil/ surface water/ air – any or all of the

media may require remediation

4. Mode of transport of contaminants through media needs to be

known
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 Filtration and separation
• Filtration is a method for separating solid particles from a liquid
using a porous medium.

• The driving force in filtration is a pressure gradient, caused by

gravity, centrifugal force, vacuum, or pressure greater than
atmospheric pressure.

• The application of filtration for treatment of hazardous waste fall

into the following categories:

1. Clarification
2. Dewatering

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 Chemical Precipitation
• This is a process by which the soluble substance is converted to
an insoluble form either by a chemical reaction or by change in
the composition of the solvent to diminish the solubility of the
substance in it.

• Settling and/or filtration can then remove the precipitated solids.

• Wastes containing arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper,

lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium and zinc can be
precipitated and removed.

• The sources of wastes containing metals are metal plating and

polishing, inorganic pigment, mining and the electronic
industries.
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 Solidification and Stabilization
• Solidification and stabilisation (S/S) is a term used to describe
the process of reducing the mobility of contaminants thereby
making the waste acceptable under current land disposal
requirements

• Solidification: This refers to a process in which materials are

added to the waste to produce a solid. It may or may not involve
a chemical bonding between the toxic contaminant and the
additive.

• Stabilisation: This refers to a process by which a waste is

converted to a more chemically stable form.

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 Mechanism of Stabilization
Macroencapsulation – Encapsulation is done within a matrix made of cement. It
is an inexpensive method but is however not homogeneous

Adsorption – Electrochemical or hydrogen bonding is formed. Activated carbon,

fly ash and clay (specifically for organic contaminants) are used as adsorbents.

Precipitation – Soluble elements are taken out of solution by precipitating them.

For example, Cr (VI) is precipitated as Cr (III) which is not carcinogenic.
Calcium is precipitated as CaCO3.

Detoxification – This is the process of making a hazardous contaminant non-

toxic, through a series of chemical reactions.

Vitrification – This is the formation of glass to immobilize waste (mostly used

for radioactive waste).

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 Definitions
• Immobilization is the term used to describe a range of treatment
processes that make hazardous waste safe for disposal mainly by
containing its potential for leaching.

• Stabilization encompasses all techniques used to make

hazardous waste more stable (and less reactive).

• Solidification includes techniques that are used to create a solid

mass of the hazardous waste, before or after it has been
stabilized.

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Common Hazardous Wastes:
Community Source

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 Integrated Waste Management
• It is clear that a single method of waste disposal cannot deal with
all waste constituents in an environmentally sustainable way.

• There is the need for a range of management options to achieve the

desired results.

• A solid waste management (SWM) system is an integrated system,

built on many closely related processes

• Waste management system that deals with the whole waste stream
and compare their overall performances in environmental and
economic terms is referred to as integrated waste management
(IWM)
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 Basics of IWM
Basic idea of ISWM is to:
1. segregate wet and dry waste at source
2. have separators in transport vehicles and track where the waste is being
disposed off through GPS in vehicles
3. analyse suitable site locations for landfill.

Environmental concerns fall under the following two major areas:

1. Conservation of resources: This needs a general reduction in the amount of
waste generated i.e., waste reduction, as well as material and/or energy
recovery from the waste.
2. Environmental pollution: This is the basis for most current environmental
concerns about waste management

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ISWM

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Hierarchy of Waste Management

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Elements of Integrated Waste Management

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 Characteristics of IWM
An integrated system: An integrated system combines an optimised waste
collection system and effective sorting, followed by one or more of the options,
i.e., material recycling, biological treatment, thermal treatment and sanitary
landfill.

Market oriented: Any scheme that incorporates material recycling and biological
or thermal treatment technologies must recognise that effective recycling of
material and production of compost and energy depend on markets for these
outputs.

Flexibility: An effective scheme will need the flexibility to design, adapt and
operate its system in ways which best meet the current social, economic and
environmental conditions.

Socially acceptable: For waste management systems to operate effectively, public

participation is necessary. Low participation rates in recycling and other schemes
can be improved by effective communication
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 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a compilation and evaluation of
the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a
product system throughout its life cycle.

That is to say, the technique examines every stage of the life cycle
– from raw material acquisition through manufacture, distribution,
use, possible reuse/recycling to final disposal

The environmental issues associated with these inputs and outputs

are then evaluated in the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA).

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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

A schematic representation of a product life cycle

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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

The assessment process

includes identifying and
quantifying energy and
materials used and wastes
released to the
environment, assessing
their environmental
impact and evaluating
opportunities for
improvement

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 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
• The unique feature of this type of assessment is its focus on the
entire life cycle, rather than a single manufacturing step or
environmental emission.

• The theory behind this approach is that operations occurring

within a facility can also cause impacts outside the facility's
gates that need to be considered when evaluating project
alternatives.

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 Sustainable Development - Concept

• This is a concept that enables a resource to be exploited in such

a way that, the use of adjoining resources are not restricted.

• In sustainable development, human activities must be

mitigated.
– Impact of human activities cannot be totally removed, but can be
lessened.
 Sustainable Development - Concept
The quality of a resource
• This describes and ascertains the limit of physical,
chemical and biological parameters within which that
particular resource can be used without any adverse
impact.
• The standards set to sustain the environment is
established by W.H.O
• The water sewerage cooperation ensure safe water.
• The Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (GEPA)
also protect the environment locally
Quality of resource???
1. A standard 2. Standard Enforcers
 Sustainable Development - Concept
How is the impact of a resource determined?

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is one tool that

can be used to ensure that developmental activities are in
line with this concept of sustainable development

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 Environmental Impact Assessment EIA)
Introduction
• Growing attention on the effects of development activities on the
environment.
Why???
• Inclusion of environmental considerations in donor funded projects
• Appreciation of abating environmental problems related to
development
• Participation of developing countries in international treaties and
debates on the environment
• Legislation
– EIA in USA (formalized in 1969 and established in 1970)
– EIA as a requirement for projects in 1989 following governments
directive to the Env. Protec. Council (EPC)
– Enactment of EPA Act 490 (1994) in 1995 and a formalization of
EIA procedures to screen and evaluate projects.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Meaning?
• This is a systematic process of identifying future
consequences of a current or proposed action and
describing the mitigation measures for the adverse
impacts.
• EIA is required for all projects. If EIA is not approved, the
project cannot be established
• Mitigation must always be feasible and economic

EIA Stages
• Project Description
• Baseline Study
• Impact Analysis
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Project Description
Detailed description of the project is carried out here. Major activities
include;
• Project flow sheet design.
This is a graphical representation of processes through which raw
materials undergo to yield final product.
• Product purity consideration and documentation.
the higher the product purity, the higher the sophistication of your
plant, hence the higher the quantity of waste generated
• The volume and characteristics of waste of material generated
• Other by-products generated
• Effluent constitution. eg. phosphates, cyanide, etc.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Project Description
• Equipment inventory; the type of equipment to be used.
– Low efficiency equipment generate high levels of
waste.
• Quality of labour force.
• Management of structure of company (organogram of
company).

Project description must define all the impacts a plant can

encounter.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Baseline Study
Assesses the initial quality of area at which project would be
undertaken. Includes;
• Air quality
– Particulate level
– Noise level
– Existing gases
– Consider relevant air quality parameters with respect to
proposed project
– Consider gases to be produced during operation
• Water quality
– Taste
– Temperature
– Turbidity
– D.O level etc.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Baseline Study
Assesses the initial quality of area at which project would be
undertaken. Includes;
• Consider land use.
– Extent of land stake.
• Consider socio-economic issues
– Life-style of the people
– Age distribution
• Men and women
• Children
• Soil fertility
• Wildlife
• Consider the economic level of the people eg. income, type of
buildings, etc.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Impact Analysis

Considers impacts of proposed project and major

activities here may include;

• Impact Identification
• Impact Prediction and Measurements
• Impact Interpretation / Evaluation
• Identification of Monitoring requirements and
Mitigation Measures
• Communication
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Impact Analysis – Impact Identification

• This involves the identification of likely impacts.

• Impacts of one project are different in different
locations.
• Perceptions of impacts are also varied.
• Identification of important impacts can be
conducted by discussions with a variety of interest
groups. This is called SCOPING.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Impact Analysis – Impact Prediction and

Measurements

• This involves estimation of the likely nature or

characteristics of impacts in qualitative or
quantitative terms.
• This is probably one of the most difficult activities
in EIA. Predictions and measurements can be
carried out by use of various techniques.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Impact Analysis – Impact Interpretation /

Evaluation

• This involves 2 main activities;

– First the need to determine the importance of an impact and secondly,
the relative importance of impacts when compared with each other.

• This is conducted at the end of EIA work. EIAs

constantly include the investigation of impacts
that are not easily quantifiable and directly
comparable.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Impact Analysis – Identification of Monitoring
requirements and Mitigation Measures

• Monitoring is instituted to ensure that standards

are being followed, provide early warning of
environmental damage, and also to check the
accuracy of impact predictions (Post project
Assessments).

• Mitigation involves the identification of possible

mechanisms to mitigate harmful effects and their
ability to produce desired abatement assessed.
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Impact Analysis – Communication

• EIAs should be presented in a form that is easily

understandable (non-technical) to the decision
makers and the public in an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS).
 Environmental Impact Assessment
Benefits of EIA
• Lower project costs in the long-term
• Increased project acceptance by the public and key stakeholders
• Improved project design/siting
• More informed decision-making
– More environmentally sensitive decisions
• Improved accountability and transparency during project
development process
• Improved integration of projects into their environmental and
social setting
• Reduced environmental damage (planned mitigation measures
and implementation in time to minimize adverse impacts on
the environment).