Behavior Of Waste Research Articles

Uranium surface processes with sandstone and volcanic rocks in acidic and alkaline solutions

Understanding the behaviour of uranium waste, for disposal purposes, is crucial due to the correlation between pH values and the disposal of distinct types of waste, with low level waste typically associated with acidic pH values, and higher and intermediate level waste commonly related to alkaline pH values. We studied the adsorption of U(VI) on sandstone and volcanic rock surfaces at pH 5.5 and 11.5 in aqueous solutions with and without bicarbonate (2 mM HCO3–) using XAS and FTIR. In the sandstone system, U(VI) adsorbs as a bidentate complex to Si at pH 5.5 without bicarbonate and as uranyl carbonate species with bicarbonate. At pH 11.5 without bicarbonate, U(VI) adsorbs as monodentate complexes to Si and precipitates as uranophane. With bicarbonate at pH 11.5, U(VI) precipitated as a Na-clarkeite mineral or remained as a uranyl carbonate surface species. In the volcanic rock system, U(VI) adsorbed to Si as an outer sphere complex at pH 5.5, regardless of the presence of bicarbonate. At pH 11.5 without bicarbonate, U(VI) adsorbed as a monodentate complex to one Si atom and precipitated as a Na-clarkeite mineral. With bicarbonate at pH 11.5, U(VI) sorbed as a bidentate carbonate complex to one Si atom. These results provide insight into the behaviour of U(VI) in heterogeneous, real-world systems related to the disposal of radioactive waste.

Triaxial Stress-Strain Behavior of a Novel Basalt Rock Waste and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag Geopolymer

Triaxial Stress-Strain Behavior of a Novel Basalt Rock Waste and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag Geopolymer

Shear strength of municipal solid waste rejected from material recovery facilities in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

The mechanical behavior of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a critical issue in environmental geotechnics, given the pollution and public health risks associated with slope failures. In Brazil, waste composition is expected to change due to the hierarchy of sustainable practices established by the National Solid Waste Policy, which aims to improve the recovery of organic and recyclable materials. Not much progress has been made since the implementation of this law; thus, its effects on the design and operation of landfills are not fully clear. This study presents and discusses compaction and shear strength parameters of dry MSW after mechanical sorting of medium and large recyclable items and shredding. The maximum dry unit weight for the standard Proctor compaction test ranged from 6.6 to 10.0 kN/m3 and the optimum moisture content ranged from 20% to 42%. Stress-displacement curves of direct shear tests showed strain hardening and shear strength parameters of Mohr-Coulomb envelopes were displacement-dependent. The friction angle ranged from 3.2° to 42.9° and the cohesion intercept ranged from 1.3 to 31.3 kPa, at a displacement of 9 mm (15% of the specimen length). These results are in line with the literature, since a high content of waste materials that proved to affect geotechnical properties, such as plastic, paper, cardboard, textile, and glass, remained after pre-treatment.

Improving positive food waste behaviors: An egocentric network analysis evaluation of leading women in agriculture’s advice networks

The multidimensionality of COVID-19’s consequences on food access and food waste behaviors was not immune to one gender versus another. The role of agricultural women leaders in alleviating food security concerns is not widely understood. An egocentric network analysis was conducted to assess the attributes possessed by social network peers and to discover variables that impact women’s food waste behavior. Researchers found that women’s advice networks were composed primarily of family or friends, known for more than five years, communicate weekly, can be described as an opinion leader, and share mutual trust. The density of women’s networks needs to be researched further to determine a strategic plan to expose women leaders to new information and other social networks. Data indicated women’s food waste behavior was influenced by their perceptions of COVID-19 as an opportunity for food waste change, innovation, and reputation enhancement. The need to develop current and future women agricultural leaders to improve food access and food sovereignty within global communities cannot be overstated.

It is just wrong: Moral foundations and food waste

Household food waste is one of the major obstacles to meeting global emission targets. Yet, it seems that we still do not fully understand why some people are more driven than others in their engagement to reduce household food waste. Here, we take a new perspective and examine (a) the perceived morality of food waste as a driver for food waste behavior and (b) whether interventions that associate food waste with either the moral foundation of harm or disgust can increase both intentions to reduce food waste and to engage more in future meal planning. Across two study phases (N = 698 and 446; respectively), we found support for our hypothesis that the belief that food waste is morally wrong is negatively associated with self-reported food waste. Moreover, we found that a harm manipulation, relative to a disgust manipulation and a control condition, increased participants’ intention to reduce food waste and future meal planning intentions via food waste moral judgment, but only for those individuals who were at mean or higher values on the care foundation. A disgust manipulation, in contrast, compared to a harm manipulation, directly elicited stronger intentions to reduce food waste and to plan meals, but again only for those who endorsed the associated purity foundation. Our findings suggest different cognitive mechanisms for individuals who ground their morality in the care and the purity foundations and thus have several implications for practice and future research.

Separation Zone Required to Buffer Hazardous Waste Landfills Impact on Scattered Water Supply Sources: From a Whole Lifespan Perspective

Threats from landfill leachate leakage to groundwater quality in remote areas is a major concern globally. Buffering distance (BFD) maintained between landfill site and groundwater supply wells is important to prevent drinking water from contamination of hazardous pollutant. Ignoring the leakage increase in the end of landfill life leads to an underestimate of BFD demand, posing potential threat to drinking safety. This paper constructs a framework for BFD prediction with the consideration of landfill performance degradation by coupling landfill performance evaluation model with the aging and defect evolution model of landfill engineering materials, and carries out model application and verification in a coastal hazardous waste landfill. The results show that during the life cycle of a landfill, its BFD experienced a 1.5-time increase from the start of its operation to its life end and reached 3000 m. Under the condition of landfill performance degradation, the BFDs required to attenuate heavy metals experience more increase than those of organic pollutants; BFD required for zinc (Zn), for example, increases 720 m over the no-degradation condition, while 2,4-dichlorophenol(2,4-D) increases by only 288 m. Considering the uncertainty sourced from model parameter and structure, the BFD should be more than 4050 m to ensure long-term safe drinking under unfavorable conditions such as large amount of leachate, weak degradation and fast diffusion of pollutant in vadose and aquifer. If the BFD cannot meet the demand at the end of the landfill life, the leaching behavior of solid waste can be controlled to reduce it depending on BFD. For example, when the leaching concentration of Cd in the waste is reduced from 0.6 mg/L to 0.17 mg/L, the buffering distance is be reduced from 3000 m to 500 m.

Tribological behaviour of industrial waste based agave sisalana/glass fiber reinforced hybrid composites for marine applications

Abstract Accumulation of industrial waste is a serious environmental problem, which lead to air and water pollution. Addition of industrial waste in polymer composites as reinforcement can enhance the various properties. To overcome this issue, an attempt has been made to investigate mechanical, tribological and water absorption behaviour of industrial waste (red mud) based sisal/glass fiber reinforced hybrid composites and also no research has been done on this. In this work, prepared the composite specimens using sisal fiber (35, 30, 25 and 20 wt%), red mud (0, 5, 10 and 15 wt%) through hand layup technique. In addition to this, glass fiber (5 wt%) and polyester matrix (60 wt%) are kept as constant. From the results, it is observed that, enhanced mechanical properties, minimum wear behaviour and good water resistance were observed on 30 wt% of sisal fiber and 5 wt% of red mud filled composite and recommending this material for marine applications due to good water resistance in sea water. Morphological analysis shows fiber breakages, voids, wear debris, minor cracks, voids and delamination.

Critical factors to influence the illegal dumping behavior of construction and demolition waste: An ISM-DEMATEL analysis

Illegal dumping behavior widely exists in the construction industry and is difficult to manage. What factors and how they influence the illegal dumping behavior of construction and demolition waste remains to be clarified. Specifically, this study employs an ISM-DEMATEL approach to investigate the critical factors that influence the illegal dumping behavior. It is found that the factors, ‘capital investment of enterprises’ and “stakeholders' willingness and attitude”, are vital to tackle the illegal dumping behavior of construction and demolition waste. Yet, compared with business-level factors, the macro-level factors such as ‘social norms and culture’ and ‘government incentive policies’ tend to be less influential. Moreover, enhancing the industry-wise administration system and practitioners' dedication to the issue can be an option to avoid illegal construction waste dumping. The results of this study serve to elucidate the influential factors and offer practical implications for addressing the issue of illegal dumping of construction and demolition waste.

Behavior of Non-Hazardous Wastes in Concrete Bricks for Load Bearing Wall

As the world continues to grow, so does the demand for building materials necessary for building homes. About 20% of the population needs adequate housing. On the other hand, the problem with solid waste management has become a constant challenge over the years. As a result, innovators always try to resolve these issues while putting out economical and environment-friendly materials. This study aims to determine the feasibility of utilizing the following non-hazardous household wastes; PET, HDPE, and LDPE plastic wastes; bones from fish, poultry, and livestock animals; shredded used paper and tin cans in making an effective a practical concrete brick for load-bearing wall. The researchers tested the possibility of creating a concrete brick using cement, sand, and non-hazardous household wastes through compressive strength, water absorption, and efflorescence tests. The findings showed that using non-hazardous household wastes in concrete brick has a great significance in alleviating the effect of solid wastes conforming to the standards of ASTM C90 – Standard Specification for Load-Bearing Masonry Units, IS 3495 (Part 2) 1992 and ASTM C67. The study shows the great possibility of the produced sand brick as a building material and an excellent tool for resolving the issue of solid waste management.

New insights in food security and environmental sustainability through waste food management.

Food waste has been identified as one of the major factors that constitute numerous anthropogenic activities, especially in developing countries. There is a growing problem with food waste that affects every part of the waste management system, from collection to disposal; finding long-term solutions necessitates involving all participants in the food supply chain, from farmers and manufacturers to distributors and consumers. In addition to food waste management, maintaining food sustainability and security globally is crucial so that every individual, household, and nation can always get food. "End hunger, achieve food security and enhanced nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture" are among the main challenges of global sustainable development (SDG) goal 2. Therefore, sustainable food waste management technology is needed. Recent attention has been focused on global food loss and waste. One-third of food produced for human use is wasted every year. Source reduction (i.e., limiting food losses and waste) and contemporary treatment technologies appear to be the most promising strategy for converting food waste into safe, nutritious, value-added feed products and achieving sustainability. Food waste is also employed in industrial processes for the production of biofuels or biopolymers. Biofuels mitigate the detrimental effects of fossil fuels. Identifying crop-producing zones, bioenergy cultivars, and management practices will enhance the natural environment and sustainable biochemical process. Traditional food waste reduction strategies are ineffective in lowering GHG emissions and food waste treatment. The main contribution of this study is an inventory of the theoretical and practical methods of prevention and minimization of food waste and losses. It identifies the trade-offs for food safety, sustainability, and security. Moreover, it investigates the impact of COVID-19 on food waste behavior.

Improvement on Waste Segregation Knowledge by Verbal and Visual Prompt in Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences (i3L)

In the face of the detrimental effect from the abundant waste, humans were left with no choice but to cycle them. Waste sorting, an important step to maximize the recyclables resources, is essential to be performed. To reinforce the waste sorting behavior, this study observed the impact of verbal prompt intervention. The experiment was done at a higher education institution, Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences (i3L), that integrates sustainability education into their curriculum. This study observed convenient sampling of one group, pre- and post- intervention. Volunteers stand by and notify wrong waste generators for one hour in the communal cafeteria for one month, after one week of baseline observation. The observation revealed a sufficient number of knowledge on waste sorting on the pre-intervention baseline (75%). The presence of the prolonged intervention increased the number of correct waste sorting to 89.68% in the fourth week of intervention. Nonetheless, a survey conducted to confirm the cause of change, disclosed that the community’s heightened proper waste behavior is independent of the direct reminder, but rather due to the presence of the notifying volunteer. Therefore the root of waste segregation behavior improvement was more than just from verbal reminder, but from the presence of the rangers that enforces the rules.

Households' food waste behavior prediction from a moral perspective: a case of China.

The increasing rate of food waste is becoming a threat to realizing Sustainable Development goal 2 by 2030. A significant portion of food is wasted along the entire food supply chain, resulting in adverse economic, ecological and social consequences. Inferring from the norm activation model (NAM), the study investigates the influence of benefits awareness, lack of concern and personal norm on households' food waste reduction intention. Gathering research data via an online survey in Jiangsu province in China, a total sample of 408 responses were analyzed using structural equation model. It was found that the extended NAM model developed is more appropriate for assessing food waste reduction intention with a significant improved explanatory potential from 32.0 to 52.0%. Households' awareness of consequences was established to have a positive effect on ascription of responsibility, and they both impact personal norm positively. Personal norm influences food waste reduction intention positively. Again, the awareness of the benefits for reducing food waste affects households' intention to reduce food waste positively. Lack of concern for food waste negatively affects their personal norm and food waste reduction intentions. These findings furnish valuable insights for future campaigns to educate people and influence their moral norms toward the importance and involvement in achieving Sustainable Development Goals related to food waste.

Structural and Magnetic Characterization of Nd-Pr-Fe-B Sintered Magnet Machining Wastes.

Nd-Pr-Fe-B sintered magnets are considered important for emerging technologies. They are fundamental to the energy matrix transition, such as electric and hybrid vehicles and wind turbines. The production of these magnets generates tons of residues in the machining process step. Since China dominates the rare-earth (RE) market, leading to supply shortages, processing wastes are a promising alternative for recycling or reusing RE materials. Due to the amount generated and the chemical composition, containing up to 30 wt % of critical rare-earth elements, the studies of RE magnets are expanding in the current circular economy scenario. In this work, Nd-Pr-Fe-B machining wastes from two different machining processes (diamond cutting and grinding) were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer with first-order-reversal-curves, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, elemental analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that the degradation of the phases in both wastes is relatively strong. The phases of the magnets are decomposed into oxides, hydroxides, and hydrated oxides such as Nd(OH)3, ferrihydrite, and metallic iron. In addition, the machining process provokes a change in the iron vicinity of the Nd2Fe14B phase. The presence of impurities and the wide dispersion of particle sizes resulted in low magnetic properties and affected the magnetization behavior of the machining waste. Using different characterization techniques, it was found that the oxides formed during the machining processes are located on the surfaces of the particles, while the center consists of a nondegraded Nd2Fe14B phase. It was also found that the Nd-Pr-Fe-B wastes have similarities, indicating that it is possible to mix wastes from different machining processes before recycling. The complete characterization of the Nd-Pr-Fe-B machining residues indicated that different reuse and recycling strategies can be evaluated to improve the efficiency of reusing these machining wastes as secondary sources.

Combustion behaviour of plastic waste – A case study of PP, HDPE, PET, and mixed PES-EL

Plastic production is skyrocketing due to convenience needs and thus, the amount of plastic waste is increasing. There are several different methods to handle plastic waste, within which waste-to-energy processes are viable options in certain settings. However, the combustion of materials is a complicated and complex process that can take place in a number of ways. When exposed to heat, different polymers behave differently (e.g. have different emission factors) and thus, not all types of plastic waste recommended to be handled through combustion. Therefore, it is vital to achieve a deeper understanding of these processes in order to decide on the end use of plastic materials. Four common types of polymers were studied: polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyester-elastane (PES-EL) mixture. The combustion properties of the plastic materials were investigated. The experiments were carried out in a laboratory electric resistance tube furnace at two different temperatures (650 and 900 °C). The behavior of these mainly single-use plastic wastes and the changes in the concentrations of CO, CO2, NOx, and O2 flue gas components generated during combustion was studied to determine the quality of potential waste-to-energy processes.

Microscopic synchrotron X-ray analysis of mercury waste in simulated landfill experiments

AbstractMercury enters into the environment or waste streams because it is present as an impurity in natural minerals. Mercury must be appropriately managed as an hazardous waste. In this study, a waste layer of artificial mercury sulfide mixed with incinerator ash and sewage sludge compost in a simulated landfill experiment for 5 years was analyzed using microscopic synchrotron X-ray to obtain basic knowledge of mercury behavior in a landfill. Mapping by synchrotron X-ray revealed the distribution of mercury-containing particles in the waste layer. In most cases, the movement of mercury sulfide was not considered significant even within a microscopic range; however, water flows could enhance the movement of mercury sulfide particles. When disposing of mercury sulfide, “concentrated placement” or solidification, rather than mixing with other wastes, was more effective at preventing mercury leaching in lysimeters. The chemical form of mercury sulfide in each lysimeter was confirmed by X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis, which showed that most of the mercury was present as metacinnabar and had not undergone any changes, indicating that it was extremely stable. The microscopic synchrotron X-ray analysis proved very useful for studying the behavior of mercury waste in a simulated landfill experiment.

Attitude Is Not Enough to Separate Solid Waste at Home in Lima

Facilitating solid waste separating behavior at home continues to be a challenge for municipal programs in emerging economies. Large cities concentrate the generation of solid waste and, in Latin America, a great percentage of this waste is not re-used. Therefore, in this research, we explore the drivers motivating solid waste separation at home in Lima. We applied 450 surveys in two municipalities of Lima and analyzed the results through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results demonstrate that attitude, perception of technical knowledge, and availability of physical space influence solid waste separation behavior. Additionally, the mediating role of intention between solid waste separation attitude and behavior is demonstrated. Municipal solid waste recycling programs in emerging economies tend to focus on educational and motivational actions, without giving due importance to space at home in order to manage solid waste. The lack of urban equipment and the limited availability of space at home introduce barriers that limit solid waste separating behaviors in emerging economies.

Mechanical compression assisted heat drying of space solid waste: Dewatering performance and volatile pollutants identification

Hot melt compression treatment is a new technology in which traditional pressure dehydration is combined with thermal effects to achieve improved liquid/solid separation with low energy consumption. A dewatering process combining the mechanical expression with the heating treatment of space solid waste is proposed in this paper. Temperatures of 130–180 °C and a mechanical load of 0–8 MPa were employed on the drying behavior of space solid waste and product distribution with a self-designed hot press experimental setup. Experimental results showed that mechanical compression employed at increased temperatures had revealed a significant benefit in water recovery, resulting in the highest reduction of 95.5% of the moisture content. Considering the dehydration efficiency, the dewatering process of solid waste showed a positive effect at 160 °C and 6 MPa with a residence time of 100 min. At the same time, the reusability and chemical evolution were characterized comprehensively. The results showed that the condensed water had great potential to be reused as drinking water in the space station. Moreover, from an integrated perspective involving gaseous emissions, oxygen-containing functional groups accounting for 51.58–76.01% were the main components of the gas products. Halohydrocarbon was identified as the key volatile pollutant during the process of hot compression. In conclusion, this study gives a detailed insight into the hot melt compression behavior of space waste and offers potential opportunities and benefits for space solid waste treatment.

Adsorptive removal of phosphorus from aqueous solutions using natural and modified coal solid wastes.

An invaluable utilization approach for industrial wastes is to employ them as effective adsorbents for environmental pollutants. This study aimed to investigate the phosphorus (P) adsorption behavior of coal wastes and zeolite in three forms of pristine powder (CP and ZP), nanoparticles (CNP and ZNP), and Fe (III)-modified nanoparticles (MCNP and MZNP). The adsorbents were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses. The effects of pH, initial P concentration, and contact time were studied under batch mode. Results showed an optimum pH range of 2-6 for the P adsorption process. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm described the P adsorption data well. The P adsorption capacity of the studied adsorbents was enhanced after modifications. However, the coal-based modified adsorbents represented higher P adsorption performances rather than the zeolite ones. The maximum P adsorption capacity (Qmax) values were obtained as 0.36, 3.23, and 30.48 mg g-1 for CP, CNP, and MCNP, and 0.80, 2.84, and 6.99 mg g-1 for ZP, ZNP, and MZNP, respectively. The surface complexation, ligand exchange, and electrostatic attraction processes were identified as the main P adsorption mechanisms by the studied adsorbents.

Optimization of dry sliding wear behaviour of industrial wastes reinforced aluminium based metal matrix composites

AbstractMarble dust and basalt powder are industrial waste generated during the machining of marble stone and basalt rock. This paper presents an approach for the optimization of dry sliding wear parameters of aluminium 7075 reinforced with marble dust and basalt powder hybrid metal matrix composite using Taguchi based grey relational analysis. In this work, the composite is fabricated by stir casting technique and the wear parameters namely load, sliding velocity and sliding distance are optimized with consideration of multi responses such as wear rate and coefficient of friction. Experiments are conducted as per Taguchi's L9 orthogonal array. A grey relational analysis is carried out and grey relational grade is obtained. Based on the grey relational grade, optimum level of wear parameters has been identified by analysis of variance. The test results are validated by conducting the confirmation test. Experimental results have shown that the sliding velocity is the most effective factor among the control parameters on dry sliding wear, followed by the sliding distance and load. Finally, the micro structural investigations on the worn surfaces are performed by scanning electron microscope.

Analisa Kuantitas dan Komposisi Timbulan Sampah Makanan Supermarket di Surabaya

One of the serious problems being faced by several countries is food waste. The percentage of food waste generated in Indonesia in the last 20 years has tended to increase. In 2000, food waste generation in Indonesia was 39%, while in 2019 it increased to 55%. And 44% of food waste is food that is still suitable for consumption. There are various factors that can affect the amount of food waste generation. One of them is food waste behavior or someone's behavior towards food waste. In this study, researchers will analyze the quantity and composition of waste and also packaging type of waste generation from a supermarket located in Surabaya, East Java. As for this research, it used a survey collection technique in the form of secondary data, namely data collected by researchers from one of the supermarkets in Surabaya. Secondary data on waste composition and generation obtained are Oily fruits/seeds (peanuts, green beans, and coconut), Grains (wheat, rice, corn, wheat flour), Vegetables, Meat (beef, goat, chicken, pork), fish, milk, eggs, starchy foods, sugar, oil and fat. From the data that has been obtained, it is known that the generation of food waste at the Supermarket X is 40.8 kg per day with the dominating composition of waste consisting of vegetables, fruit and meat.