Municipal Solid Waste Production Research Articles

Effect of the Colombian Renewable Energy Law on the Levelized Cost of a Substitute Gaseous Fuel Produced from MSW Gasification

Colombian municipal solid waste (MSW) production trends indicate that sanitary emergencies could occur in the largest cities of the country by 2030 because of the end of their landfills’ useful life. In this work, the energy recovery from different MSW through the updraft plasma gasification process to produce syngas as a substitute gaseous fuel was assessed from an economic viewpoint. The study was carried out using the results of an implemented model under a thermochemical approach using Aspen Plus. The economic assessment was conducted using the levelized cost of syngas production (LCOS), which was regarded as an economic indicator that considers tax incentives in the context of the Colombian renewable energy regulations (Law 715 of 2014). The combination between operational conditions (air flow and plasma temperature) allowed finding the maximum efficiency by means of a sensitivity analysis. The maximum efficiency ranged from 79,22 to 83,46%, highlighting the flexibility of the plasma gasification process to treat MSW. The lowest levelized syngas production cost reached with tax incentives varied from 13,19 to 22,95 ¢US$/kWh. Therefore, a waste disposal charge was proposed to make these projects feasible, which must range between 11,25 and 23,56 ¢US$/kWh (123-259 US$/t)

Municipal Solid Waste Forecasting in China Based on Machine Learning Models

As the largest producing country of municipal solid waste (MSW) around the world, China is always challenged by a lower utilization rate of MSW due to a lack of a smart MSW forecasting strategy. This paper mainly aims to construct an effective MSW prediction model to handle this problem by using machine learning techniques. Based on the empirical analysis of provincial panel data from 2008 to 2019 in China, we find that the Deep Neural Network (DNN) model performs best among all machine learning models. Additionally, we introduce the SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) method to unravel the correlation between MSW production and socioeconomic features (e.g., total regional GDP, population density). We also find the increase of urban population and agglomeration of wholesales and retails industries can positively promote the production of MSW in regions of high economic development, and vice versa. These results can be of help in the planning, design, and implementation of solid waste management system in China.

Health Issues and Impact of Waste on Municipal Waste Handlers: A Review

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is hazardous to human health and the environment if not properly handled throughout all management processes, beginning with collection, separation, transfer, treatment, disposal, or recycling and reuse. The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised awareness of the dangers of improper solid waste disposal in terms of soil, water, and air pollution, as well as the health consequences for the people living in the surrounding areas. MSW production is predicted to reach 3.40 billion tonnes globally by 2050. Inadequate waste management is one of the causes of the rise of infectious diseases. Most viruses, bacteria, and parasites that cause illness are found in blood, bodily fluids, and bodily secretions, which are components of bio-medical waste. This spreads through several human contacts, each of whom is a possible "receiver" of the illness. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and hepatitis viruses are at the forefront of a long list of illnesses and disorders that have been linked to biomedical waste. Other prevalent diseases spread owing to poor waste management include tuberculosis, pneumonia, diarrhea, tetanus, whooping cough, and others.

Mesophilic batch co‐digestion of municipal solid waste and food waste: improved digester performance and stability at optimum organic loading rates

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe accumulative municipal solid waste (MSW) production calls for emerging efficient technology for its handling. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of MSW provides effective waste volatilization. The high C/N ratio of MSW and increasing organic loading rates (OLRs) are central AD restrictions that affect the AD process performance, inhibition due to aggregation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and rapid fall in pH.RESULTSThis study examines the consequence of OLRs on AD of MSW with a high C/N ratio of 406 in food waste (FW) to have a balanced C/N ratio of 30. Three batch scale digesters investigate under mesophilic conditions (35 °C) with OLRs of 10, 15, and 20 gVS L−1 to assess the digester performance and stability in biogas yield, methane yield, and volatile solids (VS) reduction. The cumulative biogas and methane yield are observed to be 1336 and 776 mL gVS−1, respectively, with a VS reduction rate of 78%, at 10 gVS L−1. VFA/alkalinity ratio ranges from 0.02 to 0.01 at OLR of 10 and 15 gVS L−1, which designates a higher buffering capability of the digester. While VFA/alkalinity ratio of 0.48 observes at OLR of 20 gVS L−1. A rapid deprivation in digester performance and stability finds at ORL of 15 and 20 gVS L−1. The cumulative biogas yield and methane yield decrease with the increase in OLR from 10 to 20 gVS L−1.CONCLUSIONThis study provided sufficient information for better AD processes and operational circumstances that are an optimum and effective method to convert organic matter to biogas fuel. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

Constructing a smart framework for supplying the biogas energy in green buildings using an integration of response surface methodology, artificial intelligence and petri net modelling

Nowadays, energy crisis is considered an essential active issue for future urbanization in megacities. While the rate of population growth increases, the volume of municipal solid waste production increases significantly. This highlights the need of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for both developed and developing countries. This paper constructs a novel smart framework for supplying biogas energy. Our study is applicable for fields of waste management and energy supply in green buildings. The proposed framework integrates the Response Surface Methodology (RSM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Petri net modeling. In this regard, the AI techniques including the Random Tree (RT), Random Forest (RF), Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and, Adaptive-Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) are employed. In addition, for creating the optimum condition, a dynamic control system using the Petri Net modeling is applied. Among all machine learning methods, ANFIS with 0.99 correlation coefficient had the best accuracy for Accumulated Biogas Production (ABP) based on effective factors. Finally, the main findings of this paper are to introduce a novel framework for addressing different scientific issues such as supplying the clean energy in green buildings, the development of a smart and sustainable biogas production control system, integration of solid waste management with the SDGs in green buildings.

The impact of successive COVID-19 lockdowns on people mobility, lockdown efficiency, and municipal solid waste.

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced many issues for all societal sectors, in particular in the production and disposal of municipal solid waste. This may be because successive easing and reimposing of lockdown measures have deeply changed people’s movements, consumers’ behaviors and waste management. Previous studies have focused on the short-term effects of lockdowns on waste changes, yet there is little knowledge on waste variations during successive lockdowns and unlocking of various lockdown intensities. Moreover, the efficiency of lockdown and its relation to people’s mobility in different countries are still not clear. Here, we studied the variations of amount and composition of municipal solid waste before the pandemic in 2019 and during the pandemic in 2020–2021 in USA, Brazil, Canada, UK, France and Italy. We used a stringency index and a composite mobility index to assess the lockdown intensity and people’s movements. Results show that the mobility index sharply decreased with lockdown intensity, and enforcing measures were more efficient in France and Italy. Compared to 2019, prolonged lockdowns caused larger decreases in the quantity of commercial and construction wastes versus household waste. The initial implementation of lockdown or unlocking measures promoted inhabitants’ consumption, generally leading to the increased waste amount, by about 9% for Trento and 12% for Montreal at the beginning of lockdown, respectively. Moreover, larger variations in the waste amount in Trento, from − 25.3 to 9.8%, were in line with higher lockdown intensity compared to those in Montreal, from − 9.5 to 12.7%, affected by people’s mobility, consumers’ behaviors and waste management.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10311-021-01290-z.

Application of machine learning algorithms in municipal solid waste management: A mini review.

Population growth and the acceleration of urbanization have led to a sharp increase in municipal solid waste production, and researchers have sought to use advanced technology to solve this problem. Machine learning (ML) algorithms are good at modeling complex nonlinear processes and have been gradually adopted to promote municipal solid waste management (MSWM) and help the sustainable development of the environment in the past few years. In this study, more than 200 publications published over the last two decades (2000–2020) were reviewed and analyzed. This paper summarizes the application of ML algorithms in the whole process of MSWM, from waste generation to collection and transportation, to final disposal. Through this comprehensive review, the gaps and future directions of ML application in MSWM are discussed, providing theoretical and practical guidance for follow-up related research.

Comparative study of atmospheric pressure DC, RF, and microwave thermal plasma torches for waste to energy applications

Enhancement in living standards leads the world towards exponentially increasing population in urban areas, which causes a massive increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) production. It is proven that plasma technologies are beneficial for recycling materials and generating energy from various kinds of solid wastes. So, there is a high demand for potentially sustainable, environment and user-friendly, cost-effective, and highly efficient thermal plasma-based waste-to-energy facilities. Three different types of advanced thermal plasma technologies, such as atmospheric DC, RF, and Microwave plasma torches, are considered for waste treatment application at small and industrial scales. A comparative study was carried out for all three plasma torches for waste to energy and waste treatment applications.Furthermore, simulation modeling and experimental results of a lab-scale DC non-transferred and RF thermal plasma torch were presented. The results show that DC and RF plasma torches are economical and advantageous for large-scale waste treatment and energy output. At the same time, small-scale waste treatment could incorporate MW plasma torch. Therefore, technological advancement, minimization of environmental effects, and process economics are the most critical parameters for improving plasma-based waste treatment plant's feasibility and sustainability.

Characteristics of Plastic Solid Wastes in Mosul City and Their Reuse

Moderately, plastic solid wastes become a main part of municipal solid waste production. Their importance lies due to non-degradable matter, not soluble, in addition to a light weight and large quantities. These characteristics make accumulate in increasing quantities on the surface of the globe and reach water bodies causing pollution in all its forms to wildlife and aquatic life. Six sectors including municipal and commercial areas were selected in Mosul city to study types of plastic waste and its compositions and characteristics. 432 samples of solid waste were collected and sorted to its components included plastic waste, weighted and measured their volumes. This study was accomplished from March 2018 up to August 2018. The study results showed that the plastic waste conforms 5% of dry weight and 12% of the volume of municipal solid waste. Fourteen types of plastic waste components were sorted from municipal solid waste. These include water bottles, soft drink bottles, oil containers, chairs, tables, water pipes, interior parts of vehicles, plastic bags, juice containers, plastic cups, CDs, Nylon, Acrylic and Silicone. Because of plastic waste is non-degradable matter, it will be accumulated on the surface of the earth and reach water resources causing pollution. Applying the sustainable development managements including, reducing the employment of plastic materials, reusing and recycling the components of plastic waste that must be done to increase their recycled products uses.

A Quantitative Study on the Benefit of Various Waste Classifications

Chinese economic development has continuously increased national municipal solid waste (MSW) output. However, the existing MSW classification method is insufficient and exacerbates several urgent problems. There are many factors to consider in Chinese waste classification (population, MSW production, food waste content, water content, economy, environment, and waste disposal methods). Based on research and analysis, MSW classification should highlight and implement treatment methods that focus on incineration, the distinct treatment of kitchen waste, and landfills as a waste disposal supplement. MSW is divided into five categories: kitchen waste, incineration, recyclable, hazardous waste, and other waste. Using economic benefit analysis, life cycle assessment, and radar chart analysis, a quantitative study is conducted on the classification methods of MSW used in Germany, the US, the UK, Sweden, Japan, China, and this study. The results indicate that a more refined classification can effectively improve many aspects of MSW management, especially regarding economic and environmental benefits, which are significantly affected. Effective MSW management can reduce the cost of waste disposal by 69.4% and greenhouse gas and acidic substance emissions and increase the energy utilisation rate four fold. This research is of great significance to environmental protection and the development of a circular economy and provides a reference for the management of MSW.

Hybridizing power and water cogeneration plants with biomass steam gasification systems: An Energy-Water-Waste (EW2) nexus case study

Due to their fast start-up, diesel-fired gas turbine (GT) backup units are commonly used in Kuwait to satisfy increasing local power demand in utility-scale cogeneration power and water desalination plants (CPDP). This study investigates the use of syngas generated from biomass high-temperature steam gasification (HTSG) systems as fuel for the GT backup units instead of the diesel-fired units. The objective of hybridizing CPDPs with HTSG systems is to minimize fossil fuel dependence and simultaneously reduce waste discarded in landfills. The coupling of the carbon–neutral system retrofits existing power and water cogeneration plants to sustainable Energy-Water-Waste (EW2) systems. Synergies of hybridizing biomass HTSG systems with conventional CPDPs are presented and discussed in this study.A thermodynamic analysis is performed on the hybrid plant for the simultaneous generation of power and water by cofiring municipal solid waste (MSW), plastic, and used rubber tires with conventional fossil fuels. Depending on the gasifier’s feedstock and at the optimal steam-to-biomass ratio (STBR) and steam temperature, peak power capacity enhancement is calculated to be in the range of 3.40% to 4.52% when integrating a 100 MW syngas-fired GT unit with the CPDP. The results of the energy analysis show that the hybrid plant’s utilization factor ranges from 70.0% to 74.4%. The largest increase (2.52%) in the plant’s power and water gain ratio (PWGR) is achieved when rubber is gasified with 800 °C steam and an STBR of 3.82. Even though the cogeneration plant’s in-house water consumption rate increases in the range of 10.8 to 55.0% because of the HTSG coupling, the maximum plant’s net desalinated water export rate decreases by a maximum of 0.233% only at the optimum operating parameters. Approximately 1.69 million kgs of waste landfilling can potentially be avoided daily from such coupling representing 25.5% of Kuwait’s total MSW production per day.

Effect of origin and production rate of MSW on the exergoeconomic performance of an integrated plasma gasification combined cycle power plant

This work studies how different scenarios of the municipal solid waste (MSW) management, moisture content, origin, and production rate affect the exergoeconomic performance of an integrated plasma gasification combined cycle (IPGCC) power plant. Several parameters associated with MSW management are considered as input for the exergy assessment of an IPGCC power plant simulated in Aspen Plus. The feedstock considered is waste from residential (1121 t/day), institutional (75 t/day), commercial (168 t/day), and industrial (104 t/day) sectors, as well as the mixture between them. Thus, for this analysis, several plant scenarios were formulated, according to the amount and moisture content (MC) of the MSW from different origins. Regarding the exergy analysis, the plasma gasifier (PG) and the gas turbine (GT) exhibited the largest exergy destruction ratio, with an average contribution of 36.2% and 40.3%, respectively. Furthermore, as MC increased from 26.6% to 57.9% (according to each waste type), the exergy destruction ratio of the PG increased by 23.5%, leading to a decrease in energy and exergy efficiencies of the IPGCC plant by 23.7% on average. The exergy cost of electricity ranged from 11.7 to 15 ¢US$/kWh. Therefore, the plants with a processing capacity from 100 to 1000 t/day require a MSW treatment fee between 96 and 57.6 US$/t to match the price of hydro-electricity in the Colombian energy market (6.92 ¢US$/kWh).

A combined treatment of municipal solid waste landfill leachate using Opuntia ficus-indica cactus as coagulant and titaniferous sand as filter material

In Morocco, the increasing production of municipal solid waste (MSW) and its by-products, in particular leachate, is a major concern. MSW leachate is a very complex effluent, loaded with organic and inorganic pollutants; it poses a serious threat to human health and the environment. In Agadir city, the leachate generated is stored in seven tanks in the Tamellast landfill. The daily flow of this effluent accelerates the saturation of the storage tanks. Overflowing leachate presents a potential environmental hazard, and proper treatment of the leachate has inevitably become a requirement. Therefore, this study aims to find a simple, inexpensive and efficient leachate treatment system. Two techniques using local natural materials have been combined to achieve significant results: coagulation and infiltration-percolation. Cactus powder and cactus mucilage have been selected to treat leachate by coagulation and titaniferous sand as a filter material for the infiltration-percolation process. Laboratory scale experiments show very interesting results. Due to its effectiveness at a dose of 20 mg / l at pH 11, the effluent treated with cactus mucilage was chosen to undergo secondary treatment (86.54% for turbidity and 14.60% for electrical conductivity). The elimination of turbidity and electrical conductivity achieved after infiltration-percolation is, respectively, 97% and 39%.

Non-constant income elasticities of waste generation

The paper presents an alternative approach to analyzing decoupling between municipal solid waste and economic activity production. The methodology consists of generalizing the functional form of the statistical model of the environmental Kuznets curve. To avoid the limitation of one single alternative hypothesis, we developed a small set of alternatives based on the signs and statistical significance of estimates. We tested the model for all available categories of municipal solid waste in Italian provinces. The necessity of developing an alternative approach resulted from inconsistencies in past studies within the same policy context. Conclusions from similar statistical approaches and models provided contradictory findings for Europe and other regions. The results of our approach suggest that there is no linear correlation between economic activity and municipal solid waste, nor are they (yet) decoupled from economic activity: GDP per capita affects MSW production differently in each province, which is reflected through differences in spatial correlation.

Methane emission from municipal solid waste dumpsites: A case study of Chennai city in India

The indiscriminate growth in global population poses a threat to the world in handling and disposal of Municipal solid waste. Rapid urban growth increases the production, consumption and generation of Municipal solid waste which leads to a drastic change in the environment. The methane produced from the Municipal Solid waste accounts for up to 11% global anthropogenic emissions, which is a major cause for global warming. This study reports the methane emission estimation using IPCC default, TNO, LandGEM, EPER and close flux chamber from open dump yards at Perungudi and Kodungaiyur in Chennai, India. The result reveals that the methane emission using close flux chamber was in the range of 8.8 Gg/yr-11.3 Gg/yr and 6.1Gg/yr to 9.1 Gg/yr at Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dump yard respectively. The per capita waste generation was estimated based on waste generation and population. The waste generation potential was projected using linear regression model for the period 2017-2050. The trend of CH4 emission in the actual field measurement were increased every year, similarly the emission trend also increased in IPCC default method (mass balance approach), EPER Germany (zero order decay model) where as TNO and Land GEM (first order decay model) were decreased. The present study reveals that Kodungaiyur dump yard is more vulnerable to methane emission compared to Perungudi dump yard and has more potential in waste to energy conversion mechanisms than compare to Perungudi dump yard.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) co-processing in cement kiln to relieve China's Msw treatment capacity pressure

In many countries, like China, the huge capacity of cement industry seems to be able to absorb the booming production of municipal solid waste (MSW). However, the rapid progress of incineration facilities construction raise questions such as will there be chances of cement kiln co-processing (CKC) to be utilized and promoted as an MSW complementary technology in China, and how will it develop in the future? This paper obtained numerous up-to-date data and information as support evidences to quantitatively evaluate the MSW treatment pressure and its temporal and spatial evolution in Chinese provinces, and estimate the CKC promotion and emission reduction potential for adapting to regional MSW demand. Results showed that CKC still has a great promotion potential. China's MSW treatment system was under long-term pressure and might have a shortage of 4.50 million tons in 2020. Provincial level analysis indicated that CKC could not only completely filled the treatment gap, but also replaced 78.05 million tons of landfill capacity. The resulting environmental benefits were significant, with a reduction of 2.55E+10 kg CO2 eq. and 4.47E+07 kg SO2 eq. from a life-cycle perspective for GWP and AP etc., respectively. Hence, CKC contributed to relieving the pressure on MSW management (MSWM) and improving environmental performance. By developing more precise regional planning, some of the issues that had hindered the spread of CKC could be addressed. The main findings of this paper might be influential in guiding the universalization of CKC in China and other regions.

Variables Influencing per Capita Production, Separate Collection, and Costs of Municipal Solid Waste in the Apulia Region (Italy): An Experience of Deep Learning.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) must be managed to reduce its impact on environmental matrices and population health as much as possible. In particular, the variables that influence the production, separate waste collection, and costs of MSW must be understood. Although many studies have shown that such factors are specific to an area, the awareness of these factors has created opportunities to implement operations to enable more effective and efficient MSW management services, and to specifically respond to the variables that have the most impact. The deep learning approaches used in this study are effective in achieving this goal and can be used in any other territorial context to ensure that the organizations that deal with these issues are more aware and create useful plans to promote the circular economy. Our findings indicate the important influence of number of rooms in a residential buildings and construction years on MSW production, the combination of services such as municipal collection centers and door-to-door service for separate MSW collection and the characteristics of the residential buildings in the municipalities on MSW management costs.

Assessment of the Synergy between Recycling and Thermal Treatments in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Europe

In 2018, the production of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in EU-28 reached 250.6 Mt, with the adoption of different management strategies, involving recycling (48 wt %), incineration and thermal valorization (29 wt %) and landfilling (23 wt %). This work was based on the analysis of the baseline situation of MSW management in EU-28 in 2018, considering its progress in 2008–2018, and discussed the possible improvement perspectives based on a framework involving incineration and recycling as the only possible alternatives, specifically evaluating the capability of already-existing incineration plants to fulfill the EU needs in the proposed framework. The results of the assessment showed two main crucial issues that could play a pivotal role in the achievement of Circular Economy action plan targets: the need to increase the recycling quotas for specific MSW fractions through the separate collection, and therefore the improvement of definite treatment process chains; the optimization of the recovery of secondary raw materials from incineration bottom ash, involving the recycling of ferrous and nonferrous metals and the mineral fraction. Both issues need to find an extensive application across all member states to decrease the actual differences in the adoption of sustainable MSW management options.

Optimization in waste landfilling partitioning in Paraná State, Brazil

In this work, using the concepts of the Facilities Location Problem (FLP), an attempt was made to find the best configuration for clusters of municipalities, referred to here as consortia, for the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfill network in Paraná State, Brazil, which is composed of 399 municipalities. The existing model has a number of deficiencies, including not meeting the entire demand of the state, an excessive number of small landfills and several non-contiguous consortia, resulting in higher unnecessary costs to the taxpayer. The main contribution of this article is to propose a model of territorial partitioning that does not depend on extra restrictions to maintain contiguous clusters. This was possible due to the use of the Haversine distance between each municipality as the cost variable in a p-Medians Problem (PMP) model. The data for the municipalities and MSW production were obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and from the State Secretariat for the Environment and Water Resources (SEMA-PR) databases. The road distance between each municipality (shortest route) was consulted using the Google Distance Matrix API. Two simulations were conducted to determine the best configuration of this waste distribution network. The first simulation did not consider already existing landfills. In other words, an ideal situation was proposed that was impractical because there are already operational landfills in the state. It would be a feasible alternative if the objective was to implement a new network. This model reduced transport costs by approximately 49% compared with the current system. Moreover, it would cost 4.4% less to construct than the existing one. The second simulation considered the state’s operational landfills, altering only the customer base and respective capacities. It was concluded that it would be necessary to add 25 new landfills to fully meet the requirements of the state. In this more realistic simulation, transport costs were reduced by around 80% and the cost of its construction would be only approximately 6% higher than the current solution. Policy makers and urban planners will be able to use this optimization model in decision making regarding the improvement of MSW management systems and reverse logistics, allowing for improvements for serving citizens and reducing the environmental impact.

Production and Characterization of Eco Enzyme Produced from Fruit and Vegetable Wastes and its Influence on the Aquaculture Sludge

The high composition of food waste in municipal solid waste production is one of the most critical environmental issues since the decomposition process produces and releases carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere and causes a greenhouse effect. Therefore, to minimize the composition of organic wastes in the landfill, this study was conducted to characterize the eco enzyme produced from the fermentation of fruit waste. Then, the treatment of aquaculture sludge will also be determined to examine its applicability. The effectiveness of the eco enzyme on sludge treatment was experimented based on the different dilution factors of the eco enzyme (5 %, 10 %, 15 %) for 10 days (Batch process). The results showed that the eco enzyme possesses Protease, Amylase, and Lipase. Meanwhile, the results of the treatment process showed the enzyme solution (10 %) was found more potent and economical in treating aquaculture sludge in which resulted in a reduction of 89 % of Total Suspended Solid, 78 % of Volatile Suspended Solid, 88 % of Chemical Oxygen Demand, 94 % of Total Ammonia Nitrogen and 97 % of Total Phosphorus. Eco enzyme produced from the study has effectively acted as an environmentally friendly solution to reduce the composition of food waste in solid waste generation and has the potential to be applied in the wastewater industry.