Waste Management Technologies Research Articles

END-OF-LIFE PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES: LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND SENSIBILITY ANALYSIS

The use of photovoltaic (PV) systems in energy generation has been grown worldwide. In Brazil, this continuous growth is seen in the increase in the number of consumer units. The expected useful life of PV modules is estimated to be between 25 and 30 years. Therefore, most of these units will be deinstalled in the near future. It is important to evaluate the environmental impacts of the technology in order to safely adopt the use of PV energy. The environmental impact of PV modules is a widely studied topic, often using life cycle analysis (LCA). However, these studies emphasize the production phase and exclude or fail to analyze in detail the uninstallation and disposal phase of PV modules. The use of precious metals and components that contain materials classified as hazardous waste has sparked recent interest in highlighting the impacts and likely benefits related to the end-of-life management of PV modules. In this context, the purpose of work is to analyze the environmental impacts of the phase of uninstallation and disposal of photovoltaic (PV) system for Brazil waste management technologies: Recycling, incineration and landfill. The life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied in three scenarios for disposal of modules: Recycling, incineration and landfill. ReCiPe 2008 method was useful to calculating the environmental impacts, with assistance of SimaPro 8.3 software. The results showed that the recycling scenario had a lower environmental performance compared to the other scenarios. The main cause is the high consumption of electricity in metal recovery stage. Besides, this scenario produces a high amount of waste (residual liquid and sludge). The scenario of recycling will be attractive with technological investment in energy efficiency. The advantage of this scenario is the material recovery (precious metal and materials classified as hazardous waste), as consequence will bring environmental benefits.

Waste-to-Energy Processes as a Municipality-Level Waste Management Strategy: A Case Study of Kočevje, Slovenia

The escalating challenge of waste management demands innovative strategies to mitigate environmental impacts and harness valuable resources. This study investigates waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies for municipal waste management in Kočevje, Slovenia. An analysis of available waste streams reveals substantial energy potential from mixed municipal waste, biodegradable waste, and livestock manure. Various WtE technologies, including incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, and anaerobic digestion, are compared. The results show that processing mixed municipal waste using thermochemical processes could annually yield up to 0.98 GWh of electricity, and, separately, 3.22 GWh of useable waste heat for district heating or industrial applications. Furthermore, by treating 90% of the biodegradable waste, up to 1.31 GWh of electricity and 1.76 GWh of usable waste heat could be generated annually from biodegradable municipal waste and livestock manure using anaerobic digestion and biogas combustion in a combined heat and power facility. Gasification coupled with a gas-turbine-based combined heat and power cycle is suggested as optimal. Integration of WtE technologies could yield 2.29 GWh of electricity and 3.55 GWh of useable waste heat annually, representing an annual exergy yield of 2.98 GWh. Within the Kočevje municipality, this amount of energy could cover 23.6% of the annual household electricity needs and cover the annual space and water heating requirements of 10.0% of households with district heating. Additionally, CO2-eq. emissions could be reduced by up to 20%, while further offsetting emissions associated with electricity and district heat generation by 1907 tons annually. These findings highlight the potential of WtE technologies to enhance municipal self-sustainability and reduce landfill waste.

Comprehensive review of solid waste management strategies and disposal approaches

Solid waste management is a worldwide concern with substantial environmental, social, and economic ramifications. This review provides a complete assessment of solid waste management from an Indian viewpoint. It presents an overview of the current state, difficulties, and prospects in solid waste management, focusing on environmental sustainability and public health. The goal is to give a comprehensive overview of many approaches utilized to manage and reduce the expanding problem of solid waste. It examines a variety of waste management techniques, such as landfill disposal, recycling, composting, waste-to-energy practices, and waste elimination and minimizing. Many municipalities across the country prefer landfilling for the removal of solid waste. In landfills, waste is transformed through chemical, biological, and physical processes, functioning as an environmental furnace. Therefore, soil cover thickness, barriers, leachate collecting, landfill gas recovery, and flaring facilities are essential for sustainable landfilling. The benefits of composting and anaerobic breakdown for decreasing the environmental effect of biological waste are examined in this review. Hazardous chemicals in landfills can have severe ecological and public health consequences. It looks into the benefits of effective dangerous waste disposal, such as pollution control and resource recovery. Mining and reusing landfills for diverse uses, such as renewable energy generation and recreational areas, have the potential to be beneficial. The article discusses upcoming solid waste management trends and technologies such as intelligent garbage collection mechanisms, reuse and recycling concepts, and sustainable packaging solutions. It emphasizes the potential of these advances to improve overall waste management effectiveness and sustainability.

Resource recovery from soiled sanitary napkin waste-a state-of-the-art review.

With ever-improving social and medical awareness about menstrual hygiene in India, the demand for sanitary napkins has increased significantly. The utilization of high-quality and environment-friendly raw materials to produce these pads is further supporting the growth of the market. However, with improving demand and usage, the need for proper disposal techniques becomes more relevant, since all of these pads get contaminated with human blood which makes them a biohazard and can cause significant damage to human health and the environment. One sanitary pad takes around 800years to degrade naturally and the plastic and super absorbent polymers (SAPs) in sanitary pads are non-biodegradable and can take multiple decades to degrade. Waste management technologies such as pyrolysis, gasification, and resource recovery can be adopted to manage tons of sanitary waste. Currently, sanitary waste treatment mainly focuses on landfilling, incineration, and composting, where biohazard wastes are mixed with tons of solid waste. Disposable sanitary pads have a high carbon footprint of about 5.3kg CO2 equivalent every year. Innovative solutions for sanitary pad disposal are discussed in the manuscript which includes repurposing of derived waste cellulose and plastic fraction into value-added products. Future aspects of disinfection strategies and value addition to waste cellulose recovered from napkins were systematically discussed to promote a circular economy.

Exergy Analysis of Waste-to-Energy Technologies for Municipal Solid Waste Management

In recent years, there have been increasing concerns over the detrimental effects of irreversible linear patterns of material and energy consumption, which have led to an enormous generation of municipal solid waste (MSW). Concepts like waste-to-energy (WtE) and recycling have gained increasing recognition and support as responses to these challenges. This study assessed the exergetic potential of four WtE technologies (landfill gas-to-energy, anaerobic digestion, incineration, and plasma gasification) in the context of the MSW characteristics of Maiduguri, Borno State. The population of Maiduguri, waste generation rate, waste composition, and the ultimate and proximate analysis of the MSW were used for the assessment. Exergetic potential in the form of electrical energy generation and three exergy-based indicators (exergy efficiency, exergy defect, and improvement potential) were evaluated for each WtE option. The results reveal that anaerobic digestion and plasma gasification are viable options based on the exergetic potential and the measured exergy performance indicators. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and waste management authorities, facilitating informed decisions to address environmental concerns and promote resource-efficient urban development in Maiduguri and similar regions.

Black soldier fly-based bioconversion of biosolids: Microbial community dynamics and fate of antibiotic resistance genes

Biosolids as by-products of wastewater treatment can contain a large spectrum of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Insect-based bioconversion using black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) is an emerging technology that has shown to reduce significant amounts of biosolids quickly and produce larvae biomass containing low heavy metal concentrations. However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the transfer of pathogens and ARGs from biosolids into the process' end-products, BSFL and frass. We hypothesized that BSF-based bioconversion can decrease the abundance of pathogenic bacteria and ARGs in biosolids. In this study, we performed BSFL feeding trials with biosolids blended or not blended with wheat bran, and wheat bran alone as a low bioburden diet (control). We conducted 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to monitor changes of the BSFL-associated microbial community and the fate of biosolids-associated pathogens. A diverse set of ARGs (ermB, intl1, sul1, tetA, tetQ, tetW, and blaCTX-M-32) were quantified by qPCR and were linked to changes in substrate- and BSFL-associated microbiomes. BSF-based bioconversion of biosolids-containing substrates led to a significant reduction of the microbial diversity, the abundance of several pathogenic bacteria and the investigated ARGs (< 99 %). Feeding with a high bioburden biosolid diet resulted in a higher microbial diversity, and the accumulation of pathogenic bacteria and ARGs in the BSFL. Results of this study demonstrated that BSF-based bioconversion can be a suitable waste management technology to (1) reduce significant amounts of biosolids and (2) reduce the presence of pathogens and ARGs. However, the resulting larvae biomass would need to undergo further post-treatment to reduce the pathogenic load to allow them as animal feed.

Design of sustainable supply chains for managing plastic waste: The case of low density polyethylene

Plastic waste management presents a significant challenge that requires the integration of supply chain and sustainability principles. This study proposes a comprehensive supply chain model for plastic waste and management, specifically low-density polyethylene (LDPE), focusing on economic and environmental considerations. A model based on Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) is developed to address the type of plastic waste management technology, their location through the United States East Coast and the effect of transitioning to an electrified transportation. The model determines plastic waste pyrolysis as the preferred technology to maximize profitability, and mechanical recycling combined with hydrogenolysis and hydrocracking to minimize the global warming potential (GWP). The mix of technologies for minimizing the GWP is highly correlated with the type of transportation, being desired to remove hydrogenolysis when electric trucks are introduced. This electrification of the transportation reduces the emissions by 23 %, but with an increase in the costs by 4 %.

Performance of feeding black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae on shrimp carcasses: A green technology for aquaculture waste management and circular economy

Over 944 thousand tonnes of shrimp carcasses are produced worldwide during the shrimp production cycle, and black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are a potential solution for this shrimp carcass accumulation. In this study, we evaluated the performance of BSFL feeding on shrimp carcasses. Six combinations of wheat bran and shrimp carcass powder (with replacement increments of 20 %) and one whole shrimp carcasses treatment were tested. The bioconversion rate (27.15 ± 3.66 %; p = 0.001), crude protein (55.34 ± 1.27 %; p < 0.001), and crude lipid (14.37 ± 1.86 %; p = 0.007) values of BSFL reared on whole shrimp carcasses were significantly higher than those of BSFL reared on wheat bran. Increasing the shrimp carcass amount in the feeding media resulted in significant increases in BSFL docosahexaenoic acid (with the highest value occurring for BSFL reared on whole shrimp carcasses; 1.46 ± 0.09 %; p < 0.001). Conversely, BSFL docosahexaenoic acid was not detected for BSFL reared on wheat bran. The detected heavy metal concentrations in BSFL were below the limits of the published international guidelines for animal feed. In the obtained BSFL, Salmonella was not detected, and the mould count was <10 CFU/g. The total bacterial count (Lg transformation) of obtained BSFL ranged from 7.88 to 8.07 CFU/g, and no significant differences among all treatments (p = 0.424). Overall, this study demonstrates that BSFL-based bioconversion presents a resource recovery technology for converting shrimp carcasses into high-value nutritional biomass.

Sustainable waste management and waste-to-energy in the context of a circular economy through various waste management technologies.

Inappropriate waste management is a considerable ecological risk, leading to detrimental effects on the soil, air, and water quality. It is imperative to address these concerns promptly to minimize the repercussions of solid waste on public health and the ecosystem. It is evident that the level of economic growth directly impacts waste generation. This study intends to use the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique to evaluate the environmental impacts of four alternative municipal solid waste (MSW) management scenarios in Peshawar City, Pakistan. The goal is to discover an option that is both sustainable and minimizes environmental damage. The study examined the system boundaries encompassing the collection and transportation of MSW, along with its processing and final disposal, employing composting, anaerobic digestion (AD), material recovery facilities (MRF), and landfill methods. Comprehensive field studies and an in-depth literature review provided the data regarding Peshawar's existing MSW management system and the proposed scenarios, all of which was inventoried in the OpenLCA 1.10.3 database. Following data collection, the CML-IA technique was employed to analyze the data, measuring the environmental footprint in terms of climate change potential, human toxicity, acidification potential, photochemical oxidation, and eutrophication. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to identify the influence of varying recycling rates on the environmental strain correlated with the proposed scenarios. The analysis results indicated that scenario S2, which combined composting, landfilling, and MRF, exhibited the least environmental impact compared to the other considered scenarios. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis reflected an inverse correlation between alterations in the recycling rate and the total environmental impact. To counter the environmental problems arising from waste generation, it is essential to incorporate principles of the circular economy into the MSW management approach.

Strategies for Optimizing Medical Waste Management and Treatment Technologies in Jordanian Hospitals

Strategies for Optimizing Medical Waste Management and Treatment Technologies in Jordanian Hospitals

The Growing Problem of Textile Waste Generation—The Current State of Textile Waste Management

The textile industry is global, and most brands export their products to many different markets with different infrastructures, logistics, and regulations. A textile waste recovery system that works in one country may fail in another. European Union legislation (Directive (EU) 2018/851) mandates that post-consumer textile waste must be separately collected in all associated countries. This directive has also stated that, in January 2025, the rate of textile waste recycling in Europe should be increased. Local governments will be under pressure to improve the collection, sorting, and recycling of textiles. Supporting local governments could be part of a more long-term approach to managing high-value textile waste by implementing Extended Producer Responsibility, which would increase the recycling rate of textile companies. This would enable reuse of over 60% of recovered clothes, recycling into fibers of 35%, and only throwing away 5%. Today, most textile waste (85%) is disposed of as solid waste and must be disposed of through municipal or local waste management systems that either landfill or incinerate the waste. To increase reuse and recycling efficiency, textile waste should be collected and sorted according to the relevant input requirements. The dominant form of textile waste sorting is manual sorting. Sorting centers could be a future solution for intensifying the recycling of textile waste. Advances in textile waste management will require digitization processes, which will facilitate the collection, sorting, and recycling of textiles. It is very important that digitization will help to guide used products to recycling and encourage manufacturers to participate in the use and collection of product data. Currently, both the digitization of textile waste management and fiber recycling technologies are at the level of laboratory research and have not been implemented. The aim of this publication is to analyze the state of textile waste management, especially the various forms of recycling that involve a local governments and the textile industry.

Multi-Criteria Analysis of Selection Waste Management Development Strategy for Lubuk Binjai Landfill in Lubuk Linggau City

Environmental sustainability is an urgent priority in dealing with waste management problems in Indonesian cities, one of which is Lubuk Linggau City. In the 2012-2032 Lubuk Linggau City RTRW, waste management standards have been set using the Controlled Landfill or Sanitary Landfill method, but in reality the Lubuk Binjai landfillstill adopts the Open Dumping method. This waste management not in accordance with environmentally sound waste management methods, so it is necessary to develop a waste management strategy for the Binjai Landfill. This research aims to identify priority strategies that can be applied in developing landfill waste management in Lubuk Linggau City using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Data collection was carried out by conducting interviews with key informants who were managers of the Lubuk Binjai waste disposal site. Determination of criteria and sub-criteria based on previous literature studies and determination of alternative strategies based on the Lubuk Linggau City RTRW for 2021-2032. From the results of the analysis, it shows that the prioritized strategy is the Strategy for Improving Waste Management Methods &amp; Technology, with alternatives such as recycling processing, compost, and more sophisticated waste management technology such as controlled burning or anaerobic management. This is appropriate and crucial in overcoming problems at the Lubuk Binjai waste disposal site, that the Open Dumping method is still applied. It is hoped that the implementation of this strategy can bring positive and sustainable changes in waste management in Lubuk Linggau City.

Economic and environmental comparison of emerging plastic waste management technologies

Recovery of plastics may need to move beyond traditional mechanical methods and adopt emerging recycling processes including dissolution/precipitation, solvolysis, and pyrolysis. We investigate the costs and climate impacts of optimal solid waste management (SWM) strategies when deploying emerging recycling processes. Introducing a mix of emerging recycling technologies can reduce SWM system costs, increase plastic recycling rates, and potentially help SWM systems achieve net reductions in life cycle emissions. Recycling programs that rely solely on traditional mechanical recycling incur higher system costs, but can achieve the lowest life cycle emissions, regardless of whether the rejected plastic streams are landfilled or treated in waste-to-energy. In a future with increased recycling, SWM systems that utilize fully commercialized dissolution/precipitation and chemical recycling can further improve the cost advantage and the emission reduction potential. The sensitivity analysis demonstrates that enhancing waste collection and refining emerging recycling technologies can considerably increase the economic and environmental performance of SWM.

Revolutionizing Urban Waste Management in San Francisco: The Role of Technology-Driven Solutions in Advancing Circular Economy Practices

This study analyses the impact of technology-driven solutions on urban waste management within the U.S. circular economy, focusing on San Francisco as a case study. San Francisco's waste management system, characterized by its innovative use of technology, robust policy frameworks, and active community engagement, serves as a model for understanding the implementation and challenges of sustainable urban practices. The research employs a case study methodology, relying on a comprehensive review of secondary data sources, including official reports, academic literature, and statistical data. The findings reveal that while technological advancements, such as advanced sorting systems, composting technologies, and waste-to-energy initiatives, significantly enhance waste management efficiency, they also bring challenges in terms of financial and infrastructural constraints. The study underscores the importance of supportive policy frameworks and community engagement in facilitating the success of these initiatives. Despite its successes, San Francisco’s approach highlights key challenges, including maintaining technological advancement and ensuring community participation. The study concludes that the integration of technology in waste management, underpinned by strong policies and community engagement, is crucial in advancing circular economy goals. The insights from San Francisco’s experience provide valuable lessons for other cities aiming to implement similar sustainable waste management practices.

Can We Find a Way to Solve Microplastic Pollution?

The issue of microplastic pollution has escalated in significance and urgency due to the global infiltration of minuscule plastic particles into terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Microplastics are generated through a variety of processes, including the decomposition of larger plastics, industrial operations, and the incorporation of microbeads into personal care items. These substances have been detected in sediments, lakes, rivers, oceans, and even the air we breathe. The detrimental impacts of microplastics on the well-being of wildlife are extensively documented. These particles present hazards to marine organisms such as seabirds, fish, and sea turtles via ingestion or entanglement. Moreover, they might function as vectors through which detrimental substances infiltrate the food chain. To adequately tackle this matter, it is imperative to adopt a multidisciplinary strategy that encompasses policy interventions aimed at restricting plastic production and consumption, advancements in waste management technologies, public awareness initiatives promoting sustainable lifestyles, and ongoing research to comprehensively comprehend the problem's magnitude and ecological repercussions. The assurance of a cleaner environment for future generations is contingent upon our collective efforts to mitigate microplastic pollution.&#x0D;

The Effect of Waste Management Technology, Recycling Policy, and Community Participation on Waste Generation Reduction in East Java

This research investigates the intricate interplay of Waste Management Technology, Recycling Policy, and Community Participation in East Java, aiming to discern their collective impact on Waste Generation Reduction. A diverse sample of 250 respondents was analyzed demographically, and their responses were subjected to a rigorous quantitative analysis, employing Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS). The results affirm the validity of the measurement model, establish discriminant validity, and reveal robust structural relationships. Management Technology, Recycling Policy, and Community Participation demonstrate positive and significant associations with Waste Generation Reduction, underscoring the need for a multifaceted approach to sustainable waste management. The study enhances our understanding of waste dynamics in East Java and provides actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners to formulate targeted interventions.

Waste to energy, indispensable cornerstone for circular economy: A mini-review.

This mini-review aims at proving that waste-to-energy (WtE) is an essential cornerstone for circular economy (CE). Based on literature, the history of thermal waste treatment over the last 150 years is investigated, from open burning to WtE with resource recovery and final sink function. The results show that in the past incineration solved the issues it was designed for but often created new and sometimes even worse problems: The introduction of incineration in the 19th century improved urban sanitation, decreased waste volume and prolonged operational life of landfills. But it also polluted the environment, triggering an unprecedented scientific and engineering effort of all stakeholders. Today, WtE is one of the best investigated and optimized technologies in waste management. It enables the recovery of energy as heat and electric power and facilitates the 'cleaning' of cycles by the destruction of hazardous organic substances. Recent developments in resource recovery from WtE residues allow to recycle metals and, in the case of sewage sludge, even phosphorus by thermal recycling. Combined with carbon capture and storage technology, WtE stands for a quantifiable contribution to greenhouse gas reduction. Today, WtE is indispensable to reach the goals of CE, namely recycling of energy and materials, supplying safe final sinks for persistent organic substances and minimizing the need for sinks for hazardous inorganic substances.

Paving a traceable green pathway towards sustainable construction: A fuzzy ISM-DEMATEL analysis of blockchain technology adoption barriers in construction waste management

Construction waste management (CWM) and blockchain technology (BT) are two crucial topics for sustainable production and development. As a fundamental infrastructure for artificial intelligence, BT enables real-time, reciprocal, and immutable information provision in tracing construction waste and holds a significant potential to advance CWM. However, the barriers to adopting BT in CWM and their impact on CWM practices remain unclear. Therefore, this study aims to identify BT adoption barriers in CWM, assess their criticality, and clarify their correlations through a fuzzy empirical analysis. Results show that, due to interdependence, actions on one or some of the barriers can have a closed-loop impact. The findings suggest that the government and the stakeholders have a critical influence on the further adoption of BT in CWM. This exploratory study advances sustainable construction by clarifying those BT adoption barriers and providing implications to integrate BT into CWM practices.

Production of Highly Efficient Activated Carbons for Wastewater Treatment from Post-Consumer PET Plastic Bottle Waste.

Chemical activated carbons (PET-H2SO4 and PET-KOH) were prepared from post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) wastes using pyrolysis under moderate reaction temperatures by changing pyrolysis time and chemical activating agents. The produced carbons were characterized and tested in adsorption reactions of manganese, chromium, and cobalt ions in aqueous solutions. Results showed a high percentage removal of these inorganic ions from water: 98 % for Mn2+, 87 % for Cr3+, and 88 % for Co2+. Freundlich isotherms gave a better fit to the experimental data obtained with good correlation coefficient values in the range of 0.99-1 compared to other isotherms. The pseudo-second order kinetic model best described the chemical adsorption process as an exchange of electrons between the carbon and inorganic ions in solutions. The diffusion models showed that the process is controlled by a multi-kinetic stage adsorption process. In summary, this work demonstrates that the production of activated carbon from PET waste bottles is a potential alternative to commercial activated carbon and can be considered a sustainable waste management technology for removing these non-biodegradable plastic wastes from the environment.

How to Optimize Local Government Supervision of Medical Waste Management in Healthcare Facilities?

Medical waste is classified as hazardous and toxic that causes environmental pollution and impacts public health. The management of this medical waste in healthcare facilities is under the supervision of multiple government bodies. However, the approach is not effective due to the overlapping regulations. This research proposes an effective solution for the supervision of medical waste in Indonesia. This is prescriptive qualitative research, and documentation studies are carried out by tracing relevant library sources. Field studies were conducted through online interviews equipped with focus group discussions (FGDs) to obtain complete data from the speakers, which were further analyzed using a qualitative approach. Regulations have existed, but the implementation has not been optimal, so there is still a lot of pollution due to medical waste that endangers public health. Optimization of local government supervision of medical waste needs to be carried out by enforcing regulations on medical waste. Local governments carry out preventive supervision through facilitation by providing infrastructure and guidance on medical waste management technology. The provision of sanctions for those who continue to violate the regulations is a form of repressive supervision so that public health is protected.&#x0D; Keywords: Surveillance; Local government; Medical waste; Health care facilities