Tons Of Municipal Solid Waste Research Articles

Advancing towards circular economy: Environmental benefits of an innovative biorefinery for municipal solid waste management

Inadequate municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal represents a current global challenge, contributing to environmental and societal issues. Instead of viewing waste as a problem, an alternative would be integrate it back into the production chain through a circular economic perspective. In response, an innovative and integrated biorefinery (2IB) has been implemented to effectively manage MSW, without the need for pre-treatment or source separation. This paper aims to evaluate the environmental performance of the 2IB using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, comparing the results with a MSW landfilling alternative. The ReCiPe-LCA method is applied, and nine impact categories are calculated. Focusing on net emissions, the results show that 2IB yields higher environmental benefits than sanitary landfill in eight out of nine impact categories. For each 1 tonne of MSW treated, the 2IB causes from 2.6 to up to 8.9 times lower global warming, fossil depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, and freshwater eutrophication, 18.9 times lower metal depletion, 22.3 times lower human toxicity, 42.5 times lower terrestrial acidification, and 161 times lower particular matter formation. However, the sanitary landfill leads to two times lower water depletion compared to the 2IB. These findings advocate for prioritizing the 2IB over the sanitary landfill in propositions for public policies focused on MSW management. This work contributes by providing technical information on the 2IB that can be evaluated under methods other than LCA, besides showing its environmental advantages that would boost better decisions towards MSW disposal from a circular economy perspective.

Global perspective of municipal solid waste and landfill leachate: generation, composition, eco-toxicity, and sustainable management strategies.

Globally, more than 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) are generated each year, with that amount anticipated to reach around 3.5 billion tonnes by 2050. On a worldwide scale, food and green waste contribute the major proportion of MSW, which accounts for 44% of global waste, followed by recycling waste (38%), which includes plastic, glass, cardboard, and paper, and 18% of other materials. Population growth, urbanization, and industrial expansion are the principal drivers of the ever-increasing production of MSW across the world. Among the different practices employed for the management of waste, landfill disposal has been the most popular and easiest method across the world. Waste management practices differ significantly depending on the income level. In high-income nations, only 2% of waste is dumped, whereas in low-income nations, approximately 93% of waste is burned or dumped. However, the unscientific disposal of waste in landfills causes the generation of gases, heat, and leachate and results in a variety of ecotoxicological problems, including global warming, water pollution, fire hazards, and health effects that are hazardous to both the environment and public health. Therefore, sustainable management of MSW and landfill leachate is critical, necessitating the use of more advanced techniques to lessen waste production and maximize recycling to assure environmental sustainability. The present review provides an updated overview of the global perspective of municipal waste generation, composition, landfill heat and leachate formation, and ecotoxicological effects, and also discusses integrated-waste management approaches for the sustainable management of municipal waste and landfill leachate.

Evaluation of the fate of trace organic compounds using the Level III fugacity model: a case study of Rajbandh open dump site in Khulna City of Bangladesh

Khulna is the 3rd largest city corporation in Bangladesh that produces 450 tons of Municipal solid waste (MSW) per day and dumps the waste in the Rajbandh open dump site. The main focus of this study is to determine the fate of chemicals in different environmental media at the Rajbandh open dump site. To accomplish the aim Level III fugacity model was evaluated which is subject to steady-state partitioning, reaction, advection, and intercompartmental transfer in an evaluative environment consisting of three compartments landfill gas (LFG), leachate, and waste. In this study, the model was implemented for six chemicals Trichloroethylene, Mono-chlorobenzene, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, Hexachlorobenzene, and Benzene having different physiochemical properties. The result reveals that Benzene was found with the highest fugacity value of 2.03E + 00 Pa in all compartments while Hexachlorobenzene shows the highest value of concentration 2.67E-01 mol/m3 in the waste compartment. Regarding mass distribution, all chemical shows a higher mass remaining in the waste compartment in comparison with the other compartment. The result also reveals that the dominating removal process of a chemical from the system is the reaction process. For all the chemicals almost all the mass is removed from the environment by reaction process rather than advection in LFG and leachate. Finally, the estimated behavior of the selected chemical will help to evaluate the health and ecological hazards at the open dump site and take necessary steps to control the emission of such hazardous chemicals from the open dump site by the authority.

MONITORING AND ALERTING OF HAZARDOUS GASES IN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE USING MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUE

Abstract-In recent times, the rate of urbanization is proliferating; thus, there is a need to find a sustainable way for an urban development plan. There is rapid growth in the concept of smart cities all around the globe. A smart city is always incomplete without a smart waste monitoring structure that can manage the waste collection of the entire city. This paper proposes a Forest Fire alerting system, which keeps track of the hazardous gases produced by dumped waste by integrating a network of gas sensors. Land fill sites collect tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) using an open dump mechanism, causing gases to emerge, which may cause disease and the greenhouse effect. Mainly, landfill environments are observed using a portable system that does not continuously monitor and measure emitted gas levels. It is also difficult to evaluate changes in landfill emissions over the long term unless they are monitored at regular intervals according to a detailed plan. This paper presents a new monitoring method to measure gas levels in landfill sites, which documents dynamic changes in gas composition concentrations over the long term. The system was placed in the middle area of the landfill and was charged using solar panels for convenience and greater efficiency during monitoring.

Biogas Energy Resources in Pakistan Status, Potential, and Barriers

Energy can be linked to substantial economic growth, industrialization, and social development. Pakistan is a developing country and is currently experiencing an energy deficit of 6000 MW, causing the nation to spend more than US$7 billion annually on importing oil and natural gas. Although the country depends on imports, it also has a substitute energy resource in bioenergy. Among renewable energy sources, biomass is considered the most durable and efficient source of electricity, heat, cooling, and solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels. This article provides an overview of the biogas industry in Pakistan, exploring the current scenario, potential, advantages, barriers, and future projections, as well as making recommendations. Pakistan has considerable biomass energy potential, with more than 840 million tons of animal manure, 108 million tons of crop residues, and 44 million tons of municipal solid waste produced yearly. These potential sources could be tapped to generate around 28 million m3 of biogas daily, which could fulfill more than 50% of the nation's power requirement. This study could provide a solution for policymakers, strategic planners, and power generators to sustainably alleviate the country's energy crisis without any environmental impact.

Life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management in Kathmandu city, Nepal – An impact of an incomplete data set

Few studies have been done about engineered facilities related to waste collection, treatment, and disposal in the waste management sectors across Nepal. The decision support system is not well established, resulting in poor planning and execution of waste management. Available data for performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) is limited. We used an LCA model to investigate waste management options for Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. We also tested the hypothesis that exclusion from the LCA model of variables for which there was no data would make no difference in the management rankings. The assessment was based on three scenarios: business as usual, including collection, transportation, and landfilling; recycling; and conjunctive disposal comprised of composting and landfilling. The LCA methodology we used includes detailed unit processes and quantified values of various resources and emissions to compute the impact level on the environment. The contribution of the collection, transportation, landfilling, and recycling was calculated as global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, and fuel energy consumption for each scenario. Scenario 3 ranked higher than scenarios 1 and 2 based on available data. The results were based on the environmental burden of metric tons of municipal solid waste handled at landfills, regardless of what was recycled and composted. Scenario 3 yielded minimum environmental impacts and was a cost-efficient option. Using a range of literature values for the missing variables, it was shown that the excluded variables made no difference in the scenario rankings. The study successfully employed the LCA as a decision-making tool in waste management in Kathmandu, which can be useful for other cities in developing countries.

The development of a framework for the selection of optimal sites for the location of municipal solid waste to value‐added facilities through the integration of a geographical information system and a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process

AbstractThis study develops a framework for quantification of the available municipal solid waste (MSW), defines the geographical point source locations for the MSW feedstock, and determines optimal locations for potential waste‐to‐value‐added (W2VA) facility sites. The framework developed here is applied to Canada. To determine optimal sites for W2VA facilities, a three‐stage decision‐making model comprising exclusion analysis, preference analysis, and network analysis was developed. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and geographic information systems (GIS) were used in an integrated decision‐making network to prioritize the preference factors and facility locations; with these, a land suitability map (LSM) was developed and suitable candidate sites for W2VA facilities were obtained for Canada. The identified candidate sites were then used in a network analysis to select optimal sites with minimal travel distances. This study was used to determine 10 and 15 optimal sites for W2VA facilities in Western Canada and Eastern Canada, respectively. This study prioritized optimal sites based on the minimization of transportation distances. The highest priority site in Western Canada is Site 1, located in Lethbridge County, Alberta. It is connected with 74 TSs and can receive 2.42 million tonnes of MSW. The highest priority site in Eastern Canada is Site 11, which is located in West Nipissing, Ontario, and is connected with 42 transport stations (TSs) and can receive 1 million tonnes of MSW. The adaptability of the applied decision‐making model, competency of the developed LSM, and flexibility of the network analysis provide a competent supporting tool for authorities to identify optimal locations for W2VA facilities.

A smart framework for municipal solid waste collection management: A case study in Greater Cairo Region

Around 28 million tons of municipal solid wastes (MSW) are annually generated in Egypt, with 40% in Greater Cairo Region (GCR). Although, the government aims at improving the MSW service coverage and collection efficiency, formal collection service is still limited and operates with low transportation efficiency resulting in illegal waste collection and dumping. This research aims at providing optimized collection systems to accommodate various housing levels and considering the available resources. As a case study, the collection routes in Al-Mostakbal City, are optimized by selecting the appropriate location and containers order. Meanwhile, the pick-up time is optimized using the appropriate vehicle type, fleet size, and rounds. In addition, dynamic routing is applied using developed production models. A simulation model is developed to assess various improvement scenarios and recommend the effective one for various schemes. The outcome is a highly-efficient framework; with potential to be extended to cover other urban areas.

Gasification of MSW and Biomass using Aspen Plus®

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) refers to solid waste generated by towns and cities from different types of household activities1. Over 2 billion tons of MSW are produced annually. Improper disposal can lead to adverse health outcomes through water, soil and air contamination. Hazardous waste or unsafe waste treatment such as open burning can directly harm waste workers or other people involved in waste burning and neighbouring communities. At the same time, in order to keep up with the need in development, the energy demand also increasing. Therefore, utilize MSW to produce energy is gaining more recognition from public interest. Gasification offers some advantages over traditional method of utilize MSW (incineration, compost). Gasification plants produce significantly lower quantities of air pollutants. The process reduces the environmental impact of waste disposal because it allows for the use of waste products as a feedstock. In this paper, Aspen Plus software was deployed to assess and predict the outcome of the gasification process of MSW. The model was calibrated and validated with various observed data. The condition of input MSW and biomass, as well as the gasification agent were considered. The results revealed that primary products of gasification process are similar to other previously conducted experiments.

Environmental and economic assessment of waste collection and transportation using LCA: A case study

The present study is aimed to evaluate the environmental and economic burden associated with current waste collection practices in Dhanbad city, Jharkhand, India. In this study various alternatives were suggested to mitigate these impacts by optimizing resource utilization and maximizing material recovery using life cycle approach. The functional unit adapted is the daily collection service provided for 180 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated in the study area. GaBi 10.6.1 software was used for impact assessment and impacts were assessed for five scenarios in terms of five different impact categories. This study assessed the collection services and treatment options jointly. Baseline scenario (S1) representing the current collection system had the highest impacts on all the impact categories and landfilling contributed the highest (67%) to the overall impacts on the environment. Scenario S2 involved the provision of material recovery facility and considered recycling of plastic wastes having sorting efficiency of 75% which reduced the overall impacts significantly (∼971%) compared to the baseline scenario. Scenario S3 considered composting of food waste (80% food waste sent for composting) and offered further overall impacts reduction (∼1052%) compared to the baseline scenario. In scenario S4, use of electric tippers was accounted which did not offer any significant impacts reductions. Scenario S5 considered the future electricity mix at grid (2030) in India which increased the benefits of using electric tippers. S5 had the least environmental impacts providing overall reductions of ∼1063% compared to baseline scenario and provided maximum economic benefits. Sensitivity analysis results found that variation in recycling had significant change in the environmental impacts. Considering the decrease in recycling rate from 100% to 50%, the impacts on abiotic depletion fossil increased by 136%, acidification by 176%, global warming by 11%, human toxicity by 172% and terrestrial ecotoxicity by 56%.

The social inclusion of waste pickers and the adoption of energy recovery using municipal solid waste as a raw material

Brazil produces more than 79 million tons of municipal solid waste per year, and around 1 million waste pickers work in the recovery of this waste. Brazilian law provides for the social inclusion of these workers with a leading role in waste management. The legislation makes it possible to recover energy from waste, but there is resistance from waste pickers, as these technologies can consume materials that are of value to pickers, such as paper, fabrics and plastics. Based on a bibliographic survey, it is intended to contribute to a better understanding of the phenomena involving the modernization of waste management and the social inclusion of waste pickers.

Methane Emission and Carbon Sequestration Potential from Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, India

Quantities of waste generation are drastically increasing every day, and most of the waste is disposed of through open dumps and landfilling. Methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide are major greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced from landfill sites. However, the global-warming potential of methane is 21 times higher than that of carbon dioxide. Hence, there is immense concern for its utilization from landfill sites. In developing countries, the composition of municipal solid waste (MSW) has high amounts of biodegradable waste (50–60%). This leads to higher emissions of GHGs a per ton of MSW compared to the developed world. In this study, the attempt will be made to estimate the amount of carbon stored in MSW burial in landfills. Tests were conducted in two different locations at the Mavallipura landfill. MSW samples were collected for every meter interval (1–2 m, 2–3 m and so on) up to 6 m. The result shows that carbon stored in organic matter increases with depth from approximately 2.2% at 1.0 m depth to 4.8% at 6 m depth. Based on MSW’s carbon storage factor and data on MSW generation, global carbon sequestration from MSW burial in the Mavallipura landfill is estimated to be at least 10 million metric tons per year. In additional, the study aims to quantify methane-gas production from the ward levels and the Mavallipura landfill site in India.

Hydrometallurgical recovery of critical metals from an incinerated fly ash of municipal solid waste from western India

ABSTRACT The global generation of 2.2 billion tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) as a result of population growth, rapid urbanization, and industrial development has highlighted an urgent need for MSW management. Incineration is widely accepted as one alternative to landfilling; however, the recovery of heavy metals from the incinerated fly ash (IFA) before its final disposal is highly desirable to make the process sustainable. In this study, we studied the recovery of zinc and lead from typical MSW-IFA employing hydrometallurgical techniques. Sulfuric acid leaching was performed to selectively leach out zinc over the lead at the optimal condition of H2SO4 concentration = 1.5 M, temperature = 30°C, S/L ratio = 150 g/L, time = 2 h, and stirring speed = 300 rpm. The sulfate leach liquor was treated with a 5% stoichiometric excess of oxalic acid to precipitate>99% of zinc to be recovered as ZnC2O4·2 H2O. Further, the remaining lead in leach residue was subsequently leached in 50 g/L NaCl solution for 2 h yielded>94% efficiency. The dissolved lead was crystallized to recover the crystals of PbCl2. The demonstrated process leads towards the recovery of critical metals from an alternative source of MSW-IFA.

Waste as Resource for Pakistan: An Innovative Business Model of Regenerative Circular Economy to Integrate Municipal Solid Waste Management Sector

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a global concern, especially in low–middle-income countries such as Pakistan, which require the redressal of MSW treatment issues to attain sustainability in the waste sector. The prosperity of municipal solid waste (MSW) collectors, i.e., the sanitary workers, is critical in the waste management hierarchy. Hence, the health, safety, social welfare, economic conditions and overall wellbeing of this tier need to be focused on more. Safeguarding the interests of the sanitary workers will support the MSW management sector in sustainability, which will help to generate revenue and minimize climatic impacts. An innovative MSW business model with waste ownership and technological intervention has excellent potential to support the sector towards a circular economy in Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world, generating about 100,000 metric tons of MSW per day. The proposed recycling business model will ensure a daily material recovery of 26,070 tons with 4721 tons of compost manufacturing in the country, which ultimately helps towards achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and meeting the targets of nationally determined contributors (NDCs) by 2030. In addition, the sector’s economic potential can contribute 5.5% to the total annual budget and possibly pay 1.4% of the gross domestic product (GDP) per annum to service national foreign debt, thus helping maintain the debt threshold value with an opportunity to accelerate the economic growth of Pakistan.

Techno-Economic Analysis of Waste-to-Suburban Cooking Energy Critical Infrastructure Development in Southwestern Nigeria

This study examined the techno-economic specifications for a Waste-to-Suburban Cooking Energy<strong> </strong>critical infrastructure project in Southwestern Nigeria. Technological and project economic data for the W2E project were obtained from strategic sources and energy project foresight/analysis framework used. The results showed residential upgraded biogas-for-cooking demand of approximately 10,243 m<sup>3</sup>/month, and municipal solid waste (MSW) input of approximately 80 tonnes/month. The planned biogas plant had estimated costs of US $120,000, a throughput of almost 15,364 m<sup>3</sup>/month and required 5 acres of land for construction. Project economic viability indicator estimates were: Initial Investment – US $256,500, annual profits – US $40,000, Net Present Value (NPV) – US $142,000, maximum payback period – 7 years, and annual Return-on-Investment (ROI) – 16%. Socio-economic benefits per month included the constant supply of cheap cooking fuel, comparative cooking energy cost savings (biogas-to-LPG usage) of US $3,810, and the elimination of almost 80 tonnes of MSW from the environment. The study concluded that the Waste-2-Biogas critical infrastructure project was technically, environmentally, and socio-economically viable, and was suitable for deployment across suburban Southwestern Nigeria.

Rethinking Waste Management in Indonesia Using Public-Private Partnership Framework: A Case Study of Akhmad Amirudin PET Bottle Waste Management

Municipal solid waste (MSW) continues to be a major challenge in almost every country. In Indonesia alone, approximately 64 million tons of MSW are produced on an annual basis. While polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles account for 12% of all plastic products, the waste is not well managed. Many stakeholders are involved in PET bottle waste recycling but no forum for stakeholders has been established. In this study, the aim is to identify an acceptable system for PET bottle waste, to determine the role and function of each stakeholder, and to propose a framework under the perspective of public-private partnerships. The study’s novelty is the elaborate roles and schematic framework for various stakeholders in PET bottle waste. The aim is to identify an acceptable scheme for PET bottle waste and determine each stakeholder’s role and function. Data was generated from electronic databases (2017 to December 2021) a systematic literature review methodology followed by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review. The data were analyzed by the Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) approach. This study found that the laws and regulations for waste management in Indonesia are not suitable for dealing with PET bottle waste, and the government carries out limited tasks and dedicates few resources to managing the waste. A public-private partnership framework was proposed to divide the role, commitment, goal, and activities of each stakeholder to properly manage PET bottle waste.

Environmental and economic performances of municipal solid waste management strategies based on LCA method: A case study of kinshasa

Like many populated urban agglomerations in Africa, Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, faces several challenges to manage its exponentially growing Municipal Solid Waste. With its 12, 000, 000 people daily generating 7800 tons of Municipal Solid waste, the city still struggles with basic services such as waste collection and sanitary landfill. This causes major social, environmental and health related issues. With the aim of contributing to the implementation of a better management system in Kinshasa, this study evaluates the environmental impact and the cost of the existing waste management framework and proposes 6 alternative scenarios. Each scenario attempts to optimize Greenhouse gas emissions and cost, using the Life Cycle Assessment approach. Results show that the current municipal solid waste management in Kinshasa city emits 640,673 tons of CO2 equivalent per year and costs a total of 17, 776, 169.78USD yearly. Focusing on increasing waste collection coverage and recycling activities in the proposed 6 scenarios, scenario 4 where all municipal solid waste is collected, produces 4,042,402 tons of CO2 equivalent per year and costs 143, 296, 983.4 yearly. In scenario 7, considered the most optimized management model for Kinshasa in this study, municipal solid waste is valorized through different treatment processes and atmospheric pollution reaches 2,835,491 tons of CO2 equivalent yearly, with a management cost of 152, 790, 779.4 USD/year. This study finds that the optimization of the Municipal Solid Waste management system in Kinshasa city causes the atmospheric pollution in terms of CO2 equivalent to decrease by half, when all waste is collected. Landfill diversion rate reaches up to 70%, but the overall MSW management cost increases by almost eight times as much as the current operational cost. The optimization of the management system is done by increasing waste collection coverage and implementing diverse streams of waste valorization. Despite the wide use of the Life Cycle Assessment method in waste management and decision making, this method has not yet been, to the best knowledge of the authors, applied in estimating Greenhouse gas emissions and cost of the Municipal Solid Waste in the specific context of Kinshasa city.

Evaluating operating models and urbanism for transportation operations of circular reuse platforms

Containers and packages contribute to about 28 % of more than 292 million tons of municipalsolid waste. Although a shift from single-use to reuse models seems inevitable for more sustainable packaging, there are economic and environmental aspects of reusables operations that are yet to be investigated. In this paper, we address the transportation operations of reusables (delivery of full packages and picking up empty ones) while accounting for the possibility of prioritizing serving deliveries prior to pickups. We model this problem as the Vehicle Routing Problem with Backhauls and showcase a heuristic solution approach on two real-world transportation networks that are representative of urban and rural areas. We also present an analysis of the transportation cost and CO2 emission under a variety of factors that provides relevant insights for decision makers that could help them to find solutions in adopting reusable packaging models.

Review of Bioenergy Potential in Jordan

Despite the enormous efforts put into practice by governmental entities, most of the energy consumption worldwide proceeds from fossil fuels. In this regard, there is a clear need to advance toward the use of cleaner energies. This situation is especially critical in developing countries, where a high population, increased commercial and industrial activities, and rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are major concerns. This paper focuses on reviewing the current energy map in Jordan, one of the developing countries in the Southwest Asia area. Jordan generates 2.7 million tons of municipal solid waste annually, which can cause a variety of environmental problems rather than benefit the energy industry or the country’s economy. Jordan uses biomass energy to provide just 0.1% of its overall energy needs. Presently, produced energy comprises logs, chips, bark, and sawdust is made up of around 44% wood. Jordan has a high potential for producing biomass in the future. About 96% of the biomass is made up of animal manure, followed by olive trees and pomace, with a percentage of 1.8%. This work evaluates the theoretical energy potential of waste in Jordan based on previous studies. Moreover, this article looks at the biomass potential in Jordan, emphasizing how the country may become one of the top producers of bioenergy in terms of waste and identifying procedures to assess the biogas potential for common substrates in Jordanian communities (food and agricultural waste). Finally, some further recommendations are provided for developing the biomass sector in Jordan.

And What Happens with the Garbage in Bolivia?

Garbage in Bolivia as well as in the entire world is a problem that is gradually increasing. The World Bank prepared a report in 2018 entitled “What a Waste 2.0”, where it indicates that the world generates 2010 million tons of municipal solid waste annually. This would be equivalent in weight to more than 14 million blue whales. This generated garbage is “suffocating” the oceans, lakes, rivers, clogging the drains and as a direct consequence producing floods, transmitting diseases, increasing respiratory conditions due to the burning of the same garbage, in itself, it is turning our planet into a sewer