...An Overview Of Bioreactor Landfills Anusha John#, Ajay kumar K#, Abdul Shiyas M A#, Sreenath H# Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut NIT Campus P O, PIN 673601, Kerala 1manjalyjohn@gmail.com 2ajaykumar@nitc.ac.in 3shiyas2003@yahoo.co.in 4srinad@gmail.com Abstract--- A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is one of the most common methods of solid waste management in various parts of the world. Significant environmental and economic benefits can be gained by making small changes in the way the landfills are operated. Bioreactor landfill is a promising biotechnological option for faster stabilization of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). It changes the goal of landfilling from the storage of waste to the treatment of waste. In a bioreactor landfill environment, the solid waste actively decomposes rather than being simply buried in a dry tomb. This active decomposition is possible because over half the MSW is comprised of organic material (food, paper, etc.), which will decompose fairly rapidly under the right conditions. Rather than being kept dry, the solid waste is actively moistened by injecting leachate into the landfilled solid waste to accelerate decomposition. The anaerobic conditions in a conventional landfill can be replaced with aerobic conditions by introducing air into the solid waste and thus enhancing the biological process. Studies show that a bioreactor landfill transforms and stabilizes...
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...mankind is the Fresh Kills Sanitary Landfill located in Staten Island, New York. The site is 45 meters high, 45 meters deep and covers an area of 120 hectares. B. In the past, dumps took all wastes; industrial, commercial, and hazardous household materials. Landfills are now designed and regulated to hold specific materials. C. Regardless of where we live, work, or play, we generate trash. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, American’s generated 254.7 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2005 and more than half (138.3 million tons) was disposed of in landfills. I did some research and according to Bluewater Recycling this is very dangerous because gas and leachate are the two major problems landfills generate. Landfill gas is roughly 50% carbon dioxide and 50% methane. It is the methane that poses the greatest danger; the gas becomes explosive when mixed with oxygen. Without proper control, methane can leak into pipes and buildings. There has been homes that have exploded from methane leaks caused by being built near old, improperly constructed landfills. D. I will be speaking about how people dealt with landfills in the past, now and how local governments are trying to deal with them in the future. II Body A. As reported by the National Solid Waste Management Association which I will abbreviate (NSWM), many cities realized that throwing waste into the streets was causing health and political problems. In response, cities created garbage...
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...discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, municipal, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations and from community and institutional activities” (EPA, n.d.). The focus of this discussion is to familiarize you with Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), how we dealt with waste before industrialization and why the process changed. Followed by an explanation of how things are being done to make the Mariannhill Landfill more productive and reduce its environmental impact. MSW is the nonhazardous waste (trash and garbage) that we throw away every day. This includes durable goods, such as tires and furniture, nondurable items such as plastic cups and newspapers, containers like milk cartons and other waste from your yard and food. This type of waste refers to common household waste, as well as businesses, hospitals or schools. Industrial, hazardous and construction waste are not included (CSS, 2014). All of the Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (MSWLF) must comply with the federal regulations or their state laws must be equivalent. They must be in compliance of location restrictions, composite liners requirements, leachate collection and removal systems, operating practices, groundwater monitoring requirements, closure and post closure care requirements, corrective action provisions and financial assurance (EPA, n.d.). A major consequence of the Industrial Revolution was the...
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...Growing up everyone is taught that recycling is essential to the environment. Many companies today have recycling programs to emphasize that. New York City has the biggest recycling program because they are the “capital of trash”. With that being said, New York faces problems on where to dump their trash. The recycling program began to sell their trash to firms, to make other products, in hope of making a profit. Unfortunately, they had more expenses than revenues. The supply for trash is higher than its demand. Meaning most of the trash people recycle is piling up somewhere. There are two solutions to this problem, closed-loop recycling or getting the government involved. Closed-loop recycling requires companies to create their own markets...
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...being in landfills, the largest one taking up 400 acres of land. Plastic and trash are being thrown away improperly into landfills and incinerators, making many disadvantages. These disadvantages are making waste disposal non-efficient as it isn’t cost effective, it’s hurting people and it’s hurting the environment. What’s preventing proper recycling is the economics. The economic incentive to recycle isn’t enough, making the value less than processing costs. This incentive runs how much we recycle correctly. Without the incentive, we are finding ways to throw things out in the cheapest ways possible which convert to landfills and incinerators (Szaky, 2016). Our motivation has...
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...into the failure of American landfills and how plasma gasification can fix it Joshua A. Valdez ITT-Tech Jacksonville, Fl GE117 Chambers Abstract America, a “throw away” society, is facing a tragic consequence of its lifestyle. Even with increased recycling efforts Americans are running out of space to put their trash. With stricter regulations and public policies, the number of landfills has significantly dropped; replaced by what are called “megafills.” Although safer, since the EPA’s introduction of strict regulations in 1988, environmental dangers still exist. That danger, amplified with the high operation costs of landfills, an alternative disposal method is needed. Plasma Gasification provides a cleaner and more efficient way of disposing waste while having the added benefit of producing energy. Wading Through the Waste: A look into the failure of American landfills and how plasma gasification can fix it “Did you know that the average person produces three pounds of trash a day? I would really like to know where it all goes,” a woman asks her therapist in the 1989 movie Sex, Lies, and Videotapes. Since 1989 our trash production has increased to 4.6 pounds per individual, based on a 2007 EPA study. (EPA, 2012) America, a “throw away” society, is facing a tragic consequence of its lifestyle. Even with increased recycling efforts, Americans are running out of space to put their trash. Traditional storage of waste in landfills has seen developments in technology...
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...What is Land Pollution? Land pollution can be defined as acts occurring on an area resulting in colour change, fertility, and erosion. It is caused by waste in the form of liquid or solid. Introduction to Land Pollution The presence of chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment Results in a change of the soil quality Affects the normal use of the soil Endangering public health and the living environment Causes of LAND POLLUTION 1. By poor agricultural practices * Excessive use of fertilizers & pesticides. Farmers use fertilizers and pesticides in order to kill pests and have an abundant harvest, but some people use excessive amounts of fertilizers and pesticide, which causes pollution * Excessive farming, construction, overgrazing, burning of grass cover and deforestation 2. By mineral exploitation * This includes piles of coal refuse and heaps of slag and underground debris. Mining and forestry activities that clear the land surfaces (clear cutting) and use 'skid trails' often leave the land not restored. The surface is exposed to erosion which destroys the quality of the land. Additionally, iron and other chemicals such as copper, mercury and lead from mining practices leach into the soil, polluting it and leaving it exposed to water bodies as well. 3. By indiscriminate disposal of urban wastes. * The waste materials that cause land pollution are broadly classified as...
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...Just about everyone knows our environment is in danger. One of the most serious threats is the massive amount of waste we put into the air, water, and ground every year. All across the world are thousands of places that have been, and continue to be, polluted by toxic waste, radioactive waste and just plain garbage. It is imperative that we are aware of all the things that we can do to help our environment by diminishing the amount of trash and garbage that we produce each year. One easy way of doing that is by a method called recycling. Many might not know the importance of recycling and what it can do to our environment. While recycling has become part of the daily routine for many people, the full importance of recycling is not always understood. In general, people do understand that recycling helps to minimize the drain on the limited resources of our planet. However, there are several other factors that make recycling important which will be discussed in this paper. Although recycling may seem like a modern concept introduced with the environmental movement of the 1970s, it's actually been around for thousands of years. Prior to the industrial age, you couldn't make goods quickly and cheaply, so virtually everyone practiced recycling in some form. However, large-scale recycling programs were very rare -- households predominantly practiced recycling. The mass production of the industrial age is, in many ways, the very reason we need to worry about large-scale recycling...
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...Americans represent 5% of the world’s population, but generate 30% of the world’s garbage, states the Recycling Coalition of Utah. Recycling is defined as the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. Recycling can make such a big impact on the environment. According to BYU Idaho University Operations, if every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save about 25,000,000 trees a year. They also state that Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour, most of which get thrown away! People should seriously start recycling because it reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, conserves natural resources, and helps sustain the environment for future generations. On one hand, many people...
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...and external. Internal recycling is the reuse in a manufacturing process of materials that are a waste product of that process. Internal recycling is common in the metals industry. External recycling is the reclaiming of materials from a product that has been worn out or considered obsolete. An example of external recycling is the collection of old newspapers and magazines for the manufacture of newsprint or other paper products. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 30 percent of U.S. solid waste is recycled. About 15 percent is incinerated and about 55 percent goes into landfills. Recycling is appealing because it seems to offer a way to simultaneously reduce the amount of waste disposed in landfills and save natural resources. During the late 1980s, as environmental concerns grew, public opinion focused on recycling as a prime way to protect the environment. Governments, businesses, and the public made strenuous efforts to recycle. By 2000, the recycling rate had nearly doubled the 1990 rate of 16 percent. A big portion of the increase has been in yard trimmings and food scraps collected for composting. In the...
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...facilities will be defined along with what has been changed to help keep the environment and population safe from the hazardous chemicals. Lastly, one facility will be explored and their preventative measures will be explored. Municipal Solid Waste Solid waste is a persistent, part of our lives, yet it goes unnoticed. Today, many countries are facing an approaching crisis in the management of solid waste as many waste disposal sites are nearing their capacity and the contents are continually degrading the environment. However, new and advanced solid waste management systems can help to reduce solid waste disposal, and subsequently minimize environmental and health impacts. Unlike decades before, new legislation has been proposed, and highly regulated to ensure better management of waste. Most widely referred to as nuisances, open dump sites can be found on both private and public property; sides of the road, ditches, river/creek beds, secluded forest/woods, back yards, and empty lots. (Illinois EPA, 2011). All of these hazards can cause detrimental harm to plant and wildlife habitats as well as significantly reduce the quality of life in the nearby communities. (Illinois EPA, 2011), (Hamilton County Public Health, 2007) The early landfills were heavily associated with environmental problems. When landfills were first introduced, very few, if any regulations were introduced and enforced. These landfills are known today as unsuitable, and thus were disbanded and shut down. Unfortunately...
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...2.5 Major concerns with paper mill sludge management 2.5.1 Land filling Figure 2.3 represent the disposal problem of land filling with environment. In Paper mill sludge with high organic content in landfill is subjected to aerobic and anaerobic decay. According to Buswell and Mueller (1952), 1 ton of low-ash PMS in landfill theoretically releases into environment approximately 2.69 tons of CO2 and 0.24 ton of CH4 (Likon et al., 2009). Currently, most PMS is dried, spread or deposited onto the landfill (Mabee, 2001). The landfills can be industrial, in that are constructed and operated by the mills, or they can be independently owned, requiringsludgedisposal. theThe mill European Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) and upcoming bio-waste...
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...Specific Purpose: To persuade my class on the importance of recycling and how we can make a stronger and healthier environment. Organizational Pattern: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Recycling: Why Should You Do It? Attention I. How many of you actually recycle? Recycling has been a topic that has been brought up and thought about by many different people, but the problem the question of whether people are taking action or not on this. Recycling will save many different very important aspects of the environment and economy. II. By learning how to recycle we will be able to develop a much stronger and healthier environment. III. I would like to encourage my classmates to realize how important recycling is and why they should do it. If you do not recycle, in the future this could potentially have devastating...
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...on recycling? Once all people stand for the cause and work together this problem can be solved sooner than later. People not recycling have created many problems for humans, wildlife, and sea creatures living on the earth. It should be mandatory that each city in the United States have a recycling program put into place. Not having these programs already in place has caused a change in the climate. There is a demand for new resources and trees to be cut down due to not recycling. Carbon dioxide that is processed by plants has decreased with the removal of trees. When trees are cut down fuel is needed to transport and process new paper. The fuel is being burned causing it to be released into the environment as greenhouse gases and this is contributing to the environment. The environment must process papers that do not reach landfills. After the paper goes into a landfill it must remain there until the ground absorbs it and processes it. Even though paper degrades at a faster rate than other manufactured items such as; Styrofoam and plastics, it is better to recycle paper than to consume new paper. Landfills are overcrowded due to human waste. All paper that is not recycled is thrown into an over crowed landfill. The human population and wildlife that lives near a landfill are at a risk of cancer. There is a chemical that is leeching from ink used in some newspaper and printers that is causing this problem. When trees are cut down some animals loose a home or they have to find a...
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...society, landfills are overflowing causing serious issues that need to be addressed. Knowing how to address them and how to correct the problem can be an easy process if taught the proper way to do it. Recycling allows today’s society to process used materials, which reduce the consumption of raw materials, energy, pollution, greenhouse emissions, and the need for conventional waste disposal. Recycling is one of the ultimate solutions to reduce the amount of waste that is constantly dumped into our landfills. The United States is the number one trash producing country in the world. (www.nbci.nlm.nih.gov, 2010) The United States have environmentalist groups that are really pushing for stricter laws regarding recycling. These environmentalist groups do not only want to make it a choice but demand that every American household must recycle in order to reduce the amount of waste that is entering American landfills. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 32.1% of solid waste is recycled, 13.6% is incinerated, and 54.3% end up in landfills, yet some believe that approximately 90% of all solid waste is recyclable. (Chase, Dominick, Trepa, Bailey,& Friedman, 2009) (www.lwvmd.org) Solid waste is negatively affecting the environment. As trash continues to build up in it has a very negative impact on the environment. Landfills are overflowing and the human society is running out of places to contain waste. Adding a strain onto an already hurting environment governments...
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