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Solid and Hazardous Waste Engineering - Introduction

Jae K. Park, ProfessorDept. of Civil and Environmental

EngineeringUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

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Integrated Solid Waste Management(ISWM)

Municipal solid waste (MSW)Industrial/commercial/institutional (ISI) waste

Handling & separation,storage & process

at the sourceReduce, reuse &

recycleMaterialsRecovery

Facilities (MRFs)

Collection & Transport

Biological treatment• Aerobic/anaerobic

compost• Anaerobic digestion

Thermal treatment• Incineration• Pyrolysis• Gasification• Thermolysis • Refuse-derived fuel

(RDF)• Energy from waste

Landfill• MSW• Hazardous waste• ‘Dry tomb’ concept• ‘Bioreactor’ concept

Recent trend

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Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)

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John Muir (1984~1914)Founder of the Sierra Club

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.

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Hierarchy of ISWM

Reduction

Reuse

Recycling and composting

Incineration

Landfill

Hazardous Waste – Legal Definition

1. Listed in EPA regulations (40 CFR 261 Subpart D)

a.F-list: non-specific source wastes, 40 CFR §261.31

b.K-list: source-specific wastes, 40 CFR §261.32

c.P-list and U-list: discarded commercial chemical products, 40 CFR §261.33

2. Ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or toxic (40 CFR 261 Subpart C)

3. Declared by the generator

Federal hazardous waste regulations: 40 CFR Parts 260-268

Hazardous waste identification flowchart: http://www.fedcenter.gov/_kd/go.cfm?destination=page&Dialog=0&pge_id=1714

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Spent halogenated solvents including:1,1,1-trichloroethane Chlorobenzene Tetrachloroethylene 1,1,2-trichloroethane Methylene chloride Trichloroethylene

Spent non-halogenated solvents including:2-ethoxyethanol Cyclohexanone Methanol2-nitropropane Ethyl acetate Methyl ethyl ketoneAcetone Ethyl benzene Methyl isobutyl ketoneBenzene Ethyl ether PyridineCarbon disulfide Isobutanol Toluene Cresols N-butyl alcohol XyleneCresylic acid Nitrobenzene

Discarded unused formulations containing tri-, tetra-, or pentachlorophenol or discarded unused formulations containing compounds derived from these

chlorophenols.

All F-listed liquids and waste debris contaminated with F-listed liquids must be collected and managed as a Hazardous Waste.

F-Listed WastesREGULATED HAZARDOUS WASTE

(Regardless of Quantity or the Actual Hazard They may Present)

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Hazardous Waste (1)

40 CFR 261 Subpart C

Ignitable waste (EPA HW No. D001)Liquids: flash point < 60°CSolids: cause fire under standard temp. &

pressure

Corrosive waste (EPA HW No. D002)Liquids: pH < 2 or > 12.5; corrode steel at >

0.25 in/yr rate

Reactive waste (EPA HW No. D003)Unstable, react violently w/ air or waterFor potentially explosive mixtures w/ waterEmit toxic fumes

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Hazardous Waste (2)40 CFR 261 Subpart C

ToxicityLeach toxic constituents for solid wastesToxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP)

Crush to < 9.5 mm particle size Sealed in extraction vessel for general analytes, or

possibly pressure sealed as in zero-headspace extractions (ZHE) for volatile organic compounds

Agitate in a weak acetic acid in liquid:solid = 20:1 by wt

18 hrs after, filter through 0.6~0.8 µm glass fiber filter

Analyze sample for constituents9

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Schematic of a Landfill

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History

Waste: a material that is cheaper to throw away than to use

Solid waste management: concerned with the generation, on-site storage, collection, transfer, transportation, process and recovery, and disposal of solid wastes

Limited resources and increased cost of waste management

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History (continued)

Because of siting difficulties and advanced containment technologies, landfilling is becoming increasingly expensive and is forcing the reexamination of options of dealing with solid wastes.

Mismanaged wastes: e.g., the Love Canal incident - public hysteria over hazardous waste management

There has been a rapid evolution in the technologies utilized in land disposal practices.

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Love CanalWilliam T. Love: developed an industrial

park and accompanying housing development in the late 1800s.

Energy intensive electrochemical or chemical synthesis industries settled near the 8-mile long canal. Hooker company produced DDT, 2,4,5-T, and chlorinated solvents. Hooker used the unfinished canals for the disposal of chemical waste.

A school and a subdivision were developed around the dump site.

Liquid and gaseous wastes migrated into the school and into the basements of houses.

The exposure was through the inhalation. The incident of cancer and birth defects soared.

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Love Canal

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History (continued)

Fifth century B.C. in Greece - earliest known forms of waste management

Roman empire: first garbage collection service

1880 in major U.S. cities: minimal sort of garbage collection

Until the 1900s, dumped directly on the land

Around 1910, created sanitary landfillsUntil the 1950s, careless open-pit

dumping and intentional burning without proper planning and engineering procedures

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History (continued)

1959: sanitary landfill was the major method of solid waste disposal in the U.S.

It was realized that a liner across the base of landfills with an engineered cap system to reduce long-term leachate generation and the escape of leachates to the environment were minimum requirements.

Changes in legislation were the driving force.

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History (continued)

Concept of controlled tipping - sealed in cells formed from earth or other cover material - to change the physical characteristics of the buried solid wastes to make it relatively free from odor, less attractive to vermin, and less dangerous to health

Not In My BackYard (NIMBY)3Rs - reduce, reuse, and recycleUnderstanding of the impact of 3Rs

separation programs on the character of the waste to be landfilled will be an important consideration.

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Live in “Never-Never Land”

We prohibit new power plants and believe in cheap electricity. We prohibit oil drilling and refining, impede independent gas stations, legislate costly antipollution additives, and believe in cheap gasoline. We blackmail developers into “donating” land for open space and believe in cheap housing. We sabotage nuclear waste disposal, hide our waste within our communities, and believe in a pure, safe environment. We mandate health benefits, and believe in cheap care. It is only consistent that we look to politicians for solutions, the very same who created the problems by running on anti-utility, anti-oil, anti-development, anti-nuclear, and anti-HMO platforms.

September 2000Thomas W. SchoeneLa Jolla, California

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Definition Sketch for Landfill Operations and Processes

Landfill closureLandscaping andcover maintenance

Surface watercontrol

Gas conversionto electricity

Gasflaring

Gas well andambient air

Environmental monitoring

Groundwater Vadosezone

Leachate management

Landfill operationsPlacement

WeightLoad

inspection

Leachatecollection

Leachatetreatment

Reactionsoccurring in

landfills

Final coverdesign

Landfill design

Surface waterdrainage

Site planningGas

collectionsystem design

Liner design

Landfill gas management

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Leachatecollection pipe

Liner Monitoringfacilities

Liner

Gas collection trench

Typical waste cell

Landscaping Final cover Typical waste cell

Leachatecollection

Gas collectiontrench

Reference web site:http://nrc-recycle.org/Data/Sites/1/Climate%20Change/MSWcharacterization_revise_v10.pdf

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Why? Stringent regulations forced many old landfills to shut down.

Number of Landfills in the United States 1988~2006

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Contents of 40 CFR Part 258Section 258.16 CLOSURE OF EXISTING MSWLFS Performance Standard: 258.16(a) Existing MSWLF units that cannot make the demonstration specified in sec. 285.10(a) pertaining to airports, 258.11(a) pertaining to floodplains, or 258.15(a) pertaining to unstable areas, must close by October 9, 1996, in accordance with sec. 258.60 of this part and conduct post-closure activities in accordance with sec. 258.61 of this part. 258.16(b) The deadline for closure required by paragraph (a) of this section may be extended up to two years if the owner or operator demonstrates to the Director of an approved State that: 258.16(b)(1) There is no available alternative disposal capacity; 258.16(b)(2) There is no immediate threat to human health and the environment.

Location Restrictions (Subpart B)

NEW AND LATERAL EXPANSIONS:Proximity to airports

FloodplainsWetlands

Fault areasSeismic impact zones

Unstable areas

EXISTING UNITS:Proximity to airports

FloodplainsUnstable areas

Review 40 CFR Part 258.10

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Exclude hazardous wasteDaily coverDisease vector controlExplosive gasesAccess controlRun-on & run-off controlSurface water requirementsLiquid managementRecord keeping

Operating Criteria (Subpart C)

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In Approved States:Design must ensure that maximum

contaminant levels (MCLs) will not be exceeded at the relevant point of compliance (cannot be more than 150 meters from unit boundary and must be on property of owner/operator)

In Unapproved States:Composite liner consisting of an

upper flexible membrane liner (FML) and a lower soil layer at least 2 ft thick and a leachate collection system

Design Criteria for New MSW Landfill Units and Lateral Expansions (Subpart D)

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Design Criteria for New MSW Landfill Units and Lateral Expansions (Subpart D)

Composite Liner & Leachate Collection

System Design(Unapproved State)

Approved Design that Meets Performance

Standard (Approved State)

http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/guide/pdf/chap7b.pdf

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Design Criteria for Existing MSW Landfill Units

Requires installation of final cover that prevents infiltration after closure

Does not require retrofitting with liners or leachate collection systems

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Groundwater Monitoring Requirements (Subpart E)

Requires monitoring of groundwater to detect releases and determine if corrective action is necessary

New MSW landfill units must comply prior to accepting wastes

Existing MSW landfill units and lateral expansions must comply within 5 years.

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Part 257 & 258 Corrective Action Program

Steps leading to corrective action:

Establish groundwater monitoring program

Detection monitoringStatistically significant increase over background

Assessment monitoringStatistically significant increase over groundwater

protection standard

Corrective action

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Closure Requirements (Subpart F)

Final cover consists of:

Erosion layer: min. 6” earthen material of sustaining native plant growth

Infiltration layer: min. of 18” of earthen material with a permeability equal to or less than the permeability of any bottom liner system or natural subsoils present or < 1 × 10-5 cm/sec

Note: An approved State may allow an alternative cover.

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if demonstrated

Post Closure Care Requirements (Subpart F)

Prepare post-closure planPost-closure care must be conducted

for 30 years.

Time period may be reduced or increased by Approved State.

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Financial Assurance(Subpart G)

Requires demonstration of financial assurance for closure, post-closure care, and corrective action for known releases

Acceptable funding mechanisms include: Trust Funds, Surety Bonds, Letters of Credit, Insurance Policies, Guarantees, State Assumption of Responsibility, and State-approved mechanisms

Exempts States and Federal Government