UNIT VII REVISION

MEE 5901, Advanced Solid Waste Management

Unit VII Assignment

This assignment will allow you to demonstrate the following objectives:

· Assess the political environment as it relates to solid waste and solid waste management.

· Summarize laws and standards related to solid waste management.

Instructions: The siting of a landfill is always contentious in a community due to operational issues with traffic and odors, and if you live close to the landfill you may deal with a decline in property values. Landfills will eventually generate leachate that can adversely impact the environment if the liner is breached, bringing toxicity to vegetation and contamination to ground water. Having a properly operating landfill can minimize many of these impacts to citizens and to the environment. This assignment will further explore these topics.

Answer the questions directly on this document. When you are finished, select “Save As,” and save the document using this format: Student ID_Unit# (ex. 1234567_UnitI). Upload this document to BlackBoard as a .doc, docx, or .rtf file. The specified word count is given for each question. At a minimum, you must use your textbook as a resource for these questions. Other sources may be used as needed. All material from outside sources (including your textbook) must be cited and referenced in APA format. Please include a reference list after each question.

1) A community generates 225 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per year.

a. What is the actual average annual production of methane that a community should expect from the landfill operation in BTU per year?(For Part A, show all of your work.)

Heat Value = 530 Btu/ft3 (19,730 kJ/m3).

Average methane yield = 3,900 ft3/ton.”

BTU/year = 225 ton x 3,900 ft3 x 530 BTU

= 465,075,000 or 465 x 106 BTU/year

b. What are the factors, laws, or standards that can limit the amount of methane production in the landfill? (Your total response for Part B should be at least 200 words.)

Permits

The landfill owners are required to obtain permits and satisfy the requisite regulations. There are local land use approvals from the local planning agencies, state solid waste facility permits, waste discharge requirements and air quality permits from the local air districts.

Legislation

There are legislations that provide framework for the reduction of GHG emissions governing the waste sector aimed at meting California’s waste reduction goals. The AB 32 aims to reduce the GHG emissions to the levels of 1990 by 2020 as well as reducing the emissions 80% below the 1990 levels by 2050. One of these early action measures is the control of landfill methane emissions. Also, the scoping plan of 2008 provided the need for commercial recycling and programs that provide alternative methods to landfilling. The ARB landfill measure which was adopted in 2009 imposes landfill gas collection and control system requirements aimed to reduce methane emissions from the landfills. The enforcement of the ARB landfill measure is expected to lead to emission reduction of 1.5 MMTCO2e which is higher than the 1.0 MMTCO2e goal.

Other factors that influence the methane production is the nature of the organic waste that has been disposed in the landfill. Some types of organic waste are less inclined to produce high levels of methane compared to others. The other factor is the amount of moisture in the landfill. High moisture levels lead to high methane production compared to low moisture levels in the landfill. Also certain chemicals in the landfill may lead to catalyzation of the methane producing process.

2) Use the treatment options in Table 8-11 (pg. 357) that lists biological and physical/chemical operations for treating leachate generated from a landfill to answer the following questions.(Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 300 words.)

a. Recommend a treatment train that uses one biological and one physical chemical operation. Provide your reason for making this recommendation.

The use of non-combustion technologies that include the use of carbon canisters, Sulphur treatment systems, bio filtration as well as the use of masking agents.

b. In what order would you put these units? Describe your reasoning for your prescribed order.

Carbon canisters use if the first since it allows for the disintegration of the waste material. Next, the sulfur system is applied in order to treat the hydrogen sulfide produced. After which we have the bio filtration process where the oxidization of the volatile organic compound to carbon dioxide and water takes place. Lastly, we have the masking agents which reduce the odor from the process.

c. If your proposed treatment scheme does not meet the prescribed permit discharge limits for the facility, what post-treatment technology would you recommend to ensure that discharge limits are met. Provide your reasons for your technology selection.

Biological methods may be use such as nitrification and the use of artificial wetlands in order to facilitate the complete treatment of all waste. These methods aim at the control of the environmental conditions such as pH, temperature, nutrients availability, oxygen availability that provide ability for the optimum growth of microorganisms.

3) Leachate and Groundwater Monitoring

a. Why are landfills designed to have a leachate head of 12 inches on the liner?If the leachate head had the potential to build to 24 inches, what is a simple design technique that could relieve the hydraulic pressure on the liner?

The panel design is appropriate in providing quick drainage response after the introduction of water which allows it to have ideal conditions for time critical applications.

Using small puncture holes on the liner may allow a relieve of the hydraulic pressure on the liner

b. What are the monitoring requirements for an operational landfill? Create a table to describe what each parameter measures and why knowing this is important.

Parameter	What it measures
Fluid Level and composition	Surface water
Fluid level and composition	Ground water
Gas composition	Landfill gas
Electrical conductivity and temperature, amount of rainwater infiltration	Meteorological data

. What are the monitoring requirements for an operational landfill? Insert a table to describe what each parameter measures and why knowing this is important.

c. What are the post-closure monitoring requirements? Make or insert table to describe what each parameter measures and why knowing this is important?

Parameter	What it measures
Volume of precipitation	Atmospheric conditions
Temperature min/max,	Weather conditions
Evaporation	Atmospheric conditions
Atmospheric pressure	Atmospheric conditions
Atmospheric humidity,	Atmospheric conditions

4) Assume that a landfill is proposed for a location that is located east of a forest, west of a national park, and north of a major river.

a. What are some political factors that go into deciding if this is an acceptable location for a new regional landfill?

One aspect to be considered is the political goodwill and support from the public. For example, a selected landfill area may be rejected by the public which makes it difficult for the state authorities to act upon it.

The local legislation can influence the selection of the landfill areas as they are the ones that provide approval of the landfill sites as they may require conducting in-depth investigations.

Location boundaries may also be of importance since despite a landfill being selected, it may be on the private property of an individual which makes the site not feasible.

b. What engineering modifications could you recommend that would make this site acceptable to the city council?

The use of negative mapping may be used in the identification of the candidate landfill sites through the identification of positive window areas for further investigation of the process.

The use of the Geographical information systems that provide an overlay technology to identify the ideal landfill areas.

c. If the landfill location is rejected, what recommendations would you propose that for managing the municipal solid waste for the community?(Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

The urban ecological environment should be considered as an asset where the environmental issues are regarded with importance. There is need to accelerate the transition into sustainable development options for the environment through the promotion of the use of renewable energy sources and building of low carbon eco cities. There is need for the advocation of the conservation of resources, environmental friendly manufacturing and the development of sustainable lifestyles that are environmental conscious.