GROUP MEMBERS:

Lê Hoàng Thu Thảo

Nguyễn Thị Thu Ngân
Trần Hoàng Bảo
Trần Huỳnh Nhật Quân
Lê Khánh Tâm

ASSIGNMENT 1
Explain your group’s understanding about the relations of physical and chemical
properties of municipal solid waste (MSW) in choosing treatment methods.

ANSWER:

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Density
For domestic solid waste, with an organic composition accounting for a large
proportion, it is used to produce organic fertilizers. However, due to the incomplete
separation of garbage, only a part of domestic waste is composted, the rest is still
buried in centralized landfills.

Components that are difficult to biodegrade but are easily flammable such as scrap
paper, rags, plastic, and rubber ... are no longer recyclable, can be used to burn to
reduce volume. Construction wastes and components that are not combustible such
as shells, bricks, stones, porcelain ... are sent to leveling or buried directly in burial
sites.

Moisture Content
Moisture content of waste in a landfill is the most important parameter involved in
the degradation process. Loss of moisture during the degradation process can
completely stop biological activity short of complete stabilization (MacLeod et al,
2007). Analysis of a landfill with low biological activities showed that large amounts
of biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) remained,
but the moisture content of the waste had dropped below 20% thus inhibiting
further biological decay. Other sources confirm that biological activity is limited by
moisture content; biological activity has been measured occurring at moisture
contents of 24%, but no activity was found at 16% (Danhamer et al, 1998). Biological
activity increases with moisture content up to a limit that is slightly below complete
saturation. Some suggest that adding water to landfills will further enhance the rate
of degradation and increase methane production (Pacey et al, 96). Other sources
compiled by Komilis et al, 1999, come to conflicting conclusions about the addition
of water. Laboratory studies have shown that adding water increases the rate of
degradation well beyond leachate recirculation alone (Sanphoti et al, 2006). In an
arid region, addition of water may increase degradation rates, but would be an
unacceptable use of a very valuable resource. Saline or brackish water addition to a
landfill was shown to inhibit methane gas production; when wastewater treatment
plant bio-solids were mixed into the leachate along with the brackish water, gas
production rates went up despite the high salinity (Alkaabi et al, 2009). This would
seem to indicate that brackish water could be used to increase moisture content, but
operation of such a bioreactor landfill would require constant input of activated
sludge to the leachate recycle to counteract the effect of increased salinity
Particle size and Distribution
Particle size and distribution play an important role in material recovery, especially
when using mechanical methods such as rotating sieves and magnetic separators.
Field Capacity
Field capacity is important in determining the amount of water leaks generated from
landfills. Most of the excess water that exceeds the storage capacity of solid waste
will be released into leaky water.
Permeability in municipal solid waste
Treatment method: Bioreactor landfill
Reasons:
Permeability in municipal solid waste is mainly dependent on the pore size and
geometry, which in turn varies with the size and shape of the individual particle and
packing density.

 Decomposition and biological stabilization in years vs. decades in “dry tombs”

 Lower waste toxicity and mobility due to both aerobic and anaerobic
conditions
 Reduced leachate disposal costs
 A 15 to 30 percent gain in landfill space due to an increase in density of waste
mass
 Significant increased LFG generation that, when captured, can be used for
energy use onsite or sold
 Reduced post-closure care
Heat generation capacity (Heat value)
Three main strategies are outlined herein for the management of heat:
  Heat extraction: allows for beneficial use of the excess landfill heat as an
alternative energy source
 Heat regulation: allows for controlling and manipulating heat generation to
achieve target waste temperatures by redistributing the heat generated in a
landfill with no active external heat transfer.
 Thermal supplementation: allows for controlling and manipulating heat
generation to achieve target waste temperatures by adding heat to or
removing heat from the landfill using external thermal energy sources.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
Proximate analysis (basic elements)
The proximate analysis was carried out to determine the moisture content, volatile
matter, fixed carbon content and the ash content of each of the nine selected waste
fractions, for energy production based on ASTM D7582 – 12 Standard methods.

Loss of moisture (temp held at 105 C)

Volatile Combustible Matter (VCM) (temp increased to 950 C, closed crucible)

Fixed Carbon (residue from VCM)

Ash (temp = 950C, open crucible)

For example, as solid fuel : reference [5]

Moisture (M) is critical content which has to be evaluated in the solid fuel because of
its significant impact on the combustion behavior and overall system efficiency.
Moisture appends non-valuable weight to the solid fuel, so itfalls its effective bulk
density, increasing total costs and storing size. Because of drying out is an
endothermic process, moisture decreases a maximum possible combustion
temperature and, therefore, combustion’s quality and efficiency, as well. As shown
in Table 1, the low moisture level of Malang city MSW (4.69 wt%, adb) indicated that
it to be a potential candidate for direct combustion.

Volatile matter (VM) is the fuel fraction (except moisture) released when the organic
or inorganic yield of MSW experience thermal cracking at high temperature. It is
formed by a combustible fraction (CxHy, CO or H2) and a non-combustible part (CO2,
SO2, NOx, H2O, and SO3). Table 1 showed that the Malang city MSW have a high
level ofvolatile matter (86.20 wt%, db). These volatile matters have a strong effect on
the thermal decomposition and the plant design. High volatile contents meant easier
material to be ignited at low temperatures, make fuel more reactive in the
combustion process.
 Fixed or non-combined carbon (FC) is the portion remaining after the volatile matter
is completely released, apart from ash and moisture, produced a char and it was
burned as a solid substance in the combustion process. As shown in Table 1, the
fixed carbon content of Malang city MSW was relatively low, i.e. 8.29 wt% by dry
weight basis. Because of VM/FC ratio determine the degree of reactivity of the solid
fuel; therefore this result indicated that Malang city MSW would to be reactive fuel
in the combustion system. The result also specified that Malang city MSW was easier
to ignite and lower the residence stage until combustion is completed.

Ash (A) is the inorganic residue that leftovers after fixed carbon burning. Ash content
is influential in transport, handling and overall process costs. High ash content of the
solid fuel tends to create slag deposits, causing higher thermal resistance to heat
transfer and necessitating more expensive equipment maintenance. The low level of
the ash content of Malang city MSW (5.51 wt%, db) specified that it is preferable for
solid fuel with low operating cost.

Above example shows why chemical content have affect on choosing treatment
techniques.

Fusing point of ash:

Advanced Technology
- Applicable standards include Standard Test Method for Fusibility of Coal and Coke
Ash (ASTM D1857)

+ Standard AFT parameters: Initial deformation (IT), Softening (ST), Hemispherical (HT)
and Fluid (FT)
+ Reducing or oxidizing environment to simulate different scenarios
+ Automated image capture and analysis for high objectivity and repeatability
- The benefit of using machine
+ Know your fuel - AFT analysis is a component of solid fuel profiling to support informed
market targeting and procurement decisions for specific applications. Applicable fuel
classes include hog, pellets, plastic and other biomass.
+ Optimize your boiler - Validate facility design and operating parameters based on data
from the ash produced.
+ Troubleshoot issues - AFT data can provide valuable insight into persistent boiler
problems including uncontrolled slagging and clinker formation in non-slagging facilities,
or poor slag flow in slagging facilities.
Analyses that complement AFT
- A full range of ash analyses.
- Influenced by chemical composition to perform complementary tests
alongside AFT so that the basis for unusual or problematic ash behaviour may be
understood.
Ex: monovalent cations (eg sodium, potassium), divalent cations (eg calcium,
magnesium), and sulfur, phosphorous or chlorine   physical eutectic or
chemical transformation phenomena that cause AFT parameters to deviate
significantly from the expected range
- Determination of these chemical properties using a combination of ICP, XRD
and other techniques can enhance root cause analysis and expedite a resolution.

Ultimate analysis (major elements)

- Treatment method:
+ Combustion
+ Biological processes
- The results of ultimate analysis are used :
+ Because of the concern over the emission of chlorinated compounds during
combustion, the determination of halogens is often included in an ultimate analysis.
The results of the ultimate analysis are used to characterise the chemical
composition of the organic matter in MSW.
+ To define the proper mix of waste materials to achieve the suitable C/N ratios for
biological processes.

Energy content

Apply gasification technologies to sorted MSW to produce a syngas intermediate.

This includes developing biological conversion processes, which includes genetic
engineering of more robust organisms to reduce separations costs, and advanced
reactor designs to enable continuous operation. Thermochemical conversion
research opportunities include the development of advanced catalysts with greater
longevity and tolerance to impurities, as well as high-temperature, high-pressure gas
clean-up strategies.

- Thermochemical Conversion of Biogas

The commercial state of the art for converting methane into hydrogen, syngas, or
other product intermediates is steam methane reforming. The process is
commercially viable for fossil natural gas, after removal of natural gas liquids and
other impurities. However, steam methane reforming is very energy and water
intensive, requires economies of scale, and does not take advantage of the carbon
dioxide in biogas, which suggests that alternatives might be explored:

Advanced reforming strategies that utilize both the carbon dioxide and methane
present in biogas. Combining traditional steam reforming with dry reforming, which
utilizes carbon dioxide instead of steam, as well as the partial oxidation (combustion)
of methane to provide energy to drive these processes offers the potential to
improve energy balances and economics.(61-69) Development of novel
thermocatalytic and electrocatalytic processes suitable for biogas require greater
understanding of the catalytic mechanisms involved in complex gas mixtures.

- Biological Upgrading of Biogas

Within microbiology, methanotrophs are unique organisms that naturally consume
the methane and carbon dioxide present in biogas and have demonstrated the
ability to produce biofuel and bioproduct precursors. Through genetic engineering,
these organisms can be modified to achieve higher product yields and other key
technical parameters for economic viability. However, compared with other classes
of organisms (e.g., Clostridia, E. coli, yeasts), the tools and methods for the genetic
engineering of methanotrophs are less developed. Several R&D opportunities exist
to improve the performance and viability of using methanotrophs and biological
reactors for the conversion of biogas to biofuels and co-products:

• Develop genetic tools and organism transformation methods for methanotrophs to

enable genetic engineering for improved carbon dioxide utilization and novel
product pathways.
• Product toxicity, particularly when producing acidic compounds, is a significant
challenge as acidic environments are toxic to many methanotrophic organisms.
Possible strategies for overcoming these obstacles include but are not limited to the
directed evolution of communities more robust at lower pH values, real-time
separation of acidic products, and pathway engineering to produce strains that could
thrive in acidic environments.
• Gas-liquid mass transfer is a considerable issue due to the low solubility of
methane and imparts challenges to key cost drivers for gas phase fermentation
systems. Research and development of novel reactor designs and fermentation
methods that are compatible with these organisms could overcome this engineering
bottleneck.

Nutrients and other necessary elements (for composting)

The development of corrosion-resistant materials, particularly with respect to

chlorides at high temperatures can reduce operating costs of incinerator systems by
reducing the frequency of system maintenance.
Possibilities in this area include, but are not necessarily limited to:
• Development of catalysts to perform NOx reduction at lower temperatures. At
present, waste gas streams require a reheating step that constitutes a major capital
and operating cost associated with achieving emissions standards. Research and
development of catalysts that perform these reduction chemistries at lower
temperatures for greater than 2,000 hours would obviate the need for reheating.
Further, an improved understanding of the relationships among catalyst structure,
composition, operating conditions, activity, selectivity, and longevity would facilitate
further progress.
• Advanced materials to abate corrosion and fouling.Typical materials of
construction for piping, and heat exchangers are expensive alloys (e.g., Inconel) that
increase the cost of construction by 3.9 times.(49)Development of novel materials
including ceramics that can reduce maintenance times while achieving lower capital
costs is a need for existing incineration facilities.
ADDITION
Many factors influence which waste collection programs and processing
technologies to implement, including the community’s waste diversion targets, the
desired level of convenience for the system user, processing facility site selection,
commitments to greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, and costs.
The relative importance of these factors help to determine which technologies are
most appropriate, such as a composting system, an anaerobic digestion (AD) system,
or a combination of both.
L&YW is stand for low diversion rate
The table below shows efficiency of 5 technology combinations above on factors
mentioned in the first paragraph.

From the above table, we see knowing the properties of waste help us choose
technology for difference types of waste or whether we treat these water together
or separately is more economical, more efficient or the cost we may spend, etc.
The two tables above are taken from reference [2].
Energy content estimation of municipal solid waste is of practical interest in the
design and operation of the related energy conversion systems. Model development
is necessary for the accurate estimation of heating value in order to minimize cost in
the design and operation of municipal solid waste based engineering application.
REFERENCE
[1] Methodology for Assessment of Alternative Waste Treatment Strategies Using
Entropy Weights
file:///C:/Users/DELL/AppData/Local/Temp/sustainability-12-06689.pdf
[2] Technical Document on Municipal Solid Waste Organics Processing
https://www.ec.gc.ca/gdd-mw/3E8CF6C7-F214-4BA2-A1A3-163978EE9D6E/13-047-
ID-458-PDF_accessible_ANG_R2-reduced%20size.pdf
[3] Process and technology options for treatment of msw
https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/-/media/epa/corporate-
site/resources/recycling/mwoo/process-and-technology-options-for-treatment-of-
msw.pdf?la=en&hash=D4798CBF610AC11B7F15EBF854A19B0AB59748D5)
[4] Waste-to-Energy from Municipal Solid Wastes
https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2019/08/f66/BETO--Waste-to-Energy-
Report-August--2019.pdf
[5]Exploring the potential of municipal solidwaste (MSW) as solid fuel for
energygeneration: Case study in the Malang City,Indonesia
https://aip.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.4965733