Thermal Gasification of Densified Sewage Sludge and Solid Waste

The disposal of sewage sludge in an economic and environmentally acceptable manner is a problem common to all communities that have municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Similarly, all communities are faced with the disposal of increasing quantities of solid waste. The co-disposal of sludge and solid waste in a common facility is a potential solution to both of these problems. The results of an experimental program to verify the feasibility of the gasification process for the co-disposal of densified sludge and source separated solid waste are presented in this paper

Gasification of Densified Sludge and Wastepaper in a Downdraft Packed-Bed Gasifier

The co-disposal of densified sludge and wastepaper in a co-current flow packed bed gasifier represents new application of the thermal gasification process. Advantages of this technology include lower costs than other incineration or pyrolysis technologies, simple construction and operation, and the ability to use a variety of fuels including agricultural wastes and other biomass materials in addition to densified sludge and wastepaper

Water Network Optimization with Wastewater Regeneration Models

The conventional water network synthesis approach greatly simplifies wastewater treatment units by using fixed recoveries, creating a gap for their applicability to industrial processes. This work describes a unifying approach combining various technologies capable of removing all the major types of contaminants through the use of more realistic models. The following improvements are made over the typical superstructure-based water network models. First, unit-specific shortcut models are developed in place of the fixed contaminant removal model to describe contaminant mass transfer in wastewater treatment units. Shortcut wastewater treatment cost functions are also incorporated into the model. In addition, uncertainty in mass load of contaminants is considered to account for the range of operating conditions. Furthermore, the superstructure is modified to accommodate realistic potential structures. We present a modified Lagrangean-based decomposition algorithm in order to solve the resulting nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem efficiently. Several examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and limitations of the algorithm for obtaining the global optimal solutions.The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the National Science Foundation for financial support under grant CBET-1437668, the program “Estancias de movilidad en el extranjero “Jose Castillejo” para jóvenes doctores” (JC2011-0051) of the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, and from the University of Alicante (GRE11-19)

Análisis desde el modelo deductivo de la fragilidad del relleno sanitario ‘Doña Juana’ y la resistencia de sus habitantes

Artículo de InvestigaciónEl denominado Relleno Sanitario ‘Doña Juana’ cuya ubicación es en la localidad de Usme de la ciudad de Bogotá, ha ocasionado graves impactos ambientales y en la salud de los habitantes de la Vereda Mochuelo Alto, que afecta en gran medida la calidad de vida y la garantía de sus derechos. El inadecuado uso de los residuos sólidos y la ausencia de vertederos que sean impermeabilizados, convierte a este relleno sanitario en una amenaza de contaminación. El objetivo del presente artículo es demostrar la ausencia de inclusión y participación de la ciudadanía en la toma de decisiones, adoptadas para mitigar los impactos, así como la poca interacción entre los actores involucrados.INTRODUCCIÓN I. Panorama y manejo de los Rellenos Sanitarios. II. Implicaciones del derecho internacional ambiental en los rellenos sanitarios. III. Contextualización del Relleno. IV. Impacto del Relleno Sanitario ‘Doña Juana’ en la comunidad de Mochuelo Alto. V. Visión prospectiva del Plan de Gestión Integral de Residuos Sólidos 2016-2027. VI. Conclusiones. VII. BibliografíaPregradoAbogad

Thermal Gasification of Densified Sewage Sludge and Solid Waste

Disposing of sewage sludge in an economical and environmentally acceptable manner is a problem for all communities that have wastewater treatment plants , Similarly , many communities are having to dispose of increasing quantities of solid waste. These problems could be solved by co-disposal of sludge and solid waste in a common facility. This study, a condensation of the original report, presents results of an experimental program on the feasibility of gasifying densified sludge and source-separated solid waste

Development of Solid Waste Management Courses at the Undergraduate and Graduate Level

Management of solid wastes in a cost effective and environmentally sensitive manner has become one of the most challenging infrastructure issues facing municipalities today. The problem is exacerbated by a shortage of qualified engineers. In this paper, both undergraduate and graduate courses in solid waste management that have been taught by the authors at their respective universities for over 20 years are described and available textbooks and reference materials are discussed

Comparison of the Environmental Effects of Aerobic and Anaerobic Composting Technologies

The biological conversion of yard wastes and municipal solid waste by aerobic composting is an established technology. Anaerobic conversion of these wastes is less practiced but is being widely advocated for the next generation of bioconversion systems. Although the operational characteristics of both types of systems is well known, there is a lack of quantifiable data in the literature on the environmental effects of these technologies. It is widely assumed that they are environmentally benign, especially as compared to other processing and conversion technologies such as incineration or mechanical processing. The process microbiology, design, and operational characteristics of aerobic and anaerobic composting systems are compared and contrasted in this paper. Environmental effects such as odor and VOC emissions. pathogen destruction, energy and water consumption will be evaluated. Environmental impacts which may arise from the usage of compost off-site such as heavy metal uptake by plants will not be discussed