Bernd Bilitewski

Determination of heavy metals and halogens in plastics from electric and electronic waste

The presence of hazardous substances and preparations in small waste electrical and electronic equipment (sWEEE) found in the residual household waste stream of the city of Dresden, Germany has been investigated. The content of sWEEE plastics in heavy metals and halogens is determined using handheld X-ray fluorescence analysis (HXRF), elemental analysis by means of atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and ion exchange chromatography (IEC). Mean value of results for heavy metals in samples (n=51) by AAS are 17.4 mg/kg for Pb, 5.7 mg/kg for Cd, 8.4 mg/kg for Cr. The mass fraction of an additive as shown by HXRF (n=161) can vary over a wide range. Precise deductions as regards sWEEE plastics content in hazardous substances and preparations cannot be made. Additional research would be expedient regarding the influence of hazardous substances to recycling processes, in particular regarding the contamination of clean fractions in the exit streams of a WEEE treatment plant. Suitable standards for calibrating HXRF for use on EEE plastics or complex electr(on)ic components do not exist and should be developed.

From traditional to modern fee systems.

This paper deals with the environmentally important issue regarding how best to motivate citizens to reduce their individual waste production. The paper discusses the pros and cons of the various financial incentives incorporated into the waste charging mechanism, pay-as-you-throw (PAYT). Pay-as-you-throw breaks with the tradition of paying for waste services through general blanket taxes or levies in the form of flat rates in that households are required to pay individually adjusted fees in the same way as water and electricity bills are calculated on an individual consumption basis. This difference is achieved through the interplay of three principal components which mark the technical implementation of PAYT: identification as a vehicle to attain accountability, measurement of the generated waste and/or corresponding services, and unit pricing as the basis for individual charges proportional to the extent of the obtained services. However, any motivating factor for inducing citizens to dispose of their recyclable discards and residual waste must be supported by a well developed collection infrastructure, good media information and an appropriate, transparent charging policy. Of particular importance is the use of a multi-tiered charge model, i.e., the charging of a fixed minimum fee plus certain variable components payable in respect of the service structure. The introduction of a basic charge, albeit reducing the intensity of the incentives created by the PAYT system, ensures that certain fixed costs for the provision of waste services will be covered independently from the actual waste developments and, at the same time, minimises the temptation to attempt to bypass the system. Such an arrangement for the waste charges neither contradicts the principle of pay-as-you-throw nor does it impair the waste diversion for which it is implemented. Waste statistics and figures representing the waste charging situation in Germany indicate that there is a relatively good correlation between the level of recycling and the amount of perceived financial motivation provided by PAYT. Waste stream developments in areas using such charging schemes generally suggest that the reduction goals are being achieved. Single figures on decreasing quantities of collected residual waste, however, say little about the actual efficiency of differentiated waste charging models and deliver little in the way of reasoned explanation as to why the diffusion of variable rate pricing is progressing painstakingly slowly. To evaluate the success, feasibility and problems of PAYT schemes, one needs to consider the various ways for technically implementing this approach in practice, and must take a broader look into the wide spectrum of available waste services and into more factors that influence their efficiency and acceptance. Urban structure settings assume a particular importance here as do the specific goals of social policy which, among others, are reflected in the charging mechanisms applied. Practical experience, however, shows that solutions can be found which allow most of the concerns and area specifics to be accommodated and waste streams to be influenced in the desired way. Aside from this, positive effects as to waste collection efficiency can also be achieved, which contribute towards long-term environmental improvements and countervail the incremental costs of implementing PAYT.

The temporary storage of municipal solid waste Recommendations for a safe operation of interim storage facilities

Since 1st of June, 2005 it was stipulated that municipal solid waste (MSW) in Germany must be sufficiently pre-treated before final disposal. Thermal and high-performance mechanical-biological processes may be employed for this pre-treatment. Due to the current lack of sufficient operating capacity in the corresponding facilities, part of the waste stream must be held in interim storage until treated or until further utilisation becomes possible. In Germany, the following types of waste with different demands on storage conditions are of concern: These storage solutions have in common that considerable environmental problems can occur as a result of inadequate construction and process engineering. In addition, the temporary storage of waste is also of relevance for the situation of other European countries, which are under pressure to reduce the portion of biodegradable waste going to landfills in order to fulfil the provisions made by European legislation. This article deals with the different approaches for the interim storage of waste, related problems as well as with the demands and possibilities to minimize the environmental risks associated with these solutions.

Global Risk-Based Management of Chemical Additives II

Many potential hazardous compounds are traded worldwide as chemicals or incorporated as additives in consumer and industrial products. Their release to the environment has been a concern of the European Commission, UNO, WHO and OECD. The discussion of the assessment and management of chemicals and products led to the creation of the OECD programme Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The World Summit encouraged countries to implement GHS with a view of having the System operating by 2008. The need to form GHS on a global scale is part of the EU policy. GHS aims to have the same criteria worldwide to classify and harmonise the responsible trade and handling of chemicals and products and at the same time protect human health and the environment. The EU will ensure transition from the current EU Classification and Labelling (C + L) system to the implementation of GHS, which harmonises with REACH registration. However, a complete picture on the global state of implementation is not available. With the growing level of worldwide trade, we however face unsafe consumer products on the market. These examples show that on a global perspective the trade of chemicals and products in a circular economy is not acceptable without globally agreed assessment methods and harmonised C + L (GHS). B. Bilitewski (*) Institut f€ur Abfallwirtschaft und Altlasten, TU Dresden, Pratzchwitzer Str. 15, 01796 Pirna, Germany e-mail: abfall@mail.zih.tu-dresden.de R.M. Darbra CERTEC, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, ETSEIB, Diagonal 647, pav. G, 08028 Barcelona, Spain D. Barceló Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain B. Bilitewski et al. (eds.), Global Risk-Based Management of Chemical Additives I: Production, Usage and Environmental Occurrence, Hdb Env Chem (2012) 18: 1–8, DOI 10.1007/698_2011_117, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011, Published online: 20 October 2011 1 The overall objective of the Coordinating Action RISKCYCLE is to define together with international, European and national experts from different programmes future needs of R + D contributions for innovations in the field of risk-based management of chemicals and products in a global perspective using alternative testing strategies to minimise animal tests.A. Agueda • P. L. Andersson • M. Araujo • D. Baderna • D. Barcelo • M. Belhaj • E. Benfenati • B. Bilitewski • E. Boriani • E. Capri • J. • F. Giovanna • R. M. Darbra • G. Fait • F. • A. Ginebreda • D. Guillen • V. • J. R. Gonzalez Dan • P. Haglund • E. Hallberg • S. Heise • T. Holmgren • R. • H. F. Larsen • A. Magrini • C.F. Mahler • S. Molander • J. Munthe • M. • L. van Oers • A. Oman • S. Pandey • H. • M. Petrovic • J. Rovira • S. Rydin • T. Rydberg • M. • J. Tivander • N. T. D. Trang • E. van der Voet • J. Westerdahl • L. Ziyang

Reduction of CO2-emissions by using biomass in combustion and digestion plants

Climate protection is one of the main aims of environmental policy. One way to advance and push the progress is to reduce the use of fossil fuels for energy production through an increasing production of renewable and CO(2)-neutral energy for example through application of biomass. This paper sets the focus on biomass streams that can be used both thermal and biological for energy production like grass or energy crops. To calculate the potentials of decrease of CO(2)-emissions for treatment of biomass in either combustion or digestion plants some scenarios were set up with different assumptions regarding degree of efficiency of treatment plants which depends on size of plants and the treatment process itself. The energetic utilisation of the considered biomass streams is divided in different utilisation scenarios: combined heat and power generation (CHP) and heat generation or power generation only. Additionally four groups of plant sizes referring to electrical power (from 0.1 up to 10.0MW) were taken into consideration. The calculations of potential savings of CO(2)-emission in both types of treatment scenarios lead to the result that in comparison to biological technologies thermal processes show a much higher utilisation of the energy content in biomass.

Environmental impacts of a large-scale incinerator with mixed MSW of high water content from a LCA perspective

Large-scale incinerators are applied widely as a result of the heavy burden of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated, while strong opposition is arising from the public living nearby. A large-scale working incineration plant of 1500 ton/day was chosen for evaluation using life cycle assessment. It was found that the corresponding human toxicity impacts via soil (HTs), human toxicity impacts via water (HTw) and human toxicity impacts via air (HTa) categories are 0.213, 2.171, and 0.012 personal equivalents (PE), and global warming (GW100) and nutrient enrichment (NE) impacts are 0.002 and 0.001 PE per ton of waste burned for this plant. Heavy metals in flue gas, such as Hg and Pb, are the two dominant contributors to the toxicity impact categories, and energy recovery could reduce the GW100 and NE greatly. The corresponding HTs, HTw and HTa decrease to 0.087, 0.911 and 0.008 PE, and GW100 turns into savings of -0.007 PE due to the increase of the heating value from 3935 to 5811 kJ/kg, if a trommel screener of 40 mm mesh size is used to pre-separate MSW. MSW sorting and the reduction of water content by physical pressure might be two promising pre-treatment methods to improve the combustion performance, and the application of stricter standards for leachate discharge and the flue gas purification process are two critical factors for improvement of the environmental profile identified in this work.

Risk-based management of chemicals and products in a circular economy at a global scale- Impacts of the FP7 funded project RISKCYCLE

The project RISKCYCLE (“Risk-based management of chemicals and products in a circular economy at a global scale”) was funded by the European Union Framework Program 7 (“FP7”). It started in 2009 and its aims were successfully accomplished by the end of the project, three years later (2012). Within this coordination action a consortium of international experts investigated and defined the future research needs and gaps of for innovation in the field of risk-based management of chemicals and products.Various potential hazardous chemicals are used as additives in products worldwide. By developing new chemicals and product management approaches, the risks for human health and the environment should be minimized. As a first step, existing information about usage, risks, chemical properties and labelling chemicals and especially additives in consumer and industrial products were assembled and evaluated. RISKCYCLE focused on the fate and behaviour of these additives in six sectors: textile, electronics, plastics, leather, paper and lubricants. Additionally the project aimed at developing alternative testing strategies to minimize animal testing.The following article summarizes the background, the aims and issues and the most important outcomes of the EU funded project RISKCYCLE. It gives a brief overview about how the issues arise within a circular economy, how the project partners worked together in a coordination action and how results and conclusions were obtained.

Membrane fouling in the nanofiltration of landfill leachate and its impact on trace contaminant removal

Nanofiltration (NF) is an attractive option for the treatment of landfill leachate. However, membrane fouling can be a major obstacle in the implementation of this technology. In this study, bench-scale filtration experiments were carried out to study the fouling behaviour during the NF of a synthetic landfill leachate. The results indicate that calcium in combination with organic matter could play a major role in governing the fouling process. Membrane fouling depended on the calcium concentration in the feed solution. Moreover, the results also indicate a significant influence of membrane fouling on the retention of Bisphenol A (BPA). It was hypothesised that pore blocking and the presence of the fouling layer resulted in an enhanced sieving effect, which subsequently increased the retention of BPA. On the other hand, cake layer enhanced concentration polarisation could hinder BPA from back diffusing into the bulk solution, which would eventually result in a lower BPA retention.

Greenhouse gas emission and its potential mitigation process from the waste sector in a large-scale exhibition

As one of the largest human activities, World Expo is an important source of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas emission (GHG), and the GHG emission and other environmental impacts of the Expo Shanghai 2010, where around 59,397 tons of waste was generated during 184 Expo running days, were assessed by life cycle assessment (LCA). Two scenarios, i.e., the actual and expected figures of the waste sector, were assessed and compared, and 124.01 kg CO2-equivalent (CO2-eq.), 4.43 kg SO2-eq., 4.88 kg NO3--eq., and 3509 m3 water per ton tourist waste were found to be released in terms of global warming (GW), acidification (AC), nutrient enrichment (NE) and spoiled groundwater resources (SGWR), respectively. The total GHG emission was around 3499 ton CO2-eq. from the waste sector in Expo Park, among which 86.47% was generated during the waste landfilling at the rate of 107.24 kg CO2-eq., and CH4, CO and other hydrocarbons (HC) were the main contributors. If the waste sorting process had been implemented according to the plan scenario, around 497 ton CO2-eq. savings could have been attained. Unlike municipal solid waste, with more organic matter content, an incineration plant is more suitable for tourist waste disposal due to its high heating value, from the GHG reduction perspective.

Recycling von Abfällen

In den siebziger Jahren wurden in aller Welt Versuche unternommen, mittels komplexer Recyclinganlagen einzelne Fraktionen aus dem Mull moglichst sortenrein wiederzugewinnen. Die Konzeption solcher Anlagen erforderte einen enormen technischen und finanziellen Aufwand. Die eingesetzten Aggregate wurden den verschiedenen Gebieten der Verfahrenstechnik (z. B. dem Bergbau) entliehen, und mit oft nur geringen Modifikationen wurde versucht, die mechanische Aufbereitung an das extrem heterogene Material „Haushaltsabfall“ zu adaptieren.