Kevin H. Gardner

Impacts of natural weathering on the transformation/neoformation processes in landfilled MSWI bottom ash: A geoenvironmental perspective

UNLABELLED Natural weathering processes are significant mechanisms that noticeably affect the fundamental nature of incineration ash residues. To provide a greater understanding of these processes, a MSWI (mono)landfill site in the north east of the US was selected as the target for systematic investigation of the natural weathering of bottom ash residues. Samples of various ages were collected from locations A (1 yr), B (10 yrs), C (13-14 yrs) and D (20 yrs) of the landfill in 2009. We investigated the phase transformation of the collected bottom ash particles, neoformation processes as well as the behavior and distribution of certain heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, and Cr) in the neoformed phases using optical microscopy, SEM-EDX, and bulk examinations. KEY FINDINGS at the preliminary stage, the waste metallic particles (Al, Fe, and Cu) and unstable minerals such as lime, portlandite, ettringite and hydrocalumite convert to oxide and hydroxide (hydrate) phases, calcite, alumina gel and gypsum. At the intermediate stage, the decomposition of melt products including magnetite spinels and metallic inclusions is triggered due to the partial dissolution of the melt glass. At the longer time horizon it is possible to track the breakdown of the glass phase, the extensive formation of calcite and anhydrite, Al-hydrates and more stable Fe-hydrates all through the older ash deposits. Among the dominant secondary phases, we propose the following order based on their direct metal uptake capacity: Fe-hydrates>Al-hydrates>>calcite. Calcite was found to be the least effective phase for the direct sorption of heavy metals. Based on overall findings, a model is proposed that demonstrates the general trend of ash weathering in the landfill.

Complexity in Built Environment, Health, and Destination Walking: A Neighborhood-Scale Analysis

This study investigates the relationships between the built environment, the physical attributes of the neighborhood, and the residents’ perceptions of those attributes. It focuses on destination walking and self-reported health, and does so at the neighborhood scale. The built environment, in particular sidewalks, road connectivity, and proximity of local destinations, correlates with destination walking, and similarly destination walking correlates with physical health. It was found, however, that the built environment and health metrics may not be simply, directly correlated but rather may be correlated through a series of feedback loops that may regulate risk in different ways in different contexts. In particular, evidence for a feedback loop between physical health and destination walking is observed, as well as separate feedback loops between destination walking and objective metrics of the built environment, and destination walking and perception of the built environment. These feedback loops affect the ability to observe how the built environment correlates with residents’ physical health. Previous studies have investigated pieces of these associations, but are potentially missing the more complex relationships present. This study proposes a conceptual model describing complex feedback relationships between destination walking and public health, with the built environment expected to increase or decrease the strength of the feedback loop. Evidence supporting these feedback relationships is presented.

Dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls, naphthalenes and dibenzo-p-dioxins by magnesium/palladium bimetallic particles

The contamination of sediments with polychlorinated organics such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (Dioxins) and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) remains a significant problem in many rivers, harbors, and estuarine areas in the US and around the world. In this work, rapid dechlorination of PCBs, PCNs, and Dioxins by palladium—coated magnesium (0.01% by weight Pd) has been demonstrated in pure solvent systems (10% methanol in distilled water). This reaction was investigated with the goal of developing it as a future sediment treatment method. More than 90% of the initial single PCB congeners BZ 3 and 170 were removed in 1 to 10 minutes and about 58% of the total initial Arochlor 1260 was removed in 4 minutes. The removal of single Dioxin and PCN congeners also occurred rapidly resulting in a 69 to 95% reduction in 30 minutes. Rapid removal of biphenyl, the expected degradation end product for PCBs, was also observed (80% removal in 5 minutes). Experiments conducted with Arochlor 1260 and biphenyl did not identify significant volatile fractions. A significant amount of PCBs were extracted from the filtered Mg/Pd material suggesting that PCBs first adsorb to the surface of the bimetal and then dechlorination occurs; lesser chlorinated congeners and biphenyl were also found adsorbed to the Mg/Pd material. Experiments conducted with single PCB congeners BZ 194 and 204 demonstrated the formation of lower—chlorinated PCB congeners, indicating that dechlorination was occurring. A stepwise dechlorination process was suggested in which chlorines in the ortho position were removed last.

Long-term performance of aged waste forms treated by stabilization/solidification

Current regulatory testing of stabilized/solidified (S/S) soils is based on short-term performance tests and is insufficient to determine their long-term stability or expected service life. In view of this, and the significant lack of data on long-term field performance in the literature, S/S material has been extracted from full-scale remedial operations and examined using a variety of analytical techniques to evaluate field performance. The results, including those from X-ray analytical techniques, optical and electron microscopy and leaching tests are presented and discussed. The microstructure of retrieved samples was found to be analogous to other cement-based materials, but varied according to the soil type, the contaminants present, the treatment applied and the field exposure conditions. Summary of the key microstructural features in the USA and UK is presented in this work. The work has shown that during 16 years of service the S/S wastes investigated performed satisfactorily.

Life Cycle Assessment of End‐Of‐Life Management Options for Construction and Demolition Debris

A life cycle assessment (LCA) of various end‐of‐life management options for construction and demolition (C&D) debris was conducted using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Municipal Solid Waste Decision Support Tool. A comparative LCA evaluated seven different management scenarios using the annual production of C&D debris in New Hampshire as the functional unit. Each scenario encompassed C&D debris transport, processing, separation, and recycling, as well as varying end‐of‐life management options for the C&D debris (e.g., combustion to generate electricity versus landfilling for the wood debris stream and recycling versus landfilling for the nonwood debris stream) and different bases for the electricity generation offsets (e.g., the northeastern U.S. power grid versus coal‐fired power generation). A sensitivity analysis was also conducted by varying the energy content of the C&D wood debris and by examining the impact of basing the energy offsets on electricity generated from various fossil fuels. The results include impacts for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, criteria air pollutants, ancillary solid waste production, and organic and inorganic constituents in water emissions. Scenarios with nonwood C&D debris recycling coupled with combustion of C&D wood debris to generate electricity had lower impacts than other scenarios. The nonwood C&D debris recycling scenarios where C&D wood debris was landfilled resulted in less overall impact than the scenarios where all C&D debris was landfilled. The lowest impact scenario included nonwood C&D debris recycling with local combustion of the C&D wood debris to generate electricity, providing a net gain in energy production of more than 7 trillion British thermal units (BTU) per year and a 130,000 tons per year reduction in GHG emissions. The sensitivity analysis revealed that for energy consumption, the model is sensitive to the energy content of the C&D wood debris but insensitive to the basis for the energy offset, and the opposite is true for GHG emissions.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Construction and Demolition (C&D) Derived Biomass and U.S. Northeast Forest Residuals Gasification for Electricity Production

With the goal to move society toward less reliance on fossil fuels and the mitigation of climate change, there is increasing interest and investment in the bioenergy sector. However, current bioenergy growth patterns may, in the long term, only be met through an expansion of global arable land at the expense of natural ecosystems and in competition with the food sector. Increasing thermal energy recovery from solid waste reduces dependence on fossil- and biobased energy production while enhancing landfill diversion. Using inventory data from pilot processes, this work assesses the cradle-to-gate environmental burdens of plasma gasification as a route capable of transforming construction and demolition (C&D) derived biomass (CDDB) and forest residues into electricity. Results indicate that the environmental burdens associated with CDDB and forest residue gasification may be similar to conventional electricity generation. Land occupation is lowest when CDDB is used. Environmental impacts are to a large extent due to coal cogasified, coke used as gasifier bed material, and fuel oil cocombusted in the steam boiler. However, uncertainties associated with preliminary system designs may be large, particularly the heat loss associated with pilot scale data resulting in overall low efficiencies of energy conversion to electricity; a sensitivity analysis assesses these uncertainties in further detail.

Life-Cycle Assessment of Construction and Demolition Derived Biomass/Wood Waste Management

A life cycle assessment (LCA) of various end‐of‐life management options for construction and demolition (C&D) debris was conducted using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Municipal Solid Waste Decision Support Tool. A comparative LCA evaluated seven different management scenarios using the annual production of C&D debris in New Hampshire as the functional unit. Each scenario encompassed C&D debris transport, processing, separation, and recycling, as well as varying end‐of‐life management options for the C&D debris (e.g., combustion to generate electricity versus landfilling for the wood debris stream and recycling versus landfilling for the nonwood debris stream) and different bases for the electricity generation offsets (e.g., the northeastern U.S. power grid versus coal‐fired power generation). A sensitivity analysis was also conducted by varying the energy content of the C&D wood debris and by examining the impact of basing the energy offsets on electricity generated from various fossil fuels. The results include impacts for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, criteria air pollutants, ancillary solid waste production, and organic and inorganic constituents in water emissions. Scenarios with nonwood C&D debris recycling coupled with combustion of C&D wood debris to generate electricity had lower impacts than other scenarios. The nonwood C&D debris recycling scenarios where C&D wood debris was landfilled resulted in less overall impact than the scenarios where all C&D debris was landfilled. The lowest impact scenario included nonwood C&D debris recycling with local combustion of the C&D wood debris to generate electricity, providing a net gain in energy production of more than 7 trillion British thermal units (BTU) per year and a 130,000 tons per year reduction in GHG emissions. The sensitivity analysis revealed that for energy consumption, the model is sensitive to the energy content of the C&D wood debris but insensitive to the basis for the energy offset, and the opposite is true for GHG emissions.

Use of Industrial By-Products in Urban Roadway Infrastructure Argument for Increased Industrial Ecology

Incorporating the beneficial use of industrial by-products into the industrial ecology of an urban region as a substitute or supplement for natural aggregate can potentially reduce life cycle impacts. This article specifically looks at the utilization of industrial by-products (IBPs) (coal ash, foundry sand, and foundry slag) as aggregate for roadway sub-base construction for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, urban region. The scenarios compare the use of virgin aggregate with the use of a combination of both virgin and IBP aggregate, where the aggregate material is selected based on proximity to the construction site and allows for minimization of transportation impacts. The results indicate that the use of IBPs to supplement virgin aggregate on a regional level has the potential of reducing impacts related to energy use, global warming potential, and emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO), carbon monoxide (CO), PM (particulate matter10 microns), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb). Regional management of industrial by-products would allow for the incorporation of these materials into the industrial ecology of a region and reduce impacts from the disposal of the IBP materials and the extraction of virgin materials and minimize the impacts from transportation. The combination of reduced economic and environmental costs provides a strong argument for state transportation agencies to develop symbiotic relationships with large IBP producers in their regions to minimize impacts associated with roadway construction and maintenancewith the additional benefit of improved management of these materials.

Mechanisms for the Aging-Induced Reduction of Lead Solubility in Scrubber Residues from Municipal Solid Waste Combustion

This manuscript elucidates the mechanisms responsible for aging-induced reduction in lead leaching from scrubber residues. Leaching tests (JLT13) were conducted on 48 types of scrubber residues and lead solubility was found to be significantly reduced independent of incinerator type or type of gas treatment method. Reaction kinetics that result in lead solubility reduction were shown to be proportional to carbon dioxide partial pressure and in many cases were limited by mass transfer to the residue. With forced gas convection through the residue and a CO2 partial pressure of 0.3%, the concentration of lead in leachate was reduced from 84 mg L-1 to < 0.5 mg L-1 in two days. Ettringite analogs (Ca6Al2(SO4)3(OH)2•26H2O) were identified by X-Ray Diffraction in the wetted scrubber residues early in the aging process; these appear to have been converted into gypsum (CaSO4•2H2O) and vaterite (CaCO3) in the aged material. All of these solid phases are believed to substitute lead into their crystal structure and evidence for this attenuation mechanism is presented.

Environmental Implications and Costs of Municipal Solid Waste‐Derived Ethylene

Carbon recycling, in which organic waste is recycled into chemical feedstock for material production, may provide benefits in resource efficiency and a more cyclical economy - but may also create “trade‐offs” in increased impacts elsewhere. We investigate the system‐wide environmental burdens and cost associated with carbon recycling routes capable of converting municipal solid waste (MSW) by gasification and Fischer‐Tropsch synthesis into ethylene. Results are compared to business‐as‐usual (BAU) cases in which ethylene is derived from fossil resources and waste is either landfilled with methane and energy recovery (BAU#1) or incinerated (BAU#2) with energy recovery. Monte Carlo and sensitivity analysis is used to assess uncertainties of the results. Results indicate that carbon recycling may lead to a reduction in cumulative energy demand (CED), total material requirement (TMR), and acidification, when compared to BAU#1. Global warming potential is found to be similar or slightly lower than BAU#1 and BAU#2. In comparison to BAU#2, carbon recycling results in higher CED, TMR, acidification, and smog potential, mainly as a result of larger (fossil‐based) energy offsets from energy recovery. However, if a renewable power mix (envisioned for the future) is assumed to be offset, BAU#2 impacts may be similar or higher than carbon recycling routes. Production cost per kilogram (kg) MSW‐derived ethylene range between US