Yongfeng Nie

Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics and Management in China

ABSTRACT The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the current status and identify the problems of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in China in order to determine appropriate remedial strategies. This is the first of two papers, discussing primarily the general characteristics of MSW and its management in China. The second paper focuses on specific remedial strategies. MSW generation in China has increased rapidly in the past 20 years from 31.3 million tons in 1980 to 113.0 million tons in 1998. The annual rate of increase is 3–10%. The average generation per capita is 1.0 kg/day (0.38 t/year). Nearly one-half of the waste generated is dumped in the suburbs, where the accumulated quantity has reached 6 billion tons, which has caused heavy environmental pollution. This paper provides information on MSW management in China, such as MSW generation and its physical, chemical, and biological properties. Low calorific value and high moisture content characterize Chinas municipal waste. Other issues related to MSW management in China are also discussed, including the factors that influence MSW generation quantity and quality, MSW collection, transfer and transport, treatment and disposal, material recovery, legislation, enforcement, and administration.

Combined alkaline and ultrasonic pretreatment of sludge before aerobic digestion

Alkaline and ultrasonic sludge disintegration can be used as the pretreatment of waste activated sludge (WAS) to promote the subsequent anaerobic or aerobic digestion. In this study, different combinations of these two methods were investigated. The evaluation was based on the quantity of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) in the pretreated sludge as well as the degradation of organic matter in the subsequent aerobic digestion. For WAS samples with combined pretreatment, the released COD levels were higher than those with ultrasonic or alkaline pretreatment alone. When combined with the ultrasonic treatment, NaOH treatment was more efficient than Ca(OH)2 for WAS solubilization. The COD levels released in various sequential options of combined NaOH and ultrasonic treatments were in the the following descending order: simultaneous treatment > NaOH treatment followed by ultrasonic treatment > ultrasonic treatment followed by NaOH treatment. For simultaneous treatment, low NaOH dosage (100 g/kg dry solid), short duration (30 min) of NaOH treatment, and low ultrasonic specific energy (7500 kJ/kg dry solid) were suitable for sludge disintegration. Using combined NaOH and ultrasonic pretreatment with optimal parameters, the degradation efficiency of organic matter was increased from 38.0% to 50.7%, which is much higher than that with ultrasonic (42.5%) or with NaOH pretreatment (43.5%) in the subsequent aerobic digestion at the same retention time.

Investigation of accelerated and natural carbonation of MSWI fly ash with a high content of Ca.

The application of accelerated carbonation and natural carbonation to treat municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) fly ash was presented. The influence of reaction time and the liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio, which both affect the reactivity of CO(2), was evaluated to determine their impact on the quality of carbonation. The optimum carbonation reaction of fly ash was found to occur when an L/S of 0.25 was used. Carbonation decreased the leaching of Pb, Cu, Zn and As, but increased the leaching of Cd and Sb. Based on the leaching of these six heavy metals, the optimum pH of the carbonated fly ash was 9.5-10.5. The release of soluble salts such as SO(4), Cl and F changed little following carbonation, and their release occurred independently of pH. The release potential and leaching behavior of carbonated fly ash were further evaluated using the three-step sequential extraction procedure proposed by the commission of the European Communities Bureau of Reference (BCR). The results of the BCR analyses revealed that carbonation exerted a significant effect on the heavy metal fractions in steps 1 and 2, but little effect on the distribution of heavy metals in step 3 and residue fraction. Physical and chemical changes induced by carbonation were presented and discussed.

Development of lightweight aggregate from dry sewage sludge and coal ash

In this study, dry sewage sludge (DSS) as the principal material was blended with coal ash (CA) to produce lightweight aggregate. The effects of different raw material compositions and sintering temperatures on the aggregate properties were then evaluated. In addition, an environmental assessment of the lightweight aggregate generated was conducted by analyzing the fixed rate of heavy metals in the aggregate, as well as their leaching behavior. The results indicated that using DSS enhanced the pyrolysis-volatilization reaction due to its high organic matter content, and decreased the bulk density and sintering temperature. However, the sintered products of un-amended DSS were porous and loose due to the formation of large pores during sintering. Adding CA improved the sintering temperature while effectively decreasing the pore size and increasing the compressive strength of the product. Furthermore, the sintering temperature and the proportion of CA were found to be the primary factors affecting the properties of the sintered products, and the addition of 18-25% of CA coupled with sintering at 1100 degrees C for 30 min produced the highest quality lightweight aggregates. In addition, heavy metals were fixed inside products generated under these conditions and the As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn concentrations of the leachate were found to be within the limits of Chinas regulatory requirements.

Application of alkaline treatment for sludge decrement and humic acid recovery

A new method was introduced to reduce waste activated sludge and extract humic acid for liquid fertilizer. Sludge was disintegrated with NaOH (0.4 g/g dry solid, 8 h) and then centrifuged to obtain the supernatant. The residual sludge was then dewatered, while the supernatant was used to extract humic acid with an ultrafiltration membrane. The results showed that the alkaline treatment dissolved more than half of the sludge organic matter, which was composed of 24% humic acid by mass. After the supernatant was concentrated 20 times using a membrane with a molecular weight cutoff of 1000, the retentate contained 94.5% of the dissolved organics and could be used to produce humic acid fertilizer. Additionally, only 26% of the NaOH was consumed and the residual NaOH in the permeate flux could be reused. Due to the removal of water and organics, the dewatered sludge could be reduced by 60% when compared to samples that did not receive the alkaline treatment.

Size fractionation of organic matter and heavy metals in raw and treated leachate.

This study characterized the organic matter and heavy metals in the leachate from two typical municipal solid waste (MSW) sanitary landfills in China, the recently established (3-year-old) Liulitun landfill and the mature (11-year-old) Beishenshu landfill, using a size fractionation procedure. The organic matter of all raw and treated leachate samples primarily existed in a truly-dissolved fraction with an apparent molecular weight (AMW) of <1 kDa, and its percentage decreased with an increase in overall AMW. The leachate from the newer landfill had a higher percentage of truly-dissolved organic matter. After anaerobic treatment, this leachate had a similar size fraction of organic matter to that seen for the raw leachate of the mature landfill. Biochemical processes had different removal efficiencies for various types of AMW organic matter, and the concentration of moderate AMW organic matter appeared to increase throughout these processes. Most of the heavy metals existed in a colloidal fraction (AMW >1 kDa and particle size <0.45 microm). The behaviors of different species of heavy metals had large variations. The size fractions of heavy metal species were significantly affected by treatment processes and landfill age, except for Zn. The concentration ratio of heavy metals to organic matter was maximal in the colloidal fraction and showed an inverse change to that seen for organic matter concentration changes caused by biochemical processes. Consequently, the pollution levels of heavy metals were substantially increased by treatment processes, although their concentrations decreased.

Impact of hydrothermal process on the nutrient ingredients of restaurant garbage

In order to recover the nutrient resource from restaurant garbage, a complete trial with 2 factors on 5 levels of experiments was carried out. The temperature and heating time are the main factors influencing on hydrothermal process (HP) by which improves the degradability and digestibility of the restaurant garbage favorably to make animal feeds or fertilizer. The results showed the variation of protein, saccharide, and oil in the garbage. It showed that protein dissolved and liquefied during hydrothermal process, which made organic nitrogen in solid phase transfer to liquid phase. After heating at 180 degrees C for 60 min, organic nitrogen in liquid phase began to transform into ammonia. It also showed that hydrothermal process could promote the dextrinization, dissolution of the starch and its hydrolysis to reducing sugar, due to that starch in the restaurant garbage decreases and reducing sugar increases. When the temperature reached 140 degrees C, the reducing sugar started to decrease due to chemical reactions. The cellulose was stable at 100--180cC. The floatable oil increased markedly in the hydrothermal process. The suitable condition for de-oil was observed at 160 degrees C heating for 80 min. Furthermore, the extraction of grease from the solid phase accords with first-order reaction dynamic model.

Comparison of the fixation effects of heavy metals by cement rotary kiln co-processing and cement based solidification/stabilization

Cement rotary kiln co-processing of hazardous wastes and cement based solidification/stabilization could both immobilize heavy metals. The different retention mechanisms of the two technologies lead to different fixation effects of heavy metals. The same amount of heavy metal compounds were treated by the two types of fixation technologies. Long-term leaching test (160 days), the maximum availability leaching test (NEN 7341) and a modified three-step sequential extraction procedure, proposed by the Commission of the European Communities Bureau of Reference (BCR) were employed to compare the fixation effects of the two fixation technologies. The leaching concentrations in NEN 7341 and long-term leaching tests were compared with identification standard for hazardous wastes (GB5085.3-1996) and drinking water standard (GB5749-2005). The results indicate that the leaching concentrations of the long-term leaching test and NEN 7341 test were lower than the regulatory limits and the leached ratios were small. Both cement based solidification/stabilization and cement rotary kiln co-processing could effectively fix heavy metals. Calcination in a cement rotary kiln and the following hydration that follows during cement application could fix As, Cd, Pb and Zn more effectively and decrease the release to the environment. Cement solidification/stabilization technology has better effect in immobilizing Cr and Ni. Cr wastes are more fitful to be treated by cement solidification/stabilization.

Leaching Characteristics of Heavy Metals in Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator Fly Ash

Abstract The potential release of Pb, Zn, Cr, and Cu in municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) fly ash was investigated by batch leaching experiments using sodium acetate solution as the extractant. The concentrations of heavy metals decreased against the increase of liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio with the exception of Zn. In the case of low L/S ratios, the concentration of Pb and Zn was relatively high. Leaching solvents with a wide pH range (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12) were used to determine the acid neutralizing capacity of MSWI fly ash. The concentrations of heavy metals declined evidently along with the increase of initial pH of leaching solvent when the L/S ratio was fixed at 20. The turning point appeared at the pH value close to 6. When the pH value was higher than 6, the concentrations of heavy metals remained at a low level. Sequential extraction tests were also performed to reveal the long-term leaching behavior. The results showed that Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cr were mainly present in the last three fractions, which were Fe-Mn oxides, organic matters bound and residual fractions and their leachability could be well-controlled in common natural environment. However, the long-term leaching risk would be increased with the presence of reducing agents and the change of the pH value of the surrounding environment.

Enhanced humification by carbonated basic oxygen furnace steel slag – II. Process characterization and the role of inorganic components in the formation of humic-like substances

Enhanced humification by abiotic catalysts is a potentially promising supplementary composting method for stabilizing organic carbon from biowastes. In this study, the role of steel slag in the transformation of humic precursors was directly characterized by measuring the variance in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), spectroscopic parameters (E(600)), and the concentration and molecular weight change of humic-like substances (HLS) during the process. In addition, a mechanistic study of the process was explored. The results directly showed that steel slag greatly accelerated the formation of HLS. The findings indicate that Fe(III)-and Mn(IV)-oxides in steel slag act as oxidants and substantially enhance the polycondensation of humic precursors. Moreover, the reaction appears to suppress the release of metals from steel slag to a certain extent under acidic conditions. This can be attributed to the cover of HLS on the external surface of steel slag, which is significant for its environmentally sound reuse.