Lectures ( 23 & 24) Week # 09 ( 4th 8th April 2011)

Instructor: Erum Aamir Office: # 104 IESE Building, Ground Floor Office Hours: 9.00 to 4.00 Phone: 051-90854357
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Topics
Hazardous wastes Sources and effects Characterization
Characterization logic diagram

Sampling, Preservation, and Handling

A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes. [1] Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known or tested to exhibit a hazardous trait such as:

ignitability (i.e., flammable) reactivity corrosivity toxicity

Hazardous wastes
Hazardous wastes are present throughout the world as by-products of growth and development and include: pesticides from agricultural lands gasoline leakage from service stations heavy metals from plating solutions, medical wastes from hospitals and radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants. These waste products pose unreasonable risks to human health and safety, property values and utilization, and all other components of the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations define hazardous wastes by inclusion of specific lists and by characteristics of ignitability, corrosion, reactivity, and toxicity. Household wastes, domestic sewage, and certain other wastes are excluded from these regulations.

Silk industry oil fuel Hospital and clinical waste Leaking oil barrel

The technology for treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes is the most rapidly developing area of environmental engineering. A significant portion of this technology is refinement and/or adaptation of

proven practices in air quality control, wastewater treatment, and solid waste

management. Also, the environmental engineer must learn more about hydrogeology to assess the subsurface disposition of hazardous wastes. Hazardous waste treatment is characterized as liquid waste treatment, solid waste treatment, solidification and stabilization, thermal destruction, and land disposal. At a hazardous waste treatment or disposal site, the environmental engineer must obstruct the routes of the waste into the environment. Principal routes include: Groundwater contamination via leaks or leachate Surface water contamination via runoff or overflows Air contamination via open burning, evaporation, and wind erosion Fire and explosion Poisoning via the food chain Human contact

In the United States, hazardous wastes regulations are very stringent. They include requirements for a manifest system for tracking wastes from generation through

storage,

transport,

treatment, and disposal.

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In addition to treatment and disposal, the environmental engineer helps management address means to satisfy these regulatory controls as well as achieving pollution prevention by reducing waste and through process changes, including recovery and Energies reuse.
,battery and recycling

Hazardous waste is used as a broad term to denote industrial by-products and waste materials discarded from commercial establishments, and institutions that pose an unreasonable risk to human health and safety, property, and the environment. Most notable is the wastes potential cause of or contribution to increased mortality or an increase

in serious irreversible or incapacitating, reversible illness.

9 Toxic waste from industry

Effects of Hazardous Wastes The effects of hazardous wastes vary considerably with respect to Human health and safety, Property, and the environment. Sources of wastes are so numerous that site and waste characteristics are needed to define the timing and severity of local impacts.

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Health: Hazardous wastes may cause health effects by entering the body through inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, or puncture wounds.
Temporary effects include dizziness, headaches, and nausea; Permanent effects include cancer, disability, and death. These effects may be evident immediately, or they may not be apparent for months or even years. The impact on health is also dependent on the amount and duration of hazardous waste exposure.

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Safety: Knowledge of proper safety attire and

procedures is essential for personnel involved in cleanups and day-to-day hazardous waste handling activities.
A site safety plan is needed to establish policies and procedures to protect workers and the public from potential hazards

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Damage : to private and public property and the physical environment is most likely to result from fires and explosions at hazardous waste sites. In addition to creating hazards through intense heat and smoke , open flames, and flying debris, fires and explosions may emit hazardous substances to the atmosphere. Most often, fires and explosions result from investigative or remedial activities, such as accidentally mixing incompatible contents of drums, or from introduction of an ignition source, such as sparks from equipment.

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Environment. The potential adverse effects on the air, water, and land environment are as varied as the numbers of hazardous wastes.

In addition to environmental consequences of improper handling of hazardous waste, there is almost always an associated risk to human health. Guidelines for hazardous waste handling facility performance with respect to human health and the air, water, and land environment are prepared and published by the EPA for new landfills, surface impoundments, land treatment facilities, and underground injection wells. The risks of environmental damage from hazardous wastes obviously can be lessened by the reduction or elimination of waste generation. Waste reduction is a critical and promising technological challenge to develop practices of product substitution, process modification, source segregation, and recycle, recovery, and reuse. In some cases, government action is used to stop the production of particularly hazardous substances.
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Hazardous wastes can be solid, liquid, or gaseous. The characterization of a hazardous wastes can range from a simple review of a list published by the EPA to a detailed chemical analysis. Reasons for characterizing hazardous wastes are to 1. Classify the waste (i.e., hazardous or nonhazardous) 2. Define the nature of the waste to determine the best method for handling, treatment, storage, and/or disposal 3. Determine the nature of the waste to assess compatibility with other wastes 4. Assess potential environmental and/or public health impacts of the waste 5. Delist a hazardous waste.

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A simplified logic diagram showing the steps necessary to determine whether a waste is hazardous is presented in Figure 9.3 Next slide. The key to applying the diagram is knowing the source and nature of the waste material. The EPA has listed specific hazardous wastes according to the following criteria : 1. F Series: Hazardous waste from nonspecific sources (e.g., halogenated solvents used in degreasing and spent electroplating bath solutions) 2. K Series: Hazardous waste from specific sources (e.g., API separator sludge and tank bottoms from leaded petroleum refining) 3. P Series: Acutely hazardous waste of specific commercial chemical products, including discarded products, offspecification products, containers, and spill residuals 4. U Series: Toxic hazardous wastes that are commercial

chemical products, including discarded products,

off-specification products, containers, and spill residuals

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Once a material has been deemed a hazardous waste, the properties of this waste must be determined. This information can be used to evaluate the health effects; to determine the best method of handling; and to evaluate methods for storage, treatment, or disposal. Key items of interest include: Physical characteristics Permissible exposure limits (PELs) in the air Toxicity in water Incompatibilities Toxicology Safety precautions Disposal methods
scientist mixing hazardous chemicals

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The EPA has provided a mechanism for delisting of a listed hazardous waste. This process covers hazardous waste from nonspecific sources (F Series, 40 CFR 261.31) and from specific sources (K Series, 40 CFR 261.32) (1).

The generator of the listed hazardous waste must submit a formal petition to the EPA or

The applicable state regulatory agency to receive a delisting. Table 9.6 presents the elements that must be included in a delisting application.

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The two major concerns when sampling hazardous waste are representativeness and safety. If the source and nature of the hazardous waste are known, then the personnel performing the sampling should research the properties of the material to determine necessary safety precautions, such as
Protective clothing Equipment for protection from inhalation of fumes or dust Special handling precautions

In a case where the nature of the hazardous waste is unknown, such as at an abandoned waste disposal site, then the sampling personnel should take additional precautions to protect themselves from direct contact with the waste material.
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Hazardous and solid waste amendment of RCRA , emphasis is on the development and use of alternative and innovative treatment technologies that result in permanent destruction of waste or a reduction in toxicity , and volume. Treatment technology is based on the nature ,characteristics, properties and state of hazardous waste. Some of the treatment processes will be discussed here that will be applicable applicable to treatment Liquid Gaseous and Solid hazardous waste

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Absorption, adsorption, and flaring are three primary methods of gaseous waste treatment. Thermal destruction is a fourth and is discussed in a subsequent section with respect to liquid, gas, and solid waste streams.

Absorption. Adsorption.

Absorption. Generally, absorption systems pass gases

through water and are most widely used for control of inorganic emissions. The variety of approaches available necessitates case-by-case evaluation.

Adsorption. Granular activated carbon adsorption is generally accepted for use by industry for air pollution and odor control. The system is most effective in removal of
organic emissions. Many systems are commercially available and suitable for site adaptation.

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Flaring. Flares use open flames during normal and/or

emergency operations to combust hazardous gases. The

system has no special features to control temperature or time of combustion; however, supplemental fuel may be required to sustain the combustion. Flares have been used to dispose of waste gases in the oil and gas industry and at wastewater treatment plants having anaerobic digesters. Regulations for thermal destruction of hazardous wastes limit the practical use of flaring to combustion of relatively simple hydrocarbons, such as methane from digesters or landfill gas collection systems-

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The liquid waste treatment methods most commonly applied and discussed in this section are Activated carbon Ion exchange Air stripping Neutralization Biological processes Oxidationreduction Chemical precipitation Reverse osmosis Filtration Gravity separation

Activated Carbon : Using the technology developed

for water and wastewater treatment , activated carbon is well suited for removal of hazardous organics, such as aromatics, halocarbons, pesticides and phenols.
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contaminated water stream is mixed with clean air, and intimate contact causes a mass transfer process by which volatile contaminants are transferred to gas. Biological Processes: In most applications, aerobic biological treatment processes are used for removal of hazardous organic matter.

Air stripping : In an air stripping system, a

Hazardous liquid container

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Chemical Precipitation: Independently or in

combination with oxidationreduction reactions, chemical precipitation and sedimentation are widely practiced for the removal of metals. Common precipitation reagents are lime, caustic, and sulfide.

Filtration: When removal of low levels of

suspended solids is required, filtration is a proven, reliable, and effective technology.

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Gravity separation
For two-phase liquid waste streams, such as mixtures of water with gasoline or oils, gravity separators are used. Chemical additions are necessary if emulsions are present. The greater the difference in water and waste specific gravity, the more effective gravity separation will be.

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Solids Separation: The methods used to separate and/or classify solids are waste- and site-specific. The separation process is used to concentrate solids and, thus, reduce the volume of the waste stream requiring dewatering and treatment.

Dewatering. The objectives of dewatering processes include

reduction of moisture content for an associated decrease in volume and reduction of costs for sub sequent treatment and disposal. The established technology base for wastewater sludge dewatering has application for hazardous waste streams containing contaminated soils or sediments . Numerous mechanical and evaporation/percolation dewatering processes are available. The most prevalent processes are

Centrifuges: basket and solid bowl Filtration: vacuum, belt, and pressure Drying beds Lagoons

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Land Disposal : Liquid and/or solid hazardous wastes may be disposed of using the land via landfills, surface impoundments , land application, or underground (deep-well) injection.

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Liquefaction. Liquefaction is the thermo-chemical treatment of hydroc-

arbonaceous materials to produce a liquid fuelsynthetic oil.

Wet Oxidation. Wet oxidation involves the oxidation of organic wastes in the absence of air but in the presence of water. The process uses elevated temperatures in the range of 400 to 650F (200 to 350C) and high pressures of 1200 to 1800 lb/in2 (8300 to 12,400 kN/m2) for oxidation of the organics without vaporization of the water.

Sorptive Resins. On a case-by-case basis, sorptive resins are used for removal of a wide range of polar and non-polar organics. A good application is in response to a spill or other short-term treatment requirement.

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Atomic Energy Act : Regulates nuclear energy production. and nuclear waste disposal. Clean Air Act: Regulates the emission of hazardous air pollutants. Clean Water Act: Regulates the discharge of hazardous pollutants into the nations surface water. Toxic Substances Control Act: Regulates the manufacturing , use and disposal of hazardous chemical Marine Protection ,Research and Sanctuaries :Regulates waste disposal at sea Occupational Safety and health Act: Regulates, hazard in work place, including worker exposure to hazardous substances.

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http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/disposal-hazardouswaste.html http://www.cseindia.org/dte-supplement/WASTES.PDF http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&search_source=s earch_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&searchterm=h azardous+wastes&search_group=&orient=&search_cat=&searchter mx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people _ethnicity=&people_number=&commercial_ok=&color=&show_color _wheel=1&search.x=40&search.y=23 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrodynamics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulics http://funnytogo.com/pictures/pollution/air/air-pollutiongallery.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT

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