Dr.

Dharmendra
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Office Location: Environmental Laboratory
Civil Department
(Ground Floor)
 CE‐ 481 Solid waste &
Environmental Pollution

by
Dr. Dharmendra
 CE‐481 SOLID WASTES AND 
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
L   T   P
3   1    0
 
• Municipal Solid Waste: Generation, Rate Variation, Characteristics (Physical,
Biological and Chemical); Management Options for Solid Waste, Waste
Reduction at the Source, Collection techniques, Materials and Resources
Recovery / Recycling. Transport of Municipal Solid Waste, Routing and
Scheduling, Treatment, Transformations and Disposal Techniques
(Composting, Vermi Composting, Incineration, Refuse Derived fuels,
Landfilling).
• Hazardous waste management: Exposure and risk assessment, environment 
legislation, characterization and site assessment, waste minimization, incine
ration, transportation, storage, landfill disposal
• Air Pollution, Meteorology of Air Pollution, Particulate Emission Control
Devices, Gaseous Pollutants Control,
environmental assessment, acts relating to air pollution, standards. 
•  
 Books: 

• Hzardous Waste management  : M.D. LaGrega, P.L. Buckingha
m, J.C.Evans
• Introduction to Environmental Engineering: M.L.Davis and D.A
.Cornwell.  
• Integrated solid Waste Management,Principles and Managem
ent Issues  : G. Tchobanoglous, H.Theisen, S.Vigil. 
• Air Pollution Control and Design for Industry - Paul N.
Cheremiseriniff.
• Air Pollution and Industry - R.D. Ross
• Introduction to Air Pollution and Control - Muralikrishna
 Examination & Marks Distribution
• First mid : 15 marks
• Second Mid: 15 marks
• Final Mid: 50 marks
• Tutorial & Assignments : 20 marks
• Class environment : Late comer not allowed
between the commencement of class.
 Lecture Plan (20-25 Lect.)
• Lecture 2: Municipal Solid Waste: Generation, Rate Variation,
Characteristics (Physical, Biological and Chemical)
• Lecture 2: Management Options for Solid Waste, Waste Reduction at the
Source, Collection techniques.
• Lecture 2: Materials and Resources Recovery / Recycling.
• Lecture 2: Transport of Municipal Solid Waste, Routing and Scheduling,
Treatment, Transformations and Disposal Techniques
• Lecture 2:(Composting, Vermi Composting, Incineration, Refuse Derived
fuels, Landfilling).
• Lecture 2: Hazardous waste management: Exposure and risk assessment.
characterization and site assessment.
• Lecture 2:
waste minimization, incineration, transportation, storage, landfill disposal
environment legislation, 
• Lecture 2 :Air Pollution, Meteorology of Air Pollution,
• Lecture 2 :Particulate Emission Control Devices, Gaseous Pollutants
Control,
• Lecture 2:
environmental assessment, acts relating to air pollution, standards. 
Importance & Significance of the
subject
Solid Waste
HEAPS

9
WASTE PLASTIC :

10
TERI Projections on Waste Generation In India
 Composition of MSW in Mumbai

10.55% 0.75%
15%
0.80%
Paper and cardboard
0.40%
Plastics
Metals (ferrous)
Glass
Sand & fine earth
37.50%
Compostable matter
35% Others

Composition of Municipal solid waste in Mumbai

 Status of Solid Waste Management in Class I Cities
and Class II Towns
CITIES / TOWNS CLASS I CLASS II
No. of Cities 299 345
Total Population 1281138655 22375588
Waste Generation 48134 1454
(MT/d)
Mode of collection
Manually 50% 78 %
Trucks 49 % 21 %
Others 1% 1%
Disposal
Dumping 94 % 93 %
Composting 5% 6%
Others 1% 1%
 Composition of Municipal Solid Waste

Description Percent by
weight
Vegetable, leaves 40.15
Grass 3.80
Paper 0.81
Plastic 0.62
Glass/ceramics 0.44
Metal 0.64
Stones/ashes 41.81
Miscellaneous 11.73
 Quantity of Municipal Solid Wastes Generation in Metro Cities
S.No City Municipal solid Waste (TPD) Per capita waste (Kg/day)
1. Ahmadabad 1,683 0.585
2. Bangalore 2,000 0.484
3. Bhopal 546 0.514
4. Bombay 5,355 0.436
5. Calcutta 3,692 0.383
6. Coimbatore 350 0.429
7. Delhi 4,000 0.475
8. Hyderabad 1,566 0.382
9. Indore 350 0.321
10 Jaipur 580 0.398
11 Kanpur 1,200 0.640
12 Kochi 347 0.518
13 Lucknow 1,010 0.623
14 Ludhiana 400 0.384
15 Madras 3,124 0.657
16 Madurai 370 0.392
17 Nagpur 443 0.273
18 Patna 330 0.360
19 Pune 700 0.312
20 Surat 900 0.600
21 Vadodara 400 0.389
22 Varanasi 412 0.400
23 Visakhapatnam 300 0.400
 Solid Waste in India
• 7.2 million tones of hazardous waste

• One Sq km of additional landfill area every-year

• Rs 1600 crore for treatment & disposal of these wastes

• In addition to this industries discharge about 150 million

tones of high volume low hazard waste every year, which
is mostly dumped on open low lying land areas.

Source: Estimate of Ministry of Environment & Forest

 Present Scenario of Solid Waste Management in
India

• 100-500 grams per capita waste

• Dirty streets and cities
• Unhygienic conditions
• Loss of reusable / recyclable material
• Pollution due to burning of waste
• Local as well as global air pollution
 Definition of solid waste
(Volume 40 of the U.S. Code of Federation Regulation (CFR))

• Garbage, refuse, sludges, and other discarded

solid materials resulting from industrial and
commercial operations and from community
activities.
• It does not include solid or dissolve material in
domestic sewage or other significant pollutants in
water resources, such as silt, dissolved or
suspended solids in industrial wastewater
effluents, dissolve materials in irrigation return
flows or other common water pollutants.
 Categories of wastes
• Municipal • Hazardous
• Industrial • Radioactive
• Medical • Mining
• Agriculture • Universal
• Construction and
demolition
 Classification of Wastes
• Solid waste- vegetable waste, kitchen waste, household
waste etc.

• E-waste- discarded electronic devices like computer, TV,

music systems etc.

• Liquid waste- water used for different industries eg

tanneries, distillaries, thermal power plants

• Plastic waste- plastic bags, bottles, buckets etc.

• Metal waste- unused metal sheet, metal scraps etc.

• Nuclear waste- unused materials from nuclear power

plants
 Municipal Solid waste (MSW)
• It is also known as domestic waste or sometimes household
waste, is generated within a community from several sources.
MSW generation as a function of source
Residential Food scraps, food packaging, cans, bottles,
(Single and multi-family homes) newspapers, clothing, yard waste, old
appliances
Commercial (office bldg., retail companies, Office paper, corrugated boxes, food
restaurants) wastes, disposable tableware, paper
napkins, yard waste, wood pallets
Institutional (school, hospitals, prisons) Office paper, corrugated boxes, cafeteria
waste, restroom wastes, yard waste
Municipal Litter, street sweepings, abandoned
automobiles, some construction and
demolition debris
Physical Composition of municipal
solid waste
Chemical General
Class composition
Paper products Office paper, computer printout, newsprint,
wrappings, corrugated card board
Plastics Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE/1), High
density polyethylene(HDPE/2), polyvinyl
chloride(PVC/3), Low density
polyethylene(LDPE/4) , Polypropylene(PP/5),
Organic polystyrene (PS/6), Other multi-layer plastic (7)
Food Food (putrescible)
Yard waste Grass clippings, grden trimmings, leaves, wood,
branches
Textiles/rubber Cloth, fabric, Carpet, Rubber, Leather
 Physical Composition of municipal
solid waste
Chemical General
Class composition

Glass Clear (flint), Amber, green, brown

Metals Ferrous, aluminium, Other non-ferrous (copper, zinc,

chromium)
Inorganic

Dirt Dirt, stones, ash

Bulky wastes Furniture, refrigerators, stoves, etc.

 Physical properties of MSW
• Specific weight
– Specific weight is defined as the weight of
material per unit volume (kg/m3). MSW generally
reported as loose, as found in containers, un-
compacted and compacted.
1.Moisture content
– It is expressed as percentage of dry and wet material
– Moisture content (M) = (w-d/w)*100
– W= Initial weight & d = Final weight after drying at 105 0C
 Physical properties of MSW
Cont..
• Particle size
– Sc = L or Sc = (L+w/2) ; Sc = (L+w+h/3)
– Sc = (L x W)1/2 ; Sc = (LxWxh)1/3
– Where Sc = Size of component in mm
– W = width in mm & h = height in mm
• Field capacity
– Of solid waste is holding capacity of moisture.
– Water in excess of the field capacity will be released
as leachate.
 Physical properties of MSW
Cont..
• Permeability of compacted solid waste
– The hydraulic conductivity of compacted waste is a physical
property by which we can estimate the movement of
liquids and gases in a landfill.

– Where K = Coefficient of permeability

– C = dimensionless constant or shape factor
– D = average size of pores
– = specific weight of water
– μ = Dynamic viscosity of water and k = intrinsic permeability
 Chemical properties of MSW
• Proximity analysis
– Moisture (loss of moisture when heated to 105 0C for 1 h)
– Volatile combustible matter (additional loss of weight on ignition at 950
0C in a covered crucible)

– Fixed carbon ( combustible residue left after volatile matter is removed)

– Ash
• Fusing point of ash
– Is defined as that temp. ( 100 to 1200 0 ) at which ash form a solid
(clinker) by fusion and agglomeration.
• Ultimate analysis (major element) : of C, H, O, N, & S.
 Energy content or Calorific value
• Energy content: by bomb calorimeter Btu/lb or
Btu/lb x 2.326 = kJ/kg
• By calculation based on chemical composition:
• Btu/lb = 145C + 610 H2O – 1/8 O2) + 40S + 10 N
Where C = carbon, percent by weight
H2 = hydrogen, percent by weight
O2 = Oxygen, Percent by weight
S = Sulfur, Percent by weight
N = nitrogen, percent by weight
Q. Estimation of energy content of typical residential MSW
based on chemical composition C760H1980O874.5N12.7S. Determine
the energy value?
Component Number of Atomic Weight % by weight
atoms per Weight contribution of
mole each element
Carbon 760 12 9120 36.03
Hydrogen 1980 1 1980 7.82
Oxygen 875 16 14,000 55.30
Nitrogen 13 14 182 0.72
Sulfur 1 32 32 0.13
Total 25,314 100

Btu/lb = 145(36.03) + 610 (7.8- 55.3/8) + 40(0.1) + 10 (0.7)

= 5772
 Essential Nutrients and other
elements
• Essential nutrient such as NH4-N, NO3-N, P,
PO4-P, K, SO4-S, Ca, Mg, Na, Mn, B, Se, Zn, Fe,
Cu, Co, Mo, and Ni etc. are required for
biological conversion of MSW.
• These nutrient not only help to microbes to
grow but also essential for achieved good
quality of compost.
 Biological Properties of MSW
• Excluding plastic, rubber and leather components, the organic
fraction of MSW can be classified:
– Water soluble contents, such as sugars, starches, amino acid and
various organic acids
– Fats, oils and waxes
– Lignin, a polymeric material containing aromatic rings with
– Eg. 2CH3CHOHCOOH + SO42- 2CH3COOH + S2- +H2O+ CO2
– Lactate Sulfate Acetate Sulfide ion

– 4H2 + SO42- S2- + 4H2O

– S2- + 2H+ H 2S
 Transformation Processes used for the management of solid waste
Transformation Transformation means or method Transformation or Principal
Process conversion Products

Physical
Component Manual and/or mechanical Individual components found in
Separation separation commingled municipal waste
Volume Application of energy in the form of The original waste reduced in
reduction force or pressure volume.
Size reduction Application of energy in the form of The original waste components
Shredding, grinding, or milling altered in form and reduced in
size.
Chemical
Combustion Thermal oxidation Carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur
dioxide (SO2), other oxidation
products
Pyrolysis Destructive distillation A gas stream containing a verity of
gases, tar and or oil and a char
Gasification Starved air combustion A low-Btu gas, Char containing
 Transformation Processes used for the management of solid waste

Transformation Transformation means or method Transformation or Principal

Process conversion Products

Biological
Aerobic Aerobic biological conversion Compost (humus-like material
compositing used as a soil conditioner)

Anaerobic Anaerobic biological conversion Methane (CH4), carbon dioxide

digestion (low- (CO2), trace gases, digested
or high-solids) humus or sludge
Anaerobic Anaerobic biological conversion Methane (CH4), carbon dioxide
composting (CH2), digested waste
(Occurs in
landfil)
 Importance of waste
transformation
1. To improve the efficiency of solid waste
management operation and system.
2. To recover and reusable and recyclable
materials.
3. To recover conversion products and energy.
 Solid waste management
• Collection
• Separation and recovery
• Transfer and transport
• Ultimate disposal
 Collection of Solid waste
• The types of collection services that are provided.
• The types of collection systems and some of the
equipment now used as well as the associated
labor requirements.
• An analysis of collection systems, including the
component relationship that can be used to
quantify collection operation.
• The general methodology involved in setting up
collection routes.
 Collection services
1. Curb-side/Alley: Residential place containers to be emptied at curb or in alley on
the collection day. Collection crew empties containers into collection vehicle.
Residents return the containers to their storage location until next schedule time.
Advantages:
• Crew can move quickly
• Crew can not enter private property, so fewer accidents and trespassing
complaints arise.
• This method is less costly than backyard collection because it is generally requires
less time and fewer crew members.
• Adaptable to automated and semi-automated collection equipment
Disadvantage:
• On collection day waste containers are visible from the street
• Collection day must be scheduled
• Residents are responsible for placing containers at proper collection point
 Collection services
Cont..
3. Backyard collection: In this method collection crews enter property to collect refuse.
Containers may be transported to the truck, emptied, and return to their original
storage location, or emptied into tub or cart and transport to the vehicle so that
only one trip is required.
Advantages:
• Collection days need not be scheduled
• Waste container are not visible from the street
• Resident are not involved with container setout or movement
• This method required fewer crew members than setout/setback method
Disadvantages:
• Because crew enter private property, more injuries and trespassing complaints
likely
• The method are more time consuming than curb-side and alley or setback
method
• Spill may occur where waste is transferred.
 Collection services
Cont..
2. Backyard Setout-setback collection: Containers are carried from backyard to curb by
a special crew and emptied by the collection crew. The special crew then
transports the container to their original storage location.
Advantages:
• Collection day need not be scheduled
• Waste containers are not usually visible from the street
• Use of additional crew members reduces loading time as compared to back yard
collection system
Disadvantages:
• Because crew enter private property, more injuries and trespassing complaints
likely
• The method are more time consuming
• Resident are not involved and more crew members than for curb-side and alley
collection are required.
• This is more costly than curb-side and alley collection because additional crew are
required
 Collection services
Cont..
4. Drop-off at specified collection point: Resident transport waste to specified point.
This point may be transfer station or the disposal site.
Advantages
• Drop-off is the least expansive of methods
• Offers reasonable strategy for low population densities
• This method involves low staffing requirements.
• Disadvantage
• Residents are inconvenienced
Disadvantages:
• Residents are inconvenienced
• There is risk of injury to residents
• If drop-off site is unstaffed, illegal dumping may occur
 Waste Collection in India
• Primarily by the city municipality
-No gradation of waste product eg bio-degradable, glasses,
polybags, paper shreds etc
-Dumps these wastes to the city outskirts

• Local raddiwala / kabadiwala (Rag pickers)

-Collecting small iron pieces by magnets
-Collecting glass bottles
-Collecting paper for recycling

• MCD- Sophisticated DWM (Delhi Waste Management)

vehicle
How solid waste affected us in recent years?

• Cloudburst in Mumbai (2005) clogged the sewage line

due to large no. of plastic bags

• Blast in the Bhusan Steel factory at Noida, caused due

to imported scrap from Iran

• Reduction in the number of migratory birds due to

consumption of contaminated foods

• Stray animals dying on streets and farmland due to

consumption of plastic bags, which blocks the food
movement in their stomach
 Waste Separation at the source
• At the source usually done by manually
• Separation of components depend on Programme
• Additional separation required before reused and
recycling
• Waste separation also depend on material
recovery facilities (MRFs) and material recovery
and transfer facilities (MR/TFs).
eg. Direct use; curbside collection and drop-off
and buy-back center
 The Unit operations used for the
separation & Processing
Item Function/material Preprocessing
processed
Shredding
- Hammer mills - Size reduction/all types of - Removal of large bulky
wastes items, removal of
contaminants
-Flail mills Size reduction, also used as Removal of large bulky
bag breaker, all type of items, removal of
waste contaminants
-Shear shredder Size reduction, also used as Removal of large bulky
bag breaker, all type of items, removal of
waste contaminants
-Glass crusher Size reduction, All type of Removal of all non-glass
glass material
Wood grinder Size reduction/yard Removal of large bulky
trimmings/all type of wood items, removal of
wastes contaminants
 The Unit operations used for the
separation & Processing
Item Function/material processed Preprocessing
Screening Separation of over and under Removal of large bulky
sized material; trommel also used items, large pieces of
as bag breaker/All type of waste cardboard
Cyclone separator Separation of light combustible Material is removed from
material air stream containing light
combustible materials
Magnetic separation Separation of ferrous metal from Removal of large bulky
commingled wastes items, large pieces of
cardboard
Densification
-Balers -Compaction into bales/paper, - Balers are used to bale
-Can crushers cardboard, plastics, textiles, separated components
aluminum
- Compaction and flattening/
aluminum and it`s cane
 Flow diagram for processing yard and
other green waste
Claw pickup unit and Yard waste
collection vehicle
Collection

Receiving
area
Manual Removal of
Plastic,
Front end Contaminants
broken
loader
crockery
etc.
Shredding, Tub grinder

Over size material

Screening for size separation Biomass fuel

Compost Shipping
Q. In the town of XYZ, it is determined that the per capita waste generation
rate is 1.4 Kg per person per day. Collection is conducted once per week by
the municipality. If the density of MSW in a typical trash container is
150kg/m3, how many 120 L container would be needed.

• 1.4Kg/person/day X 7 days/week = 9.8 Kg MSW

• 9.8 Kg/person X 4 person = 39.2 Kg/Family
• 39.2Kg /150kg/m3 = 0.26 m3
• 0.26 m3 X 1000L/m3 =260L
• Hence three 120L capacity container required.

• Q. From the above example, Collection truck have a capacity of 11.5 m3,
which can compressed the waste density of 420 Kg/m3. How many
customers can a truck handle a single run, before departing for the
transfer station.
• 11.5 m3 X 420 kg/m3 = 4830 kg Capacity
• 4830 Kg/ 39.2 Kg/household = 123 household.
 Transfer and transport
• Collection vehicles used for MSW are:
– Traditional compacter-type trucks taking loose and bagged
waste
– Modern single-compartment truck taking wheeled ins from
single unit dwelling
– Single-compartment trucks taking wheeled bins from multi-unit
apartment buildings and commercial establishments.
– Multi-compartment trucks that remove source separated waste
– Truck taking container loads, either closed or opened topped
– Vacuum trucks, used in areas with limited accessibility, with
tube length up to 100m
– Traditional open-top trucks, commonly used in low-income
countries.
 Automated waste collection
• Semi-automated and fully automated system are two
innovative approach to MSW collection.
– Fully automated means computer-aided equipment, mechanical lifting
devices, and electronic control or onboard computers for monitoring
truck performance and collection operation
• The benefits of automated waste collection system are:
– Reduce injury risk: Increased automation typically reduces work-related
lifting injuries as well as puncture wounds and lacerations.
– Reduce vehicle needs
– Decrease labor needs: Reduce crew size.
– Reduce environmental impacts
– Improved neighbored aesthetics
– Reduce public health risk: Containers with lids help mitigate odor and
health concerns.
 Some other mode of
Transfer & Transport
• Railroad transport
• Water transport
• Pneumatic
• Hydraulic
• Conveyors
• Air-cushion
• Rubber-tired trolley
• Under ground conduits
 Collection Routes
• Some of heuristic guidelines considering during route
optimization:
1. Existing policies and regulations related to such items as
the point of collection and frequency of collection must
be identified.
2. Existing system characteristics such as crew size and
vehicle type must be coordinated
3. When ever possible, routes should be laid out so that
they begin and end near arterial streets, using
topographical and physical barriers as route boundaries.
4. In hilly area, routes should start at the top of the grade
and proceed downhill as the vehicle becomes loaded.
 heuristic guidelines
Cont…
5. Routes should be laid out so that the last container
to be collected on the route is located nearest to the
disposal site.
6. Waste generated at traffic-congested locations
should be collected as early in the day as possible.
7. Sources at which extremely large quantities of
wastes are generated should be serviced during the
first part of the day.
8. Scattered pickup points (small quantity SW
generation) that received on the same day or in one
trip.
 Computer assisted routing
• Computer programs will help in route optimization.
• First of all digitize the existing map.
• To program few details are required as follows:
– detailed micro-routs, block configurations, waste
generation rates, distance between the residence,
distance between routes and disposal or transfer sites
and loading time
• Municipalities that have a geographic information
system (GIS) database can utilize data for their area
to facilitating route balancing.
 Disposal
• MSW RULES 2000:
• Our Municipal Solid Waste (Management &
Handling) Rules are a blueprint for sustainable
living:
– What comes from the soil goes back to the soil.
This needs a joint effort of Citizens & their City
managers.
 Waste Disposal Options

• Sanitary Land-filling : Confine, Compact and Cover

• Composting and Vermi-composting
• Incineration: Burning of combustible wastes to gases
• Pelletization: fuel pellets from MSW
• Gasification / Pyrolysis: SW heated indirectly from
external source to convert waste into gas
• Anaerobic treatment of solid waste
• Conversion to biogas: Gasifire
 Land-filling
• Importance of landfill
• There are few definition of terms which generally
used when discussing the landfill
• Landfill are the physical facilities used for the disposal of
residual solid wastes in the surface soil of the earth.
• Sanitary landfill
– In past, the waste placed in the landfill was covered at the
end of each day operation
– Today, it refer to an engineered facility for the disposal of
MSW designed & operated to minimize public health and
environmental impact.
 Definition of terms
Cont…
• Secure landfills: Landfill for the disposal of
hazardous waste
• Cell is used to describe the volume of material
placed in a landfill during one operating
period.
• Daily cover usually consist of 6 to 12 inch of
native soil.
• Lift is a complete layer of cells over the active
area of landfill.
 Definition of terms
Cont…
• Bench or terrace is commonly used where landfill
height will exceed 50 to 75 ft. it is used for maintaining
the slope stability, for the placement of surface water
drainage, and for land fill gas collection pipe.
• Leachate is the liquid that collected at bottom of a
landfill. (In deep landfill, leachate is often collected at
intermediate point)
• Landfill gas is the mixture of different gas consist of
methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), atmospheric
nitrogen oxygen, ammonia & terrace organic
compound
 Definition of terms
Cont…
• Landfill liners are materials (both natural & artificial)
that are used to line the bottom area and below-
grade side of a landfill.
– eg. Natural & artificial landfill liner clay & geo-membrane
• Landfill closure is term used to describe the step that
must be taken to close and secure a landfill site once
the filling operation has been completed.
• Post-closure care refers to the activities associated
with the long term monitoring and maintenance
– Environmental monitoring
Indian landfill condition
 In planning the layout of a landfill site, the
location of the following must be determine
• Access roads • Drainage facility
• Equipment shelter • Location of landfill gas
• Office space management facility
• Location of convenience • Location of monitoring
transfer station well
• Storage and/or disposal • Plantings
of special wastes • Area to be used for
waste processing
(composting)
 Composting
• In nature- dead animals and vegetable is
decomposed by the bacteria- the products of
decomposition add to the fertility of the soil by
improving its physical properties for the support
of plants, and by the provision of plant nutrients.
• In many parts of the world, particularly villages in
tropical and sub-tropical regions , where farmers
still rely almost entirely on organic manures.
 Cont…
• The organic content of MSW tends to decompose leading to
various smell and odor problems.

• It also leads to pollution of the environment.

• To ensure a safe disposal of the MSW, it is desirable to reduce

its pollution potential and several processing methods are
proposed for this purpose.

• Composting process is quite commonly used and results in

production of a stable product.

• Compost which depending upon its quality can be used as a

low grade manure and soil conditioner.
 Cont…
A composting process has three products:
• Compost for use as an organic fertilizer
• Salvaged materials which can be sold for re-cycling
• “Contraries”, which are of no value and must be
disposed of by landfill.
General Equation for composting:
Organic fraction of MSW +O2 +Nutrients + m.o

Compost + New Cells + dead cells +

CO2+H2O+SO2+heat
 Control Parameters in Composting
Parameter Values
Particle size 25-75 mm
Moisture content 50-60%
C/N 25-50
pH 7-7.5
Temperature 50-55O C
Blending and seeding Controlled by blending ratio
Air supply Frequent turning
Mixing and turning First turn on the 3rd day then on
alternative days
Pathogen control Maintain a temperature of final compost
@70O C for 1 to 2 days.
Odour Controlled by air supply
 Principals of Composting
Manual and mechanized methods
• Decomposition and stabilization of organic waste
matter is a natural phenomenon.
• Compost is particularly useful as an organic manure
which contains plant nutrients ( NPK) as well as micro
nutrients which can be utilized for the growth of
plants.
• Composting can be carried out in two ways i.e.,
aerobically and anaerobically.
• During aerobic composting aerobic micro-organisms
oxidize organic compounds to CO2,NO2& NO3.
 Contd………
• Carbon from organic compounds is used as a
source of energy while nitrogen is recycled.
• Due to exothermic, temperature of the mass rises.
• In anaerobic process, the anaerobic micro
organisms, while metabolizing the nutrients ,break
down the organic compounds through a process of
reduction.
• A very small amount of energy is released during
the process and temperature of composting mass
does not rise much.
• The gases evolved are mainly CH4 and CO2.
 Bangalore Method
• This is an aerobic method conventionally carried out
in pits.
• Formerly the waste was anaerobically stabilized in pits
where alternate layers of MSW and night soil were
laid.
• The pit is completely filled and a final soil layer is laid
to prevent fly breeding, entry of rain water into the
pit and for conservation of the released energy.
• The material is allowed to decompose for 4 to 6
months after which the stabilized material is taken
out and used as compost.
 Indore Method
• This method of composting in pits involves filling of
alternate layers of similar thickness as in Bangalore
method.
• However, to ensure aerobic condition the material is
turned at specific intervals for which a 60 cm strip on
the longitudinal side of the pit is kept vacant.
• For starting the turning operation, the first turn is
manually given using long handled rakes 4 to 7 days
after filling. The second turn is given after 5 to 10
more days.
Cont…
• Further turning is normally not required and
the compost is ready in 2 to 4 weeks.
• In the urban areas, due to extensive
provision of water carriage system of
sanitation, night soil is not available.
• Composting of MSW alone is hence often
carried out.
• Aerobic composting of MSW is commonly
carried out in windrows.
 Comparison of the Methods
• The Bangalore method requires longer time for stabilization of the
material & hence needs larger land space, which is in short supply
in urban areas. The gases generated in this anaerobic process also
pose smell & odor problems.
• The Indore method on the other hand stabilizes the material in
shorter time & needs lesser land space. As no odorous gases are
generated in this process, it is environmental friendly& hence
commonly preferred.
• While the organic matter is stabilized during the composting
process, the moisture content also changes. The non
decomposable are also rejected. Hence the quantity of compost is
much lesser that the input & is normally around 50% and the exact
value depends upon the characteristics of the input material.
Earthworms help convert organic waste into valuable nutrients
for crops, through a process we call “vermicomposting.”

• Why use Vermicompost?

• Promotes faster growth of plants, increases crop yield
• Produces crops with a better taste, luster and lasting quality,
without toxic residues: crops can therefore fetch a higher
price in the market
• Increases water-holding capacity of soil
• Easy to produce and low in cost
• Reduces salinization and acidification
• Reduces soil erosion
• Induces resistance to pest and disease attack
 Cont…
• Other benefits for farmers:
• Enhances soil productivity
• Increases crop yield with less irrigation
• Lowers risk of crop loss due to pest attack
 What materials are required to
start a vermicompost
• Material Quantity
– Cement ring ~90 cm diameter, ~30 cm height(or
pit or walled enclosure)
– Polythene sheet (big enough to cover the bottom
of the cement ring)
– Dry organic wastes (DOW) 50 kg Rock phosphate
(RP)
– 15 kg Earthworms (EW) 500-750 worms
– Water (W) 5 L every three days
 Assignment-1
Q.1 What is solid waste and what are their
source of generation?
Q.2 What is importance and significance of solid
waste. What are impacts on nature?
Q.3 What is the role of civil engineer in solid
waste management.
Q4 Write down Importance of waste
transformation?