Physio-chemical characterisation of dumped solid waste

Abstract

Landfilling is the most common practice used for the disposal of solid waste since it is the cheapest method of municipal solid waste management. The present study aims to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of dumped solid waste collected directly from the Okhla landfill site (New Delhi, India) which has been declared as exhausted in 2018. These waste samples have been collected having ages beyond 20 years. Further, several laboratory tests were performed on the samples to investigate parameters namely physical composition, moisture content, density, optimum moisture content, pH, electrical conductivity, percentages of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), hydrogen (H), sulphur (S) and C/N ratio. The physical composition of samples was found to be substantially heterogeneous. The mean values for moisture content and optimum moisture content were observed as 10.03% and 22.27% respectively. Moreover, the mean of density, pH and electrical conductivity was obtained as 1323.88 kg/m3, 6.44 and 3.06 mho/cm respectively. On the other hand, the elemental parameters C, H, N, S mean percentages were evaluated as 5.98%, 0.73%, 0.27% and 0.71%. Consequently, C/N ratio was evaluated as 23.46 for the samples. These results have also been compared with the MSW characteristics of Asian countries.

Keywords

• Composition
• Elemental parameters
• Exhausted dumped solid waste
• Laboratory test
• Physical parameters

References

1. S. Adhikari, H. Nam, and J. P. Chakraborty, “Conversion of solid wastes to fuels and chemicals through pyrolysis,” Waste Biorefinery, In T. Bhaskar, A. Pandey, S. V. Mohan, D. J. Lee, and S. K. Khanal, (Eds.), Elsevier, pp. 239263, 2018. [CrossRef]
2. K. Devi, A. V. V. Swamy, and S. Nailofer, “Municipal solid waste management in India: An overview,” Asia Pacific Journal of Research, Vol. 1(XXXIX), pp. 118–126, 2016.
3. K. N. Kumar, and S. Goel, “Characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW) and a proposed management plan for Kharagpur, West Bengal, India,” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 53, pp. 166–174, 2009. [CrossRef]
4. K. D. Sharma, and S. Jain, “Overview of municipal solid waste generation, composition, and management in India,” Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol. 145(3), pp. 118, 2019. [CrossRef]
5. D. Das, M. A. Srinivasu, and M. Bandyopadhyay, “Solid state acidification of vegetable waste,” Indian Journal of Environmental Health, Vol. 40(4), pp. 333–342, 2008.
6. T. Ramachandra, H. Bharath, G. Kulkarni, and S. S. Han, “Municipal solid waste: Generation, composition and GHG emissions in Bangalore, India,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 82, pp. 11221136, 2018. [CrossRef]
7. S. M. Al-Salem, A. Al-Nasser, and A. T. Al-Dhafeeri, “Multi-variable regression analysis for the solid waste generation in the State of Kuwait,” Process Safety and Environmental Protection, Vol. 119, pp. 172–180, 2018. [CrossRef]
8. H. Siddiqi, M. Bal, U. Kumari, and B. Meikap, “In-depth physiochemical characterization and detailed thermo-kinetic study of biomass wastes to analyze its energy potential,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 148, pp. 756–771, 2020. [CrossRef]

9. M. R. Gidde, K. K. Kokate, and V. V. Todkar, “Municipal solid waste management in emerging mega cities: A case study of Pune City,” Proceedings of the Indo Italian Conference on Green and Clean Environment, New Delhi, India: Daya Publishing House, pp. 441–450, 2008ç
10. B. Gupta, and S. K. Arora, “Municipal solid waste management in Delhi-the capital of India,” International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, Vol. 5(4), pp. 51305138, 2016.
11. S. Sahu, S. J. Nair, and P. K. Sharma, “Review on solid waste management practice in India: A state of art,” International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, Vol. 3(3), pp. 261–264, 2014.
12. M. Sharholy, K. Ahmad, G. Mahmood, and R. C. Trivedi, “Municipal solid waste management in Indian cities: A review,” Waste Management, Vol. 28(2), pp. 459–467, 2008. [CrossRef]
13. R. Rana, R. Ganguly, and A. K. Gupta, “Physico-chemical characterization of municipal solid waste from Tricity region of Northern India: a case study,” Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, Vol. 20, pp. 678–689, 2018. [CrossRef]
14. S. Goel, “Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in India: A critical review,” Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, Vol. 50(4), pp. 319–328, 2008.
15. K. Khajuria, Y. Yamamoto, and T. Morioka, “Estimation of municipal solid waste generation and landfill area in Asian developing countries,” Journal of Environmental Biology, Vol. 31, pp. 649–654, 2010.
16. K. A. Kolekar, T. Hazra, and S. N. Chakrabarty, “A review on prediction of municipal solid waste generation models,” International Conference on Solid Waste Management, 5IconSWM 2015, Procedia Environmental Sciences, Vol. 35, pp. 238–244, 2016. [CrossRef]
17. CPHEEO, “Manual in Municipal Solid Waste Management. Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization,” Ministry of Urban Development, New Delhi, 2000.
18. J. K. Saha, N. Panwar, and M. V. Singh, “An assessment of municipal solid waste compost quality produced in different cities of India in the perspective of developing quality control indices,” Waste Management, Vol. 30, pp. 192–201, 2010. [CrossRef]
19. G. Singh, Y. Pal, P. Juneja, A. Singh, and R. Rameshwar, “Solid waste management scenario of Punjab: a case study,” International Conference on Latest Development in Material, Manufacturing and Quality Control, 2016.
20. A. Srivastava, and V. K. Jain, “Study to characterize the suspended particulate matter in an indoor environment in Delhi, India,” Building and Environment, Vol. 42, pp. 2046–2052, 2007. [CrossRef]
21. R. Rana, R. Ganguly, and A. K. Gupta, “An assessment of solid waste management system in Chandigarh City, India,” Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 20, pp. 1547–1572, 2015.
22. G. Gómez, M. Meneses, L. Ballinas, and F. Castells, “Seasonal characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW), in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico,” Waste Management, Vol. 29, pp. 2018–2024, 2009. [CrossRef]
23. Y. F. Chang, C. J. Lin, J. M. Chyan, I. M. Chen, and J. E. Chang, “Multiple regression models for the lower heating value of municipal solid waste in Taiwan,” Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 85, pp. 891–899, 2007. [CrossRef]
24. E. Gidarakos, G. Havas, and P. Ntzamilis, “Municipal solid waste composition determination supporting the integrated solid waste management system in the island of Crete,” Waste Management, Vol. 26, pp. 668–679, 2006. [CrossRef]
25. D. Komilis, A. Evangelou, G. Giannakis, and C. Lymperis, “Revisiting the elemental composition and the calorific value of the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes,” Waste Management, Vol. 32, pp. 372–381, 2012. [CrossRef]
26. O. Chamem, and M. Zairi, “Physical and chemical characteristics of municipal solid waste in Gabes,” in Recent Advances in Geo-Environmental Engineering, Geomechanics and Geotechnics, and Geohazards, Springer, Cham, 2019. [CrossRef]
27. S. Yildiz, C. Yaman, G. Demir, H. K. Ozcan, A. Coban, H. E. Okten, K. Sezer, and S. Gorene, “Characterization of municipal solid waste in Istanbul, Turkey,” Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, Vol. 32, pp. 735–739, 2013. [CrossRef]
28. S. T. Mali, K. C. Khare, and A. H. Biradar, “Characterization of municipal solid waste at landfill, India,” Waste and Resource Management, Vol. 164(WR4), pp. 247–255, 2011. [CrossRef]
29. S. S. Hla, and D. Roberts, “Characterisation of chemical composition and energy content of green waste and municipal solid waste from Greater Brisbane, Australia,” Waste Management, Vol. 41, pp. 12–19, 2015. [CrossRef]
30. H. Zhou, A. Meng, Y. Long, Q. Li, and Y. Zhang, “An overview of characteristics of municipal solid waste fuel in China: Physical, chemical composition and heating value,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 36, pp. 107–122, 2014. [CrossRef]
31. B. Sena Sağlam and N. Aydın, “Investigation of waste characteristics and recycling behaviour at educational institutes,” Waste Management, Vol. 180, pp. 115–124, 2024. [CrossRef]
32. J. Mushtaq, A. Q. Dar, and N. Ahsan, “Physio-chemical characterization of municipal solid waste and its management in high-altitude urban areas of North-Western Himalayas,” Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy, Vol. 2, pp. 151–160, 2020. [CrossRef]
33. L. Swales, “2013 Annual Waste Characterisation Survey,” Waste Minimisation Team, Brisbane City Council, 2013.
34. M. K. Jha, O. A. K. Sondhi, and M. Pansare, “Solid waste management – a case study,” Indian Journal of Environmental Protection, Vol. 23(10), pp. 1153–1160, 2003.
35. J. Mushtaq, A. Q. Dar, and N. Ahsan, “Physio-chemical characterization of municipal solid waste and its management in high-altitude urban areas of North-Western Himalayas,” Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy, Vol. 2, pp. 151–160, 2020. [CrossRef]
36. S. N. Thitame, G. M. Pondhe, and D. C. Meshram, “Characterisation and composition of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated in Sangamner City, District Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 170, pp. 1–5, 2010. [CrossRef]
37. R. Srivastava, V. Krishna, and I. Sonkar, “Characterization and management of municipal solid waste: a case study of Varanasi city, India,” International Journal of Current Academic Review, Vol. 2(8), pp. 10–16, 2014.
38. R. B. Katiyar, S. Suresh, and A. K. Sharma, “Characterisation of municipal solid waste generated by the City of Bhopal, India,” International Journal of ChemTech Research, Vol. 5, pp. 623–628, 2013.
39. T. B. Yousuf and M. Rahman, “Monitoring quantity and characteristics of municipal solid waste in Dhaka City,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 135, pp. 3–11, 2007. [CrossRef]
40. P. Devahi, R. Deendayal, and K. Muthukkumaran, “Life Cycle Assessment for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste in Indian Cities,” in Transportation and Environmental Geotechnics, K. Muthukkumaran, D. Rathod, E. Ramani Sujatha, M. Muthukumar, (Eds.), Springer, Singapore, , Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, Vol. 298, 2023. [CrossRef]
41. I. Trabelsi, T. Matsuto, N. Tanaka, and T. Matsuo, “Physico-chemical characteristics and stabilization of about 23 years old landfilled municipal solid waste,” Environmental Engineering Research, Vol. 36, 1999.
42. P. Shanthi, M. Perumalsamy, and M. Thirumoorthy, “Evaluating the physico-chemical characteristics of municipal solid waste in Coimbatore city, Tamilnadu,” International Journal of Science and Technology, Vol. 12, pp. 69–74, 2013.
43. IS 9234, “Methods for Preparation of Solid Waste Sample for Chemical and Microbiological Analysis,” Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), New Delhi, 1979.
44. A. D. Bhide, and M. Sunderasan, “Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries,” INSDOC, New Delhi, 1983.
45. S. M. Monedero, M. Sánchez-García, R. C. Pino, F. Fornes, R. M. Belda, A. Lidon, and M. L. Cayuela, “Biochar as an additive in composting: impact on process performance and on the agronomical quality of the end product,” Acta Horticulturae, Vol. 1317, pp. 175–188, 2021. [CrossRef]
46. S. Saluja, A. Gaur, and K. Ahmad, “Physico-chemical characterization of stabilized MSW of an Okhla landfill,” Materials Today: Proceedings, Vol. 44, pp. 4287–4292, 2020. [CrossRef]
47. R. K. Annepu, “Sustainable Solid Waste Management in India,” http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/SustainableSolidWasteManagementinIndia_Final.pdf Accessed on Dec 29, 2016.
48. T. Hazra, and S. Goel, “Solid waste management in Kolkata, India: Practices and challenges,” Waste Management, Vol. 29(1), pp. 470–478, 2009. [CrossRef]
49. Y. M. Chen, T. L. T. Zhan, H. Y. Wei, and H. Ke, “Aging and compressibility of municipal solid wastes,” Waste Management, Vol. 29(1), pp. 86–95, 2009. [CrossRef]
50. J. N. Hogarh, J. N. Fobil, G. K. Ofosu-Budu, D. Carboo, N. A. Ankrah, and N. A. Nayarko, “Assessment of heavy metal contamination and micro-nutrient content of composts for environmental pollution control in Ghana,” Global Journal of Environmental Science, Vol. 2(3), pp. 133–139, 2008.
51. M. Vochozka, A. Maroušková, and P. Šuléř, “Obsolete laws: economic and moral aspects, case study—composting standards,” Science and Engineering Ethics, Vol. 23(6), pp. 1667–1672, 2017. [CrossRef]
52. M. M. Rahmana, M. S. H. Bhuiyanb, M. A. Roufb, R. R. Sarkerb, and M. H. Rashidb, “Quality Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Compost,” Acta Chemica Malaysia, Vol. 4(1), 2020. [CrossRef]