Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part V Waste Minimization in the Petroleum Industry

The extractive nature of the petroleum industry sets it apart from other industries in many respects. The nature of this industry places it at somewhat of a disadvantage to other industries when attempts are made to foster waste minimization practices and programs. However, this is no excuse for the industry to not further vigorously pursue minimizing waste. This paper describes the petroleum industry and the products it makes along with their associated waste streams. The industry’s commitment to waste minimization is described with examples of specific minimization projects provided. Although the opportunities for minimization are limited, the economic incentives for reducing waste disposal costs, not to mention long term liability from improper disposal practices, has put the petroleum industry on the road to waste minimization.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part IV Waste Reduction in the Metal Finishing Industry

The metal finishing industry uses over 40 production processes to produce a wide range of metal products. Waste streams generated include wastewater, waste oils, spent solvents, and spent process solutions. Currently a wide variety of techniques which minimize waste are available. Cost-effective methods to reduce electroplating wastewater contamination include water conservation and drag-out reduction, recovery and management. Ways to cost-effectively reduce the generation of spent metal-working fluids include establishing a fluid management program and installing a fluid recovery system. However, before any techniques are selected, a waste reduction survey should first be conducted.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part VI Waste Minimization in the Foundry Industry

The foundry industry is a major consumer of waste materials (scrap). Unfortunately, the recycling of these waste materials can result in the generation of hazardous wastes that must be properly managed at a significant cost. This article focuses on two waste streams in the foundry industry; calcium carbide desulfurization slag and melt emission control residuals. The author presents an overview of how foundries have evaluated different waste management options with the ultimate goal of minimizing the generation of hazardous waste.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part IX Waste Minimization in the Automotive Repair Industry

Waste minimization in the automotive repair industry is characterized by the large numbers of small quantity generators (SQG) producing solvent, alkaline and detergent hazardous wastes. On-site management of multiple processes which vary depending on the size of shop make the administration of hazardous waste policies particularly complex. This paper presents the quantities and types of hazardous materials typically produced. Guidelines are presented to allow generators to organize a waste minimization program.     

Automated Economic Analysis Model For Hazardous Waste Minimization

Abstract

The U.S. Army has established a policy of achieving a 50 percent reduction in hazardous waste generation by the end of 1992. To assist the Army in reaching this goal, the Environmental Division of the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (USACERL) designed the Economic Analysis Model for Hazardous Waste Minimization (EAHWM). The EAHWM was designed to allow the user to evaluate the life cycle costs for various techniques used in hazardous waste minimization and to compare them to the life cycle costs of current operating practices. The program was developed in C language on an IBM compatible PC and is consistent with other pertinent models for performing economic analyses. The potential hierarchical minimization categories used in EAHWM Include source reduction, recovery and/or reuse, and treatment. Although treatment is no longer an acceptable minimization option, its use is widespread and has therefore been addressed in the model. The model allows for economic analysis for minimization of the Army’s six most important hazardous waste streams. These include, solvents, paint stripping wastes, metal plating wastes, industrial waste-sludges, used oils, and batteries and battery electrolytes. The EAHWM also includes a general application which can be used to calculate and compare the life cycle costs for minimization alternatives of any waste stream, hazardous or non-hazardous. The EAHWM has been fully tested and implemented in more than 60 Army installations in the United States.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part VII (A) Hazardous Waste Minimization within the Department of Defense

This article is a series of representative case studies of Department of Defense hazardous waste minimization. Each Military Department and the Defense Logistics Agency describe actual accomplishments. Areas covered range from production line modification to product specification change. These efforts are part of a Department of Defense plan composed of individual programs executed independently by each military service and defense agency.

Part VII of the hazardous waste minimization series appears in two separate installments: this installment, Part VII (A), deals with Department of Defense waste minimization efforts in vehicle repair operations, explosives manufacturing, and abrasive blasting processes; Part VII (B) will cover shipboard mercury wastes, industrial chemical control, solvent reclamation, and hazardous property sales efforts.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part Vii (B) Hazardous Waste Minimization within the Department of Defense

This article is a series of representative case studies of Department of Defense hazardous waste minimization. Each Military Department and the Defense Logistics Agency describe actual accomplishments. Areas covered range from production line modification to product specification change. These efforts are part of a Department of Defense plan composed of individual programs executed independently by each military service and defense agency.

Part VII of the hazardous waste minimization series appears in two separate installments: the first installment, Part VII (A), dealt with Department of Defense waste minimization efforts in vehicle repair operations, explosives manufacturing, and abrasive blasting processes; Part VII (B) covers shipboard mercury wastes, industrial chemical control, solvent reclamation, and hazardous property sales efforts.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part VIII Waste Minimization in the Pesticide Formulation Industry

The pesticide formulation industry is dependent upon the basic manufacturers for the main raw materials. Waste minimization efforts are, therefore, limited to process/handling sources. The economic incentive for waste reduction has mandated significant changes throughout each facility. There are waste problems, however, that require industry-wide action, e.g., empty containers. The ongoing regulatory actions affecting this business will require continuing efforts to maintain operations.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part I Waste Reduction in the Chemical Industry

Recognizing the need for minimizing the generation of hazardous waste, the chemical industry is experiencing a surge in the initiation of programs for reducing such waste. With a new realization that the cost of handling waste may be many times higher than the value of the materials lost in it, the industry needs to examine a new end-point for optimizing its processes; one that includes the total cost of waste management as well as the conventional cost elements such as raw materials, power and the like. The authors discuss some of the problems that industry is encountering; then describe Du Pont’s approach to waste reduction in terms of administrative and technical activities. They emphasize that, in addition to meeting environmental needs, waste reduction often makes good sense solely from an economic point of view.     

Hazardous Waste Minimization: Part X The Waste Minimization Assessment: A Useful Tool for the Reduction of Industrial Hazardous Wastes

This article describes the “nuts and bolts” of implementing a waste minimization program at an industrial facility which has made a commitment to carry out such a program for waste reduction and/or elimination. Under EPA sponsorship, a waste minimization assessment methodology has been developed and applied in a total often such assessments at industrial and DOD facilities. The article reviews the eleven distinct steps that represent the preferred procedure for carrying out a waste minimization assessment at an industrial site. This procedure is presented in detail in the recently published “The EPA Manual for Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessments.” Two case studies are presented which have employed this methodology to develop waste reduction options in the areas of source reduction and recycle/reuse. Lessons learned during the development and application of this methodology are also presented.     

The Potential Environmental Impact of Waste from Cellulosic Ethanol Production

Abstract

The increasing production of ethanol has been established as an important contributor to future energy independence. Although ethanol demand is increasing, a growing economic trend in decreased profitability and resource conflicts have called into question the future of grain-based ethanol production. Growing emphasis is being placed on utilizing cellulosic feedstocks to produce ethanol, and the need for renewable resources has made the development of cellulosic ethanol a national priority. Cellulosic ethanol production plants are being built in many areas of the United States to evaluate various feed-stocks and processes. The waste streams from many varying processes that are being developed contain a variety of components. Differences in ethanol generation processes and feedstocks are producing waste streams unique to biofuel production, which could be potentially harmful to the environment if adequate care is not taken to manage those risks. Waste stream management and utilization of the cellulosic ethanol process are equally important components of the development of this industry.     

Life Cycle Approach to Effective Waste Minimization

In the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of1984, Congress declared the objective of the national waste policy to be "to promote the protection of health and the environment and to conserve valuable material and energy resources." Further, Congress stated that this would be done by minimizing the generation and land disposal of hazardous waste by encouraging process substitutions, materials recovery, proper recycling and reuse, and treatment.

This paper presents the approach used by 3M to find innovative ways to minimize the amount of hazardous waste which ultimately must be disposed by landfilling. The life cycle of waste is examined, looking at how it can be reduced or eliminated starting with the point of generation in the manufacturing operation, to its processing, treatment or ultimate disposal as a residual hazardous waste. Case histories are used as examples of how waste can be minimized in each stage of the life cycle, with emphasis on innovative alternatives that have arisen out of the 3Mprogram.     

Siting a Fully Integrated Waste Management Facility in Alberta

The development of a special (hazardous) waste management system is well under way in Alberta, Canada, and completion of an integrated treatment and disposal facility near Swan Hills is expected in 1988. The facility will handle both inorganic and organic waste streams in a physical/chemical treatment plant and high temperature incinerator. Treated liquid residues will be disposed of in a deep well, and treated solid residues in a secure landfill. The chosen treatment technology and the established hydrogeological conditions of the site ensure the maintenance of environmental quality. An intensive site selection and public participation program provided that only locations which were environmentally and socially suitable for this development were considered. Through awareness of the problems of waste and the solutions for its management, and full citizen involvement in the site selection process, the siting and public participation programs accomplished the difficult task of selecting a location for North America’s first fully integrated special waste treatment and disposal facility.     

Medical Waste Disposal

Medical (biomedical) wastes pose numerous potential health and safety hazards. In addition to their infectious and toxic characteristics, the highly variable and inconsistent nature of medical waste streams has increased public concern about storage, treatment, transportation, and ultimate disposal.

In recent years, techniques have been developed to reduce human exposure to the toxic and infectious components of medical wastes. The most commonly used techniques include internal segregation, containment, and incineration. Other common techniques include grinding, shredding, and disinfection, e.g., autoclaving and chemical treatment followed by landfilling.

Of all the available technologies for medical waste treatment and disposal, incineration has been found to be the most effective method overall for destroying infectious and toxic material, volume reduction, and weight reduction in the medical waste stream, incineration destroys the broadest variety of medical waste constituents and can recover energy from the medical waste stream. Incineration also is an appropriate alternative to burial of human pathological remains.     

Chemical composition associated with different particle size fractions in municipal, industrial, and agricultural wastewaters

A more detailed characterization of particulate organic matter in wastewater streams is needed to improve solid-liquid separation and biological processes for wastewater treatment. The objective of this paper was to evaluate particle size distributions and the associated chemical composition for municipal, industrial, and agricultural waste streams. Most of the organic matter in these wastewaters was larger than a molecular weight of 10(3) amu and therefore would require extracellular hydrolysis before any bacterial metabolism. Particle size distributions were significantly different for the studied waste streams. In municipal wastewater, the organic matter was evenly distributed in all eight size fractions ranging from 10(3) amu up to 63 microm. The industrial and agricultural wastewaters, however, contained mainly soluble organic matter (<10(3) amu) and larger particles (>1.2 microm for the industrial and >10 microm for the agricultural waste) leaving a gap in the size range of large macromolecules and colloids. The relative protein and carbohydrate concentrations varied for the different size fractions compared to the measured chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the corresponding size fraction. Thus, the design of the solid-liquid separation at a treatment plant could be used to purposefully modify the overall chemical composition of the organic matter before further biological treatment. Particle size distributions will influence design and operation of biological nutrient removal processes such as denitrification or biological phosphorus removal that may be carbon limited if a large fraction of the organic matter is composed of large particles with slow hydrolysis rates. Measured particle size distributions for the different waste streams in this study (municipal, industrial, agricultural) were significantly different requiring specific approaches for treatment plant design.     

A Survey of Graduate Education in Hazardous Waste Management

A brief, informal survey questionnaire was sent to 69 universities in the U.S. Forty-two schools responded. Of the 42 respondents, 30 offered one or more courses in hazardous waste management. The average number of courses offered was 1.76 at an average frequency of once per year. Approximately 400 students take the hazardous waste management courses each year. Only four schools provided explicit laboratory training in hazardous waste analysis/treatment. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents have a research program in hazardous waste management. Typical course outlines are presented. Equipment needs for a hazardous waste laboratory are suggested.     

Recovery,Recycle and Reuse

An overview is provided of hazardous waste recovery, recycle and reuse. The quantities and types of hazardous waste that are generated in the United States are identified. Hazardous wastes are classified according to their economic potential for recovery. Energy and material recovery from organic liquids and metal recovery from sludges have the highest potential for economical recovery. Specific examples are provided of recovery from these types of wastes. A variety of financial and regulatory strategies can be used to encourage recovery from waste streams that do not have a potential for economical recovery. These range from restrictions on burial to the establishment of waste exchanges.     

Refinery Sludge Treatment/Hazardous Waste Minimization Via Dehydration and Solvent Extraction

Abstract

The patented Carver-Greenfield (C-G) Process®, a combination of dehydration and solvent extraction treatment technologies, has a wide range of uses in separating hydrocarbon solvent-soluble hazardous organic contaminants (indigenous oil) from sludges, soils, and industrial wastes. As a result of this treatment, the products from a C-G Process facility are: ? Clean, dry solids which are typically suitable for disposal in nonhazardous landfills;

? Water which is treatable in an industrial or Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) wastewater treatment facility;

? Extracted indigenous oil containing hydrocarbon soluble contaminants which may be recycled or reused or disposed of at less cost because its volume is smaller than the original waste feed.

The C-G Process was demonstrated on spent oily drilling fluids as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program. This paper summarizes the use of the C-G Process for economical treatment and minimization of hazardous refinery wastes, reviews the SITE program results, and describes extending the C-G Process technology to treatment of other wastes. Estimated treatment costs are presented.     

Contribution of stack gases and solid process wastes to the organic pollutant output of thermal waste treatment plants

Within the scope of fundamental investigations as well as individual research projects (W. Knorr, B. Hentschel, C. Marb. S. Sch?del, M. Swerev, O. Vierle, J.-P. Lay, 1999. Rückst?nde aus der Müllverbrennung-Chancen für eine stoffliche Verwertung von Aschen und Schlacken. Initiativen zum Umweltschutz, 13 ed., Deutsche Bundesstiftung Ulmwelt, Erich Schmidt, Berlin), the Bavarian State Office for Environmental Protection performs emission measurements at thermal waste treatment plants to optimize operation, to accompany and support development of new technologies, and to study the effect of this kind of waste treatment technology on the environment. Based on recent studies (October 1995-July 1999) at six municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWI) in Bavaria all emission streams (solid and gas) are characterized with respect to organic pollutant contents and compared to the emissions of waste pyrolysis. The significant ranges of pollutant concentration as well as the specific congener patterns observed are similar for all MSWI, regardless of differences in technical design and waste input, but differ markedly from those of the pyrolysis products. The overall approach, including the sampling of all output streams and the determination of mass streams and volume flow rates, allows the calculation of the total output of different organic pollutants for waste incineration plants aand to estimate the relative contribution of each of the emission streams to the total pollutant load. Removal efficiencies are also calculated for the air pollution control (APC) systems of the different MSWI plants.