Life cycle assessment of the waste hierarchy--a Danish case study on waste paper

The waste hierarchy is being widely discussed these days, not only by cost-benefit analysts, but a growing number of life cycle assessments (LCA) have also begun to question it. In this article, we investigate the handling of waste paper in Denmark and compare the present situation with scenarios of more waste being recycled, incinerated or consigned to landfill. The investigations are made in accordance with ISO 14040-43 and based on the newly launched methodology of consequential LCA and following the recent guidelines of the European Centre on Waste and Material Flows. The LCA concerns the Danish consumption of paper in 1999, totalling 1.2 million tons. The results of the investigation indicate that the waste hierarchy is reliable; from an environmental point of view recycling of paper is better than incineration and landfilling. For incineration, the reason for the advantage of landfilling mainly comes from the substitution of fossil fuels, when incinerators provide heat and electricity. For recycling, the advantage is related to the saved wood resources, which can be used for generating energy from wood, i.e., from renewable fuel which does not contribute to global warming.     

Effect of mixing ratio of woody waste and food waste on the characteristics of carbonization residue

Biomass such as woody waste and food waste can be converted to a renewable energy source by means of carbonization processes. The basic characteristics of woody waste and food waste, such as proximate analysis and heating value, were evaluated before carrying out carbonization tests. Carbonization tests were carried out to obtain the basic characteristics of carbonization residue on changing the proportion of food waste from 0% to 30% in the mixture of woody waste and food waste. The effect of the food waste was estimated by basic characteristics of the residue such as the heating value, yield, and fuel ratio. As increased the food waste content, the bulk density, yield and chlorine content of the carbonization residue increased, but fuel ratio, the carbon content and heating value of the residue decreased. From the results of the basic characteristics of the residue, the optimum food waste content in carbonization tests was found to be 20%. Even if food waste is combined with woody waste at levels up to 30%, the sulfur and chlorine concentrations in the residue were much lower than the regulatory standard levels. From the results for the fuel ratio and heating value of the residue, the carbonization residue is suitable for use as a renewable energy source and can be categorized by the second grade level of solid fuel products.     

Biodegradation of paper waste under controlled composting conditions

The presence of paper in municipal solid waste (MSW) interferes with the efficiency of composting plants. The compost feedstock to these plants is between 12% and 27% paper on a dry weight basis, with an initial C:N ratio ranging from 32:1 to 57:1. Tests of the last aerobic biodegradability (LAB) of the type of paper present in paper and cardboard packaging were carried out, following UNE-EN 14046 standards. The results obtained, measured through the quantity of CO₂ generated over 45 days, compared with the maximum that could be produced (ThCO₂), showed that the presence of paper retards, to a great degree, the biodegradation of organic material in general. Specifically, the presence of papers with a degradation D (%) >60% at 45 days (white (W) and recycled paper (R)) could be allowed, but always in proportions that did not exceed 27% in dry weight. These results can be achieved with an industrial level process, pre-treated by trituration.     

Plates made with solid waste from the recycled paper industry

The results of assays carried out on plates used in the construction industry, manufactured entirely with solid wastes of a recycled paper plant, are presented and compared with the results obtained using agglomerated wood and plywood plates. Previous results had shown that wastes are composed essentially of polymers when these wastes are generated by recycled paper produced with the “waved type II” shavings. These solid wastes were placed in a mold that was heated and pressed with a hydraulic press in order to obtain the plates. The waste-produced plates were submitted to tests for humidity, swelling, water absorption, density, modulus of rupture-static bending, modulus of elasticity and direct screw withdrawal. These same assays had been carried out on two types of commercial wood plates, agglomerated wood and plywood, in order to compare the results with those obtained with the waste plate. Waste plates had similar behavior to the agglomerated wood plate, but it was possible to distinguish greater flexibility in the waste-produced plate and a significant difference in the tests for swelling and water absorption which showed the waste plate had a better performance than the agglomerated wood and plywood plates.     

Direct and indirect generation of waste in the Spanish paper industry

The paper industry has a relatively high degree of reliance on suppliers when compared to other industries. Exploring the role of the paper industry in terms of consumption of intermediate inputs from other industries may help to understand how the production of paper does not only generate waste by itself but also affects the amount of waste generated by other industries. The product Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a useful analytical tool to examine and assess environmental impacts over the entire life cycle of a product “from cradle to grave” but it is costly and time intensive. In contrast, Economic Input Output Life Cycle Assessment Models (IO-LCA) that combine LCA with Input–Output analysis (IO) are more accurate and less expensive, as they employ publicly available data. This paper represents one of the first Spanish studies aimed at estimating the waste generated in the production of paper by applying IO-LCA. One of the major benefits is the derivation of the contribution of direct and indirect suppliers to the paper industry. The results obtained show that there was no direct relationship between the impact on output and the impact on waste generation exerted by the paper industry. The major contributors to waste generation were the mining industry and the forestry industry.     

Co-composting of green waste and food waste at low C/N ratio

In this study, co-composting of food waste and green waste at low initial carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios was investigated using an in-vessel lab-scale composting reactor. The central composite design (CCD) and response surface method (RSM) were applied to obtain the optimal operating conditions over a range of preselected moisture contents (45–75%) and C/N ratios (13.9–19.6). The results indicate that the optimal moisture content for co-composting of food waste and green waste is 60%, and the substrate at a C/N ratio of 19.6 can be decomposed effectively to reduce 33% of total volatile solids (TVS) in 12 days. The TVS reduction can be modeled by using a second-order equation with a good fit. In addition, the compost passes the standard germination index of white radish seed indicating that it can be used as soil amendment.     

Improved enzymatic hydrolysis of waste paper by ozone pretreatment

Waste paper samples made from newsprint, copier paper, and magazine paper, as well as samples of kraft pulp and thermomechanical pulp, were pretreated with ozone to improve enzymatic hydrolysis. The ozone treatment of pulps of newsprint and of magazine paper increased the specific surface areas and total pore volumes while decreasing the lignin content so that these values became similar to those of thermomechanical pulps. These morphological and chemical changes in the pulps resulted in the increased access of cellulase to the pulp fiber surface and increased enzymatic hydrolysis. For copier paper, in which the lignin content was very low, additives on the pulp fiber surface were oxidized and removed by ozone treatment and extraction, and this allowed improved enzymatic hydrolysis. In contrast, surface areas and total pore volumes of kraft pulp and bleached kraft pulp were decreased by the ozone treatment, resulting in morphological changes in the pulps that decreased enzymatic hydrolysis.     

废旧电脑资源化初探

介绍了采用风力分选工艺回收废旧电脑电路板中Cu,Sn等金属.研究表明,废旧电脑印刷电路板破碎到0.5 mm以下就可以使电路板上的金属和非金属物质得到充分解离.立式和卧式电路板中Cu和Sn含量总和分别约为20%和13%,且含有一定量的Fe,Pb和Ni.采用风选工艺可以回收几乎所有的Cu及约50%的Sn.     

A multi-criteria decision analysis assessment of waste paper management options

The use of Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) was investigated in an exercise using a panel of local residents and stakeholders to assess the options for managing waste paper on the Isle of Wight. Seven recycling, recovery and disposal options were considered by the panel who evaluated each option against seven environmental, financial and social criteria. The panel preferred options where the waste was managed on the island with gasification and recycling achieving the highest scores. Exporting the waste to the English mainland for incineration or landfill proved to be the least preferred options. This research has demonstrated that MCDA is an effective way of involving community groups in waste management decision making.     

A case study of waste management at the Northern Finnish pulp and paper mill complex of Stora Enso Veitsiluoto Mills

This work presents the current waste management system at the pulp and paper mill complex of Stora Enso Oyj Veitsiluoto Mills at Kemi, Northern Finland. This paper covers examples of case studies carried out at the mill and describes how the wastes and by-products are utilized as a neutralizing agent for acidic wastewaters (i.e., green liquor dregs from the causticizing process), as a hardener in filling mine cavities (i.e., ash from the fluidized bed boiler), as a landscaping agent (i.e., ash as well as the fibre clay from chemical wastewater treatment plant), as a hydraulic barrier material for landfills (i.e., fibre clay), and as a soil enrichment agent (i.e., calcium carbonate from the precipitated calcium carbonate plant). In addition, the wood waste from the wood-handling plant, sawmill, packaging pallet plant and from the groundwood mill, as well as the biosludge from the biological wastewater treatment plant, are all incinerated in the fluidized bed boiler for energy production. Due to effective utilization of the solid wastes generated at the mills, the annual amount of waste to be disposed of in the landfill has decreased between 1994 and 2004 from 42,990 to 6083 tonn (expressed as wet weight). The paper also gives an overview of the relevant European Union legislation on the forest industry and on waste management, as well as of the pulping process and of the generation of major solid wastes in the pulp and paper mills.     

Effect of liquid-to-solid ratio on semi-solid Fenton process in hazardous solid waste detoxication

The liquid-to-solid ratio (L/S) of semi-solid Fenton process (SSFP) designated for hazardous solid waste detoxication was investigated. The removal and minimization effects of o-nitroaniline (ONA) in simulate solid waste residue (SSWR) from organic arsenic industry was evaluated by total organic carbon (TOC) and ONA removal efficiency, respectively. Initially, Box-Behnken design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used to optimize the key factors of SSFP. Results showed that the removal rates of TOC and ONA decreased as L/S increased. Subsequently, four target initial ONA concentrations including 100 mg kg⁻¹, 1 g kg⁻¹, 10 g kg⁻¹, and 100 g kg⁻¹ on a dry basis were evaluated for the effect of L/S. A significant cubic empirical model between the initial ONA concentration and L/S was successfully developed to predict the optimal L/S for given initial ONA concentration for SSFP. Moreover, an optimized operation strategy of multi-SSFP for different cases was determined based on the residual target pollutant concentration and the corresponding environmental conditions. It showed that the total L/S of multi-SSFP in all tested scenarios was no greater than 3.8, which is lower than the conventional slurry systems (L/S ? 5). The multi-SSFP is environment-friendly when it used for detoxication of hazardous solid waste contaminated by ONA and provides a potential method for the detoxication of hazardous solid waste contaminated by organics.     

表面活性剂的筛选与废纸脱墨剂配方的优化

以ONP/OMG混合废纸为脱墨对象,研究了常见的几种表面活性剂的脱墨效果,确定了在碱性条件下OP-10与FMEE单独脱墨时表现出较好的脱墨性能,并讨论了油酸钠作为油墨捕集剂以及尼诺尔6501作为泡沫稳定剂对脱墨效果的影响,最终确定了OP-10、FMEE、油酸钠与6501在45∶45∶5∶5的配比下具有最佳的协同增效作用,以该比例获得脱墨剂具有综合的乳化、分散、捕集、泡沫稳定性特点,适用于纸浆的浮选脱墨工艺.     

我国纸包装废物产生特性和回收状况研究

纸包装被广泛应用于各个领域,消费量巨大,废物的产生量也巨大,但我国对其产生特性和回收体系研究较少。首先分析纸包装的生产量、消费量、废物产生量和回收量,指出我国纸包装废物回收率,远高于废纸的统计回收率;其次,综合分析纸包装废物的回收特性和回收体系状况,指出纸包装废物主要流向和关键环节;然后,对纸包装消费趋势进行预测,最后,提出纸包装废物回收存在的问题和对策措施。     

中国废纸回收系统的现状及展望

分析了我国废纸回收行业的发展现状及存在问题,提出了提高我国废纸回收和利用率的具体措施,并以江苏省为例,介绍了其建设废纸回收体系的具体做法.     

An experimental study on fermentative H2 production from food waste as affected by pH

Batch dark fermentation experiments were performed on food waste and mixtures of food waste and wastewater activated sludge to evaluate the influence of pH on biological H₂ production and compare the process performance with and without inoculum addition. The effect of a preliminary thermal shock treatment of the inoculum was also investigated as a means to harvest the hydrogenogenic biomass. The best performance in terms of both H₂ generation potential and process kinetics was observed at pH = 6.5 under all experimental conditions (no inoculum, and untreated or thermally treated inoculum added). H₂ production from food waste was found to be feasible even without inoculum addition, although thermal pre-treatment of the inoculum notably increased the maximum production and reduced the lag phase duration. The analysis of the fermentation products indicated that the biological hydrogen production could be mainly ascribed to a mixed acetate/butyrate-type fermentation. However, the presence of additional metabolites in the digestate, including propionate and ethanol, also indicated that other metabolic pathways were active during the process, reducing substrate conversion into hydrogen. The plateau in H₂ generation was found to mirror the condition at which soluble carbohydrates were depleted. Beyond this condition, homoacetogenesis probably started to play a role in the degradation process.     

报废电冰箱的环保处理技术

介绍一种处理报废电冰箱的技术。首先对报废电冰箱进行分解,包括制冷剂回收、压缩机拆卸、散热系统和蒸发系统拆卸、箱体箱门钢板拆卸、箱体内胆拆卸、门衬拆卸和绝热泡沫剥离等。然后对于拆出的材料作进一步处理,钢板、管材经平整或矫直裁剪之后作为旧板材或旧管材;内胆和门衬破碎后作为注塑材料使用;压缩机组经专业检测、修复再利用或作为冶金炉料使用。聚氨酯泡沫需经分离回收R11处理,处理工艺路线包括泡沫粉碎、发泡剂蒸发、混合气收集、除尘、储气、压缩、冷凝、节流以及发泡剂与空气的分离;工艺参数涉及主要工艺环节的热力学计算,包括破碎后的泡沫中的R11发泡剂的蒸发吸热、混合气压缩功耗、冷凝过程的散热。同时还介绍了应用发泡胶接法的聚氨酯硬泡沫碎屑再成型技术。采用该工艺处理报废电冰箱,具有拆解物利用价值高、处理过程能耗低、便于分拣、设备造价低等优点,适合我国国情。     

Pore structure and adsorption properties of carbonized material prepared from waste paper

We have already reported the adsorptivity and pore structure of activated carbon made from waste newspaper in order to use the waste paper for purposes other than paper-making stock. However, manufacturing the activated carbon may not necessarily be an advantageous method based on environmental concerns and the effective use of the resource because the reaction during the activating process is endothermic and the amount of carbon consumed is significant. Here, we examine the pore structure and adsorption properties of waste newspaper used as an adsorbent in the form of a carbonized material. Waste newspaper was carbonized for 2 h in the temperature range 400°–1000°C. The specific surface area of the carbonized material obtained, 418 m²/g, was highest for the sample carbonized at 800°C, which was equal to or greater than that of commercially available charcoal. Moreover, the iodine adsorption number of 581 mg/g was the highest and the rate of adsorption was the fastest for the sample carbonized at 800°C. However, the humidity control capability was highest for the material carbonized at 600°–700°C. It has been determined that it is advantageous to carbonize waste paper at 800°C in order to use the carbonized material as an adsorbent, while carbonization at 600°–700°C is more advantageous for use as a humidity control material. Received: June 23, 2000 / Accepted: January 17, 2001     

An advanced study on the hydrometallurgical processing of waste computer printed circuit boards to extract their valuable content of metals

This study refers to two chemical leaching systems for the base and precious metals extraction from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs); sulfuric acid with hydrogen peroxide have been used for the first group of metals, meantime thiourea with the ferric ion in sulfuric acid medium were employed for the second one. The cementation process with zinc, copper and iron metal powders was attempted for solutions purification. The effects of hydrogen peroxide volume in rapport with sulfuric acid concentration and temperature were evaluated for oxidative leaching process. 2 M H₂SO₄ (98% w/v), 5% H₂O_2, 25 °C, 1/10 S/L ratio and 200 rpm were founded as optimal conditions for Cu extraction. Thiourea acid leaching process, performed on the solid filtrate obtained after three oxidative leaching steps, was carried out with 20 g/L of CS(NH₂)₂, 6 g/L of Fe³⁺, 0.5 M H₂SO₄, The cross-leaching method was applied by reusing of thiourea liquid suspension and immersing 5 g/L of this reagent for each other experiment material of leaching. This procedure has lead to the doubling and, respectively, tripling, of gold and silver concentrations into solution. These results reveal a very efficient, promising and environmental friendly method for WPCBs processing.     

脱硫废水生化处理初探

火电厂烟气脱硫过程产生的废水中污染物主要包括悬浮物、过饱和的亚硫酸盐、硫酸盐以及重金属等,燃煤电厂烟气系统增设脱硝装置后,进入脱硫废水的氨氮、总氮含量急剧增加。通过对国内外多个电厂的脱硫废水处理系统运行情况的调研及分析,采用厌氧氨氧化工艺作为废水脱氮方式是可行的。     

Properties of structural concrete with high-strength cement mixes containing waste paper sludge ash

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This paper studies the use of wastepaper sludge ash (WPSA) for structural concrete in binary and ternary mixes with high-strength cement and two...