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Sorting efficiency and combustion properties of municipal solid waste during bio-drying
Dong-Qing Zhang1, Pin-Jing He, Li-Ming Shao
1State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
Waste Management (New York, N.Y.)
|July 18, 2009
Summary
Bio-drying significantly improves municipal solid waste (MSW) sorting efficiency by reducing water content and enhancing organic degradation. This process also impacts combustion properties like higher heating values (HHVs) and lower heating values (LHVs).
Area of Science:
- Environmental Engineering
- Waste Management
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Municipal solid waste (MSW) management requires efficient sorting and effective treatment methods.
- Bio-drying is a promising technology for waste treatment, offering potential improvements in sorting and combustion properties.
- Understanding the quantitative relationships between bio-drying parameters and waste characteristics is crucial for process optimization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the quantitative relationships between sorting efficiency, combustion properties, organic degradation, and water removal during bio-drying of MSW.
- To compare the effects of aerobic and combined bio-drying processes on MSW characteristics.
- To analyze the impact of different waste compositions (food and paper vs. mixed waste) on bio-drying outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Set up one aerobic and two combined bio-drying processes.
- Quantitatively analyzed sorting efficiency, organic degradation rate, and water removal.
- Evaluated various combustion properties, including higher heating values (HHVs), lower heating values (LHVs), ignition performance, and combustion rate.
Main Results:
- Bio-drying enhanced MSW sorting efficiency from 34% to 71%.
- Sorting efficiency showed a negative correlation with water content (r=-0.89) and a positive correlation with organic degradation (r=0.92).
- HHVs correlated negatively with organic degradation for food and paper (FP) (r=-0.93) but positively for mixed waste (MW) (r=0.90); LHVs correlated negatively with water content for both FP (r=-0.71) and MW (r=-0.96).
- Combined processes with insufficient aeration during hydrolysis significantly enhanced LHVs.
- MW exhibited higher LHVs and volatile matter to fixed carbon ratios than FP, while FP showed higher final burnout values.
Conclusions:
- Bio-drying is effective in improving MSW sorting efficiency and altering combustion properties.
- The relationships between bio-drying parameters and waste characteristics vary with waste composition.
- Optimizing aeration during the hydrolytic stage of combined bio-drying can enhance lower heating values.
