Modern methods of waste processing. The main methods of waste processing. The main problems of MSW processing

20.06.2020

Removal, processing and disposal of waste from 1 to 5 hazard class

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Mankind is seriously faced with the problem of waste disposal, therefore, more and more advanced methods of waste disposal are being developed all over the world.

“Recycling” is now such a fashionable foreign word. Unfortunately, it has not yet gained the desired popularity in our country. In developed countries, resource conservation is an important motivation for recycling waste.

Special landfills and engineering landfills for waste disposal have a limited area, in addition, they occupy useful land and harm the environment around them. The problem is not solved by the removal of workings at waste incineration plants. They allow you to reduce the amount of waste, but cause no less harm to the environment, poisoning the air with toxic gases.

The latest efforts of scientists are aimed at developing new schemes for waste disposal, and to introduce new processing technologies by type, hazard class and source of origin. This approach is most effective in terms of environmental protection and rational consumption of exhaustible natural resources. The importance of competent waste processing also has an economic component - it contains useful components, the secondary production of which is much cheaper than primary extraction and processing.

Garbage classification

Types of waste by source of origin

household
Organic origin
industrial production
Medical
radioactive waste

Types of waste by state of aggregation

Solid
Liquid
Pastes
Suspensions
emulsions
Bulk

In total, there are 5 hazard classes of waste:

Working off, which belong to the first class of danger, pose a threat to all life on earth. Even in small quantities, they can lead to death, disability, the birth of sick offspring. Substances such as mercury, polonium, plutonium, lead can cause a serious environmental disaster.
The second and third hazard classes are united by garbage, which can cause ecological imbalance, and it will take decades to restore it. These include chromium, zinc, phosphorus and chlorine compounds, arsenic.
Low-hazard substances of the fourth hazard class also affect the human body and living beings. The ecosystem after their impact is restored within 3 years.
There is a fifth class - environmentally friendly garbage, but even in large quantities it can cause damage to the surrounding space.

A variety of working off leads to the need to create progressive methods of primary waste sorting.

Methods for processing household waste

The most significant part of the garbage on earth is MSW. Their source is residential areas and social facilities. With the growth of the world's population, the volume of solid waste is also growing. Currently, there are such types of recycling as:

Burial at landfills
Natural decomposition in the natural environment
Thermal processing
Isolation of useful components and recycling

burial

Looking at all existing methods of waste disposal, burial is the most common method. It is suitable only for garbage that is not subject to spontaneous combustion. Ordinary landfills are giving way to landfills equipped with a system of engineering structures that prevent contamination of surface and groundwater, atmospheric air, and agricultural land. In developed countries, gas traps are installed at landfills, which are formed during the decomposition process. It is used to generate electricity, space heating and water heating. In Russia, unfortunately, there is a very small number of engineering landfills for disposal.

Most of the workings are various organic residues, they quickly rot in the natural environment. In many countries of the world, household waste is sorted into fractions, their organic part is composted and valuable fertilizer is obtained. In Russia, it is customary to compost an undivided stream of MSW, so it is impossible to use decayed organic matter as a fertilizer.

Thermal processing

Thermal processing refers to the following methods:

Burning
Pyrolysis at low combustion temperatures
Plasma treatment (high temperature pyrolysis)

The process of thermal processing allows you to completely destroy harmful components, significantly reduce their number in burial sites, convert combustion energy into heat and electricity.

Simply incinerating garbage is a cheap way to dispose of it. In this area, proven methods of waste processing are practiced, serial equipment is produced, a high level of automation puts the process on a continuous flow. However, combustion produces a large number of harmful gases with toxic and carcinogenic properties. Gradually, the world is moving to pyrolysis.

The most effective is high-temperature pyrolysis - plasma treatment. Her virtues:

No need to sort leftovers
Getting steam and electricity
Obtaining a liquid residue - pyrolysis oil
Obtaining a harmless vitrified slag at the output, which can be used in secondary production.
Ecological safety for the environment and human health

Plasma waste disposal methods eliminate the need to create new landfills and landfills, and the economic benefits are expressed in millions of dollars in profit.

In recent years, waste recovery has begun to actively develop, i.e. recycling. Garbage contains many useful components that can be reused for the synthesis of new materials and the production of various goods.

From waste sorted:

Ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals
glass break
Paper and cardboard
Polymer packaging
Rubber
Remains of wood
Food leftovers, products with expiration dates

The development of recycling in Russia is hampered by the lack of an established waste sorting system. In developed countries, containers for various types of household waste are installed in the yards, and a culture of waste management is brought up from childhood. In our country, there are collection points for metals, paper, polymer products, but they cannot seriously stimulate the opening of new recycling facilities. A gradual transition to low-waste and resource-saving production is also desirable.

Disposal of industrial waste

Industrial waste includes:

Remains of raw materials and materials that are used in production
By-products of production - garbage, liquids, gases
Substandard and defective products
Decommissioned machinery and equipment

Theoretically, any useful component from production waste can be reused. The issue rests on the availability of efficient technologies and the economic feasibility of processing. That is why among industrial wastes, secondary raw materials and irretrievable wastes are distinguished. Depending on the category, different waste processing technologies are used.

Irrevocable waste, where there are no useful components, is subjected to burial in landfills and incineration. Before burial, industrial waste, which contains toxic, chemically active and radioactive substances, must be neutralized. To do this, use specially equipped drives.

Subject to centralized collection and neutralization:

Toxic waste containing mercury, arsenic, lead, zinc, tin, cadmium, nickel, antimony
Waste from galvanic production
Organic varnishes, paints, solvents
Oil products
Mercury-containing waste
Waste containing radioactive components

Accumulators are placed in open areas or in underground structures on the territory of enterprises or beyond. For solid waste, tailing and sludge collectors are built, dumps and waste heaps are arranged for waste rocks, ash, and slag. Liquid waste is placed in ponds, settling tanks and burial grounds. After neutralization, hazardous industrial waste is buried in separate authorized landfills.

All industrial enterprises are included in the list of nature users. In this regard, they must comply with the requirements, rules and regulations for waste management, as well as safety precautions, so as not to harm the environment.

The state is trying to encourage manufacturers to introduce low-waste technologies and convert waste into secondary raw materials. So far, this area is developing poorly in Russia.

The main ways of recycling industrial waste:

Separation of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, industrial alloys, such as win for the purpose of remelting.
The process of making granules from polymer waste, which is used in the production of the same type of polymer or materials with different properties.
Crushing rubber for use as fillers, production of building materials.
Use of wood waste and shavings for the production of finishing boards and paper.
Obtaining electric current and heat energy from combustible waste.

The problem of industrial waste disposal is very relevant for Russia, where the extractive industries, metallurgy, and petrochemistry are developed, forming a large amount of waste and by-products.

Medical Waste Disposal Methods

Medical waste is a special category. They are formed by medical institutions, pharmacies, pharmacological plants. Approximately 80% consists of ordinary household waste, but the rest can harm the life and health of many people.

Hazardous medical waste includes:

All items that have been in contact with patients with dangerous and especially dangerous diseases.
Remains of medicines, disinfectant liquids.
Remains of equipment that uses mercury salts and radioactive elements.
Organic waste - biomaterial from pathological and anatomical departments, operating rooms, immunoglobulins, vaccines.

In recent decades, the world has switched to the use of disposable medical instruments made of metal and various types of plastic. After disinfection, they can be sent for recycling after sorting. This judicious use of raw materials will save a significant amount of resources and reduce the cost of producing disposable instruments and patient care items.

Problems of waste disposal and recycling in Russia

The main problems of waste disposal in our country include:

The presence of many unauthorized dumps.
Combined waste, for example, mercury lamps can be disposed of like glass - according to the lowest hazard class.
Placement on a dump of spontaneously combustible waste.
Modern methods of waste disposal at waste processing plants are too expensive; they are disposed of at landfills much cheaper.
Weakness of the legislative framework and economic incentives for recycling enterprises. The standard is waste disposal at the enterprise.
Lack of infrastructure and well-established waste sorting process.

The need to maintain a healthy ecological environment will force government agencies to adopt the experience of developed countries. They will face the need to effectively solve the problems of disposal and recycling of various categories of waste, as well as switch to environmentally friendly production technologies.

The most common method of MSW disposal is incineration followed by disposal of the resulting ash at a special landfill. There are quite a few waste incineration technologies - chamber, stratified, in a fluidized bed. Garbage can be burned mixed with fossil fuels.

Thermal processing: process, advantages and disadvantages

Burning method(or in general terms, thermal methods of disposal of solid waste) has both undoubted advantages (it is possible to use the heat of combustion of solid waste to generate electricity and heat buildings, reliable disposal of waste), and significant disadvantages. A good flue gas cleaning system is required, since when burning MSW, hydrogen chloride and fluoride, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, as well as metals and their compounds (Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg, etc., are released into the atmosphere, mainly in the form of aerosols ) and, what is especially important, dioxins and biphenyls are formed during the combustion of waste, the presence of which in the exhaust gases greatly complicates their purification due to the low concentration of these highly toxic compounds.

A variation of the combustion process is pyrolysis - the thermal decomposition of MSW without air access. The use of pyrolysis makes it possible to reduce the impact of MSW on the environment and obtain such useful products as combustible gas, oil, resins and solid residue (pyrocarbon).

The process of high-temperature processing of household and industrial wastes in a bubbling slag melt is widely advertised (Fig. 1). The main unit of the technological scheme is a bubbling furnace, the design of which was developed in collaboration with specialists from the Stalproekt Institute (Moscow).

The furnace is simple and has small dimensions, high productivity and high operational reliability.

The process is carried out as follows. Household waste is fed into the loading device periodically. The pusher dumps them into a slag bath purged with oxygen-enriched air. In the bath, the waste is quickly immersed in the intensively recycled foamed melt. The temperature of the slag is 1400 - 1500 °C. Due to the intense heat transfer, the waste undergoes high-speed pyrolysis and gasification. Their mineral part is dissolved in the slag, and the metal objects are melted, and the liquid metal sinks to the hearth. In case of low calorific value of waste, in order to stabilize the thermal regime, small amounts of thermal coal are fed into the furnace as additional fuel. Instead of coal, natural gas can be used. To obtain a slag of a given composition, a flux is loaded.

The slag is discharged from the furnace through a siphon continuously or periodically and fed for processing. The chemical composition of the slag can be controlled over a wide range, obtaining compositions suitable for the production of various building materials - stone casting, crushed stone, aggregates for concrete, mineral fiber, cement.

The metal enters the siphon through the overflow and is continuously or in portions poured into the ladle and then transferred for processing or poured into ingots directly at the furnace, or granulated. Combustible gases - products of pyrolysis and gasification of waste and coal released from the bath - are burned over the bath by supplying oxygen-enriched air or pure oxygen.

Furnace high-temperature (1400 - 1600 ° C) gases are sucked off by a smoke exhauster into a steam boiler for cooling and beneficial use of their energy. The boiler carries out complete afterburning of gases. Then the cooled gases are sent to the purification system. Before they are released into the atmosphere, they are cleaned from dust and harmful impurities. High process temperatures, a rational combustion scheme, consisting in a combination of the redox potential of the gas phase and the temperature regime, determine the low content of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other impurities in flue gases.

Flue gases due to high-temperature combustion contain significantly less organic compounds, in particular dioxins.

The conversion of alkali and alkaline earth metals into the gas-vapor phase under process conditions promotes the binding of chlorine, fluorine and sulfur oxides into safe compounds that are captured during gas cleaning in the form of solid dust particles. Replacing air with oxygen makes it possible to reduce the volume of flue gases by 2-4 times, facilitate their purification and reduce the discharge of toxic substances into the atmosphere. Instead of a large amount of bottom ash (up to 25% with conventional combustion), containing heavy non-ferrous metals and dioxins, inert slag is formed, which is a raw material for the production of building materials. Dust carried out from the furnace with flue gases is selectively captured at different cleaning stages. The amount of dust is 2-4 times less than when using traditional ovens. Coarse dust (up to 60%) is returned to the furnace, fine dust, which is a concentrate of heavy non-ferrous metals (Zn, Pb Cd, Sn, etc.), is suitable for further use.

Modern methods of thermal processing of municipal solid waste

The Gintsvetmet Institute, together with other Russian organizations, has developed a technology for the thermal processing of MSW in a bubbling slag melt. Its main advantage is the solution of the urgent global dioxin problem: there are practically no highly toxic compounds (dioxins, furans, polyaromatic hydrocarbons) already at the outlet of the bubbling unit. At the same time, there are now a number of domestic and foreign methods of thermal processing of MSW, which are at different stages of development. The table shows the main indicators of thermal methods of MSW processing, the most known to environmentalists and specialists in the disposal of such waste. These methods have either already been commercialized or have been extensively tested. The essence of the processes used:

RC process- incineration of MSW in a furnace with grates (KR) or a boiler unit on grates of various designs;
COP process– incineration of waste in a fluidized bed (CF) of an inert material (usually sand of a certain size);
Piroxel process- electrometallurgical, including drying, pyrolysis (burning) of waste, processing of the mineral residue of combustion in the molten slag, as well as dust and gas cleaning of flue gases;
process in a Vanyukov furnace (PV) type unit– melting in the bubbling melt;
process developed at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences - incineration– gasification of waste in a dense layer of lumpy material without its forced mixing and movement;
Thermoselect process- combined, including the stages of waste compaction, pyrolysis and high-temperature gasification (with the production of synthesis gas, inert and some mineral products and metals);
Siemens process - pyrolysis– combustion of pyrogas and separated carbonaceous residue using a blast that is not enriched with oxygen.

Incineration of MSW in furnaces-boilers (CR process) due to relatively low temperatures (600 - 900 °C) practically does not solve the dioxin problem. In addition, secondary (solid unburned) slag and dust are formed in this process, which require separate processing or are sent for disposal with subsequent negative consequences for the environment. These shortcomings are also inherent in the CS process to a certain extent. Here, the need to prepare raw materials for processing is added in order to comply with the particle size distribution.

The disadvantages of the process developed by the Institute of Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences include:

the need for sorting and crushing waste to a certain size; addition and subsequent separation of a coolant of a given granulometric composition;
the need to develop an expensive flue gas cleaning system - synthesis gas, which is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

The process of smelting MSW in a bubbling melt (in the PV furnace) should be noted (in addition to dioxin safety) two more advantages: a relatively high specific productivity and low dust removal. These indicators are due to the bubbling effect (intensive gas blowing of the melt bath and spray-saturation of the working space of the furnace above the bath). An important positive factor is the presence of industrial experience in their operation at non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises in Russia and Kazakhstan. In general, it can be stated that the latest domestic development surpasses other domestic and foreign technologies for processing solid waste in key indicators and is a certain scientific and technical breakthrough in solving the world environmental problem.

Currently, one of the authors, under the guidance of the head of the graduation project, is developing a project for a solid waste landfill for st. Arkhon RNO-Alania, where the issue of unsatisfactory handling of solid household waste is acute. When developing this project, the stated ways of solving the treatment of solid waste and, first of all, the preliminary sorting of this waste and the extraction of polymer and other waste for further processing will be taken into account.

Biothermal processing of MSW: Aerobic fermentation

Of the biothermal methods in practice, the most widespread is aerobic fermentation, which is often called composting (after the name of the end product of fermentation - compost used in agriculture).

Fermentation is a biochemical process of decomposition of the organic part of the waste by microorganisms. Organic material, oxygen and bacteria interact in biochemical reactions (saprophytic aerobic microorganisms present in sufficient quantities in MSW), and carbon dioxide, water and heat are released (the material self-heats up to 60-70°C). The process is accompanied by the synthesis of humus. Reproduction of waste destructor microorganisms is possible at a certain ratio of carbon and nitrogen.

The best contact between organic matter and microorganisms is provided by mixing the material, as a result of self-heating of which, during the fermentation process, the majority of pathogens, helminth eggs, and fly larvae are destroyed.

According to the results of research by British specialists, at the initial stage of fermentation, the mixture is mineralized, as evidenced by a decrease in the total carbon content of organic matter and humic acids. The resulting biomass has a high degree of polymerization and is characterized by a significant (compared to soil) nitrogen concentration. In the process of fermentation, the content of phenolic groups in the biomass decreases and the content of HOOC and C=0 groups increases.

As a result of the completed fermentation process, the mass of biodegradable material is halved and a solid, stabilized product is obtained.

Composting after disposal of MSW has been developed in world practice as an alternative to incineration. The ecological task of composting can be considered the return of part of the waste to the cycle of nature.

The most intensive development of MSW composting from the end of the 60s to the beginning of the 80s was mainly in Western Europe (Italy, France, the Netherlands). In Germany, the peak of plant construction occurred in the second half of the 1980s (in 1985, 3% of MSW was processed into compost, in 1988 - about 5%). Interest in composting increased again in the mid-1990s due to the involvement in the processing of not MSW, but selectively collected food and plant waste, as well as waste from the landscape gardening complex (thermal processing of these wastes is difficult due to high humidity, and burial is associated with uncontrolled formation of filtrate and biogas). In European practice, by 2000, about 4.5 million tons of waste were processed annually using aerobic fermentation at more than 100 plants (of which 60 plants were built in 1992-95).

In the CIS countries, direct composting of raw MSW is used at nine plants: in St. Petersburg (the first plant in the former USSR, built in 1971; Mogilev, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, Tbilisi and Baku (all plants were designed by the Giprokommunstroy institute, Mogilev - by the Belkommunproekt institute).

It should be noted that due to the heterogeneous composition of waste, direct composting of MSW is impractical, since the resulting compost is contaminated with glass and heavy metals (the latter, as noted, are contained in hazardous household waste - spent galvanic cells, fluorescent lamps).

At the first mechanized industrial plants, MSW was most often composted in piles, periodically subjecting the material to tedding.

There are currently three most common aerobic fermentation methods in industry:

fermentation (composting) in biodrums;
tunnel composting (fermentation);
fermentation (composting) in the holding pool.

Since 1971, in the CIS, composting in biodrums has been practiced exclusively (in the mode of loading and unloading the material, the rotational speed of the biodrum is 1.5 min1, the rest of the time is 0.2 min1). In Russia (a plant in Tolyatti), on the basis of cement kilns, biodrums of two standard sizes are produced - 36 and 60 m long; diameter of biodrums - 4 m.

Thermal processing: process, advantages and disadvantages

The furnace is simple and has small dimensions, high productivity and high operational reliability.

Flue gases due to high-temperature combustion contain significantly less organic compounds, in particular dioxins.

Modern methods of thermal processing of municipal solid waste

RC process- incineration of MSW in a furnace with grates (KR) or a boiler unit on grates of various designs;
COP process– incineration of waste in a fluidized bed (CF) of an inert material (usually sand of a certain size);
Piroxel process- electrometallurgical, including drying, pyrolysis (burning) of waste, processing of the mineral residue of combustion in the molten slag, as well as dust and gas cleaning of flue gases;
process in a Vanyukov furnace (PV) type unit– melting in the bubbling melt;
process developed at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences - incineration– gasification of waste in a dense layer of lumpy material without its forced mixing and movement;
Thermoselect process- combined, including the stages of waste compaction, pyrolysis and high-temperature gasification (with the production of synthesis gas, inert and some mineral products and metals);
Siemens process - pyrolysis– combustion of pyrogas and separated carbonaceous residue using a blast that is not enriched with oxygen.

The disadvantages of the process developed by the Institute of Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences include:

the need for sorting and crushing waste to a certain size; addition and subsequent separation of a coolant of a given granulometric composition;
the need to develop an expensive flue gas cleaning system - synthesis gas, which is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

Biothermal processing of MSW: Aerobic fermentation

Of the biothermal methods in practice, the most widespread is aerobic fermentation, which is often called composting (after the name of the end product of fermentation - compost used in agriculture).

As a result of the completed fermentation process, the mass of biodegradable material is halved and a solid, stabilized product is obtained.

At the first mechanized industrial plants, MSW was most often composted in piles, periodically subjecting the material to tedding.

There are currently three most common aerobic fermentation methods in industry:

fermentation (composting) in biodrums;
tunnel composting (fermentation);
fermentation (composting) in the holding pool.

In our world, due to the fact that the population is constantly increasing, the consumption of resources is also steadily increasing. And the consumption of renewable resources and non-renewable resources is accompanied by an increase in the amount of waste. Garbage dumps, pollution of water bodies - this is all that human life leads to.

And it is logical that without the use of innovative methods of waste processing, there is a high probability of turning the planet into one huge dump. And it is not surprising that scientists are constantly inventing and putting into practice new ways of processing solid waste. What methods are used today?

1. Waste disposal at landfills. These include

earthen backfill

2. Natural methods of MSW decomposition. This includes

Composting

3. Thermal processing of MSW. This includes

Burning
low temperature pyrolysis,
High temperature pyrolysis (plasma processing)

Let's talk about everything briefly.

Landfilling is the most common waste disposal method in the world today. This method applies to non-combustible wastes and to those wastes that release toxic substances during combustion.

Waste landfill (MSW) is not an ordinary landfill. Modern landfills for disposal are complex engineering structures equipped with systems to combat pollution of groundwater and atmospheric air. Some landfills are able to process the gas generated during the decay of waste gas into electricity and heat. Unfortunately, today this applies to a greater extent to European countries, since in Russia a very small percentage of landfills meet these characteristics.

The main disadvantage of traditional waste disposal is that even with the use of numerous purification systems and filters, this type of disposal does not make it possible to completely get rid of such negative effects of waste decomposition as rotting and fermentation, which pollute the air and water. Therefore, although compared to other methods of disposal, MSW disposal is quite cheap, environmentalists recommend recycling waste, thereby minimizing the risks of environmental pollution.

Composting is a waste processing technology based on their natural biodegradation. For this reason, composting is widely used to process organic waste. Today, there are technologies for composting both food waste and undivided MSW.

In our country, composting has not become widespread enough, and it is usually used by the population in individual houses or garden plots. However, the composting process can also be centralized and carried out at special sites, which are a processing plant (MSW) of organic waste. The end product of this process is compost, which can be used in various agricultural applications.

Since household waste contains a fairly high percentage of the organic fraction, thermal methods are often used to process MSW. Thermal processing of waste (MSW) is a set of processes of thermal impact on waste, necessary to reduce their volume and mass, neutralize, and obtain energy carriers and inert materials (with the possibility of recycling).

Important advantages of modern thermal processing methods are:

effective disposal of waste (complete destruction of pathogenic microflora).
reduction of waste volume up to 10 times.
use of the energy potential of organic waste.

Of all the variety that MSW processing methods can boast of, incineration is the most common. The main advantages of incineration are:

high level of technology testing
mass-produced equipment.
long warranty period
high level of automation.

The main trend in the development of waste incineration is the transition from direct waste incineration to optimized combustion of the fuel fraction obtained from MSW and a smooth transition from incineration as a waste elimination process to incineration as a process that provides additional generation of electrical and thermal energy. And the most promising today is the use of plasma technologies, which provide a temperature higher than the melting temperature of the slag, which makes it possible to obtain a harmless vitrified product and useful energy at the output.

Plasma processing of waste (MSW), in essence, is nothing more than a procedure for the gasification of waste. The technological scheme of this method involves the production of gas from the biological component of waste gas in order to use it to produce steam and electricity. An integral part of the plasma processing process are solid products in the form of non-pyrolyzable residues or slag.

A clear advantage of high-temperature pyrolysis is that this technique makes it possible to process and destroy a wide variety of household waste in an environmentally friendly and relatively simple manner from the technical point of view without the need for their preliminary preparation, i.e. drying, sorting, etc. And of course, the use of this technique today is more profitable from an economic point of view than the use of other, more outdated methods.

In addition, when using this technology, the resulting slag is a completely safe product, and it can be used subsequently for a variety of purposes.

The modern world does not stand still. Every year, production volumes increase, population growth and urban expansion continue. At the same time, the problem of waste disposal has ripened. On the ground, special landfills for waste products are present in limited quantities. At the same time, the volumes entering them exceed their capacity, so the garbage mountains increase every day. Untreated heaps of waste negatively affect the ecological state of the planet. That is why there was a need to create high-quality waste processing plants. At these facilities, it is necessary to apply only modern methods of waste processing and disposal. It is worth noting that the garbage generated by mankind belongs to various hazard groups. In order for waste recycling to be effective, for each individual type it is necessary to choose its own disposal method. But first they need to be sorted.

Waste household

This number includes the remains of products associated with the life of people. It can be plastic, paper, food and other similar waste that was thrown out of institutions and homes of the population. The rubbish that we used to get rid of is found at every step. Many garbage is assigned the fifth and fourth degree of danger.

Recycling of household waste from plastic should not be done without mechanical action, i.e. grinding. Further, they are necessarily treated with chemical solutions. Often, after such a procedure, new polymeric substances are made, which are used again to create new products. Household waste such as paper or food waste can be composted and then putrefied. Subsequently, the resulting composition is suitable for use in agricultural business.

Biological decay

Biological species in nature are humans and animals. These two groups also generate a large amount of waste. A lot of this rubbish comes from veterinary clinics, sanitation organizations, catering establishments and similar businesses. Processing of biological waste is reduced to their incineration. Substances of liquid consistency are transported on special vehicles. Incineration is also used for organic waste.

Industrial waste

This type of waste is generated as a result of the functioning of production and technological activities. This includes all construction waste. It appears in the process of installation, facing, finishing and other works. For example, this category of waste includes paint and varnish residues, heat-insulating substances, wood and other industrial “trash”. Processing of industrial waste is often incinerated. Wooden remains are suitable for obtaining a certain amount of energy.

radioactive waste

Such wastes include solutions and gases that are not suitable for use. First of all, these are biological materials and objects containing radioactive components in large quantities (above the permissible norm). The degree of danger depends on the level of radiation in such waste. Such garbage is disposed of by burial, some is simply burned. A similar method of processing applies to the next group of residues of activity.

medical waste

This list contains all substances that are produced by medical institutions. Approximately 80% of waste is ordinary household waste. He is harmless. But the remaining 20% are capable of causing damage to health in one way or another. In Russia, the disposal and processing of radioactive and medical waste has many prohibitions and conventions. Also, the country carefully spelled out the necessary conditions for handling this group of garbage, methods for their burial or incineration. Special repositories for liquid and solid radioactive components were created. If it is necessary to get rid of medical waste, it is put in special bags and set on fire. But this method, unfortunately, is also unsafe, especially if the drugs belong to the first or second hazard group.

Division into classes

All waste is divided depending on its state of aggregation. So, they are solid, liquid or gaseous. In addition, all garbage is classified according to the degree of danger. There are four classes in total. Garbage belonging to the first degree of danger poses the strongest threat to the planet and living organisms, including humans. These wastes can spoil the ecological system, which will lead to a catastrophe. These include the following substances: mercury, polonium, lead salts, plutonium, etc.

The second class includes residues that can cause an ecological failure that will not be able to recover for a long period (about 30 years). These are chlorine, various phosphates, arsenic, selenium and other substances. The third hazard group includes those wastes, after the impact of which the system will be able to recover in ten years. But only if the garbage no longer affects the infected object. Among them, chromium, zinc, ethyl alcohol and so on are distinguished.

Low-hazard waste - sulfates, chlorides and simazine - is assigned the fourth class. But this does not mean that they practically do not affect humans and the ecosystem. If the source is removed, the organism or nature will be able to recover only after three years. There is fifth grade trash. This means that the waste is completely safe for the environment.

The Importance of Recycling

There are several reasons why competent recycling is necessary:

Getting into the environment, most substances and materials turn into pollutants (it is worth considering that our planet is already suffocating every day from the emissions of cars and factories).
Many of the resources from which certain materials are created are exhausted. Their stocks are too limited, so recycling is the way out.
In some cases, objects that have fulfilled their purpose turn out to be a source of substances. Moreover, they are cheaper than natural materials.

More about recycling

Recycling is a change in waste materials until they completely disappear or change the structure so that it is not possible to reuse them. But this word can have another meaning. For example, it is often used in a figurative sense.

Today, a large amount of waste is reused for different purposes. All garbage that is disposed of today is divided into two main groups:

Solid household waste (glass, paper, plastic, food waste).
Industrial waste (biological, medical, radioactive, construction waste, as well as waste from the transport complex).

Disposal can be carried out in one of several ways, which are also divided into groups. For example, the main methods include heat treatment, composting, which is a natural decomposition method, and waste disposal in special landfills. Some of these recycling methods allow you to get secondary raw materials.

Recycled materials

Usually, all the waste that remains after human production and activities is called "recyclable". But this view is not entirely correct. The fact is that not all waste should be recycled or sent to other needs. There is also a group of waste that is reused only as an energy source (after special treatment), therefore it is also not classified as a secondary raw material. Those substances that, after processing, give out energy, are called "secondary energy raw materials."

This group can include only those materials that, after a certain impact, can become suitable in the national economy. A good example is a canned food can. It can no longer be used to store food, but after being melted down, it is used to make a new food container or other metal objects. It becomes obvious: secondary raw materials are items that, after being used for their intended purpose, are resources that will be useful for further use. To get a new product or raw material, waste processing is necessary. Today, several methods are used for this, which are described below.

Natural processing

Back in the 20th century, in most cases, the processing of household waste was carried out by composting. Garbage, in particular organic, was dumped into specially dug pits and sprinkled with earth. Over time, the waste decomposed, rotted and was used as fertilizer in agriculture. But relatively recently, this method has been slightly modified. Scientists have developed hermetic installations for heating composted waste. Organic residues in this case begin to decompose faster, which results in the formation of methane, which is biogas. It was he who began to be used to create biofuels.

Specialized companies have appeared that build mobile stations for waste processing. They are used in small villages or on a farm. It was calculated that such large-scale stations intended for cities would be unprofitable to maintain. It takes a lot of time to get a decomposing product, and the resulting fertilizers still remain unused, and they also need to be disposed of somehow. In addition, there are other wastes that have nowhere to go, so they will accumulate. For example, it is plastic, construction residues, polyethylene and so on. And it is economically unprofitable for the authorities to create a specialized plant where the processing of municipal solid waste would be carried out.

Thermal disposal

Thermal processing refers to the burning of solid household waste. The process is used to reduce the amount of organic matter and render it harmless. Further, the resulting residues are disposed of or disposed of. After burning, the garbage is significantly reduced in volume, all bacteria are exterminated, and the resulting energy is able to generate electricity or heat water for the heating system. Such plants are usually arranged near large city dumps so that the processing of solid waste takes place on a conveyor. There are also nearby landfills intended for the disposal of processed residues.

It can be noted that waste incineration is divided into direct and pyrolysis. With the first method, only thermal energy can be obtained. At the same time, pyrolysis combustion makes it possible to produce liquid and gaseous fuels. But regardless of the method of thermal disposal, harmful substances are released into the atmosphere during combustion. It harms our ecology. Some people install filters. Their purpose is to retain solid volatile substances. But as practice shows, even they are not able to stop pollution.

If we talk about the technology for processing medical waste, several special furnaces have already been installed in Russia. They are equipped with gas cleaning devices. In addition, microwave, steam-thermal treatment and autoclaving have appeared in the country. These are all alternative methods of incinerating medical and other suitable waste. Residues containing mercury are processed by special thermochemical or hydrometallurgical methods.

Plasma Utilization

This method is currently the most modern way of disposal. Its action takes place in two stages:

Waste is crushed and compressed under pressure. If necessary, the garbage is dried to achieve a granular structure.
The resulting substances are sent to the reactor. There, the plasma flow transfers so much energy to them that they acquire a gaseous state.

To avoid ignition is obtained with the help of a special oxidizing agent. The resulting gas is similar in composition to ordinary natural gas, but it contains less energy. The finished product is sealed in containers and sent for later use. Such gas is suitable for turbines, boilers, diesel generators.

Similar processing of production waste and household waste has been used for some time in Canada and the United States. In these countries, the remains of human life are effectively disposed of, and the final product is used for good as fuel. In the West, they are already preparing to introduce this technology on an even larger scale. But since such equipment is quite expensive, it cannot be purchased by the CIS countries.

Is it possible to solve the problem of waste disposal?

Of course, for the processing of solid waste and garbage hazardous to health to take place at the highest level, a lot of financial investments are required. Political circles should also be interested in this. But for now, we have to make do with obsolete equipment for recycling. According to the authorities, the existing factories cope with the problem, so there is no need to reconstruct and re-equip them. Only an ecological catastrophe can serve as an impetus for this.

Although the problem is vast, it is still possible to solve or reduce its size. The situation requires an integrated approach on the part of society and the authorities. It is good if everyone thinks about what he personally can do. The simplest thing a person can do is start sorting the garbage that he generates. After all, the one who throws away waste knows where he has plastic, paper, glass or food. If it becomes a habit to sort the remains of life, then such garbage will become easier and faster to process.

A person needs to be regularly reminded of the importance of proper waste disposal, their sorting and respect for the natural resources that he owns. If the authorities do not take measures, conduct motivational campaigns, simple enthusiasm will not be enough. Therefore, the problem of waste disposal will remain in our country at a “primitive” level.

Modern methods of waste processing. The main methods of waste processing. The main problems of MSW processing

Garbage classification

Methods for processing household waste

burial

Thermal processing

Disposal of industrial waste

Medical Waste Disposal Methods

Problems of waste disposal and recycling in Russia

Thermal processing: process, advantages and disadvantages

Modern methods of thermal processing of municipal solid waste

Biothermal processing of MSW: Aerobic fermentation

Thermal processing: process, advantages and disadvantages

Modern methods of thermal processing of municipal solid waste

Biothermal processing of MSW: Aerobic fermentation

Waste household

Biological decay

Industrial waste

radioactive waste

medical waste

Division into classes

The Importance of Recycling

More about recycling

Recycled materials

Natural processing

Thermal disposal

Plasma Utilization

Is it possible to solve the problem of waste disposal?

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