Environmental Engineering

TOPIC 1. CLASSIFICATION, PRODUCTION, COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF SOLID WASTE Classification of solid waste: regulation (lectures 1-4). Production, composition and properties of solid wastes. Production and composition of solid wastes depending on their source. Statistical analysis of solid waste production. Physical, chemical and biological properties of solid waste. Concepts of integrated waste management: principles, targets and technical issues (lectures 5-8; practical exercises 1-2). TOPIC 2. SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND TRANSPORT Targets of source separation and waste collection. Collection systems. Methods and equipment for waste collection and transport. Collection routes. Algorithms for determination of collection routes (Dijkstra, Floyd, euristic methods, Clarke-Wright). Transfer stations. Economic analysis of waste collection and transport systems. Design of waste collection and transport systems. Separate waste collection. Recyclable municipal wastes. Hazardous municipal wastes. Commingled selective collection. Design of separate waste collection systems (lectures 9-12; practical exercises 3-4) TOPIC 3. MECHANICAL TREATMENT, SEPARATION AND MATERIALS RECOVERY Mechanical waste treatment with production of SOF and RDF. Binary separation theory. Processing units and design criteria. Dry and wet systems for solid waste processing. Production of refuse-derived or solids-derived fuel (RDF/SRF) (lectures 13-18; practical exercises 5 e 6 [part 1 and part 2]). TOPIC 4. BIOLOGICAL WASTE TREATMENT Biological processes. Treatment of the organic fraction of solid waste. Aerobic digestion. Treatment techniques and processes. Design criteria. Anaerobic digestion. High- and low-load processes. Biogas production and recovery. Health and safety issues. Use of compost and quality requirements. Uses and destinations of the stabilized organic fraction and digestate (lectures 19-22; practical exercise 7). TOPIC 5. FINAL WASTE DISPOSAL Sanitary landfilling. Concepts of sustainable landfill. Classification of sanitary landfills and waste acceptance criteria. Waste pre-treatment. Technical site characterization. Mechanical behaviour and stability of landfills. Bottom liner system. Surface water drainage and collection. Top covers: objectives and technical characteristics. Leachate drainage, collection, monitoring and treatment. Biogas collection and transport. Control of biogas dispersion. Health and safety issues (lectures 23-29; practical exercises 8 and 9). TOPIC 6. THERMAL WASTE TREATMENT Combustion, pyrolysis and gasification. Waste combustion: thermodynamic issues. Analysis of combustibles. Higher and lower heating value. Measurement of heating value. Combustion stoichiometry and kinetics. Combustion stages. Air excess. Combustion products. Composition and quality of effluent gases. Influence of chlorine on gas composition. Adiabatic flame temperature. Units of a waste combustion plant: storage unit, combustion chamber, post-combustion section, gas cooling section, air pollution control section. Energy recovery. Characterization of outlet streams from waste combustion. Organic and inorganic pollutants in solid residues. Techniques for optimization of solid residues composition. Reuse, treatment and disposal of solid residues from waste combustion (lectures 30-31). Treatment of gaseous effluents. Control of particulate matter (gravity separation, centrifugal separation, electrostatic precipitation, filtration, scrubbing). Control of sulphur oxides. Control of nitric oxides. Acid gas removal (lecture 32).

To successfully attend the Solid Waste Treatment Plants module and pass the final exam, basic knowledge of the following subjects is essential: • maths (with specific regard to differential and integral calculus) • physics (with specific regard to the basics of thermodynamics) • chemistry & engineering chemistry (with specific regard to the stoichiometry of chemical reactions, the concepts of chemical equilibrium in aqueous solutions and specific types of chemical reactions [acid-base, redox reactions], chemical reactors engineering) • sanitary and environmental engineering (with specific regard to the pollution indicators and the principles of effluent treatment) • fluid mechanics and hydrology (with specific regard to porous media hydraulic, processing of hydrological data and rainfall-runoff transformation) • geotechnics (with specific regard to soil geotechnical and mechanical properties) No compulsory prerequisites to access the final exam are required.

• T.H. Christensen, Solid Waste Technology & Management, Blackwell Publishing Ltd. • W.A. Worrell, P.A. Vesilind, Solid Waste Engineering, Cengage Learning Ed. • De Feo G., De Gisi S., Galasso M., Rifiuti solidi. Progettazione e gestione di impianti per il trattamento e lo smaltimento, Flaccovio Ed. • Tchobanoglous G., Noto La Diega C., Sirini P., Ingegneria dei rifiuti solidi, McGraw-Hill Ed. • Tchobanoglous G., Theisen H., Vigil A., Integrated Waste Management, McGraw-Hill Ed. • Niessen W.R., Combustion and Incineration Processes, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York • Dispense a cura del docente Note: the learning material is available at the following link (password-protected access; password provided upon registration at the course's Classroom group [detailed information on the teacher's online notice board]): https://alessandrapolettini.site.uniroma1.it/didattica

The module consists of a combination of lectures and classroom exercises (either of numeric or design type). The knowledge and understanding abilities defined in the module objectives will be mainly acquired through conventional lectures; applying knowledge and understanding will be acquired through both conventional lectures and classroom exercises; soft skills (making judgements and learning skills) will be acquired through the preparation of the final technical report as well as private study. Attendance to lectures is not compulsory.

Attendance to lectures is not compulsory.

The knowledge acquired by the students on the course topics will be evaluated through a final exam. The latter will involve an oral discussion of the main subjects of the course (as a rule, 3 subjects selected by the teacher during the exam), out of which one will be specifically focused on the practical/design projects implemented during the classroom sessions. The final evaluation will take into account mainly (70-80%) the acquired knowledge and understanding and the ability of their application, and for the remaining 20-30% the demonstrated making judgements abilities and autonomous learning skills. Each of these aspects will be judged on the 3 topics selected by the teacher during the exam.

• R.C. Bailie, J.W. Everett, B.G. Lipták, D.H.F. Liu, F. Mack Rugg, M.S. Switzenbaum, Solid Waste, CRC Press Ed. • La Grega M.D., Buckingham P.L., Evans J.C., Hazardous Waste Management, McGraw-Hill Ed. • Borman G.L., Ragland K.W., Combustion Engineering, McGraw-Hill Ed. • De Nevers N., Air Pollution Control Engineering, McGraw-Hill Ed.

The module consists of a combination of lectures and classroom exercises (either of numeric or design type). The knowledge and understanding abilities defined in the module objectives will be mainly acquired through conventional lectures; applying knowledge and understanding will be acquired through both conventional lectures and classroom exercises; soft skills (making judgements and learning skills) will be acquired through the preparation of the final technical report as well as private study.