Resource recovery as alternative fuel and raw material from hazardous waste

Abstract

The treatment and disposal of industrial waste has become a critical economic and environmental issue with the ever-increasing rates of its generation. Industries in India, as major players in building the economy and GDP, expel about 7.4 million tons of hazardous waste annually, out of which around 3.98 million tons are recyclable for resource or energy recovery. India’s scenario in the usage of alternative fuel and raw material is less than 1%, which reflects a huge quantum of hazardous waste for potential usage in alternative fuel and raw material. The Netherlands, with around 83% of total hazardous waste, is the highest user of hazardous waste as alternative fuel and raw material in cement kilns. Uncontrolled waste management degrades land, ground water and air quality, leading to health risks to humans, animals and the ecosystem. Presently, industrial waste in most cases is disposed to landfills after incineration, without utilizing the full potential of the wastes through recirculation. The present study analyzed the current situation of the treatment facilities for attaining a sustainable management system using waste as alternative fuel and raw material for the disposal of hazardous waste. Through the alternative fuel and raw material concept, hazardous wastes can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels and/or raw material in a few types of industries. This will surely enhance the efficient recirculation of industrial wastes. This paper presents the overall view of Indian hazardous-waste generating industries, their locations, the potential of wastes as alternate sources of fuel to other industries, the use of alternative fuel and raw material by cement industries and applicable regulatory requirements.

Plastic waste management, a concern for community

“…Generally, in most cases, industrial waste residues are disposed in landfills after incineration. So hazardous wastes can be consumed in the production of an alternative for fossil fuels and/or raw material in some industries [74]. Plastic lumber can be prepared from commingled waste plastics along with rubber powder as reinforcement and fly ash as filler material by using washing and shredding machine and two stage extruder-injection moulding machine.…”

Source separation in municipal solid waste management: Practical means to its success in Asian cities

“…Low-value or non-marketable dry materials are sent to a cement plant to produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF) (Baidya et al, 2017), and to the Rural Road Development Board, for use as raw materials in road construction. Co-processing of wastes in cement plants through production of RDF is a highly effective waste treatment and disposal process and results in nearly zero residuals Ghosh, 2019, 2020;Sadala et al, 2019). The domestic hazardous waste is brought straight from the transfer stations to the Central Domestic Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility, operated by a private company, and incinerated with other biomedical waste collected from healthcare facilities in compliance with the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016.…”

Transformation and Detoxification of Typical Metallurgical Hazardous Waste into a Resource: A Review of the Development of Harmless Treatment and Utilization in China

“…The current disposal method for metallurgical hazardous wastes is mainly concentrated in landfilling, which not only occupies a large amount of land resources, but also pollutes the groundwater and surrounding environment. In addition, these treatment methods also have a great impact on animals, plants, and human health due to the leaching of heavy metal elements during stacking [4]. Therefore, it is an urgent imperative to find effective solutions of harmless treatment and resource utilization for metallurgical hazardous wastes to achieve sustainable development aligned with green principles.…”