Waste innovation

Downey KW, Snow RH, Hazlebeck DA, Roberts AJ. Corrosion and chemical agent destruction, research on supercritical waste oxidation of hazardous military waste. Innovations in Supercritical Fluids, Chapter 21. Washington, D.C. American Chemical Society, 1995. 

The success or failure of an organisation can be influenced by the type of innovations and developments which are available in the field of recycling plastics waste. Innovative recycling methods enable the... 

Thermal Desorption. Thermal desorption is an innovative treatment that has been appHed primarily to soils. Wastes are heated to temperatures of 200 to 600°C to increase the volatilization of organic contaminants. Volatilized organics in the gas stream are removed by a variety of methods including incineration, carbon adsorption, and chemical reduction. 

An innovative technology called the "lasagna" process is based on the electrokinetic phenomenon called electro osmosis. The lasagna process was created to treat difficult wastes in low permeabiUty, sdt- and clay-laden soils (40). The lasagna process is so named because it consists of a number of layered subsurface electrodes and treatment zones. These layers can be constmcted either horizontally where contaminants are forced to more upward or in vertical position where lateral contaminant movement is desired. 

As air pollution management moves forward, economics has a major role in reducing pollution. Multimedia considerations are forcing a blend of traditional emission reduction approaches and innovative methods for waste minimization. These efforts are directed toward full cost accounting of the life cycle of products and residuals from the manufacturing, use, and ultimate disposal of materials. 

Thus, bench or pilot studies are necessary to avoid technology misapplication in the field. The loss of time in treatment or the requirement to provide additional treatment for the waste is very expensive. Therefore, the relatively small costs and time needed for these studies make them useful tools in treatment selection. Bench-scale treatability studies for demonstrated technologies can cost between 10,000- 50,000 and take up to 6 weeks. Demonstrated technologies are those for which the major design parameters and treatment efficiencies are well understood. Innovative (and some biological processes) will require substantially more time (4-16 weeks) and money ( 25,000-> 200,000). These are estimates, and actual time and costs are going to depend on what kind of technology is under consideration. 

Benson and Ponton (1993) and Ponton (1996) have speculated on the ultimate results of continuing efforts for process minimization. They envision a twenty-first century chemical industry totally revolutionized by technological innovation, automation, and miniaturization. Small, distributed manufacturing facilities would produce materials on demand, at the location where they are needed. Raw materials would be nonhazardous, and the manufacturing processes would be waste free and inherently safe. While their vision of future technology is speculative, we are beginning to see progress in this direction. 

Heat recover) from exhaust air—If a heat recoveiy system allows an increase in the rate of outside air supply, lAQ will usually be improved. Proper precautions must be taken to ensure that moisture and contaminants from the exhaust air stream are not transferred to the incoming air stream. An innovative way of recovering heat and reducing the dehumidification cost is to use the waste heat to recharge the desiccant wheels that are then used to remove moisture from the supply air. In this method, the energy savings have to be substantial to offset the high cost of the desiccant wheels. 

In wet FGD systems, fine gas exiting from the particulate collector flows to an absorber. In the absorber, the flue gas comes into contact with the sorbent slurry. The innovative scrubbers in the CCT program featured a variety of technologies to maximize SO, absorption and to minimize the waste disposal problems (sludge). 

When unpleasant odors resulting from manufacturing processes or waste-disposal operations give rise to public complaints they should be identified and quantified prior to deriving methods of abatement. Such work is often innovative, requiring the design and fabrication of new equipment for the sampling and analysis of pollutants. 

One of the most important elements in the remediation of existing waste sites is early detection and actiom As an example, the cost of cleanup at Stringfellow, California, increased from an estimated 3.4 million to 65 million because of pollutant dispersal during a decade of inaction after the first identification of the problem. The opportunities for innovative sampling strategies responsive to this need are discussed in the following section. 

T.J. Bierma and F.L. Waterstraat Jr. Chemical Management Reducing Waste and Cost Through Innovative Supply Strategies , John Wiley Sons, New York, 2000. 

U.S. EPA, Brownfields Technology Primer Selecting and Using Phytoremediation for Site Cleanup, EPA 542-R-01-006, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Technology Innovation Office, Washington, 2001. 

Wang, L.K., Innovative UV, Ion Exchange, Membrane and Flotation Technologies for Water and Waste Treatment, 2006 National Engineers Week Seminar, Practicing Institute of Engineers, Albany, NY, February 2006. 

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