SUS 8800B: Solid Waste Management

Syllabus 

CE H8400 / CE 58400 – SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT – 3.0 CREDITS

[Class No. 23608 - Section: 1HJ-LEC – Session: Regular]

Prof. Haralambos V. Vasiliadis, Ph.D., P.E., DEE, D.WRE, CIH....................................................................................
After class and by appointment
917.488.0507 (preferably Wednesday thru Friday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm) HvV@ATT.Net or HVasiliadis@ccny.cuny.edu (please use only one)

Your subject title AND all attached filenames of your emails should have the following format:“CEH8400-FALL2018-<Lastname><FirstName><MiddleInitial>-<subject>”, e.g., “CEH8400-FALL2018-VasiliadisHaralambosV-NotesheetA”

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Wednesday 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm Shepard S202

CE H8400 Environmental Engineering I

Generation of solid wastes. Municipal solid waste characterization, collection processing and disposal. Energy and resource recovery. Hazardous waste generation, collection, processing and disposal. Use of landfills and incinerators. Regulatory and economic aspects of urban solid waste issues. 3 hr./wk.; 3 cr.

The students completing this course will be expected to have acquired a broad analysis of implementing reuse and recycling in the municipal (minor), commercial and industrial (major) sectors in urban areas will be presented in this class. Environmental life cycle assessment of materials will be discussed. The technologies used to process materials for reuse and recycling will be examined with examples from major sectors. The environmental impact of such applications will be covered. Specialized reuse and recycling programs in New York City and other Cities in the US will be examined.

The course covers engineering aspects of solid waste collection, transport and disposal, including incineration, sanitary landfill, composting, recovery and reutilization. Also covered is the economic evaluation of factors affecting selection of disposal methods. This coure covers:

• Characterization of solid waste streams.

• Solid waste generation in municipal, commercial and industrial sectors.

• Waste minimization by waste reuse and recycling.

• Analysis of state-of-the-art reuse and recycling technologies.

• Economics of waste and its impact of reuse/recycling.

• Implementation of reuse and recycling technologies in major commercial and industrial sectors such as paper, glass, plastics, metals,

  wood, tire, electronics and construction/demolition wastes.

• Local, State and national legislative trends and regulatory requirements. Impact of reuse and recycling of wastes on CO2 emissions,

  urban sustainability and global warming.

• Examples of public and private reuse and recycling programs in NY City.

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  Handbook of Solid Waste Management, G. Tchobanoglous and F. Kreith, 2nd Edition (2002), McGraw-Hill, Inc, ISBN: 0-07-135623-1

  Integrated Solid Waste Management – Engineering Principles and Management Issues, G. Tchobanoglous, H. Theisen and S. Vigil, 1993, McGraw Hill, Inc., ISBN: 0-07-063237-5

  The Economics of Waste – Resource for the Future, R. C. Porter, 2002, 1-891853-42-2 or 1-891853-43-0

Prerequisities: Textbook: Reference(s):

No

Date

Topic

Reading

Homework

1	Wednesday, August 29, 2018	Introduction to integrated solid waste management, sources and quantities	Ch. 1
-	Wednesday, September 05, 2018	Monday schedule
2	Wednesday, September 12, 2018	Federal, State and City/Local legislation, (i.e, RCRA, CERCLA, TSCA, etc.)	Ch. 2, 3, and 4
-	Wednesday, September 19, 2018	No classes scheduled
3	Wednesday, September 26, 2018	Solid waste stream characteristics – physical, chemical and microbiological properties	Ch. 5
4	Wednesday, October 3, 2018	Collection of solid waste and landfilling – generation, handling, collection, ...	Ch. 7 and 14
-		No classes scheduled
5	Wednesday, October 10, 2018	Hazardous and universal waste management	Ch. 10 and 11A
6	Wednesday, October 17, 2018	Other special wastes management (incl. C&D)	Ch. 11 [B, C, D and E]
7	Wednesday, October 24, 2018	Life-cycle financial analysis	Ch. 16
8	Wednesday, October 31, 2018	MIDTERM EXAM – Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, and 14

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Grading Policy:

Report format:

Lecture Presentation: Class participation: Product-Specific paper: Reuse/Recycling paper: Mid-term exam:

Final Exam:
Other Assignments:

5%

5%
15% [10% paper and 5% presentation] 15% [10% paper and 5% presentation] 25%
35%
to be announced [max 10% as bonus]

Term papers:

All reports should be single spaced manuscripts with a minimum of 5 references to be listed at the end of the manuscript. Figures and tables can be scanned if appropriately referenced. Use only 81⁄2 “x11” paper. Reports should include the following sections [reference: www.utah.edu, www.utem.edu, www.asce.org, etc.]:

1. a)  Title Page – Title, Author, Organization, Date

2. b)  Abstract – A brief (typically 200-word) description of project objectives including investigative methods used, research

   conclusions and/or applications, and a list of key words that describe the project and identity the major research concept(s).

3. c)  Acknowledgements [optional] – One or two paragraphs

4. d)  Table of Contents

5. e)  List of Figures and Tables

6. f)  List of Symbols, Variables/Parameters and Abbreviations/Acronyms

7. g)  Introduction – One or two paragraphs

8. h)  Literature Review and Background

9. i)  Theory, Statement of Problem, Governing Principles, Equations, Legislation, etc., and Scope of Work

10. j)  Experimental/Research Approach/Methodology and Details

11. k)  Results – Discussion and Comparison

12. l)  Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

13. m)  References

14. n)  Appendices

Material borrowed or adapted from external sources must be identified and quoted (i.e., document, source, date and page). When referring to aspecific figure or table, spell out and capitalize the words “Figure” and “Table”. Acronyms must be spelled out the first time used, followed by the acronym in parentheses

1. Product-Specific Waste Management Paper
Assuming that at your home and work you have to manage (including accumulation, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal) a couple of containers with one of the following wastes:

1. Lead [D007], a toxicity characteristic [E] heavy/toxic metal (M) waste

2. Endrin [D012], a toxicity characteristic [E] pesticide [P] waste

3. Benzene [D018], a toxicity characteristic [E] volatile organic compound [VOC] waste

4. Cresol [D026], a toxicity characteristic [E] acid extractable [AE] semivolatile organic compound [SVOC] waste

5. Hexachlorobenzene [D032], a toxicity characteristic [E] base neutral [BN] AE SVOC waste

6. Acetone [D001 and/or F003], an ignitable [I] waste

7. Acetic acid [D002], a corrosive [C] waste

8. Acetyl chloride [D003], a reactive [R] waste

9. Acrolein [P003], an acute toxic [H] waste

10. Acetaldehyde [U001], a toxic [T] waste due to I

11. A hazardous waste from non-specific sources [F003]

12. A hazardous waste from specific sources/industries [K003]

13. A universal waste, such as lamps containing mercury, ballasts containing polychlorinated biphenyls [PCB], etc.

14. A regulated waste, such as asbestos

2. Manage/Reuse/Recycling Paper
Reuse/Recycling of materials constitutes a venue for resource conservation and recovery that has been receiving attention as communities and municipalities consider sustainability of resources as a key element in daily operations. Assuming that you are in charge for the management of one of the following product categories (choose one of the listed categories or propose another category):

1. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of electronics

2. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of construction and demolitions wastes

3. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of hazardous wastes

4. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of paper products

5. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of glass bottles

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Assignments:

6. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of plastic water bottles
7. How do we measure Reuse/Recycling?
8. Materials reuse/recycling and climate change. Is there a connection? 9. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of batteries
10. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of concrete
11. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of organic materials
12. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of scrap tires
13. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of aluminum cans
14. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of wood products
15. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of scrap metals
16. Manage/Reuse/Recycling programs in higher education institutions 17. Materials reuse/recycling and urban sustainability
18. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of industrial materials
19. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of structural steel
20. Manage/Reuse/Recycling of plastics

For both cases [product-specific and reuse/recycling] write a report including a detailed management protocol that a) would promote and support waste reuse and/or waste recycling, b) would provide incentives for reuse/recycling of such materials/wastes through standard and innovative methods and techniques, and c) would be in compliance with all applicable codes and regulations.

Provide solutions using a) standard management methods and b) innovative management methods. Make sure that in both cases you are in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local codes and regulations. Provide justification for selecting one alternative over another. Finally, provide incentives for searching and adapting an innovative management method. Define clearly your objectives and all applicable constraints. The first part of each report is due on the day of the midterm exam and the second one on the day of the final exam. In the first part, make sure that your report reflects a complete understanding of the product/category properties and the standard methods of managingthis product/category [i.e., sections a) Title Page ... to i) Theory, Statement ..., as listed above]. The second part should present all otheralternative/proposed options, an evaluations and final conclusions and recommendations [i.e., sections j) Experimental/Research ... to n)Appendices].

Each student will have a different topic and the work must be individual. The manuscript must describe the fundamental principles of reuse/recycling of the materials listed above, why it is significant and beneficial to reuse/recycle them, and data available on the effectiveness of reuse/recycling such materials in the US and abroad

Homework assignments are an important part of the learning process since they reinforce both concepts and computational skills. Be sure to allocate sufficient time. Although you are welcome and encouraged to discuss assignments with other students or with the instructor or graduate assistant, you must first make an effort to solve each problem by yourself. After any discussions about specific problems, you should prepare your assignment submittal independently – copied solutions violate the spirit of the learning process and the CCNY-CUNY Code of Conduct and appropriate academic dishonesty reporting will be implemented.

Homework should be submitted on 81⁄2 x 11 inch paper - either engineering computation paper (preferred) or lightly-ruled graph paper. Cover pages are not required. All pages should be consecutively numbered and the entire assignment must be stapled at the top left corner. On the top right corner of the first page of your homework include your full name, homework assignment number, problems solved partially and problems solved completely along with the date of submission. Underline your answers. Use proper graph paper for all graphs, sketches, designs, etc. which meet engineering standards. The overall appearance of your submittals is very important. Loose-leaf or other horizontally-ruled paper is not recommended as they are not standard in professional use. Computational problems can be done by hand as long as handwriting is legible.

Homework assignments are due one (1) week after the assignment date. Late homework will be subjected to deductions of 10 points per business day. Reports submitted more than 5 days late will no be accepted.

If a spreadsheet is used for calculations, a printout must be fully annotated so someone familiar with the course material can follow your computations. At a minimum, all rows and columns should be labeled with both variable names and units, and relevant equations should be provided either on the tabular printout or on a separate sheet of paper. Hand-written sample calculations must also be provided for all numerical values in a typical row (not the first row) of the table – write the equation using variables, show all relevant numerical values plugged in, then calculate the answer using your calculator to make sure it agrees with the number calculated by the spreadsheet.

Each group (consisting of 2 students) will be responsible to make one PowerPoint presentation covering the material presented in the previous lecture. The presentation will take place in the beginning of the class (review period) and should last for about 15 minutes including 10 minutes presentation and a 5-minute period for Q&A. Each group will be responsible to prepare slides for everything covered in class. However, due to time limitations, the actual presentation must be limited to a maximum of 10 or 12 slides in order to be presented properly within 10 minutes. By the end of the semester all presentation will be available to all students.

There will be two (2) exams (one midterm and one final exam). Exams will be based on lecture material, homework assignments and projects. Specific topics for each exam will be announced in class in advance. The examinations may consist of short-answer questions, true/false questions, numerical problems and essay questions. All exams will be closed book and notes. You may bring with you 2 sheets (8.5”x11”) ofnotes (i.e., 4 pages) for the midterm exam and 4 sheets (i.e., 8 pages) for the final exam but you are not allowed to include any numerical examples. In addition you may bring copies of tables and conversions (maximum 2 pages for each exam). Your exam notes will be reviewed in the beginning of each exam. Each set of exam sheets may receive up to 3 bonus points for its completeness, integrity and presentation. Typed exam notes will receive one (1) extra bonus point. During the exams, you are allowed to use calculators, rulers, pens/pencils and erasers. However, you are not allowed to use cell phones, computers (including notebooks, netbooks, ipads, etc.) or other electronic devices.

Presentation:

Exams:

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Class review: During the first 5 minutes of each class, 2 pre-selected students will present a synopsis of the material covered in the previous class. Students may use PowerPoint or other means of electronic presentations. Along with the presentation students should submit a copy of their class notes for the material covered in the presentation. Students may receive up to 4 bonus points for their class review presentation.

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