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MEE5901 Advanced Solid Waste Material

Unit 7 Assignment

This assignment will allow you to demonstrate the following objectives:

? Assess the political environment as it relates to solid waste and solid waste management.

? Summarize laws and standards related to solid waste management.

Instructions: The siting of a landfill is always contentious in a community due to operational issues with traffic and odors, and if you live close to the landfill you may deal with a decline in property values. Landfills will eventually generate leachate that can adversely impact the environment if the liner is breached, bringing toxicity to vegetation and contamination to ground water. Having a properly operating landfill can minimize many of these impacts to citizens and to the environment. This assignment will further explore these topics.

Answer the questions directly on this document. When you are finished, select “Save As,” and save the document using this format: Student ID_Unit# (ex. 1234567_UnitI). Upload this document to BlackBoard as a .doc, docx, or .rtf file. The specified word count is given for each question. At a minimum, you must use your textbook as a resource for these questions. Other sources may be used as needed. All material from outside sources (including your textbook) must be cited and referenced in APA format. Please include a reference list after each question.

1) A community generates 225 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per year.

a. What is the actual average annual production of methane that a community should expect from the landfill operation in BTU per year? (For Part A, show all of your work.)

b. What are the factors, laws, or standards that can limit the amount of methane production in the landfill? (Your total response for Part B should be at least 200 words.)

2) Use the treatment options in Table 8-11 (pg. 357) that lists biological and physical/chemical operations for treating leachate generated from a landfill to answer the following questions. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 300 words.)

a. Recommend a treatment train that uses one biological and one physical chemical operation. Provide your reason for making this recommendation.

b. In what order would you put these units? Describe your reasoning for your prescribed order.

c. If your proposed treatment scheme does not meet the prescribed permit discharge limits for the facility, what post-treatment technology would you recommend to ensure that discharge limits are met. Provide your reasons for your technology selection.

d. For each part of the question, be sure to explain what law and standards factor into your recommendation or reasoning.

3) Leachate and Groundwater Monitoring

a. Why are landfills designed to have a leachate head of 12 inches on the liner? If the leachate head had the potential to build to 24 inches, what is a simple design technique that could relieve the hydraulic pressure on the liner?

b. What are the monitoring requirements for an operational landfill? Create a table to describe what each parameter measures and why knowing this is important.

c. What are the post-closure monitoring requirements? Create a table to describe what each parameter measures and why knowing this is important? (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

4) Assume that a landfill is proposed for a location that is located east of a forest, west of a national park, and north of a major river.

a. What are some political factors that go into deciding if this is an acceptable location for a new regional landfill?

b. What engineering modifications could you recommend that would make this site acceptable to the city council?

c. If the landfill location is rejected, what recommendations would you propose that for managing the municipal solid waste for the community? (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)