Solid waste management

Abstract

Solid waste management has become crucial for many industries like thermal power plants, ferrous and non-ferrous metal industries. Among these non ferrous industries are facing a huge problem in managing their solid waste. These industries generate large quantities of solid waste containing heavy metals like Cr, Ni, Zn, CO etc. Though these elements are present in small quantities they cause havoc to the environment due to their gradual accumulation. This problem has to be properly addressed by disposing their solid waste in an environmentally friendly way. But technologies available are specific to the industry as well as their wastes. The bottle necking technologies are to be developed on the need based system. In the present study a simple chemical engineering principle is used and an innovative technique is developed to take hazardous solid waste in to the environment safely. Fly ash based low density bricks with zinc sludge were made. Fly ash, binder and sludge based wastes are taken in the proportions 80:15:5, 75:15:10, 70:15:15, 65:15:20. It is felt light weight bricks will help in the weight reduction of structures. Hence porosity was created by the addition of CMC (Carboxy Methyl Cellulose) in variable quantities. The quality of brick was assessed by measuring porosity, water absorption, linear and volume shrinkage, green body strength. To improve properties further the green bodies are fired at temperatures 700,800,900 and 1000 °C. Thus prepared bodies were tested for the above said properties. The bodies obtained from the study are light in weight and have sufficient strength to meet the construction brick standards. When the technologies incorporated into practice, sufficient quantities of hazardous waste would be taken into them with no damage to the environment.