MEE5901 All Assignments (May 2019)

MEE 5901 Advanced Solid Waste Material

Unit 1 Assignment

This assignment will allow you to demonstrate the following objectives:

? Assess the fundamental science and engineering principles of solid waste management.

? Examine the impact of solid waste on human populations.

Instructions: This assignment will allow you to understand the volume of non-hazardous waste that is generated by small businesses and residential homes. A portion will go to the landfill, and a portion will go into recycling programs for reuse or for repurposing. Being able to calculate these are is important for estimating the size of facilities handling this wastes and of the equipment and personnel required to collect and transport these wastes from point of generation to final disposition.

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 front loader garbage truck of 40 cu. yd. collects municipal solid waste each week from dumpster bins of apartment complexes located throughout the city. The waste in the truck is compacted to 750 pounds/cu. yd. The uncompacted waste in the dumpster bin is 175 pounds / cu. yd. (For all parts of this question, be sure to show all of your work.)

a) How many full dumpster bins with a 3 cu. yd. capacity can be placed into the garbage truck?

b) If the apartment complex has a mandatory recycling program and each person places only 4 pounds/day of trash into the dumpster bin, how many people can the garbage truck serve before it is full?

c) If the apartment complex has a mandatory recycling program and each person places only 3.5 pounds/day of trash into the dumpster bin, how many more people can the garbage truck serve before it is full?

2) A municipal government has hired you to help them with its recycle program. Using the information in Table 2–13 on page p. 65 of the textbook, propose three key areas where you would focus the municipal program and give your reasons for your proposals. In your answer, be sure to discuss how this program would affect the population of the municipality. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

3) A mobile phone is comprised of 15.5% of copper, and nickel and silver comprise 2.5% as broken down on pg.p. 66, Fig, 2–15. These three metals represent 83% of the potential toxicity that the components of the phone can exert on the environment. Describe how copper is toxic to the environment, and how this can affect the residents of an area. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

4) Describe the elements of the Integrated Solid Waste Management program. Give a detailed discussion and explanation as to which element has the greatest potential to impact affect the success of the program. What science and engineering principles are involved in this program? (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 300 words.)

 

 

MEE 5901 Advanced Solid Waste Material

Unit 2 Assignment

This assignment will allow you to demonstrate the following objectives:

? Assess the fundamental science and engineering principles of solid waste management.

? Relate leadership and management principles to effective solid waste management.

Instructions: In this unit, the management of municipal solid waste starts to be viewed from the perspective of the local government. This involves looking at questions that need to be answered to properly develop waste management policies and practices for the community. Some of the economic aspects of waste management are explored, as all these activities need to be funded and budgeted and paid for by the community.

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) Describe three key factors that help to determine the likelihood that a person will litter. Which of these factors is most likely to contribute to the probability that a person will litter. State how you came to this conclusion.

To fight litter in your community, design a six- step actionable litter plan that you can give to a project team to implement. In your plan, include the management principles that go into making this plan. Justify to the implementation team why your plan will be successful. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 300 words.)

2) A municipal government has agreed to provide once- per- week waste collection services to a new residential community of 10,000 people. The city council has hired you to make a preliminary assessment to determine if they it should build and operate a transfer station to support the collection. For the initial analysis, assume that the community does not have a recycling program. Here is some of the initial data that the municipal engineer has collected. The round- trip distance from the residential community to the landfill is 58 miles.

• The round- trip distance from the proposed site of the transfer station will be 63 miles.

• Size The size of the residential garbage truck that collects waste from the community is 28 cubic yards.

• The garbage truck is capable to of compacting the refuse to 650 pounds per cubic yard.

• A long- haul truck is capable to of transporting 23 tons of compacted waste per trip.

• The transfer station has a fixed operating cost of $10/ton.

• The cost to operate the garbage truck is $1.30/mile.

• The cost to operate the long- haul truck is $0.56/mile.

a) Using what you have determined from the information above, assess using the principles of solid waste management. Would you recommend to the city council that a transfer station should be built and operated? Show all work on how you came to your answer. Note: Pg.p. 39 – The United Nations (UN) estimates the waste generation rate is 4.8 pound per person per day.

b) If the community operated a recycling program, would this change or support your recommendation to the city council? Show all work on how you came to your answer. Note: Pgp.. 99 – Table 3.-1 – total Total recycled municipal waste is 34.5% of generation. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

3) Phase 1 of the refuse collection system discusses volume-based fee systems and weight-based fee systems.

a) For a residential community, explain why a volume-based fee system would be recommended.

b) Give the reasons for the fee based system that you would recommend for a commercial operation.

c) For a construction site, defend your recommendation for the fee based system that you would recommend.

d) What leadership and/or management principles factored into your recommendation? (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

4) Table 3.-1 (pg.p. 99) is a listing of materials collected in recycling programs in 2012.

• Which of these would you recommend to go to a compost pile? What percent of the 2012 recycled materials does this divert?

• Provide your recommendations to the city council for how you would keep materials destined for composting from comingling with the other recycled materials. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

 

MEE 5901 Advanced Solid Waste Material

Unit 3 Assignment

This assignment will allow you to demonstrate the following objectives:

? Evaluate the evolution of technologies related solid waste management.

? Describe best practices of solid waste management in an urban society.

Instructions: Advanced treatment technologies will be needed in the future to complement the traditional landfill and incineration options in use today. The objective of these technologies is to prepare wastes for disposal where combustion is present and to derive energy from municipal wastes with the benefit of reducing the volume that is landfilled after treatment. This extends the life of landfills before they become unavailable to the local community and need to be closed. The fuel value of municipal waste explored in this assignment is critical to the efficient operation of advanced technologies.

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) The particle size of municipal solid waste (MSW) is best described by a distribution of particle sizes. Referring to Figure 4–12 (pg. 145):

a) List the waste categories that have a larger particle size than the composite curve.

b) List the waste categories that have a smaller particle size than the composite curve.

c) As the blades on the shredder unit begin to wear, will the particle size of the composite curve be shifted towards larger or smaller particles? Explain how you came to your answer.

d) Looking at Table 4–3 (pg. 148), will Houston, TexasTX, or Wilmington, DelDE., have a coarser particle size distribution? Explain how you came to this determination using best practices in solid waste management. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

2) Properties of MSW (For parts A-C, show all of your work for the problems.)

a) As a consultant, your client hands you literature that they it have has received from two manufacturers of shredder equipment. The bulk density specifications of unit “A” is 29.3 lb/Ft3 ft3 and the bulk density of unit “B” is 435 Kgkg/M3m3. Which unit will deliver a higher bulk density refuse? Show your work.

b) Referring to Fig 4–1 (p.g, 127), how far above the floor is the bulk density of the stored MSW when it is compressed to 200 Kgkg/M3m3?

c) What is the potential concern of the facility manager if the moisture content of the stored MSW is 60%?

d) Prepare a table that compares two different shredder technologies presented in the textbook. In the table, list the advantages and disadvantages for each technology. When preparing the table, think about how your two chosen shredders have evolved over time to meet the needs of solid waste engineers. Include information about this in your table. (Your total response for Part D of this question should be at least 100 words.)

3) A local municipality is selling landfill capacity to a neighboring communities to generate additional revenue for the community. The following specifications are known about the facility:

• 25 acres are reserved for use by neighboring communities.

• The volume of waste that can go into the landfill will be limited to 2.5 million yd3

• The neighboring communities are required to deliver MSW at a density of 750 lb/yd3

a) How much revenue can the landfill generate if they it charges $45/ton for the waste received from the neighboring communities. ? Show all work.

b) If the landfill purchases a compressor capable of delivering 1,350 lb/yd3, how much additional revenue can the landfill generate? Show all work.

c) Refer to Fig. 4–6 (pg. 138). What pressure needs to be apply applie to the refuse to deliver a compressed waste to the landfill at of 500 lb/yd3?

d) The landfill is developing criteria for purchasing another compression unit. At what pressure must the compressor operateor to get a bulk density of 1,080 lb/yd3? (For Parts A-D, show all of your work.)

e) What are some of the best practice alternatives that will also generate income to offset landfill operational costs that the municipality might consider if the economics do not support selling landfill capacity to a neighbor that will also generate income to offset landfill operational costs? (Your total response for Part E should be at least 200 words.)

4) Hammermill Shredder

a) Figure 4–9 (pg. 142) shows a diagram of a vertical hammer shredder. Describe the function of the top half of the unit. What happens if the unit does not properly operate?

b) What is the function of the lower half of the unit? What happens if the unit does not properly operate?

c) Define what is meant by characteristic size? (For Parts A-C, show all of your work.)

d) Using Fig 4–16 (pg. 151), does the characteristic size (XO) of the refuse change as higher levels of refuse are processed? How would you explain to your client the variability that you see in the graphs to your client? (Your total response for Part D should be at least 75 words).

 

MEE 5901 Advanced Solid Waste Material

Unit 4 Assignment

This assignment will allow you to demonstrate the following objectives:

? Evaluate the evolution of technologies related to solid waste management.

? Describe best practices of solid waste management in an urban society.

Instructions: Municipalities make every effort to best use resources and technologies in their management of non-hazardous wastes. It can take 5 five to 10 ten years to construct and to permit a new landfill site. It is to everyone’s advantage to use the space in a manner that the right types of waste are disposed of and that compaction levels of the waste are high. This is accomplished when easily degradable wastes are composted, when particle sizes are uniform and every opportunity is made to remove recyclable content. The technologies in this chapter are examples of the available tools that engineers use to accomplish these objectives, and this assignment will allow you to further explore this topic.

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) Consider the residential waste components (1st column in Table 2-6 on page p. 53 in the textbook) and answer the following questions: (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 300 words.

a. What components of mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) are rejected in storage and sent via truck to the landfill?

b. What components pass through the trommel screen? What components are screened out through the trommel screen?

c. What components that passed through the trommel screen are captured in the magnetic separator? What components are sent to the flattener?

d. What components are removed in the sorting step? See Figure 5-38 (on p.age 225) for additional details.

e. What materials pass through the sorting step and go into the Hammermill shredding operation?

f. What materials are separated in the air classifier operation?

g. How do these processes demonstrate best practices of solid waste management?

 

2) A local municipality has plans to annex a suburb community of 80,000 people. Neither the municipality nor the community has a curbside recyclinge program as they both put all of their refuse into the trash bin for collection. The municipality hand sorts the refuse and recognizes that they it will need to hire new employees and establish a budget to hand sort a larger amount of waste. Assume the following: (1) hand sorting is done 8 eight hours per day; 5 five days per week and (2) employees are paid $21/hr, and that includes allotted benefits. (For Parts A and B of this question, show all of your work.)

a. How many new full-time employees will need to be hired?

b. What additional budget should be planned to cover the cost of the new employees?

c. What do you think would happen if these additional employees were not hired? Describe how this would affect the municipality and why it is best to hire these additional employees. (Your response for Part C of this question should be at least 100 words).

3) Your facility has purchased an air classification system with a fan that can generate an air flow rate in the system that goes up to 15 ft/sec. Your hammermill Hammermill shredder is able to provide a wastestream containing plastic that passes a 2 cm grate. The density of the plastic is 0.955 g/cm. The facility does not have the means to conduct a drop test, but as the site consultant, they want you to make your best estimate about whether the unit will separate out the plastic from the shredded waste. Show all work before you give your estimate. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

4) Describe how the terms coding and switching are used in relation to MSW. Show how these terms apply to picking and hand- sorting operations, and describe best practices for each. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

5) a. Describe how these separation technologies have evolved over the last decade. Include the factors that are driving the development and commercialization of these operations to be used in treating municipal solid waste.

b. In your opinion, which of the separation technologies in use today would qualify to be classified as best in class? State your criteria for what qualifies as best in class and state your reasons for your selection. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

 

MEE 5901 Advanced Solid Waste Material

Unit 5 Assignment

This assignment will allow you to demonstrate the following objectives:

? Assess the fundamental science and engineering principles of solid waste management.

? Examine the impact of solid waste on human populations.

Instructions: Biological treatment of municipal wastes are the primary means for degrading organic matter and for stabilizing the contents of the landfill. Both aerobic and anaerobic processes are functioning in landfills and compost piles. The majority of regulations are set up to protect these biological populations from being killed off or limited in their ability to complete the degradation cycle. The methane by-product can be used as an energy source to help reduce operating costs and to limit the release of a very strong greenhouse gas into the environment. This assignment will allow you to further explore these concepts.

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) Navigate to the Online Library and review some articles on landfills and on compost piles. This assignment is not about summarizing these operations but about analyzing and comparing the differences between these two fundamental principles of solid waste management. Describe when and why each of these fundamentals is appropriate for use to manage municipal solid waste. Include in your discussion details about the differences of microbial mechanisms, the end products of degradation, and of factors that help and harm the performance of these operations. How effective is each one? (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 500 words.)

2) A community of 62,000 does not have a municipal recyclinge program, and they it sends all of their its refuse to the municipal landfill. Will the landfill generate enough natural gas to meet the needs of the city if the municipality needs to annually generate 10 million cubic meters of natural gas (methane) and the city collects all of the methane that is generated? How will this affect the population of the city? Explain your answer. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 300 words.)

 

MEE 5901 Advanced Solid Waste Material

Unit 6 Assignment

Scholarly Activity

A local municipality expects to close its landfill in one year, and it has decided to adopt a thermal technology for the treatment of its municipal solid waste. The city needs your help to choose between a traditional municipal waste incinerator and a pyrolysis unit. As a solid waste professional, you have been hired by the city council to provide an analysis of these two technologies.

You are tasked with preparing an executive summary that compares the two technologies. Your summary should contain the following items:

a short description of the technologies, their advantages and disadvantages, their waste products, and their economics; the fundamental science and engineering principles of solid waste management that are involved; the laws or standards that factor into your decision;

how your decision will affect the population of the community; and

your recommendation and rationale to the city.

Your executive summary should be a minimum of three pages in length. You must use your textbook and at least one resource from the Online Library in your paper, but other academic sources may be used in addition. Any outside information used must be cited in accordance to APA style, and your paper should be formatted in APA style to include a title page, running head, and reference page.

 

 

 

MEE 5901 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.)

 

MEE 5901 Advanced Solid Waste Material

Unit 8 Scholarly Activity

You are an engineer in a design, build, and operate construction firm. The firm has received four requests for proposals (RFPs) and can only respond to one of these. You have been asked to review the RFP from Washentaw County, Michigan, and write up a three-page executive summary for the marketing team. After reading all of the executive summaries, the marketing team will make a decision about which, if any, of the RFPs to respond to.

The RFP from Washentaw County is located here: https://www.washtenaw.org/DocumentCenter/View/2386/RFP-6857-PDF

Your executive summary should include the following items:

an introduction that includes a detailed overview of the project scope;

identification of the required information to be included into the company response to the RFP; your concerns about any of the obligations in the RFP; how any negotiations with Washentaw County could affect the decision (i.e.,What collaborative methods of problem solving could be used to solve the marketing team’s problem of choosing an RPF? How could these methods be applied to this situation?); and your justified recommendation to respond or to pass on this business opportunity. This should include a description of the leadership and management principles that factored into your decision.

Also, as stated in the RFP, the criteria for making a decision will depend on the following three areas: price, collection and methodology, and responsiveness to the bid. While you cannot address the price issue, you can cover in your recommendation discussion the collection methodology and the level of detail that you would recommend when responding to the bid.

Your response should be at least three pages in length. At a minimum, you should use information from your textbook to support your answer, but other academic resources may be used as well. Any resources used should by cited in accordance with APA guidelines. Format your response in APA style to include a title page, running head, and reference page.