CHAPTER 3

PLANT WASTE CONTROL

 INTRODUCTION

 Waste reduction techniques is a key components of

any cost-effective, comprehensive waste
management program.
 Waste reduction techniques can be applied to any
manufacturing process
 They do not have to be based on complex
technology or require large capital expenditures.
 Reduce the generation of waste

 Source reduction means any practice that reduces the

amount of pollutant released into the environment,
prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal and to
reduce the risk to public health and the environment.
 Source reduction means decrease the quantity or toxic
characteristics with changes and/or improvements in
the processes or operating procedures.
SOME EXAMPLES OF THIS TECHNIQUE:

 Elimination of leakages;
 Changes in operational procedures:
 Reformulation of raw materials/ products;
 Modification of equipment;
 Purification of raw materials and supplies.
Waste reduction techniques can be broken down into the
following categories:
 managing inventory
 modifying production processes
 modification of equipment
 Waste segregation
 reducing waste volume
 recovering waste
 Recycling and reuse
 MANAGING INVENTORY
 Proper control over raw materials, intermediate
products, final products, and waste streams is an
important waste reduction technique.
 The cost of disposing waste materials includes not only
the actual disposal costs but also the cost of the lost raw
materials or product.
 Purchasing the amount of raw materials needed for a
production run or set period of time is one of the keys
to proper inventory control
 MODIFYING PRODUCTION PROCESSES

 Improving the efficiency of a production process

significantly reduce waste generation at the source.
 The most cost-effective waste reduction techniques are
simple and inexpensive changes in production procédures.

Available techniques include

(1) improving operation and maintenance procedures,

(2) changing the materials used in production, and

(3) modifying existing equipment or purchasing more efficient

and cost-effective -equipment
 MODIFYING PRODUCTION PROCESSES CONT’D…

 Substitution of non-hazardous for hazardous raw

materials
 Redesigning or reformulation for products
 Segregation of wastes by type for recovery ;
 Reduce raw material and product loss caused by
leaks, spills and collect spilled material for reuse.
 Improve cleaning procedures to reduce generation of
dilute waste: schedule production and use dry clean-
up techniques.
 Optimize operational parameters such as
temperature, pressure, reaction time, concentration,
and chemicals to reduce waste generation or by-
product
 Evaluate the need for each operational step and
eliminate those that are unnecessary.
 MODIFICATION OF EQUIPMENT

 Installation of more efficient equipment produce

minimum or no wastes ;
 Redesigning of equipment to produce less waste ;
 Modification of equipment to enhance recovery or
recycling options;
 Improving operating efficiency of equipment ; and
 Maintaining strict preventive maintenance
programme.
 CHANGING TO LESS HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

 Hazardous materials used in a production process

may be replaced with a less hazardous or
nonhazardous material.
 Reformulating a product to contain less hazardous
material will reduce the amount of hazardous waste
generated
A less hazardous material used in a production
process will reduce the cost of capital needed to meet
 SEGREGATING WASTE AT THE SOURCE

 Segregation of wastes is a simple and economical

technique for waste reduction.
 By segregating wastes at the source and handling
hazardous and nonhazardous wastes separately, the
volume of waste and, the cost of managing it are
reduced or
 find new opportunities for recycling and reuse of
wastes.
 Uncontaminated may be reusable in the production

process

 This technique is applicable to a wide variety of

wastestreams and industries and involves simple

changes in operational procedures.

 Spent solvents or waste oils that are kept segregated

from other solid or liquid waste may be recyclable.

 If wastewater containing toxic material is kept

separate from uncontaminated process water, the

volume of water that must be treated is reduced.

A commonly used waste segregation technique is to

collect and store wash water or solvents used to

clean equipment for reuse in the production process.

 RECOVERING WASTE
 Recovering waste is a highly cost-effective waste
management alternative.
 Waste recovery techniques can help eliminate waste disposal
costs, reduce raw material costs and provide income from a
salable waste.
 The effective use of recovery depends on the segregation of
the recoverable waste from other process wastes or
extraneous material.
 This segregation ensures that the waste is uncontaminated and
the concentration of recoverable material is maximized.
WASTE REDUCTION THROUGH RECOVERY AND
REUSE
 REDUCING WASTE VOLUME

 Volume reduction includes techniques to separate toxic,

hazardous, recoverable wastes from the total waste stream.
 These techniques are usually used to increase material
recoverability;
 reduce waste volume and disposal costs or increase
management options.
 The available techniques range from simple segregation of
wastes at the source to complex concentration technology.
WASTE REDUCTION THROUGH VOLUME REDUCTION
 REUSE:

Reuse
 of wastewater directly in another operation or process;

Up
 to 90 % of recent wastewater reductions have been

achieved by industries employing such methods as

recirculation, operation modifications, effluent reuse or more

efficient operation.

As
 a rule, treatment of an industrial effluent is much more

expensive without water-saving measures than the total cost

of in-plant modifications and residual effluent treatment.

REUSE OF WASTEWATER FROM PROCESS 2 TO
PROCESS 1
 Reuse with regeneration: total or partial removal of
contaminants from the wastewater to reuse this
stream in another operation or process.

Fig. 2: Regeneration of the wastewater from process 2 to be reused in process 3.

 RECYCLING

• Recycling saves money, energy, raw materials, and

land space and also reducing pollution.
• Recycling encourages individual awareness and
responsibility.
• Creating incentives for recycling - public policies,
consumer demand
• Some make a living by gathering up recyclables!!
Fig. 3: Regeneration of wastewater to be recycled in the same process.
 The application of the techniques described above
has the following advantages:
 Reduction in the wastewater flow generated and
consequent reduction in cost of wastewater disposal;
 Reduction in the consumption of natural resource –
water- land- reducing the cost
 The Three R’s

 Reducing waste is the BEST way to conserve

energy and resources

Reduce -->> Reuse -->> Recycle

In that order: It matters!

 Resource Management

Conservation Waste Reduction

(Input management) (Output management)

Reuse and Recycle

Removal
Reduce
Efficienci Remediation
Improved Used by
es Restoration
Substitution Society
s

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 To revisit the three R’s:
Recycling (is good), Reusing (is better)… and
REDUCING is best!

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