Modern Methods of Utilizing Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Abstract

Abstract The article deals with the handling of municipal solid waste, it is shown that waste disposal at landfills still prevails in Russia, because it is associated with significant difficulties in organizing separate collection. It is shown that in European countries, along with separate collection, sorting and thermal processing of municipal waste are widely used. The operation of the MSW sorting plant in the city of Kostroma showed the possibility of deep sorting with subsequent marketable products receiving. However, the issue of processing glass and the organic part of (food) waste, whose moisture after separation reaches 40%, remains unresolved. The low-temperature combustion of MSW on moving gratings leads to significant emissions of dioxins and furans. In addition, the calorific value of organic waste, due to high humidity, is not sufficient to maintain combustion using air blast; in addition, cleaning a large volume of gases is difficult. The burning of MSW is successfully resolved by the use of oxygen blasting and additives of low-grade solid fuel. It allows achieving a high combustion temperature of the waste (1300° C and above), leading to complete burning of dioxins and furans, as well as significant reduction of exhaust gases volume.