an official journal of: published by:
an official journal of: published by:
Editor in Chief: RAFFAELLO COSSU

POTENTIAL AND MAIN TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES FOR MATERIAL AND ENERGY RECOVERY FROM FINE FRACTIONS OF LANDFILL MINING: A CRITICAL REVIEW

  • Juan Carlos Hernández Parrodi - Montanuniversität Leoben, Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering - Renewi Belgium SA/NV, NEW-MINE project, Austria
  • Daniel Höllen - Montanuniversität Leoben, Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, Austria
  • Roland Pomberger - Montanuniversität Leoben, Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, Austria

Released under CC BY-NC-ND

Copyright: © 2018 CISA Publisher


Abstract

Multiple landfill mining investigations of municipal solid waste landfills have been carried out worldwide in the past decades. Some of these studies have led to the conclusion that landfill mining is not feasible and could represent more of a problem than a solution for old landfill sites. This is the case to a certain extent because, to this day, material and energy recovery in landfill mining has been restricted to the coarse fractions (>10 mm to >60 mm) in most projects, while the fine fractions (<10 mm to <60 mm) have been often re-directed to the landfill with poor or no treatment at all despite their recovery potential. The fine fractions account for 40-80 wt.% of the total amount of the landfill-mined material. Its material composition is characterized by about 40-80 wt.% decomposed organic matter or weathered mineral fractions which cannot be hand-sorted, followed by significant amounts of calorific fractions and a small amount of metals. The main chemical compound found in landfill mining fine fractions is SiO2, mostly present as quartz and minor amounts of sheet silicates, followed by CaO, mostly present in carbonate minerals. MgO, Fe2O3 and Al2O3 represent minor components. Heavy metals are present in concentrations of few to several hundreds of mg/kg without a clear general trend of enrichment compared to the coarse fractions. In contrast, the net calorific value of the fine fractions (about 3-9 MJ/kg DM) can be several times lower than that of the coarse fractions (about 10-30 MJ/kg DM). These data clearly indicate that both a mineral fraction for waste-to-material and a calorific fraction for waste-to-energy might be recovered if suitable mechanical processing technologies can be employed. The potential of the fine fractions for material and energy recovery, as well as the main technological challenges to unlock it, are the main topics discussed in the present review article. This article has been elaborated within the framework of the EU Training Network for Resource Recovery through Enhanced Landfill Mining – NEW-MINE.​

Keywords


Editorial History

  • Received: 11 Apr 2018
  • Revised: 16 Jul 2018
  • Accepted: 25 Jul 2018
  • Available online: 09 Aug 2018

References

Archer, E., Baddeley, A., Klein, A., Schwager, J., & Whiting, K. (2005). Mechanical-Biological-Treatment: A Guide for Decision Makers. Processes, Policies and Markets. Juniper Consultancy Services Ltd.

Bhatnagar, A., Kaczala, F., Burlakovs, J., Kriipsalu, M., Hogland, M., & Hogland, W. (2017). Hunting for valuables from landfills and assessing their market opportunities: A case study with Kudjape landfill in Estonia. Waste Management & Research, 17, 0734242X1769781.

Bosmans, A., Vanderreydt, I., Geysen, D., & Helsen, L. (2013). The crucial role of Waste-to-Energy technologies in enhanced landfill mining: a technology review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 55, 10–23.

Chen, D., Guan, Z., Liu, G., Zhou, G., & Zhu, T. (2010). Recycling combustibles from aged municipal solid wastes (MSW) to improve fresh MSW incineration in Shanghai: Investigation of necessity and feasibility. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering in China, 4(2), 235–243.

Collins, H.-J., Brammer, F., & Harms-Krekeler, C. (2001). Rückbau von Siedlungsabfalldeponien. Müll-Handbuch.

Cossu, R., Salieri, V., & Bisinella, V. (Eds.) (2012). URBAN MINING: a global cycle approach to resource recovery from solid waste (First edition). Padova, Italy: CISA Publisher.

Danthurebandara, M., van Passel, S., Machiels, L., & van Acker, K. (2015). Valorization of thermal treatment residues in Enhanced Landfill Mining: Environmental and economic evaluation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 99, 275–285.

Danthurebandara, M., van Passel, S., Vanderreydt, I., & van Acker, K. (2015a). Assessment of environmental and economic feasibility of Enhanced Landfill Mining. Waste management (New York, N.Y.), 45, 434–447.

Danthurebandara, M., van Passel, S., Vanderreydt, I., & van Acker, K. (2015b). Environmental and economic performance of plasma gasification in Enhanced Landfill Mining. Waste management (New York, N.Y.), 45, 458–467.

European Commission. Directive 2008/98/EC on waste (Waste Framework Directive): Waste management hierarchy, from http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/framework/.

Forton, O. T., Harder, M. K., & Moles, N. R. (2006). Value from shredder waste: Ongoing limitations in the UK. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 46(1), 104–113.

Frändegård, P., Krook, J., Svensson, N., & Eklund, M. (2013). A novel approach for environmental evaluation of landfill mining. Journal of Cleaner Production, 55, 24–34.

Hernández Parrodi, J. C., Höllen, D., & Pomberger, R. (2018). Characterization of fine fractions from landfill mining: A review of previous investigations. Detritus, 2(1), 46–62.

Hogland, W., Marques, M., & Nimmermark, S. (2004). Landfill mining and waste characterization: A strategy for remediation of contaminated areas. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 6(2).

Hull, R. M., Krogmann, U., & Strom, P. F. (2005). Composition and Characteristics of Excavated Materials from a New Jersey Landfill. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 131(3), 478–490.

Jain, P., Kim, H., & Townsend, T. G. (2005). Heavy metal content in soil reclaimed from a municipal solid waste landfill. Waste Management, 25(1), 25–35.

Jani, Y., Kaczala, F., Marchand, C., Hogland, M., Kriipsalu, M., Hogland, W., & Kihl, A. (2016). Characterisation of excavated fine fraction and waste composition from a Swedish landfill. Waste Management & Research, 34(12), 1292–1299.

Jones, P. T., Geysen, D., Rossy, A., & Bienge, K. (2010). Enhanced Landfill Mining (ELFM) and Enhanced Waste Management (EWM): essential components for the transition to Sustainable Materials Management (SMM). Proceedings of the 1st International Academic Symposium on Enhanced Landfill Mining. 4-6 October, 2010. Houthalen-Helchteren, Belgium.

Jones, P. T., & Tielemans, Y. (2010). Enhanced Landfill Mining and the Transition to Sustainable Materials Management. Proceedings of the 1st International Academic Symposium on Enhanced Landfill Mining. 4-6 October, 2010. Houthalen-Helchteren, Belgium, 325.

Jones, P. T., Geysen, D., Tielemans, Y., van Passel, S., Pontikes, Y., Blanpain, B., et al. (2013). Enhanced Landfill Mining in view of multiple resource recovery: a critical review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 55, 45–55.

Kaartinen, T., Sormunen, K., & Rintala, J. (2013). Case study on sampling, processing and characterization of landfilled municipal solid waste in the view of landfill mining. Journal of Cleaner Production, 55, 56–66.

Kaczala, F., Mehdinejad, M. H., Lääne, A., Orupõld, K., Bhatnagar, A., Kriipsalu, M., & Hogland, W. (2017). Leaching characteristics of the fine fraction from an excavated landfill: Physico-chemical characterization. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 19(1), 294–304.

Krook, J., & Baas, L. (2013). Getting serious about mining the technosphere: a review of recent landfill mining and urban mining research. Journal of Cleaner Production, 55, 1–9.

Krook, J., Svensson, N., & Eklund, M. (2012). Landfill mining: A critical review of two decades of research. Waste Management, 32(3), 513–520.

Kurian, J., Esakku, S., Palanivelu, K., & Selvam, A. (2003). Studies on landfill mining at solid waste dumpsites in India. Proceedings Sardinia 2003. Ninth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. 6-10 October, 2003. S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy, 3, 248–255.

Mahmoudkhani, M., Wilewska-Bien, M., Steenari, B.-M., & Theliander, H. (2008). Evaluating two test methods used for characterizing leaching properties. Waste Management, 28(1), 133–141.

Masi, S., Caniani, D., Grieco, E., Lioi, D. S., & Mancini, I. M. (2014). Assessment of the possible reuse of MSW coming from landfill mining of old open dumpsites. Waste Management, 34(3), 702–710.

Maul, A., & Pretz, T. (2016). Landfill Mining from the processing perspective - a view on mass balance and output streams. Proceedings of the 3rd International Academic Symposium on Enhanced Landfill Mining. 8-10 February, 2016. Lisbon, Portugal, 403-410.

Mönkäre, T. J., Palmroth, M. R. T., & Rintala, J. A. (2016). Characterization of fine fraction mined from two Finnish landfills. Waste Management, 47(Pt A), 34–39.

Münnich, K., Fricke, K., Wanka, S., & Zeiner, A. (2013). Landfill Mining: A contribution to conservation of natural resources? Proceedings Sardinia 2013. Fourteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. 30 Sep. - 4 Oct., 2013. S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy.

Quaghebeur, M., Laenen, B., Geysen, D., Nielsen, P., Pontikes, Y., van Gerven, T., & Spooren, J. (2013). Characterization of landfilled materials: screening of the enhanced landfill mining potential. Journal of Cleaner Production, 55, 72–83.

Reinhart, D. R., & Townsend, T. G. (1997). Landfill bioreactor design & operation: CRC press.

Sormunen, K., Laurila, T., & Rintala, J. (2013). Determination of waste decay rate for a large Finnish landfill by calibrating methane generation models on the basis of methane recovery and emissions. Waste Management & Research, 31(10), 979–985.

Spooren, J., van den Bergh, K., Nielsen, P., & Quaghebeur, M. (2013). Landfilled fine grained mixed industrial waste: metal recovery. Acta Metallurgica Slovaca, 19(3).

Tachwali, Y., Al-Assaf, Y., & Al-Ali, A. R. (2007). Automatic multistage classification system for plastic bottles recycling. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52(2), 266–285.

Tchobanoglous, G., Theisen, H., & Vigil, S. A. (1993). Integrated Solid Waste Management: Engineering Principles and Management Issues. New York: McGraw-Hill.

UNEP/Grid-Arendal (2004). Vital Waste Graphics. Nairobi.

Van der Zee, D. J., Achterkamp, M. C., & Visser, B. J. de (2004). Assessing the market opportunities of landfill mining. Waste management (New York, N.Y.), 24(8), 795–804.

Van Vossen, W. J., & Prent, O. J. (2011). Feasibility study: Sustainable material and energy recovery from landfills in Europe. Proceedings Sardinia 2011. Thirteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. 3-7 October 2011. S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy, 247–248.

Vesanto, P., Hiltunen, M., Moilanen, A., Kaartinen, T., Laine-Ylijoki, J., Sipilä, K., & Wilén, C. (2008). Solid recovered fuels, quality analyses and combustion experiences: January.

Wolfsberger, T., Aldrian, A., Sarc, R., Hermann, R., Höllen, D., Budischowsky, A., et al. (2015). Landfill mining: Resource potential of Austrian landfills - Evaluation and quality assessment of recovered municipal solid waste by chemical analyses. Waste Management & Research, 33(11), 962–974.