Automotive shredder residue (ASR) : a rapidly increasing waste stream waiting for a sustainable response

Recycling scrapped cars plays an important role in reducing pollution by decreasing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. Directive 2000/53/EC regulates the management of ELVs. ELVs are collected and dismantled to remove the battery, tyres, fluids and any parts that can be re-used and the wreck is shredded. The metallic parts are separated by physical processes and recovered as ferrous scrap and nonferrous metals, all of which is recycled. The 25% remainder is the automotive shredder residue (ASR), which is composed mainly of plastics, contaminated with any metallic and other parts that could not be separated. This is often disposed of in landfills as solid urban waste and is not recycled. ASR generation in EU is approximately 2-2.5 million tonnes /year, constituting 10% of total hazardous waste in the EU. The study suggests that recovery rates for ELVs set in the EU Directive on end-of life vehicles will not be met until the volume of the ASR is further reduced. Treatment of the ASR focuses on recovering any useable materials, reducing the volume of the ASR to cut down on the quantity that will end up in landfill, and recovering the energy from the petrochemical content of the plastics. Up-to-date there are 8 post-shredder technologies (PST) used or potentially used for the treatment of auto shredder residues (ASR). The aim of this study is to give an overview of what problem the ASR presents to modern society and what the options are for processing this waste into recovered products or materials, or energy, with a minimum of useless by-products for which landfilling is the only route

Simultaneous removal of metals Cu2+, Fe3+ and Cr3+ with anions SO42- and HPO42- using clinoptilolite

In the present study the effect of SO42- and HPO42- on ion exchange of Cu2+, Fe3+ and Cr3+ on natural clinoptilolite is examined under normality of 0.01 N, temperature of 25 ± 2 °C and pH 2-2.5 after four days of equilibration. It is observed that Cu2+ uptake is significantly decreased in the presence of HPO42- and SO42. The observed effect is less significant for Fe3+ and Cr3+ in the presence of SO42- and HPO42- respectively. This could possibly be due to the metal-anion complex formation and the nature and charges of the complex species present. Blank solutions show precipitation in the case of Fe3+/HPO42- solution, leading in complete removal of Fe3+ from solutions. Precipitation along with ion exchange is resulting in higher removal of Fe3+ from the solution than ion exchange or precipitation alone. Finally, anion co-removal is significant, reaching 80% for HPO42- ions. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Testing an electrochemical method for treatment of textile dye wastewater

Wastewater from total dyeing and finishing stages (TDFW) and wastewater only from dyeing stage (DW) from a Textile cellulosic reactive azo dyeing process were treated separately by an electrochemical method using Ti/Pt as anode and Stainless Steel 304 as cathode. In this technique, sodium chloride was used as an electrolyte and the mixture was passed through an electrolytic cell. Due to the strong oxidizing potential of the chemicals produced (chlorine, oxygen, hydroxyl radicals and other oxidants) the COD, BOD of the wastewaters were substantially decreased using this electrochemical technique. A number of experiments were run in a batch 5 litre apparatus and the results of the electrochemical treatment on the two kinds of wastewaters are reported here. The results indicate that the electrochemical method used is feasible for treatment of textile dyeing wastewaters. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. Wastewater from total dyeing and finishing stages (TDFW) and wastewater only from dyeing stage (DW) from a Textile cellulosic reactive azo dyeing process were treated separately by an electrochemical method using Ti/Pt as anode and Stainless Steel 304 as cathode. In this technique, sodium chloride was used as an electrolyte and the mixture was passed through an electrolytic cell. Due to the strong oxidizing potential of the chemicals produced (chlorine, oxygen, hydroxyl radicals and other oxidants) the COD, BOD of the wastewaters were substantially decreased using this electrochemical technique. A number of experiments were run in a batch 5 litre apparatus and the results of the electrochemical treatment on the two kinds of wastewaters are reported here. The results indicate that the electrochemical method used is feasible for treatment of textile dyeing wastewaters

Exploring factors that affect public acceptance of establishing an urban environmental education and recycling center

The reduction of waste amounts, mainly Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), has not been successful in many parts of Southern Europe, including Greece. Looking ahead, much more needs to be done and Circular Economy (CE) can address this challenge. Nowadays, emerged from the growing interest to boost ‘green’ growth in EU, CE and, by extension, waste management – an inherent element of CE – are issues that have become one of the EU's and Greece's main policy priorities. In accelerating the transition towards CE, the present study focuses on building environmental awareness. Upon the latter, the establishment of the first Environmental Education and Recycling Center in Greece is illustrated here as a best practice, in an attempt to explore the factors affecting acceptance to establish an additional center in Megara Municipality, close to Athens. Based on the above, a quantitative survey was carried out collecting questionnaires from 209 respondents. Although not completely representative of total population, the sample offers a good basis in order to study the factors that influence environmental awareness. Statistical analysis indicates how the establishment of an Environmental Education and Recycling Center in Megara depends on the (i) demographic profile data (age, monthly income, employment status), (ii) environmental consciousness, (iii) recycling habits and (iv) financial incentives. The empirical findings of this study also show that acceptance levels will increase with emphasis on the local development, by improving urban infrastructure and creating new jobs. Finally, according to the questioned sample, the old Megara Railway Station (OSE) is considered the appropriate area for the proposed Environmental Education and Recycling Center. © 2022 Elsevier B.V

Electrochemical oxidation of a textile dye wastewater using a Pt/Ti electrode

Textile dye wastewater (TDW) from a reactive azo dyeing process was treated by an electrochemical oxidation method using Ti/Pt as anode and stainless steel 304 as cathode. Due to the strong oxidizing potential of the chemicals produced (chlorine, oxygen, hydroxyl radicals and other oxidants) when the wastewater was passed through the electrolytic cell the organic pollutants were oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. A number of experiments were run in a batch, laboratory-scale, pilot-plant, and the results are reported here according to residence time and initial addition of HCl in raw wastewater. When of 2 ml of HCl 36% were added and after 18 min of electrolysis at 0.89 A/cm2, chemical oxygen demand (COD) was reduced by 86%, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) was reduced by 71%, ADMI color units were reduced by 100%, and TKN was reduced by 35%. The biodegradability of the wastewater was improved because the COD/BOD ratio decreased from 2.16 to 1.52. At the same time the efficiency of the electrode was about 170 g h-1 A-1 m-2. and the mean energy consumption was 21 kW h/kg of COD. These results indicate that this electrolytic method could be used for effective TDW oxidation or as a feasible detoxification and color removal pretreatment stage for biological post treatment. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V