STUDIES ON COMPOST QUALITY AND ITS APPLICATION IN AGRICULTURE

The organic manure as a source of humans and plant nutrients to increase fertility in tropical soil has been well recognized. The organic manure prepared from rural and urban wastes not only provides the plant nutrients and humic materials, but also result in hygienic disposal of organic waste, which otherwise may cause pollution problems. The research on sewage sludge has so far been largely restricted to its production, composition etc., however, few studies have been conducted on its safe and economic disposal and its application on agricultural land. The project study covered the analysis and manurial potential of Municipal Solid Waste compost and the sewage sludge.

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Experimentation at IARI to assess Manurial Potential of Municipal Solid Waste Compost

The studies also cover safe and beneficial use of municipal solid waste compost/sewage sludge on agricultural fields and its environmental impact. The studies are being undertaken in collaboration with Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi.
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STUDY OF COMPOST MADE OUT OF `PRESS MUD' OF SUGAR INDUSTRY AND `SPENT WASH' OF DISTILLERY

The project has been initiated at four distilleries in Karnataka and Maharashtra State from where the samples of compost and that of soil where compost is made and applied were collected. Simultaneously ground water samples were also drawn from the vicinity of the compost site and field of application.

The preliminary observations indicated that if "composting" is done in a scientific manner and adequate managerial techniques are adapted, it could be a viable solution for the distillery waste and as such may result making the distillery as `zero discharge' industry. The economics of `compost' process being worked out based on the data collected which indicate that due to shortage of Press Mud, complete utilization of spent wash is not achieved and at the same time, the demand of `compost' is so high that the industry is not able to cope up with the requirement in time. The `composting' of press mud and spent wash could not only be the treatment of the waste but also a source of revenue for the industry due to increased yield of sugarcane as well as savings toward the input cost of chemical fertilizers.

Publication:

• Management of Distillery Wastewater: RERES/4/2001-2002.

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TCLP Leachate Extraction System at CPCB Laboratories

COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON METHODOLOGY OF ANALYSIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE (MSW) COMPOST

Municipal Solid Waste can be defined as "Chemical or biological refuse of domestic or consumer origin, considered potentially pathogenic to human and/or the environment. Many test procedures for characterization of Solid wastes in terms of Corrosivity, Reactivity, Ignitability, and Toxicity are available. One such test procedure is the Toxicity Characterization Leaching Procedure (TCLP). As per US-EPA method, the solid waste is leached using two levels of pH buffers i.e. 4.93 + 0.2 and 2.88 + 0.2 depending upon the chemical nature of samples. TCLP method as followed in USA and Canada is different in terms of procedure and standards, whereas in Europe, solid waste management do not include TCLP as part of regulation. The extraction method followed in European countries is Constant pH stat extraction method. Some countries follow distilled water extraction procedure.

The composition and levels of leaching substances vary from method to method and thereby the interpretation with reference to standard limits also varies considerably. Though no method could able to match with real field situation, a judicial approach is required to derive suitably standardized method. Considering these, the project study was carried out on various leachate test procedures using MSW compost samples collected from Okhla and Bhalswa in Delhi. The main objectives of the study was to assess the merits and demerits of various leaching procedures, to estimate variations in the levels of leaching under various test methods and to suggest suitable test procedure for toxicity characterization.

Related Publications:

• Management of Municipal Solid Wastes - Status and Options: CUPS/41/1994-95.
• Status of Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Collection Treatment and Disposal in Class-I: CUPS/46/1998-1999.
• Status of Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Collection, Treatment and Disposal in Class-I Cites: CUPS/48/1999-2000.
• Status of Solid Waste Generation Collection, Treatment & Disposal in Class II Towns: CUPS/50/1999-2000.
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ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF DOMESTIC SOLID WASTE

The anaerobic digestibility and effect of parameters on the anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste has been studied in the laboratory using prototype version of digestor for installation. The operational problem encountered during laboratory scale studies have been taken into account for the digestion and operation of field level digestor. Two stage anaerobic digestor with design capacity of 300 kg of solid waste/day has been installed and commissioned for treatment of solid waste generated at IIT, Delhi Hostels near Jwalamukhi Hostel. The novel feature of the digestor is that it is made of HDPE and mostly buried under the earth and occupies minimum space. The feed hopper, screw conveyor and grinder are used for homogenization of waste material feeded to the digestor. The digested slurry goes to sand filler, from where water is recycled. The deviated slurry is dried and used as manure. The gas generated from the digestor is used in Hotel kitchens.

The study includes effect of operational parameters and feed composition on the acidification as well as bio-methanation steps. The effect of process perturbations on the steady state performance of the process has also been studied. The research has been undertaken in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
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DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR SITE SELECTION FOR SANITARY LANDFILLS

Open dumping practice is commonly adopted for the disposal of solid waste in the country, which causes deterioration of environmental quality. Development of appropriate technology for sanitary landfills is very essential for proper disposal of solid waste. Site selection is an important aspect for the development of sanitary landfill. In view of this, a site selection criteria has been developed in the form of guidelines to suit Indian conditions in keeping with the findings of the other studies. Guidelines have been developed through extensive literature search and review of earlier studies.

The developed criteria encompass environmental conditions, hydrogeological conditions, accessibility, ecological and societal effects etc. The guidelines include technical screening procedure based upon economic, engineering and environmental suitability and public approval/acceptance and scrutinizing procedures. The guidelines are indicative and are only meant for guidanceof government agencies such as municipalities, corporations and other implementation authorities, who have to comply the requirement of the legislation

Publication:

• Criteria for Hazardous Waste Landfills: HAZWAMS/17/2000-01.
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ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT OF POLLUTION DUE TO EXISTING LANDFILL SITE

The sanitary landfill sites have environmental impact, which is visualized in form of ground water pollution, air pollution, odour problem and related environmental problems. The study is being undertaken to comprehensively assess the impact of pollution with the objectives to develop baseline information regarding various landfill sites at various cities and towns, in collaboration with National Productivity Council (NPC), New Delhi.

• The impact of water and air pollution due to municipal dumpsites located at Autonagar and Golconda in Hyderabad and Bangalore is being studied in collaboration with Municipal Corporation Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, Hyderabad and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Bangalore. Based on the studies, the local bodies will be followed up to operate landfill sites as per schedule III of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules.

• The studies have been undertaken at Landfill sites at Kanpur to comprehensively assess various environmental impact of municipal solid waste landfill sites such as ground water pollution, air pollution, odour problem and other environmental problems. The field studies about ambient air, ground & surface water and soil quality monitoring have been undertaken. In addition land use pattern, aerobiological monitoring, assessment of noise levels and determination of bearing capacity of waste and waste analysis have been undertaken at landfill sites. Assessment of hazard potential have also been made and Environment Management Plan has been formulated.
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STUDIES ON POLLUTION POTENTIAL OF LEACHATES FROM SOLID WASTE DUMPS

The ability to predict the mobility of dissolved solutes in soil solution (leachates) is of considerable importance in management and disposal of solid waste. The salt content of leachate may greatly affect the water movement in soils. The study of modes of leaching solute accumulation, nutrient movement, evaporation as well as ground water pollution is important. During the project study, the quality of leachate from different depth of active solid waste dump being assessed for physical, chemical and biological properties. The leachate from designated depth are collected at regular interval with soil sampler/lysimeter apart from study of reflection coefficient, mechanical filtration capacity and solute permeability of soil at the active solid waste dump. Simultaneously, the studies are also being undertaken at laboratory in the column simulating the field conditions. Further studies are in progress.

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