Process Engineering for Pollution Control and Waste Minimization_3 ppt

above-recycling and recovery, are permitted to pursue those targets in the interest of ahigh level of environmental protection, on condition that these measures avoiddistortions of the i

A directive shall be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon eachMember State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the nationalauthorities the choice of form and methods.

A decision shall be binding in its entirety upon those to whom it isaddressed Recommendations and opinions shall have no binding force

By the Treaty of Amsterdam the members of the European Community areobligated to pursue a common environmental policy Community policy on theenvironment shall contribute to pursuit of the following objectives:

Preserving, protecting, and improving the quality of the environmentProtecting human health

Prudent and rational utilization of natural resourcesPromoting measures at the international level to deal with regional orworldwide environmental problems

Further Community policy on the environment shall aim at a high level ofprotection, taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions

of the Community It shall be based on the precautionary principle and on theprinciples that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damageshould as a priority be rectified at the source, and that the polluter should pay Inthis context, harmonization measures answering environmental protection re-quirements shall include, where appropriate, a safeguard clause allowing MemberStates to take provisional measures, for noneconomic environmental reasons,subject to a Community inspection procedure

Without prejudice to certain measures of a Community nature, the MemberStates shall finance and implement the environment policy

Without prejudice to the principle that the polluter should pay, if a measurebased on the provisions of paragraph 1 involves costs deemed disproportionatefor the public authorities of a Member State, the Council shall, in the actadopting that measure, lay down appropriate provisions in the form of temporaryderogation, and/or financial support from the Cohesion Fund of the EuropeanCommunity

Exemplary discussed should be the newest and most important decisionsdealing with the universal treatment of wastes and the waste managementstrategy

2 EUROPEAN DIRECTIVES ON WASTE MANAGEMENT

2.1 European Parliament and Council Directive on

Packaging and Packaging Waste

The Directive on packaging and packaging waste aims to harmonize nationalmeasures concerning the management of packaging and packaging waste in order,

on the one hand, to prevent any impact thereof on the environment of all MemberStates as well as of third countries or to reduce such impact, thus providing a highlevel of environmental protection, and, on the other hand, to ensure the function-ing of the internal market and to avoid obstacles to trade and distortion andrestriction of competition within the Community This Directive lays downmeasures aimed, as a first priority, at preventing the production of packagingwaste and, as additional fundamental principles, at reusing packaging, at recycl-ing and other forms of recovering packaging waste and, hence, at reducing thefinal disposal of such waste It covers all packaging placed on the market in theCommunity and all packaging waste, whether it is used or released at industrial,commercial, office, shop, service, household, or any other level, regardless of thematerial used This Directive shall apply without prejudice to existing qualityrequirements for packaging such as those regarding safety, the protection of healthand the hygiene of the packed products or to existing transport requirements.

In this context, “packaging” shall mean all products made of any materials

of any nature to be used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, andpresentation of goods, from raw materials to processed goods, from the producer

to the user or the consumer “Nonreturnable” items used for the same purposesshall also be considered to constitute packaging Generally recommendable is theprevention of packaging Therefore it shall be ensured that preventive measuresare implemented Such other measures may consist of national programs orsimilar actions adopted, if appropriate in consultation with economic operators,and designed to collect and take advantage of the many initiatives taken withinMember States as regards prevention Furthermore, all Member States shouldencourage reuse systems of packaging, which can be reused in an environmen-tally sound manner, in conformity with the Treaty

In order to comply with the objectives of this Directive, Member Statesshall take the necessary measures to attain the following targets covering thewhole of their territory No later than five years between 50% as a minimum and65% as a maximum by weight of the packaging waste will be recovered.Moreover, within this general target, and with the same time limit, between 25%

as a minimum and 45% as a maximum by weight of the totality of packagingmaterials contained in packaging waste will be recycled, with a minimum of 15%

by weight for each packaging material At least no later than 10 years from thedate by which this Directive must be implemented in national law, a percentage

of packaging waste will be recovered and recycled, which will have to bedetermined by the Council

Member States shall, where appropriate, encourage the use of materialsobtained from recycled packaging waste for the manufacturing of packaging andother products

Member States which have, or will, set programs going beyond the mentioned targets and which provide to this effect appropriate capacities for

above-recycling and recovery, are permitted to pursue those targets in the interest of ahigh level of environmental protection, on condition that these measures avoiddistortions of the internal market and do not hinder compliance by other MemberStates with the Directive.

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that systems areset up to provide on the one hand the collection and return of used packaging andpackaging waste from the consumer, other final user, or from the waste stream inorder to channel it to the most appropriate waste management alternatives On theother hand, the reuse or recovery including recycling of the packaging and/orpackaging waste collected, in order to meet the objectives laid down in thisDirective, should be ensured These systems shall be open to the participation ofthe economic operators of the sectors concerned and to the participation of thecompetent public authorities

For waste management, a marking and identification system of wastepackaging is essential Therefore, the Council shall decide no later than two yearsafter the entry into force of this Directive on the marking of packaging Tofacilitate collection, reuse, and recovery (including recycling), packaging shallindicate for purposes of its identification and classification by the industryconcerned the nature of the packaging material(s) used To that end, the Commis-sion will specify the numbering and abbreviations on which the identificationsystem is based and shall specify which materials shall be subject to theidentification system in accordance with the same procedure Packaging shallbear the appropriate marking either on the packaging itself or on the label It shall

be clearly visible and easily legible The marking shall be appropriately durableand lasting, even when the packaging is opened

In addition, the Commission will promote, as appropriate, the preparation

of European standards relating to the essential requirements, in particular, thepreparation of European standards relating to:

Criteria and methodologies for life-cycle analysis of packagingThe methods for measuring and verifying the presence of heavy metals andother dangerous substances in the packaging and their release into theenvironment from packaging and packaging waste

Criteria for a minimum content of recycled material in packaging forappropriate types of packaging

Criteria for recycling methodsCriteria for composting methods compost producedCriteria for the marking of packaging

With this Directive it will be ensured that the sum of concentration levels

of lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium present in packaging orpackaging components shall not exceed the following:

600 ppm by weight in 1998

250 ppm by weight in 1999

100 ppm by weight in 2001Regarding effective packaging management, European information systemshould be introduced Thus, Member States shall take the necessary measures toensure that databases on packaging and packaging waste are established, wherenot already in place, on a harmonized basis in order to help Member States andthe Commission to monitor the implementation of the objectives set out in thisDirective To this effect, the databases shall provide in particular information onthe magnitude, characteristics, and evolution of the packaging and packagingwaste flows (including information on the toxicity or danger of packagingmaterials and components used for their manufacture) at the level of individualMember States In order to harmonize the characteristics and presentation of thedata produced and to make the data of the Member States compatible, MemberStates shall provide the Commission with their available data in standard formatswhich shall be adopted by the Commission Member States shall require alleconomic operators involved to provide competent authorities with reliable data

on their sector

Regarding an information system for users of packaging, Member Statesshall take measures to ensure that users of packaging, including in particularconsumers, obtain the necessary information about:

The return, collection, and recovery systems available to themTheir role in contributing to reuse, recovery, and recycling of packagingand packaging waste

The meaning of markings on packaging existing on the market

In pursuance of the objectives and measures referred to in this Directive,Member States shall include in the waste management plans a specific chapter onthe management of packaging and packaging waste Acting on the basis of therelevant provisions of the Treaty, the Council shall adopt economic instruments

to promote the implementation of the objectives set by this Directive In theabsence of such measures, the Member States may, in accordance with theprinciples governing Community environmental policy, inter alia, the polluterpays principle, and the obligations arising out of the Treaty, adopt measures toimplement those objectives

At least, this Directive specifies essential requirements on the compositionand the reusable and recoverable, including recyclable nature of packaging.Packaging shall be so manufactured that the packaging volume and weight

be limited to the minimum adequate amount to maintain the necessary level ofsafety, hygiene, and acceptance for the packed product and for the consumer.Furthermore, they shall be designed, produced, and commercialized in such a

way as to permit reuse or recovery, including recycling, and to minimize pact on the environment when packaging waste or residues from packagingwaste management operations are disposed of The manufacturing has to avoidthe presence of noxious and other hazardous substances and materials as constit-uents of the packaging material or of any of the packaging components orminimized with regard to their presence in emissions, ash, or leachate whenpackaging or residues from management operations or packaging waste areincinerated or landfilled.

im-The physical properties and characteristics of the packaging shall enable anumber of trips or rotations in normally predictable conditions of use and offerthe possibility of processing the used packaging in order to meet health and safetyrequirements for the workforce At least, the properties should fulfil the require-ments specific to recoverable packaging when the packaging is no longer reusedand thus becomes waste

Furthermore, packaging must be manufactured in such a way as to enablethe recycling of a certain percentage by weight of the materials used in themanufacture of marketable products, in compliance with current standards inthe Community The establishment of this percentage may vary, depending on thetype of material of which the packaging is composed Packaging waste processedfor the purpose of energy recovery shall have a minimum inferior calorific value

to allow optimization of energy recovery Packaging waste processed for thepurpose of composting shall be of such a biodegradable nature that it should nothinder the separate collection and the composting process or activity into which

it is introduced, whereas biodegradable packaging waste shall be of such a naturethat it is capable of undergoing physical, chemical, thermal, or biological decom-position such that most of the finished compost ultimately decomposes intocarbon dioxide, biomass, and water

2.2 Council Directive on Landfill of Waste

The aim of the Directive on landfill of waste is, by way of stringent operationaland technical requirements on the waste and landfills, to provide for measures,procedures, and guidance to prevent or reduce as far as possible negative effects

on the environment, in particular the pollution of surface water, groundwater, soil,and air, and on the global environment, including the greenhouse effect, as well

as any resulting risk to human health, from landfilling of waste, during the wholelife cycle of the landfill

In principle, each landfill shall be classified in one of the following classes:Landfill for hazardous waste

Landfill for nonhazardous wasteLandfill for inert waste

Member States shall set up a national strategy for the implementation ofthe reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfills This strategy shouldinclude measures to achieve the following targets by means of, in particular,recycling, composting, biogas production, or materials/energy recovery It ensuresthat long-term biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills must be reduced

to 35% of the total amount (by weight) of biodegradable municipal wasteproduced in 1995 Furthermore, the Directive shall take measures in order thatliquid waste, waste which, in the conditions of landfill, is explosive, corrosive,oxidizing, highly flammable, or flammable, as well as hospital and other clini-cal wastes arising from medical or veterinary establishments, are not accepted in

a landfill

The landfill permit shall state at least the class of the landfill and the list ofdefined types and the total quantity of waste which are authorized to be deposited

in the landfill

Member States shall take measures to ensure that all of the costs involved

in the setting up and operation of a landfill site, including as far as possible thecost of the financial security and the estimated costs of the closure and after-care

of the site for a period of at least 30 years shall be covered by the price to becharged by the operator for the disposal of any type of waste in that site.Regarding existing landfill sites, it should be ensured that landfills which havebeen granted a permit may not continue to operate unless the landfill sites willfulfil the standard of state of the art landfill sites within eight years

The directive sets up general requirements for all classes of landfills Thelandfill can be authorized only if the characteristics of the site indicate that thelandfill does not pose a serious environmental risk

The location of a landfill must take into consideration the existence ofgroundwater, coastal water, or nature protection zones in the area, the geologicaland hydrogeological conditions in the area, as well as the risk of flooding,subsidence, landslides, or avalanches on the site Therefore the water control andleachate management must control water from precipitations entering into thelandfill body, prevent surface water and/or groundwater from entering into thelandfilled waste, and collect contaminated water and leachate

Where the geological barrier does not naturally meet the conditions ofpermeability and thickness, it has to be completed artificially and reinforced byother means giving equivalent protection An artificially established geologicalbarrier should be no less than 0.5 m thick

Recommended parameters for a check study are ph, TOC, phenols, heavymetals, fluoride, AS, and oil/hydrocarbons In order to reduce global warming,the methane-containing landfill gas shall be collected from all landfills receivingbiodegradable waste and the landfill gas must be treated and used If the gascollected cannot be used to produce energy, it must be flared

2.3 European Parliament and Council Directive on

Incineration of Waste

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community and a proposal

of the Commission, the Council of the European Union and the EuropeanParliament adopted a new directive on the incineration of waste in July 1999

In accordance with the principle of subsidiary, it was considered that theobjective of reducing emissions from incineration and co-incineration plantscannot be achieved effectively by Member States acting individually Un-concerted action offers no guarantee of achieving the desired objective, andregarding the need to reduce emissions across the Community, it is more effective

to take action at the level of the Community This Directive confines itself tominimum requirements for incineration and co-incineration plants

The Directive is a consequence of the fifth Environment Action Program:Towards Sustainability—a European Community program of policy and action inrelation to the environment and sustainable development which sets as anobjective “no exceedance ever of critical loads and levels” of certain pollutantssuch as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), heavy metals, and dioxins,while in terms of air quality the objective is that “all people should be effectivelyprotected against recognized health risks from air pollution.” That programfurther sets as an objective a “90% reduction of dioxin emissions of identifiedsources by 2005 (1985 level)” and “at least 70% reduction from all pathways ofcadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) emissions in 1995.”

The purpose of the incineration plants established and operated in dance with this Directive is to reduce the pollution-related risks of waste through

accor-a process of thermaccor-al treaccor-atment, especiaccor-ally oxidaccor-ation, to reduce the quaccor-antity accor-andvolume of the waste and to produce residues that can be recycled or disposed ofsafely The co-incineration of waste in plants not primarily intended to incineratewaste should not be allowed to cause higher emissions of polluting substances inthat part of the exhaust gas volume resulting from such co-incineration and shouldtherefore be subject to appropriate limitations

The aim of this Directive is to prevent or, where that is not practicable, toreduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment, in particular thepollution of air, soil, surface water, and groundwater, and the resulting risks tohuman health, from the incineration and co-incineration of waste and, to that end,

to set up and maintain appropriate operating conditions and emission limit valuesfor waste incineration and co-incineration plants within the Community.Incineration plants shall be operated in order to achieve a level of inciner-ation such that the total organic carbon (TOC) of the slag and bottom ashes is lessthan 3% or their loss upon ignition is less than 5% of the dry weight of thematerial If necessary, appropriate techniques of waste pretreatment shall be used.All incineration plants shall be designed, equipped, built, and operated in such a

way that the gas resulting from the process is raised, after the last injection ofcombustion air, in a controlled and homogeneous fashion and even under the mostunfavorable conditions, to a temperature of at least 850˚C, as measured near theinner wall of the combustion chamber, for at least 2 s If hazardous wastes with

a content of more than 1% of halogenated organic substances, expressed aschlorine, are incinerated, the temperature has to be raised to at least 1100˚C.Any heat generated by the incineration or co-incineration process shall berecovered as far as possible

The directive determines following air emission limit values

2.3.1 Air Emission Limit Values

Daily average values:

Gaseous and vaporous organic substances, expressed as

total organic carbon

10 mg/m 3

Nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2),

expressed as nitrogen dioxide for existing incineration plants with a capacity exceeding 3 tonnes per hour or new incineration plants

200 mg/m3

Nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2),

expressed as nitrogen dioxide for existing incineration plants with a capacity of 3 tonnes per hour or less

Gaseous and vaporous organic substances, expressed as

total or organic carbon

20 mg/m3

Nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2),

expressed as nitrogen dioxide for existing incineration plants with a capacity exceeding 3 tonnes per hour or new incineration plants

400 mg/m 3

Until 1 January 2007, the emission limit value for NOx does not apply to plantsincinerating hazardous waste only.

All average values over the sample period of a minimum of 30 mins and amaximum of 8 h

Cadmium and its compounds, expressed

mercury (Hg)

0.05 mg/m3 0.1 mg/m3Antimony and its compounds, expressed

as antimony (Sb) Arsenic and its compounds, expressed as

arsenic (As) Lead and its compounds, expressed as

lead (Pb) Chromium and its compounds, expressed

copper (Cu) Manganese and its compounds, expressed

as manganese (Mn) Nickel and its compounds, expressed as

nickel (Ni) Vanadium and its compounds, expressed

as vanadium (V)

These average values also cover gaseous and the vapor forms of the relevantheavy-metal emissions as well as their compounds Until 1 January 2007 theseaverage values shall apply to existing plants for which the permit to operatehas been granted before 31 December 1996, and which incinerate hazardouswaste only

Average values shall be measured over a sample period of a minimum of 6

h and a maximum of 8 h The emission limit value refers to the total concentration

of dioxins and furans calculated using the concept of toxic equivalence inaccordance with Annex I:

Dioxins and furans 0.1 ng/m 3

The following emission limit values of carbon monoxide (CO) tions shall not be exceeded in the combustion gases (excluding the start-up andshut-down phases):

concentra-50 mg/m3 of combustion gas determined as daily average value

150 mg/m3 of combustion gas of at least 95% of all measurements mined as 10-min average values or 100 mg/m3 of combustion gas of allmeasurements determined as half-hourly average values taken in any24-h period

deter-Exemptions may be authorized by the competent authority for incinerationplants using fluidized bed technology, provided that the authorization foresees anemission limit value for carbon monoxide (CO) of not more than 100 mg/m3 as

a hourly average value

2.3.2 Determination of Emission Limit Values for the

Co-incineration of WasteThe limit value for each relevant pollutant and carbon monoxide in the exhaustgas resulting from the co-incineration of waste shall be calculated as follows:

Vwaste ⋅ Cwaste + Vproc ⋅ Cproc

where

Vwaste is exhaust gas volume resulting from the incineration of waste only,determined from the waste with the lowest calorific value specified inthe permit and standardized at the conditions given by this Directive

Cwaste is emission limit value set in Annex V for plants intended toincinerate wastes only (at least the emission limit values for the pollu-tants and carbon monoxide)

Vproc is exhaust gas volume resulting from the plant process, including thecombustion of the authorized fuels normally used in the plant (wastesexcluded), determined on the basis of oxygen contents at which theemissions must be standardized as laid down in Community or nationalregulations In the absence of regulations for this kind of plant, the realoxygen content in the exhaust gas without being thinned by addition ofair unnecessary for the process must be used The standardization at theother conditions is given in this Directive

Cproc is emission limit value as laid down in the tables of this Annex forcertain industrial sectors or in case of the absence of such a table or suchvalue, emission limit values of the relevant pollutants and carbon mon-oxide in the flue gas of plants which comply with the national laws,regulations, and administrative provisions for such plants while burning

the normally authorized fuels (wastes excluded) In the absence of thesemeasures the emission limit values laid down in the permit are used Inthe absence of such permit values the real mass concentrations are used.

C is total emission limit value as laid down in the tables of this Annex for

certain industrial sectors and certain pollutants or in case of the absence

of such a table or such values total emission limit values for CO and therelevant pollutants replacing the emission limit values as laid down inspecific Articles of this Directive The total oxygen content to replace theoxygen content for the standardization is calculated an the basis of thecontent above respecting the partial volumes

2.3.3 Special Provisions for Large Combustion Plants

Cproc for solid fuels expressed in mg/Nm3 (O2 content 6%):

SO2

decrease from 100 to

Cproc for biomass expressed in mg/Nm3 (O2 content 6%):

Until 1 January 2007 and without prejudice to other Community legislation, theemission limit value for NOx does not apply to plants co-incinerating hazardouswaste only.

Cproc for liquid fuels expressed in mg/Nm3 (O2 content 3%):

2.3.4 C: Total Emission Limit Values

C expressed in mg/Nm3 (O2 content 6%) All average values over the sampleperiod of a minimum of 30 min and a maximum of 8 h:

Dioxins and furans 0.1

C for solid fuels expressed in mg/Nm3 (O2 content 6%); C for biomass (as

defined in Council Directive 88/609/EEC as amended) expressed in mg/Nm3 (O2

content 6%); C for liquid fuels expressed in mg/Nm3 (O2 content 3%):

frame-Current European environmental legislation has already reached a very highstandard in environmental protection Potential new member states for the Euro-pean Union will be constrained to adopt stronger environmental legislation.

REFERENCES

Further information is available at http://europa.eu.int/pol/env/index_en.htm