18-Env-A6 Solid Waste Engineering and Management · December 2014
Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)
Reference texts: Tchobanoglous, Theisen & Vigil, Integrated Solid Waste Management: Engineering Principles and Management Issues; Vesilind, Worrell & Reinhart, Solid Waste Engineering; Davis & Cornwell, Introduction to Environmental Engineering (6th ed.); CCME, Guidance Document on Landfill Gas Management; Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
This paper prints marks IN FRONT of the question number on every line (e.g. "5 1. What are the elements…", "4 16. All 29 questions are answered in full.
Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.
Energy content is determined either directly, by burning a dried, ground sample of each component in a bomb calorimeter and measuring the heat released per unit mass (the higher heating value, HHV), or indirectly, by first obtaining the component's ultimate analysis (elemental C, H, O, N, S, ash) and computing HHV from an empirical correlation such as the modified Dulong formula, $HHV \approx 337C + 1428(H - O/8) + 9S$ (kJ/kg, mass fractions in percent). For a mixed waste stream, a weighted average is then computed from each component's individually-measured or -calculated heating value multiplied by its mass fraction in the overall composition.
