18-Env-B5 Industrial & Hazardous Waste Management · May 2016
Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)
Reference texts: Nemerow & Dasgupta, Industrial and Hazardous Waste Treatment, 2nd ed.; Metcalf & Eddy, Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Resource Recovery, 5th ed.; Davis & Cornwell, Introduction to Environmental Engineering, 6th ed.; LaGrega, Buckingham & Evans, Hazardous Waste Management, 2nd ed.; CCME, Guidelines for the Management of Biomedical Waste in Canada (1992); Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999; Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes (1989); Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) regulations on radioactive waste; provincial hazardous waste regulations (e.g. BC's Environmental Management Act and Hazardous Waste Regulation).
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.
(1) Waste characterization — the actual flow rate, strength and composition (including variability) of the wastewater to be treated, since every downstream design decision depends on this data being accurate and representative. (2) Applicable discharge/effluent standards — the numeric limits the treated effluent must meet (receiving-water permit or sewer-use bylaw), which set the required removal efficiency and therefore the treatment train needed. (3) Cost and operational feasibility — capital and operating cost, reliability, and the level of operator skill/attention the process demands, since the technically "best" process is not a workable design if the owner cannot afford or properly operate it.
