The innovative ways of industrial waste management

1. INDUSTRIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
ABSTRACT
This paper presents an overview of industrial wastes and their impacts together with its
management, its present situation and some effective waste management strategies. The key
to success in terms of Industrial waste management is to develop eco-design machineries,
proper recovery and recycle of material by safe methods, dispose of industrial wastes by
suitable techniques, and raise awareness of the impact of industrial waste. No single tool is
adequate but together they can complement each other to solve this issue.
INTRODUCTION
Industrial waste is one of the fastest-growing pollution problems worldwide given the
presence of a variety of toxic substances, which can contaminate the environment and
threaten human health if disposal protocols are not meticulously followed. Current global
municipal wastes (MW) generation level is approximately 1.3 billion tonnes per year, and is
expected to increase to approximately 2.2 billion tonnes per year by 2025. This represents a
significant increase in the next fifteen years. Industrial waste makes up to half of the total
amount of waste that the world generates every year. According to the US Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) estimates, manufacturing, mining and agricultural industries,
along with commercial and domestic sources in the U.S. generate about 8 billion tons of
waste each year, about 265 million tonnes were hazardous in 1990 under Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). India and especially China have disproportionately
high urban waste generation rates per capita relative to overall economic status as they have
large relatively poor rural populations that tend to dilute national figures (Devan et al., 2008
). In India, about 4.43 million tons of hazardous wastes are generated annually out of which
71,833 tons are incinerable as per the reports of State Pollution Control Boards submitted to
the Supreme Court of India,( http://www.eai.in/). Rapid industrialization in last few decades
have led to the depletion of precious natural resources and pollutes resources continuously.
Further, the rapid industrial developments have also led to the generation of huge quantities
of hazardous wastes, which have further aggravated the environmental problems by depleting
and polluting natural resources. Therefore, Industrial waste management is vital for
sustainable socio-economic development as well as for the protection of natural resources
from the release of toxic wastes.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
Industrial waste refers to the solid, liquid and gaseous emissions, residual and unwanted
wastes from an industrial operation. Industrial wastes are hazardous since they are corrosive,
reactive, genitive and toxic, hence leading to extensive pollution. It is the waste produced by
industrial activity, which includes any material that is rendered useless during a
manufacturing process such as that of factories, industries, mills, and mining operations (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_waste).
Table 1 : Sources of Various Hazardous Wastes
[6]
Hazardous
Waste
Component
Source Impacts on human health
Heavy Metals
Arsenic Mining, non anthropogenic geo-
chemical formation
It has chronic effects that cause
skin disease and lung cancer and
impaired nerve signaling.

2. Cadmium Mining, fertilizer industry, battery
waste
Cadmium compounds pose a risk
of irreversible impacts on human
health, particularly the kidneys.
Chromium Mining areas, Tanneries Chromium can lead to stomach
problems and low blood sugar
(hypoglycemia). and it may cause
irregular heart rhythm.
Lead Lead acid battery smelters Can damage the brain, nervous
system, kidney and reproductive
system and cause blood disorders.
Low concentrations of lead can
damage the brain and nervous
system in foetuses and young
children.
Manganese Mining areas Manganese in the body can cause
serious side effects, including
symptoms resembling Parkinson's
disease, such as shaking
(tremors).
Mercury Chlor-alkali industries, healthcare
institutes
Mercury can damage the brain,
kidneys and fetuses.
Nickel Mining, metal refining Can cause allergic reaction,
bronchitis and reduced lung
function and lung cancers.
Hydrocarbons
Benzene Petrochemical industries, solvents Benzene causes harmful effects on
the bone marrow and can cause a
decrease in red blood cells, leading
to anemia.
Vinyl chloride Plastics PVC has the potential for
hazardous substances and toxic air
contaminants. The incomplete
combustion of PVC release huge
amounts of hydrogen chloride gas
which form hydrochloric acid after
combination with moisture.
Hydrochloric acid can cause
respiratory problems.
Organic chemicals
Dioxins Waste incineration, herbicides Impairment of the immune system,
the developing nervous system,
the endocrine system and
reproductive functions.
PCBs Fluorescent lights, e-waste,
Hydraulic fluid
PCBs cause cancer in animals and
can lead to liver damage in
humans.
Classification of Industrial Waste
In a broad sense, industrial wastes could be classified into two types:
1. Hazardous industrial waste - Hazardous wastes, which may be in solid, liquid or gaseous
form, may cause danger to health or environment, either alone or when in contact with other
wastes. Hazardous waste in particular includes products that are explosive, flammable,
irritant, harmful, toxic, carcinogenic, corrosive, infectious, or toxic to reproduction

3. 2. Non-hazardous industrial waste - Non-hazardous or ordinary industrial waste is generated
by industrial or commercial activities, but is similar to household waste by its nature and
composition. It is not toxic, presents no hazard and thus requires no special treatment.
Wastes discharged from factories are polluting our rivers and other water bodies with
chemicals. Dyes from garments factories and waste from tanneries end up in the rivers. Due
to these toxic chemicals, the water has become nothing less than dye. Just because of this,
several species of fish and aquatic plants are endangered today. This toxic water is also added
on our farmlands by irrigation and are making their way into our food and cause bio-
magnification. Toxic substances like Carbon monoxide are released into the air from this
smoke. Brick kilns are responsible for both deforestation and air pollution from the smoke.
One of the largest factors exacerbating global warming is industrial factories. So, the climate
change effect is fast forwarding and floods, cyclones, tsunamis etc have all increased in
number and strength due to climate change.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste Management is the collection, transport. processing or disposal. managing and
monitoring of waste materials. Waste management is all the activities and actions required to
manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes amongst other things,
collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and
regulation. It also encompasses the legal and regulatory framework that relates to waste
management encompassing guidance on recycling etc.
Landfill
Disposal of waste in a landfill involves
burying the waste, and this remains a
common practice in most countries. A
properly designed and well-managed
landfill can be a hygienic and relatively
inexpensive method of disposing of
waste materials. Another common
product of landfills gas (mostly
composed or methane and. carbon
dioxide), which is produced as organic
waste break down an aerobically. This
gas can create odor problems, kill surface
vegetation, and is a greenhouse gas.
Incineration
Incineration is a disposal method in which solid organic wastes are subjected to combustion
so as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. Trivedy (Trivedy, 2002)[1]
says,
“This method is useful for disposal of residue of both solid waste management and solid
residue from waste water management. This process reduces the volumes of solid waste to 20
to 30 percent of the original volume. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment
systems are sometimes described as ‘thermal treatment’. Incinerators convert waste materials
into heat, gas, steam and ash”.
EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR INDUSTRIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
Figure 1: Landfill
[8]

4. 1. 4R’s
The first approach involves the careful and efficient practice of
the 4R’s of Industrial waste management. That is, Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle and Recover. Reduce, reuse and recycle are
known in the industry as the 3Rs. Companies sometimes focus
only on the first three in resolving waste management
problems. In more innovative companies, 4Rs solutions often
emerge as a result of industry benchmarking or technological
breakthroughs.
- Fig 3, EAI mentions that there exists a potential of about 1300MW from industrial
wastes. About 67 per cent of the waste to energy production is can be achieved by
distillery and dairy firms.
- For example, Smith and Vandiver Inc. of Watsonville, California, manufactures and
distributes natural-ingredient toiletries and body care products. To minimize
packaging waste it reuses boxes in which it has received shipments by precutting the
cardboard into smaller cartons. Its waste reduction program has enabled the company
to reduce its inventory of shipper cartons, saving both storage space and $20,000 a
year in material costs. (https://www.iisd.org/) [9]
- Kraft General Foods in Tulare, California manufactures processed and natural cheese,
and pre-baked bread shells. Its waste reduction program has not only reduced solid
waste disposal fees, but generates some $40,000 a year from the sale of recyclable
materials.( https://www.iisd.org/)[9]
- Even if such an automated industrial development is not economical, this can be
achieved in five simple steps:
1) Dumpster Dive – It involves the identification and separation of different types of
wastes such as cardboard, aluminum, plastic, steel, etc.
2) Collecting – It involves collecting and storing of different types of wastes.
3) Exchange – It involves an exchange process based on what you need and what I need.
4) Mass Recycling – This step involves the exchange of your goods with various
recycling industries.
5) Reward – Rewarding yourself is very necessary as it keeps you motivated. Be sure to
reward yourself along the way. Celebrate your successes, both large and small. It will
help motivate you for each new step along the way.
- In fact, one of the faculty from our own department have found a way out to recycle
the waste concrete and after certain careful experiments he found that the strength of
the recycled concrete is very close to what the original concrete have. Some
experiments are still being carried to get an accurate idea about its strength.
Previously, we were having a single way to get rid of the waste concrete, and that was
land filling . But in the very near future, we will be able to recycle the waste concrete
very efficiently and economically.
2. Development of Eco-Industrial Parks
Figure 2: Potential for recovery of
Energy from Industrial waste
[6]

5. The second approach can be the Development of Eco-Industrial Parks. An eco-industrial
park (EIP) is an industrial park in which businesses cooperate with each other and with
the local community in an attempt to reduce waste and pollution, efficiently share resources
(such as information, materials, water, energy, infrastructure, and natural resources), and help
achieve sustainable development, with the intention of increasing economic gains and
improving environmental quality (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-industrial_park). An EIP
results in a more financially sound, environmentally friendly project for the developer. An
eco-industrial park involves a network of firms and organizations, working together to
improve their environmental and economic performance. By working together, the
community of businesses seeks a collective benefit that is greater than the sum of the
individual benefits each company would realize if it optimized its individual performance
only. The goal of an EIP is to improve the economic performance of the participating
companies while minimizing their environmental impact.
Figure 3: Flow diagram of the industrial ecology system at Kalundborg(http://www.colorado.edu/)
In Kalundborg, Denmark, a coal-fired power station, an oil refinery, a plasterboard factory, a
pharmaceutical plant and the municipality have created an 'industrial symbiosis' by exploiting
each other's waste streams, Fig.4. "Industrial symbiosis" is a related but more limited concept
in which companies in a region collaborate to utilize each other's by-products and otherwise
share resources (http://www.colorado.edu/). In Kalundborg, Denmark a symbiosis network
links a 1500MW coal-fired power plant with the community and other companies. Surplus
heat from this power plant is used to heat 3500 local homes in addition to a nearby fish farm,
whose sludge is then sold as a fertilizer. Steam from the power plant is sold to Novo Nordisk,
a pharmaceutical and enzyme manufacturer, in addition to a Statoil plant. This reuse
of heat reduces the amount thermal pollution discharged to a nearby fjord. Additionally, a by-
product from the power plant's sulfur dioxide scrubber contains gypsum, which is sold to
a wallboard manufacturer. Almost all of the manufacturer's gypsum needs are met this way,

6. which reduces the amount of open-pit mining needed. Furthermore, fly ash and clinker from
the power plant is utilized for road building and cement production. In China, organic waste
from thousands of small straw pulp mills is used as agricultural fertilizer.
CASE STUDIES
 In Kerala, recently some companies developed a way to use coir pith, obtained as a waste
product in manufacturing of coir mat, in terrace farming. Thus, using the waste product of
one industry as a resource for the another industry. Now it proves to be a good example of
industrial symbiosis. Earlier it was a serious issue to dispose the coir pith as it is very
light weight with very low density and hence, land filling couldn’t be done as it needed a
lot more area than an ordinary solid waste.
 There is also an another example from Kerala, where FACT Pvt. Ltd. was producing
gypsum as a waste product , which is of no further use to this industry. But suddenly NSS
Trade India, came with the idea of producing gypsum boards and then they proved to be a
good example for industrial symbiosis.
 Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (SIA), can be another example of the effective use of
the 4Rs strategy. One significant achievement for SIA was to earn the title of the first
automotive assembly plant in the U.S. to achieve zero landfill status, with some assistance
from Covanta, a world‐leading provider of renewable waste and energy solutions. The
manufacturer of Subaru Outback and Legacy vehicles is often referred to as a pioneer in
adopting the holistic reduce, reuse, recycle, recover (the four “Rs”) mantra of the waste
management strategy, (zerolandfillpledge.com).
CONCLUSION
Considering The results of the evaluation, we arrived at the conclusion that, wherever
possible, waste reduction is the preferable option. If waste is produced, every effort should be
made to reuse it if practicable. Recycling is the third option in the waste management
hierarchy. Although recycling does help to conserve resources and reduce wastes, it is
important to remember that there are economic and environmental costs associated with
waste collection and recycling. For this reason, recycling should only be considered for waste
which cannot be reduced or reused. Finally, it may be possible to recover materials or energy
from waste which cannot be reduced, reused or recycled.
REFERENCES
1. Trivedy, R.K. Industry and Environment ,2002. Daya publishing house, p.152-161
2. Devan, J.M., and Sudarshan, K.N. Hazardous waste management, 2008. Discovery
Publishing house , New Delhi. pp 250
3. http://www.colorado.edu/ (last visited on 1 February 2017)
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_waste (last visited on 1 February 2017)
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_management (last visited on 1 February 2017)
6. http://www.eai.in/ (last visited on 1 February 2017)
7. Websites: zerolandfillpledge.com (last visited on 1 February 2017)
8. US-EPA (2016), EPA’s Guide for Industrial Waste Management, p.3.1-3.10
9. https://www.iisd.org/ (last visited on 1 February 2017)
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-industrial_park (last visited on 1 February 2017)