Microsoft Word - 37-2870_s_ETASR_V9_N4_pp4516-4519 Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research Vol. 9, No. 4, 2019, 4516-4519 4516 www.etasr.com Radwan & Mangi: Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices and Opportunities in Saudi Arabia Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices and Opportunities in Saudi Arabia Neyara Radwan Faculty of Economics & Administration, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Mechanical Department, Faculty of Engineering, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt nrhassan@kau.edu.sa Sajjad Ali Mangi Department of Civil Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, SZAB Campus Khairpur Mir’s, Sindh, Pakistan sajjad.nec@muetkhp.edu.pk Abstract—Municipal solid waste management has been given serious attention by the authorities of Saudi Arabia (SA). This study focuses on municipal solid waste (MSW) that predominantly contains food, paper, and plastic waste. However, improper handling of MSW causes several environmental and human health issues. Therefore, it is necessary to review the current practices and future opportunities that have been adopted for solid waste collection, handling, and disposal. Considering the current scenario, this study proposed a reversal approach for MSW management. This study considered that MSW generated in SA has great potential to be converted into wealth. Hence, considering the hostile environment anaerobic treatment and incineration for MSW has been proposed in this study for future research. Keywords-municipal solid waste; disposal practices; environmental issues I. INTRODUCTION Generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a common issue and its production is being increased gradually as the commercial and industrial activities extend [1]. Currently, MSW in Saudi Arabia (SA) is considered as a significant issue, the annual generation of MSW in SA is 14×10 6 tons [2], whereas most of MSW is generated in the main cities: Damman, Hofuf and Riyadh in the West and Jeddah, Medina and Mecca in the East. The annual production of MSW from only three of the main cities, namely Jeddah, Damman and Riyadh is more than 6×10 6 tons [3]. This huge generation of MSW creates serious environmental and public health issues. Improver MSW management affects all stakeholders and particularly the public. However, improper dumping of urban waste could affect the landscape and pose environmental and public health threats. Particularly, domestic waste, which is organic in nature, poses a serious threat, since it creates conditions favorable to the survival and growth of microbial pathogens [4]. Therefore, many studies have been conducted to overcome the solid waste (SW) issue, particularly the issue of managing MSW. Details of previous studies and their key findings are reported in Table I. It was observed in earlier studies that there is a growing concern about the MSW management in each part of the country. However, most studies highlighted that the MSW of SA have great potential to generate electricity. It was stated that burning of SW can achieve high power generation [5]. MSW generated in SA is mostly comprised of organic waste, which can be utilized to produce biogas for energy production [6]. It is important to promote waste to wealth strategies and research for possible opportunities for the future [7]. TABLE I. PREVIO US FIN GINGS Ref. Objectives Key findings [3] MSW disposal optimization. Combustion of MSW can reduce the load of landfill and procure electricity preferable with eco-friendly combustion technology. [5] Energy recovery from waste. Incineration of SW can achieve high power generation. [6] Energy recovery from waste. Biogas can be produced through organic waste. [8] Household waste management. Quantity and quality of waste can be minimized by increasing awareness through education and media. [9] Energy recovery from waste Annually 1.03 and 1.55TWh of electricity can be produced from waste. [10] MSW practices. Need to enhance awareness about waste sorting at source, separate bins to be introduced, and strong rules need to be implemented. [11] Recycled plastic waste (RPW) to modified asphalt binder. RPW cannot meet the requirements of elastic recovery for polymer-modified asphalt. [12] Renewable energy resource (RER). MSW has great potential as RER. [13] MSW management. MSW in SA contains about 40% organic materials. Therefore, it has great potential to produce energy through anaerobic digestion. Previous studies [5, 6, 9, 12] indicated that MSW is currently considered as a good source for energy production. However, the method of its handling is debatable. Therefore, this study aims to identify the current practices and opportunities for the handling of MSW around the globe and in SA. This study summarizes important information regarding MSW management in SA and proposes potential opportunities considering environmental preservation and sustainable development. Corresponding author: Neyara Radwan Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research Vol. 9, No. 4, 2019, 4516-4519 4517 www.etasr.com Radwan & Mangi: Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices and Opportunities in Saudi Arabia II. THEORETICAL APPROACH TO MINIMIZE WASTE The current practices of MSW handling in SA are presented in Figure 1, which indicates that most of MSW goes directly to landfills, and less consideration has been given on recycling, composting or source reduction. However, this approach creates environmental issues in terms of leachate generation from landfills and contaminated soil and underground water. The current practices are not environmentally acceptable but are intensively adopted due to the unavailability of advanced technologies and skilled professionals. The switching from one method to a more advanced one is very hard for the authorities [15], therefore this paper proposes the reversal approach as shown in Figure 2, which demonstrates that first priority should be given to the source reduction or source minimization in order to produce less MSW [16]. This requires continuous emphasis on the importance of waste minimization practices through education and electronic media and the promotion of the 3R (Reduce, Recycle and Reuse) approach. However, 3R approach can also be applied at the source of waste generation. The government should make strong rules and increase awareness to alarm the public. Successful MSW management can be achieved by adopting reversal approaches as proposed in this study. Fig. 1. Current practice. Fig. 2. Reversal approach. III. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES MSW has been considered as a valuable source for recycled materials and energy [17]. It could give numerous benefits in countries like SA. Environmental issues associated to the MSW handling in SA and other countries have been given serious attention [5]. The method of handling MSW is challenging for the authorities [12]. It was previously well recognized that there are three methods, which are commonly in practice at SA as shown in Figure 3: landfilling, anaerobic digestion and combustion/incineration. However, every method has some consequences on the environment. Fig. 3. Methods of handling MSW A. Landfilling Landfilling is the most common method for the disposal of MSW [18]. However, it occupies huge areas and creates environmental problems in terms of leachate and undesirable gas production. The leachate produced by the landfills can contaminate the soil and underground water. Besides that, landfills also affect their surrounding environment, habitats, cultivation lands, commerce and recreational areas [2]. B. Anaerobic Digestion It was noticed that MSW generated in SA mostly contains organic waste, which indicated its potentiality to produce energy through anaerobic digestion [19]. This method produces methane (CH4) gas [20], which could be used to produce electricity, but this process leaves a by-product known as sludge, which requires huge areas for drying. C. Combustion/Incineration The best practice is the combustion of MSW to generate electricity. This is globally the most acceptable and widely used method. However, this process leaves a by-product known as MSW ash. This ash can be used as cementitious material contributing to sustainable concrete production [21]. Currently researchers are emphasizing on the utilization of MSW to develop waste to energy practices with minimal environmental impact [22-24]. IV. MSW ASH UTILIZATION IN CONCRETE MSW has been considered as hazardous and there is a dire need to reduce its volume [25]. Incineration is a useful technique to reduce the quantity of waste up to 70% by weight and 90% by volume [26]. The incineration process of MSW generates electricity but leaves a huge volume of ash known as MSW ash. This ash is generally disposed in landfills, creating environmental problems and increasing landfill cost. Researchers are looking for ways to manage this ash as alternatives to open dumping and landfills [21, 26]. Based on its chemical properties, it was declared that MSW ash has a good potential to be utilized as cementitious material in concrete production [27, 28]. MSW ash is obtained from different locations, its chemical composition is evaluated and the possibility of posing pozzolanic characteristics comparable to class-C as per ASTM C618 [29] is identified. Si, Al and Fe are the key indicators that represent the pozzolanic activity of ashes. If the combined sum of SiO3, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 is greater than 50%, MSW ash can be utilized in concrete to enhance its Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research Vol. 9, No. 4, 2019, 4516-4519 4518 www.etasr.com Radwan & Mangi: Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices and Opportunities in Saudi Arabia strength and durability [26, 27]. The properties of MSW ash indicate that it also contains high amounts of CaO, which could be beneficial in the hydration process of the cement paste in concrete [30]. Besides that, it contains around 5.27% SO3 which is allowable for pozzolanic ashes. Ash blending can provide a positive pozzolanic reaction. The chemical composition of the MSW ash could vary according to its type [27], but in almost all cases it contains high amounts of silica dioxide. The comparison of the chemical properties of MSW ash with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as provided by [31] is shown in Table II. TABLE II. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MSW Sample MSW Ash [27] OPC [31] Chemical Content % % Silica dioxide (SiO2) 53.16 20.61 Aluminium trioxide (Al2O3) 3.98 3.95 Ferric oxide (Fe2O3) 1.40 3.46 Calcium oxide (CaO) 19.13 63.95 Titanium dioxide (TiO2) 0.18 0.20 Potassium oxide (K2O) 0.94 - Magnesium oxide (MgO) 1.49 1.93 Phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) 5.00 - Sulfur trioxide (SO3) 5.27 3.62 Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) 0.67 - Sodium superoxide (NaO2) 6.67 - V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The main conclusions and recommendations regarding future research are: • MSW generated in SA contains about 40% organic waste, which indicates its potentiality to produce energy through anaerobic digestion. • The abundant production of MSW increases the demand for landfills, which occupy huge areas of land and create environmental problems. • Considering the energy production through MSW, incineration is the best solution, which can reduce the waste 70% by weight and 90% by volume. 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Shahidan, “Effects of grinding process on the properties of the coal bottom ash and cement paste”, Journal of Engineering and Technological Sciences, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 1-13, 2019 AUTHOR PROFILES Neyara Radwan is an Assistant Professor and the Quality Assurance Officer for Master Programs for (AMBA) in King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Moreover, she is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Department, Faculty of Engineering, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt. She has been involved in many local and international research projects. Also she has participated in many international conferences as a keynote speaker. She is in the Editorial Board of many international journals. Her research interests lie in the field of waste management and optimization. Sajjad Ali Mangi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, SZAB Campus Khairpur Mir's, Sindh, Pakistan. He has been involved in many local and international research projects. He has participated in national and international conferences and has been awarded as a lifetime member of the EWT for clear and green Pakistan. His research interests lie in the field of utilization of waste materials in sustainable and durable concrete production.