Cranfield University

• Integrated waste management: Mechanical biological treatment, pre-treatment, biodegradable wastes (Waste Emissions Trading Act, landfill diversion), coupled technologies, technology performance and managing environmental impacts
• Municipal waste collection, transfer stations, flow and treatment options (case study examples of materials flow)
• Municipal waste sorting: (transfer stations; materials recovery facilities - design and operation)
• Fundamentals of environmental analysis: methods, bias, precision and accuracy, expressing and converting concentrations
• Waste characterisation: sampling and analysing wastes
• Assessing the performance of treatment processes: key analytical parameters, their environmental significance and measurement
• Thermal treatment: incineration, gasification, pyrolysis, combined heat and power, waste to energy, solid recovered fuel (destruction efficiencies, emissions control, heat recovery and co-generation)
• Alternative technology options: including  plasma processing, composting (commercial, home), anaerobic digestion (biogas), wastes and residues to land
• Chemical and liquid wastes and residuals management: e.g. cyanides and ash (re-use, construction).

Intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module the student will be able to:

1. Describe the role of waste treatment technologies under the resource management agenda - drivers, selection, pre-requisites requirements, waste types treated.
2. Understand how to assess the performance of treatment processes including how wastes are analysed and data interpretation.
3. Understand the basis of and process flowsheet for the above technologies and acquire knowledge about reference plants for these and critical operational parameters.
4. Develop understanding of their application in the UK and internationally - current status, trends and drivers.
5. Quantify specific process parameters critical to the design of non-landfill treatment processes (e.g. thermal destruction efficiencies; flue gas desulphurisation requirements).
6. Apply the process science and engineering (PSE) knowledge above in describing key issues regarding emissions, treatment performance for these technologies, relating this to regulation.
7. Communicate the advantages, disadvantages, limitations and capabilities of these technologies.