Technology Matrix for Solid Waste Management

Technological options available to treat waste streams vary from local-scale facilities, such as waste recycling bins and shipping vehicles, to regional-scale material recovery facilities, municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerators, and landfills, all of which have unique features for every possible solid waste management (SWM) system. In this chapter, technology matrix is systematically introduced in association with types of waste streams, presented separately with featured operational units as well as collectively with synergistic processes in parallel or in sequence. The chapter explores the spectrum of technological integration required to process various types of MSW based on different types of unit operation. The unit operation processes and equipment addressed in the chapter are: comminution, classification/separation/segregation, compaction/densification, and internal transportation. Schematic flow charts provide a systematic framework for defining and evaluating technology integration that may be applied as alternatives for a diversity of SWM problems.