Municipal solid waste management - Solid and Hazardous Waste Management - Environmental Science & Engineering Previous Year Questions

1

2024 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2024

The costliest functional element in an urban centralized Municipal Solid Waste management infrastructure for a typical Indian Tier I city is ______.

A

biological treatment

B

collection and transport

C

disposal in a sanitary landfill

D

thermal treatment

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2

2024 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2024

A municipal solid waste digester generates 1000 kg of methane gas. The volume of the tank needed to store this gas at 30 °C and 3 atmospheric pressure is ______ liters (an integer value). Use R=0.082 L-atm/mole-K, Atomic weights of C=12, and H=1

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3

2024 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2024

Two hypothetical organic waste streams A and B are mixed prior to the composting process. Waste-A has 2.16% of C and 1.20% of N. Waste-B has 19.10% of C and 0.14% of N. The quantity of Waste-B that should be mixed with per kg of Waste-A to achieve the desired C:N ratio of 25 is __________ kg (rounded off to 2 decimal places).
Assume both the waste streams are completely dry.

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4

2024 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2024

Food waste, paper waste and plastic waste have typical densities of 280 kg/m³, 80 kg/m³, and 50 kg/m³, respectively. The mixed waste is composed of 70% food waste, 20% paper waste and 10% plastic waste. The density of the mixed waste is ______ kg/m³ (rounded off to 2 decimal places).
Neglect compaction effect.

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5

2024 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2024

For a biodegradable waste with a chemical formula C₆₀H₁₀₀O₆₀N, the maximum theoretical methane production per ton of waste is ______ kg (rounded off to 2 decimal places).
Assume 100% anaerobic conversion. Atomic weights of C-12; H-1; O-16; N-14

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6

2025 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2025

Which option gives the components that are most likely to be present in the segregated combustible fraction (SCF) separated from raw mixed municipal solid waste (MSW)?

A

plastics, paper, rubber, metals

B

plastics, paper, leather, glass

C

plastics, leather, textiles, rubber

D

plastics, rubber, textiles, food waste

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7

2025 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2025

Choose the option(s) giving the correct process flow-sheet for producing refuse derived fuel (RDF) from the segregated waste collected in the dry waste containers (blue coloured containers of the municipal solid waste (MSW) collection scheme).

A

Drying → Metal Separation → Density Separation → Shredding → Pelletizing (with outputs: Metals; Glass, stones and inerts; RDF)

B

Drying → Shredding → Density Separation → Pelletizing (with outputs: Textiles, paper and plastics; RDF)

C

Drying → Metal Separation → Air classifier → Pelletizing → Shredding (with outputs: Metals; Glass, stones and inerts; RDF)

D

Drying → Density Separation → Shredding → Pelletizing (with outputs: Textiles, paper and plastics; RDF)

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8

2025 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2025

A solid waste of composition C₆₀H₁₃₅O₄₀N is to be composted aerobically in a closed vessel mechanical composting facility. Given: all ammonia generated escapes the facility; air contains 23% of Oxygen by weight; 100% excess air requirement for the closed vessel composting facility. The atomic weights: C – 12, H – 1, O – 16, N – 14. The actual air required for composting is ______ kg per kg waste. (rounded off to one decimal place)

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9

2021 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2021

Choose the correct order of biodegradability (highest to lowest) of the following municipal solid waste components.

A

Food waste > Newspaper > Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

B

Newspaper > Food waste > Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

C

Food waste > Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) > Newspaper

D

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) > Food waste > Newspaper

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10

2021 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2021

In proximate analysis, when a 10 kg moisture-free solid sample is heated in a furnace at 950 °C in the absence of air, its mass is reduced by 6 kg. If the same 10 kg moisture-free solid sample is heated in the furnace at the same temperature in the presence of air, its mass is reduced by 7 kg. The percentage of fixed carbon in the sample is __________.

A

20 %

B

60 %

C

10 %

D

30 %

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11

2021 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2021

In context of municipal solid waste treatment, match the equipment in List I with their function in List II.

A

P-(iii), Q-(iv), R-(i), S-(ii)

B

P-(ii), Q-(ii), R-(iv), S-(i)

C

P-(i), Q-(iv), R-(iii), S-(ii)

D

P-(iv), Q-(ii), R-(i), S-(iii)

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12

2021 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2021

The municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in a community (population = 100000) is disposed on a 12×10⁴ m² landfill site, which can be filled to a total depth of 25 m (including soil cover). Assume that MSW is generated at a rate of 2.5 kg per person per day and its compacted density is 800 kg/m³. If the volumetric ratio of MSW and soil cover is 5:1, the useful life of the landfill site is ______________ years (rounded off to the nearest integer).

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13

2021 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2021

A mechanized stationary container system is proposed for waste collection from a commercial area. The container unloading time is 0.1 hours per container. There are two containers at each location and the drive time between the two locations is 0.2 hours. The maximum waste ‘pick-up time’ is 2.4 hours per trip.
The ‘pick-up time’ starts at the instant the truck arrives at the first pick-up location and ends when the last container on the route is emptied. The maximum number of locations which can be covered in a trip by the collection vehicle are ______________ (answer in integer).

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14

2022 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2022

Leachate generated from a legacy municipal solid waste dumping site has to be collected and managed carefully. Which one of the following statements is correct in the context of treatment of leachate from such a site?

A

Settling chamber followed by micro-filtration units are required.

B

Modular treatment units targeting dissolved organic matter and salts are required.

C

Only biological treatment units like ASP with extended aeration are required.

D

Only a combination of anaerobic-aerobic treatment units is required.

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15

2022 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2022

Biodegradable wastes like vegetable peelings from kitchen are usually processed by composting techniques. Which of the following option(s) regarding the processing of biodegradable wastes is/are correct?

A

Vermi-composting is relatively faster than windrow composting, however vermi-
composting is not frequently used on large commercial scale.

B

The windrow height should be as short as possible as large windrow height may cause compaction due to the self-weight.

C

The windrow height should be as large as possible as that will help to ensure appropriate temperature within the windrow.

D

Earthworms facilitate the growth of microorganisms and break down complex organic molecules to simpler ones using enzymatic secretions.

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16

2022 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2022

Figure below gives the heat inflow into the furnace of a waste-to-energy plant along with the heat outflows from the furnace. Assume: (i) total heat loss equal to 3% of heat released while burning waste, (ii) sensible heat of the waste is negligible, (iii) complete burning of the waste is ensured. If the waste feed rate into this plant is 70 kg/h, the heat content of the waste (in kcal/kg, rounded off to one decimal place) is __________.

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17

2023 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2023

Read the following statements about aerobic composting of organic fraction of municipal solid waste
I. The majority of the odour problem in an aerobic composting process is due to the development of anaerobic conditions within the compost pile.
II. All organic carbon present in the waste will completely biodegrade in 14 days.
III. At high C/N ratio, ammonia would be released and biological activity may also be impeded.
IV. Optimum moisture content for aerobic composting process would be 50–60%. Lower moisture would slow down the biological process. Excessive moisture will make it difficult to maintain aerobic conditions.
The correct choice(s) is/are

A

I and IV are correct

B

II and III are incorrect

C

I is correct; IV is incorrect

D

II is correct; IV is incorrect

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18

2023 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2023

Ultimate analysis of a municipal solid waste sample is given below

Percent by weight
Carbon	Hydrogen	Oxygen	Nitrogen	Ash
48	6	35	6	5

For 1 kg of the municipal solid waste burnt, assuming that air contains only nitrogen and oxygen, maximum CO₂ emitted is __________ (in kg, rounded off to three decimal places).

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19

2026 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2026

Which ONE of the following options is NOT a parameter as a part of proximate analysis of municipal solid waste?

A

Volatile matter

B

Ash content

C

Carbon to nitrogen ratio

D

Moisture content

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20

2026 · Environmental Science & Engineering · Solid and Hazardous Waste Management · Municipal solid waste management

Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) 2026

An anaerobic digestion system is operated for methane gas generation from organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). The moisture content and volatile solids (VS) content of OFMSW are 20% and 90%, respectively. The biodegradable volatile solids (BVS) in the VS is 70%, and the BVS conversion efficiency to methane gas is 85%.
If the methane gas generation in the system is 12 m³ per kg of BVS converted, the total volume of gas produced from one kilogram of OFMSW is _____ m³ (rounded off to two decimal places).

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