Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Emissions of CO
2
, SO
2
, and NO
x
are lower than other processes and dioxin, furan, tar, and
phenol products are eliminated and steel plant wastes can be recycled. Through a col-
laboration with ULCOS/Tata Steel, the HIsarna process has been developed to reduce the
emissions of greenhouse gases signiicantly (Rio Tinto, 2011).
13.5.5.1 Sustainability Indicators: Observations and Comments
The aspects of sustainability include
• Maximization of economic, ecological, and sociocultural eficiencies through
integration
• Extension of mine life through new techniques and development of new markets
• Land-use agreements to beneit economic and socioeconomic sustainability
• Pastoral management practices to improve environmental management and coop-
eration with land management agencies.
13.5.6 Organic Urban Waste Management in Europe
In Europe, more than 40% of all waste is biologically treated via composting or anaerobic
digestion (Barth, 2005). In the EU, this amounts to a potential organic waste of around 50
million tonnes of food and garden residues. Forty-two percent of this waste can be easily
source separated. The composts can serve as an organic fertilizer or soil improver. Open
windrows are the main technology for European countries. Another technology, anaerobic
digestion, meanwhile, is divided into 46% dry digestion and 49% wet digestion, with many
treating more than 40,000 tonnes/year of waste. Commercial and food waste is Germany
and Austria is increasing, as well as mixed municipal waste in Spain. Denmark digests
household biowaste in agricultural digestion sites. The aim is also to produce organic fer-
tilizers and soil improvers.
Various policies with the EU Commission also will promote biological treatment directly
or indirectly (Figure 13.11). The Landill Directive (The Council of the European Union,
1999) states that fermentable waste must be reduced by 25% by 2006 and 65% by 2016. This
will improve landill structures and reduce biogas production in landills and to introduce
methods to collect and treat biowaste. According to the
Eurobserv'er
, The State of Renewable
in Europe 2011 (Eurobserv'er, 2011), the production of biogas for electricity increased by
31% for 2009 to 2010. Its aim is to promote recycling of biowaste and to promote certiied
compost that prevents contamination. A green paper was issued on the management of
biowaste in the European Union (SEC [2008] 2936 discusses composting and anaerobic
digestion as means of reducing biowaste in landills) (European Commission, 2008). In
Italy, for example, more than 18 waste treatment plants have been established since 2005
that treat source segregated waste that treat 600,000 tonnes of biowaste in 2009. Almost all
anaerobic digestion plants employ composting to treat the digestate, and thus producing
a product (Mainero, 2011).
The European Soil Protection Strategy (European Commission, 2006) promotes the
sustainable protection of soil by mitigating the three threats to soil including decreased
organic matter, soil contamination, and erosion due to desertiication and includes preven-
tion soil degradation. The addition of composts and residues of organic matter to soil can
clearly enhance organic matter and restore the agronomical and microbiological proper-
ties of soil. In addition, the addition of these types of organic matter to the soil can mitigate
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