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Determination of MSW Specific Weight

The document describes how to determine the specific weight of municipal solid waste (MSW) given its composition by weight. It involves 3 steps: 1) Determine the specific weight of individual waste categories. 2) Calculate the volume of each category based on its specific weight. 3) Divide the total weight by total volume to get the specific weight of the MSW, which is calculated to be 217 lb/cu yd for a sample with 100 lb total weight.

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331 views10 pages

Determination of MSW Specific Weight

The document describes how to determine the specific weight of municipal solid waste (MSW) given its composition by weight. It involves 3 steps: 1) Determine the specific weight of individual waste categories. 2) Calculate the volume of each category based on its specific weight. 3) Divide the total weight by total volume to get the specific weight of the MSW, which is calculated to be 217 lb/cu yd for a sample with 100 lb total weight.

Uploaded by

AsemAlsofiany
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Determination of MSW

Specific Weight
Problem Definition

Determine the specific weight of the


collected MSW with the composition
given in Table 1.

It is recommended that you use an


electronic spreadsheet when you do this
problem.
Table 1. Composition of MSW

Waste Category As Collected, % by weight


Food Waste 30
Paper 35
Yard Waste 15
Plastics 5
Aluminum 6
Other 9
Total 100
Step1. Determine Specific
Weight of Categories
¾In order to determine the overall
specific weight, it is necessary to
calculate the volume of individual
categories
¾Assumed values for this problem are
given in Table 2.
Table 2. Category
Specific Weight
Waste Category As Collected, % by weight Specific Weight, lb/cuyd
Food Waste 30 490
Paper 35 150
Yard Waste 15 170
Plastics 5 110
Aluminum 6 270
Other 9 810
Total 100
Step 2. Determine Volume of
Categories
¾ Assume you have 100 lb of waste. What
would be the volume of 100 lbs of waste?
¾ To calculate the volume, determine the
volume of the individual waste categories
¾ Then total the volume
¾ Example:
Food Waste Vol., cu yd = 30lb/490 lb/cu yd
= 0.061 cu yd
Table 3. Volumes of
Categories
Waste Category As Collected, % by weight Specific Weight, lb/cu yd Volume, cu yd
Food Waste 30 490 0.061
Paper 35 150 0.233
Yard Waste 15 170 0.088
Plastics 5 110 0.045
Aluminum 6 270 0.022
Other 9 810 0.011
Total 100 0.460
Step 3. Determine Specific
Weight
Total volume of 100 lb of weight is 0.460
cu yd
Specific weight = 100 lb/0.460 cu yd
= 217 lb/cu yd
Further Thoughts
¾Calculate the composition of the waste
based on % volume.
¾Which component has the greatest
impact on the volume of the waste?
¾How does the volume composition differ
from the waste composition by weight?
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