biological waste management report -...
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Biological Waste Management Tour Report
October 30, 2014
Edward Jackson
TAMU Biological Waste Management Facility
211 Sippel Road College Station, TX 77840
Introduction:
The purpose of this report is to discuss the visit to the TAMU Biological Waste
Management Facility, located in College Station, Texas. The BESC Environmental Compliance
students visited this site under direct supervision of Dr. Heather Wilkinson, TAMU Professor,
Monica Hartman, Compliance Officer, and Josh Freeman, Site Manager. The purpose of the tour
was to observe the primary operations of the facility and the processes with potential for
pollution.
The primary operation of the TAMU Biological Waste facility is to manage and properly
dispose of the biological waste produced on the Texas A&M University campus. According to
the TAMU Biological waste management plan (1), biological waste is any waste from teaching,
clinical, and research laboratories and operation. Biological waste does not include household
or office trash, waste from food services, bedding and manure from normal agricultural
operations of bedding, or litter from noninfectious animals. This site also manages the disposal
of biohazardous waste, which is defined as any solid or liquid waste that is hazardous because
of its physical and/or biological nature.
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The TAMU Biological Waste facility contains three methods of disposal on-‐site,
consisting of digestion, rendering, and incineration. The facility houses two digesters, small
tissue (Figure 1) and large tissue digesters (Figure 2), and an incinerator (Figure 3). These
machines are used to properly dispose of infectious waste. The small tissue digester, the
agrilyzer, is a method of digestion that is rarely used, once or twice a year. This machine is
typically used as a back up due to its low capacity and the speed of the process, roughly 48
hours. The agrilyzer processes the biological waste and disposes it into a NaOH container
(Figure 5) for digestion in a caustic solution. Due to the addition of NaOH to the processed
waste, the pH output reads very high, averaging between 13-‐14. Glacial acetic acid and water
are used to flush to solution and to help lower of the pH for safer handling. The primary
digester used on-‐site has a much higher capacity and a much more time-‐efficient process. The
digestion process takes around 10 hours and cooks at 300 degrees Celsius. This machine uses a
solution with 19% NaOH content to ensure the most efficient and cost-‐effective rates for
digestion. The incinerator on-‐site is the most efficient disposal method for biological waste.
Biological waste is loaded into the incinerator using hoppers (Figure 4) with a max load of 2000
pounds. This machine is equipped with a continuous emissions monitor that records levels of
carbon monoxide levels to ensure that emissions are kept below the limit.
Processes with Potential for Pollution:
The TAMU Biological Waste facility carries out operations that could lead to pollution
by ways of disposing waste. The process of incineration can lead to pollution due to the release
of emissions into the atmosphere. After the digestion process, the facility disposes of the
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remains in the trashcans on-‐site (figure 6). This could potentially lead to a misplacement of
materials that could be dangerous to the environment.
Chemicals Used:
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is the main chemical used at the biological waste facility. This
chemical is used as a caustic solution to break down the waste by chemical action (4).
Pollution Control and Waste Minimization:
The biological waste facility has taken measure to decrease pollution and waste. The
major step they have taken to minimize pollution from the incinerator is that it runs completely
on natural gas. Natural gas is a cleaner energy and the emissions are less toxic to the
environment.
Relevant State and Federal Regulations Associated with the Site:
Permit Types:
• Air Permit
o Title V
o TCEQ
§ Under title V, the facility is listed as an emitter
§ The incinerator cannot exceed 876 hours of burn (3)
Required Monitoring:
• Ash from incinerator must be tested for heavy metals (3)
o These tests occur quarterly
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o Tests must occur before ash is sent to landfills
• Incinerator must be calibrated to monitor emissions
o Machine cannot be started if calibration fails
o Certified emissions monitoring system (CEMS)
§ Tests levels of carbon monoxide emissions
Report Schedule:
The biological waste facility must report to the TCEQ quarterly in regards to heavy metal
levels found in ash (4). This facility also has a special conditions air permit that must be
renewed every 10 years.
Production Volume:
• Agrilyzer
o This machine has a 2,000 pound capacity
§ This includes the chemicals, feed and water
§ Digests waste in 48 hours
• Primary Digester
o This machine has a 7,000 pound capacity
§ This includes the chemicals, feed and water
§ Digests waste in 10 hours
• Incinerator
o Has a maximum capacity of 2,000 pounds
§ Burns at 750 pounds an hour
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• Can’t reload for 2.5 hours
How These Distinctions affect the Thresholds for Regulation of this Entity:
These facilities are a part of a large EMS system and therefore share many of the same
permits enforced by the university.
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Appendix A
Site Photographs
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Figure 1. The agrilyzer, small tissue digester, that is used as a backup digester on-‐site.
Figure 2. The primary digester is used to digest up to 7,000 lbs of waste at a time.
Figure 3. The incinerator is the most efficient form of disposal on-‐site.
Figure 4. The hoppers are use to load waste into the respective disposal machines.
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Figure 5. The NaOH container at the end of the digestion process.
Figure 6. The trashcans that are used to dispose of the remains from the digesters.
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References Cited: 1. TAMU Biological Waste Management Plan 2. "Air Permitting." Air Permit. TCEQ, n.d. Web. <o
https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/air/nav/air_oppermits_v.html>. 3. Monica Hartman, Compliance Officer 4. Josh Freeman, Site Manager