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PubMed2000

["Refuse hoarding syndrome"].

OBJECTIVE: The "litter hoarding syndrome" is described only occasionally during the past decades. It seems to be rather unknown in the psychiatric literature. In the course of the syndrome the patients gather more and more litter in their homes until it becomes unhabitable. Physicians and social psychiatric services are often confronted with this manifestation of a psychiatric illness. METHODS: Because of the dramatic development, the extent and the specific circumstances this paper reports case of a young female patient with the litter hoarding syndrome. RESULTS: The term "litter hoarding syndrome" was first coined by Dettmering [3] during a lecture on 25.1.1984 in the Psychiatric Clinic of the Eppendorf University Hospital in Hamburg. In 1985 Klosterkötter et al. [7] described the "diogenes syndrome" which offered some nosological similarities. With the exception of this publications an the PhD thesis by Pastenaci [11] only a few reports have been published during the last 28 years throughout the world and no epidemiological data about the syndrome can be found. CONCLUSION: Based on this case some ideas about differential diagnosis and syndrome classification shall be presented.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Immunological reactions and health complaints in biological refuse personnel and composting by biological aerosol exposure].

Employees in waste treatment industries are exposed to high levels of airborne microorganisms. Concentrations of 10(7) cfu/m3 air were measured in composting facilities, whereas exposures of bio-waste collectors were two orders of magnitude lower with exposure peaks up to 10(6) cfu/m3 air. These exposures were compared to specific antibody levels against molds and actinomycetes, work related health complaints, and diseases of the workers. 72 bio-waste collectors and 77 compost workers were examined and interviewed for work related symptoms, current occupational exposures, smoking habits, and exposures from other sources (farming, bird breeding, gardening) by physicians specialized in occupational medicine, using a standardized protocol. Levels of specific IgG antibodies to molds and actinomycetes occurring regularly at these workplaces were determined as biomarkers of exposure. The exposure data from the workplaces indicate a higher exposure of compost workers compared to bio-waste collectors. This corresponds with significantly increased health complaints of the upper airways and the skin and higher concentrations of specific antibodies against molds and actinomycetes in the compost workers. Atopic diseases were underrepresented in the compost workers compared to bio-waste collectors and population based data, indicating a healthy worker effect in this group. Occupational diseases from airborne microorganisms eligible for insurance compensation were observed in waste treatment facilities. More detailed studies are needed for exact assessment of health risks of workers in these industries.

Actinomycetales↗
PubMed2000

[Characteristics of jobs and workers employed in municipal waste collection and disposal by the city of Lodz].

Characteristics of jobs and workers engaged in the collection and disposal of waste was based on a specially developed questionnaire. Five occupational groups were selected: domestic waste collectors, waste relading workers, waste composting workers, waste sorting workers, workers at landfill sites. In addition, five job posts were selected: heavy equipment operators, waste sites workers, waste loaders, waste sorters and waste truck drivers. The analysis of characteristics revealed that among job-related burdens reported by the workers the following were found most noxious: repugnant odour, high dust concentrations, required physical effort and changing atmospheric conditions. Nevertheless, the workers in question did not claim any occupation-related illnesses or symptoms. The majority of respondents assessed their health as good or very good.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Two-phase anaerobic digestion of source sorted OFMSW (organic fraction of municipal solid waste): performance and kinetic study.

The results of a two-phase system operated in different conditions, treating the source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste (SS-OFMSW), coming mainly from fruit and vegetable markets, are presented. Hydraulic retention time (HRT) in the hydrolytic reactor and in the methanogenic reactor and also the temperature in the hydrolytic reactor (mesophilic and thermophilic conditions) are varied in order to evaluate the effect of these factors. The methanogenic reactor is always operated within the thermophilic range. Optimum operating conditions are found to be around 12 days (total system) using the mesophilic range of temperature in the first reactor. Specific gas production (SGP) in these conditions is around 0.6 m3/kg TVS. A kinetic study is also carried out, using the first and the step diffusional models. The latter gives much better results, with fitted constants comparable to other studies. Finally, a comparison with a one-phase system is carried out, showing that a two-phase system is much more appropriate for the digestion of this kind of highly biodegradable substrate in thermophilic conditions.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMed2000

Influence of the size reduction of organic waste on their anaerobic digestion.

The rate-limiting step in anaerobic digestion of organic solid waste is generally their hydrolysis. A size reduction of the particles and the resulting enlargement of the available specific surface can support the biological process in two ways. Firstly, in case of substrates with a high content of fibres and a low xegradability, their comminution yields to an improved digester gas production. This leads to a decreased amount of residues to be disposed of and to an increased quantity of useful digester gas. The second effect of the particle size reduction observed with all the substrates but particularly with those of low degradability is a reduction of the technical digestion time. Furthermore, the particle size of organic waste has an influence on the dewaterability after codigestion with sewage sludge. The presence of organic waste residues improves the dewaterability measured as specific resistance to filtration but this positive effect is attenuated if the particle size of the solids is reduced.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMed2000

Thermal hydrolysis (TDH) as a pretreatment method for the digestion of organic waste.

The recycling concept under consideration is based on the process of Thermal Hydrolysis (TDH) followed by an anaerobic digestion. By increasing pressure and temperature the organic part of the waste is split up in a first step into short-chain fragments that are biologically well suited for microorganisms. The following fermentation runs much faster and more complete than in conventional digestion processes and the biogas yield is increased. Left is just a small amount of a solid residue that can be easily dewatered and utilized as surrogate fuel for incineration or as compost additive. The thermal hydrolysis process allows a complete energy recovery from organic waste. During the total procedure more energy sources are produced than are needed for running the plant. The procedure is especially suited for wet organic waste and biosolids that are difficult to compost, such as food scraps, biological waste from compact residential areas and sewage sludge. As a complete disinfection is granted due to the process temperatures the procedure is also suited for carcasses.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMed2000

Full scale co-digestion of organic waste.

Operational results of a co-digestion facility were assessed over a period of 18 months. The organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) contains a considerable amount of contaminants and grit (up to 6% w/w). A BTA-Pulper efficiently treated the different waste streams and converted a high amount of volatile solids (VS) into the digester feedstock. The seasonal fluctuations of the waste composition significantly influenced the biogas production. The impact of this seasonally variant degradability of VS had to be considered by evaluating the operation results. The waste streams investigated did not show any negative impact on digester performance. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) in the digester considerably affected the VS-reduction. Despite a considerable decrease of VS-degradation a reduction of HRT from 14 to 8 days slightly improves the gas production rate (GPR). An activated sludge system efficiently reduced the pollution of the effluent. The nutrient content of the anaerobic compost was favourable and the content of pollutants was low. The facility produced surplus electrical power up to 290 MJ/t. An overall energy balance shows that the facility substitutes primary energy.

Bacteria, Aerobic↗
PubMed2000

Co-digestion of organic solid waste and sludge from sewage treatment.

Solid organic wastes were codigested together with sludge of a sewage treatment plant (STP). In the practical part of the study, a plant to pretreat the organic solid wastes provided by local super markets was constructed at the STP of Frutigen, Switzerland. Up to more than 1 cubic metre of wastes was added to the fermenter of the STP every day. Data collected during 14 months of practical works, showed that for raw fruit and vegetable wastes a two step pretreatment is necessary: First the wastes were chopped and afterwards reduced to a size of 1-2 millimetres, in order to get a homogeneous suspension together with the primary sludge. The vegetable wastes showed excellent digestibility: They seemed to accelerate the digestion process as well as to increase the degree of the anaerobic degradation of the sludge. The energy demand for both, pretreatment and digestion, was 85 kWh/ton of fresh wastes. 20% of the energy was used for the hygienization, a step which does not seem to be necessary for this kind of waste in most of the cases, however. After using the gas for energy conversion, a net yield of 65 kWh/ton of electricity and 166 kWh/ton of heat was measured. Treating cooked kitchen wastes, the net energy production will be higher, because in this case a one step pretreatment will be sufficient. The pretreatment and treatment costs for codigestion on STP's were calculated to be in the range of 55 US$/ton treating half a ton per day and 39 US$/ton treating one ton, respectively. A theoretical feasibility study showed that in Switzerland there is a short term potential on STP's for the codigestion of about 120,000 tons of biogenic wastes per year without big investments. Economic studies about codigestion on agricultural biogas plants showed that the codigestion is a must at the current energy prices, which are far too low for agricultural AD without an additional income by treating solid wastes for third parties.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMed2000

Kinetics of accelerated solid-state fermentation of organic-rich municipal solid waste.

Biotransformation of landfill solid wastes is a slow process requiring decades for completion. Accelerated anaerobic fermentation in modulated landfill environments may alleviate or eliminate pollution of land, water and air. This research was undertaken to demonstrate the application of biphasic fermentation to a simulated laboratory-scale landfill to effect rapid biomethanation of biodegradable solids. The biphasic process consisted of solid-state, acidogenic fermentation of the organic fraction of MSW followed by biomethanation of acidic hydrolysates in a separate methane fermenter. Solid-state fermentation of the MSW with effluent recirculation resulted in rapid hydrolysis, acidification and denitrification, with soluble COD and VFA concentrations accumulating to inhibitory levels of 60,000 mg/l and 13,000 mg/l, respectively, at a pH of 4.5. The landfill gas methane concentration reached a maximum of 55 mol.%. By comparison, the methanogenic reactor produced high methane-content (70-85 mol.%) gases. The biphasic process effected carbohydrate, lipid, and protein conversion efficiencies of 90%, 49%, and 37%, respectively. Development of a Monod-type product-formation model was undertaken to predict methane formation and to determine kinetic parameters for the methanogenic processes in the simulated landfill and separate methane reactors. A first-order solids hydrolysis rate constant of 0.017 day-1 was evaluated to show that landfill solids hydrolysis was slower than the inhibited methanogenesis rate.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMed2000

Biological hydrogen potential of materials characteristic of the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the biological hydrogen production potential of individual organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (OFMSW) by batch experiments. Seven varieties of typical organic solid wastes including rice, cabbage, carrot, egg, lean meat, fat and chicken skin were selected to estimate the hydrogen production potential. Among the OFMSW, carbohydrate produced the most hydrogen through biological hydrogen fermentation compared with proteins or lipids. Subsequently, the biological hydrogen production potentials of some individual carbohydrate were measured: cabbage, 26.3-61.7 mL/g-VS; carrot, 44.9-70.7 mL/g-VS; and rice, 19.3-96.0 mL/g-VS. The hydrogen percentages of the total biogas produced from cabbage, carrot and rice were 33.9-55.1%, 27.7-46.8% and 44.0-45.6%, respectively.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMed2000

Determinant impact of waste collection and composition on anaerobic digestion performance: industrial results.

The performance of the anaerobic digestion process depends deeply on the quality of the waste to be treated. This has been already demonstrated at the lab-scale. The objective of this study is to confirm this result at the industrial scale, with very long representative period and with the same process, the Valorga process. According to the waste quality and the collection type and even with the same conditions of fermentation, the biogas yield can vary by a factor of 1.5 when it is expressed (under normal conditions of pressure and temperature) in m3 biogas/t fresh waste, and by a factor of 2 when it is expressed in m3 CH4/t volatile solids. So, the biogas performance does not characterise a process since it is deeply governed by waste composition. This biogas productivity becomes a pertinent parameter only with consistent and relevant hypothesis and/or analytical results on the waste composition which depends on the collection procedure, the site characteristics and the season.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗