Course detail

Waste Treatment and Recycling

FSI-KOD Acad. year: 2027/2028 Summer semester

The course provides students with an introduction to waste management and an overview of relevant laws and regulations. Students will become familiar with current technologies for the management of both municipal and industrial waste. They will develop an understanding of the characteristics of different waste categories and of the flow of waste from producers through to final treatment. Students will be introduced to a broad range of related processes:

* Processes for the utilisation of waste as a material or energy resource
* Processes for processing waste into secondary raw materials or alternative fuels
* Processes for the safe treatment of non-recoverable waste types

Students will apply theoretical knowledge through a series of practical exercises using MS Excel. Emphasis will be placed on identifying material and energy inputs and outputs for the relevant processes, and on estimating the technical and economic requirements associated with managing different types of waste. The in-class exercises are followed by independent calculation assignments. Students will also prepare a technical presentation focused on a selected waste type or treatment technology, in which they will justify the suitability of the chosen approach.
Study workload components and estimated hours:

* Direct instruction – lectures and seminars, including field trips within this allocation (C): 26 hours
* Ongoing self-study, work with legislation and data: 20 hours
* Independent completion of calculation assignments outside direct instruction: 26 hours
* Preparation of the technical presentation: 16 hours
* Self-study and ongoing tasks total (D): 62 hours
* Preparation for the graded credit assessment (U): 16 hours
* Total study workload (C + D + U): 104 hours

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

4

Supervisor

doc. Ing. Martin Pavlas, Ph.D.

Department

Institute of Process Engineering

Entry knowledge

Basic knowledge of process technology. Fundamentals of process balancing – setting up simple material and energy balances, working with units. Basic proficiency in Excel.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

GRADED CREDIT: To be awarded the graded credit, students must attend seminars regularly and actively, submit all assigned tasks, deliver an individual presentation on a chosen topic, and pass a written test. The test is graded using the standard scale based on the percentage of correct answers (0–49%…F, 50–59%…E, 60–69%…D, 70–79%…C, 80–89%…B, 90–100%…A).

Regular attendance at seminars is a prerequisite for the graded credit (only 1 unexcused absence is permitted; students with a higher number of absences must demonstrate that they have made up the missed content, e.g. through an oral examination, a presentation, or by preparing a written summary of the missed seminar).

During the semester, each student will independently complete three calculation assignments in MS Excel linked to the seminar content. The assignments must be submitted and accepted by the instructor as satisfactory; submission alone does not constitute fulfillment of this requirement. The MS Excel calculation assignments are:

• evaluation of the yield and calorific value of fuel derived from municipal waste;

• material and energy balance of a selected waste treatment process;

• comparison of two waste management options for a selected type of waste in terms of material flows and basic economic requirements.

Students will also prepare and deliver a technical presentation on a chosen topic. The presentation should characterize a waste type or technology, compare processing options, and justify conclusions using relevant sources.

The final grade for the graded credit is based primarily on the written test. The quality of the presentation and calculation assignments may shift the final grade by one to two grade levels; the assessment considers factual and technical accuracy, use of sources, justification of conclusions, and responses to questions.

Aims

Upon completion of the subject, the student:
• will explain the waste management hierarchy and the basic principles of Czech and European waste management;
• will find and apply relevant requirements of legal regulations when solving model situations of waste management;
• will classify selected waste according to the waste catalogue and assess the impact of their composition and properties on processing possibilities;
• will describe the principles of major technologies for treatment, material and energy recovery and disposal of municipal and industrial waste;
• will compare the suitability of these technologies for specific waste in terms of operational requirements, environmental impact and associated risks;
• will compile and evaluate a simple material and energy balance of a selected waste processing process using MS Excel;
• will estimate and compare the basic technical and economic requirements of selected waste management variants;
• will process and present a professional topic from the field of waste management and justify its conclusions using relevant data and professional sources.

Study aids

1. Waste Management Plan of the Czech Republic (WMP CR) for the period 2025–2035

2. Act No. 541/2020 Coll. — Waste Act

3. Current legislative regulations of the Czech Republic and the EU in the relevant field, as amended

4. Collective of authors: Recyklace – Efektivní způsoby zpracování odpadů (Recycling – Effective Methods of Waste Processing). Brno: Brno University of Technology, 2011. ISBN 978-80-214-4240-5.

5. Jurnik A.: Ekologické skládky (Ecological Landfills). ALDA Olomouc, 1999.

6. Weiner, Ruth F.: Environmental Engineering. Elsevier, 2003. ISBN: 0750672943

7. C. Ludwig, S. Hellweg, and S. Stucki, Municipal Solid Waste Management: Strategies and Technologies for Sustainable Solutions, Springer, 2002.

The study programmes with the given course

Programme N-PRI-P: Process Engineering, Master's, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

13 hours, optionally

Syllabus


  1. Basic concepts and definitions

  2. Waste types, management hierarchy, legislation

  3. Properties of selected wastes

  4. Mechanical-biological treatment and landfilling

  5. Energy recovery from waste

  6. Treatment for material recovery

  7. Logistics – waste collection and transport

  8. Biological waste and its treatment

  9. Options for hazardous waste treatment

  10. Waste sampling

  11. Material flows from producers to facilities

  12. Student presentations on selected topics

  13. Student presentations on selected topics

Exercise

13 hours, compulsory

Syllabus


  1. Credit requirements, working with legislation

  2. Working with statistics in the Czech and European context

  3. Waste catalogue

  4. Yield and calorific value of fuels derived from municipal waste – introduction of independent calculation assignment

  5. Process balances for energy recovery – introduction of independent calculation assignment

  6. Balances for material recovery treatment – comparison of waste management options and introduction of a follow-up independent assignment

  7. Composition and parameters of municipal waste

  8. Field trip to a waste management facility

  9. Field trip to a waste management facility

  10. Waste sampling

  11. Written test

  12. Student presentations on selected topics

  13. Student presentations on selected topics