Masters Theses - FGShttp://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/11662024-03-28T09:39:40Z2024-03-28T09:39:40ZRelease Of Methane and Carbon dioxide Gases from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills in the Colombo Metropolitan RegionKumari, S. M. S. R.http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/30912023-03-21T05:55:55Z2016-10-05T09:28:09ZRelease Of Methane and Carbon dioxide Gases from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills in the Colombo Metropolitan Region
Kumari, S. M. S. R.
Attached; Environmental and social problems caused from improper solid waste
disposal are some of the biggest environmental threats Sri Lanka faces at present.
Most of the waste generated in Sri Lanka ends up directly in open disposal sites on
land. These disposal sites are overloaded and uncontrolled. Often the sites selected are
marshy areas on lowland. These open dumps have posed serious environmental and
social threats. Air pollution from landfill emissions, ground water pollution from
leachates, health problems due to breeding of disease causing pests and social
problems such as decreasing land values and aesthetic appeal of an area etc. are some
of these problems. Currently about 60 temporary open dumpsites are in operation
within the Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR) alone. All of them can be said to be
temporary because they are small in size, unplanned and unengineered. As in most
other low and middle income countries Sri Lanka has a high percentage of organic
content in their waste. Due to this high percentage of organic waste (80-90) high
amounts of Carbon dioxide and Methane are released in to the atmosphere from
anaerobic degradation under low oxygen conditions prevalent in uncontrolled
landfills. Thus in addition to many other social and environmental problems, Green
house gas contribution is another major concern arising from the current waste
disposal practices in Sri Lanka. It has been estimated that through out the world about
8% of methane that is released in to the atmosphere comes from landfills.
This study intends to estimate the amount of greenhouse gases that is Carbon dioxide
and Methane that is released into the atmosphere annually from the landfills under
study operating in the Colombo Metropolitan Region. Most of the landfills are open
dumpsites. Colombo, Gampaha and Kaluthara districts are located in the CMR in
which 45 local authorities are included. All the relevant data was collected from each
local authority in CMR by using questionnaires, primary interviews, field
observations and past data. Scholl Canyon gas generation model was used to estimate
greenhouse gas emissions from the municipal solid waste degradation in the dumps in
the CMR.
As model inputs the amount of waste dumped annually, the age of the waste and the
gas generation potential of the waste was used. Gas generation potential was
calculated on the basis of the composition 'of waste. It was found that methane gas
emission is 1507.681 x 10
3
m
3
and CO2 gas emission is 9474.516 x 103
m
3
in CMR in
the year 2003.
2016-10-05T09:28:09ZPHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF WATER QUALITY AT SOME SELECTED SAND MINING LOCATIONS OF THE LOWER REACHES OF KALUGANGARanasinghe, M.S.http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/30882023-03-21T05:55:00Z2016-10-05T09:24:27ZPHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF WATER QUALITY AT SOME SELECTED SAND MINING LOCATIONS OF THE LOWER REACHES OF KALUGANGA
Ranasinghe, M.S.
Attached; Out of 103 rivers in Sri Lanka the 3
rd largest major river is Kaluganga,which
hasthe highest volume of discharge as a percent (%) of precipitation per year out of the
Sri Lankan rivers. It originates 2243m above mean sea level (Sripada), is 118km in
lengthand opens to the sea at Kalutara.
The lower reaches of Kaluganga is a densely populated zone where the
inhabitants are highly dependent on sand mining activities, which adversely affect the
qualityof the water in the river.
In this study to assess the extent of mining effects, six sites were selected. Out
of those sites, water samples were collected from one site for monitoring purposes, the
location of the Kethhena water intake. In the other five sites heavy sand mining
activities are going on. To compare the variation of chemical, physical & biological
parameters in water, samples were collected from each site and analyzed weekly for
two months.
The physical parameters measured include - temperature, turbidity, suspended
solids and electrical conductivity. Chemical parameters assessed include pH, dissolved
oxygen, BODs (biochemical oxygen demand), alkalinity, water hardness, [Cl] and
COD (chemical oxygen demand).
The data were analyzed by T-Test of Mean using GLM procedure of MINITAB
for comparison with inland water quality standards in Sri Lanka. The data were
analyzed by TWO WAY ANOVA using GLM procedure of MINITAB. Followed ONE
WAY ANOVA with Tukey's pair wise comparison. Microscopic and macroscopic
identification of biological parameters were carried out According to the results obtained, the value of pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen
were in the desirable level. But some values like conductivity, suspended solids,
turbidity, alkalinity, [Cn, [Fe], phosphates as P20S were higher than the desired range.
BOD5 was low, which means low level of free organisms and organic matter in the
river water because of habitat destruction by mining. [Cn along the river indicates that
salt-water intrusion was directly effected by mining activities, lowering the riverbed.
COD, DO, pH, Nitrogen, and water hardness were lower than the standards. Anabena
spp., Nostoc spp., Microcystis spp., Closterium spp., Cosmarium spp., Occilatoria spp.,
Spirogyra spp., Spirulina Spps. were found as biological indicators in the water at
mining sites but was low in abundance. At the site of water intake, few species were
identified but abundance was higher than in other sites. These include, Occilatoria spp.,
Closterium spp., and,Cosmarium spp., Spirogira spps..
According to the above results it can be concluded that water quality at the
selected sand mining locations of the lower reaches of Kaluganga are adversely
affected and that sand mining activities may be a contributory factor.
2016-10-05T09:24:27ZEXTENDED COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF BIOGAS GENERATION USING MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTEKARUNARATHNA, K. G. S. P.http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/30782023-03-21T05:52:15Z2016-10-05T09:01:50ZEXTENDED COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF BIOGAS GENERATION USING MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE
KARUNARATHNA, K. G. S. P.
Attached; Solid waste is a growing problem in Sri Lanka in the absence of proper management
measures. Development and implementation of a National strategy for municipal
management is essential in order to reduce environmental, social and the economic
problem associated with the present disposal practices. Such strategies however, need
to be subjected to proper economic analysis in order to arrive at informed decisions.
The present study presents an extended cost benefit analysis of a biogas generation
plant that uses munipal solid waste as the raw material.
To dispose vegetable market garbage available in Wattala, Kandana and Ja-ela areas
productively, the 640 Mt capacity biogas/ bio fertilizer project has been housed at
Muthurajawela (along Hamilton canal, Elakanda), by the National Engineering
Research & Development Center of Sri Lanka (NERDC), which uses Dry Batch
Anaerobic Digester Technology. Among the other biological treatment options,
anaerobic digestion is the most cost effective, due to the high-energy recovery linked
to the process and its limited environmental impacts.
Economic analysis has been carried out to identify costs and benefits associated with
the above project. Several environmental valuation methods have been applied to
value the identified costs and benefits. The main benefit of reduction of municipal
solid waste has been estimated as Rs 1,093,444 per year. Contingent valuation
method (CVM) was used to estimate this benefit using samples from Wattal-Matnla,
Ja-ela, and Peliyagoda local authorities. Green house gas (methane) emission from
solid waste was estimated through Scholl Canyon model and valued using avoided
global damage cost approach. Benefits of biogas as an energy source, organic
fertilizers and employment benefits were estimated by market based approach.
The project is viable from economy and environment point of view with net present
value of Rs. 249.43 million for 20-year period with 10% discount rate. This analysis
provides a justification for undertaking solid waste management strategies in a
technologically environmentally and economically viable manner.
2016-10-05T09:01:50ZThe Problems and Prospects of Domestic Tourism Sector in Sri LankaShantha, M. Sunilhttp://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/14352023-02-23T09:47:13Z2014-02-28T09:10:21ZThe Problems and Prospects of Domestic Tourism Sector in Sri Lanka
Shantha, M. Sunil
2014-02-28T09:10:21Z