You are the city engineer for a town containing 4,000 residences. Each residence

Question

You are the city engineer for a town containing 4,000 residences. Each residence contains approximately 2.5 people. Assume that each person created 4 lb refuse/day.

It is your job to figure out how big the refuse trucks needs to be (in yd3).   You can buy 3 trucks and they can compact the refuse to 500 lb/yd3. The trucks can make 3 trips per day for 5 days a week. Calculate the minimum size of the trucks to meet the needs of the community. (12.4 yd3)

Assume that the waste is 45% biodegradable with a formula of C65H110O45N. Calculate how much methane can be produced per year if the waste is placed in a landfill. (2.2 million lbs of methane/ year)

If methane has a heat capacity of 0.3 kWh/ft3 and a density of 0.042 lb/ft3 and the methane power point is 70% efficient, calculate kWh/year that can be generated from this refuse. (11 million kWh/year)

Explanation / Answer

Total number of people in town = 4000 * 2.5 = 10000

Total refuse created per day = 10000 * 4 = 40000 lb

Total refuse trucks can compact in a day = 500 * 3 = 1500 lb / yd3

Volume 3 trucks can compact = 40000 / 1500 = 26.67 yd3

Minimum size of each truck = 26.67 / 3

= 8.89 yd3

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