Evaluation of Energy Potentials from Municipal Solid Waste: A Case Study of Yola, Nigeria

Abstract

The dumpsites in Yola town have piled up with over 4393 tons of municipal solid waste generated in 2014 alone and 0.60 kg/capita/day as at the time of this research. This is alarming and obviously, some treatment needs to be put up. In this work, municipal solid waste in the town was sorted, characterized and subjected to exploration of energy potentials estimation. Proximate analysis was conducted to determine the calorific value of each component. Methane (a chief component of energy) was estimated using Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Methodology. Characterisation of the waste revealed the following compositions: food waste (42.45%), plastic (25.66%), paper (14.37%), rubber (1.93%), textile (2.69%), yard waste (7.71%), wood (0.90%), metal (0.81%), glass (1.83%), battery (1.56%) and diaper (0.09%). Proximate analysis (moisture content, volatile organic matter, ash content and fixed carbon) were carried out according to the random sampling method based on American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM, 1998). The waste was found to have calorific value of (118.58 MJ/Kg). Results also showed that 685.69 tons of methane was estimated from municipal solid waste generated from Yola between 2004-2014.

Keywords: Solid Waste, Energy Potential, Proximate Analysis, Moisture Content, Calorific Value