Characterization of Municipal Solid waste’s Potential for Power Generation at Mekelle City as a Waste Minimisation strategy

Figures & data

Figure 1. Samples ready for laboratory analysis.

Table 1. Waste composition category.

Waste type	% of total
Humid waste (food waste, fruit, etc.)	71.43
Mixed plastics	13.59
Cardboards	8.8
Mixed dry leaves	1.99
Textile products	1.77
Mixed paper	1.61
Diaper	0.61
Others (shoe, bones and mobile card)	0.19
Total weight	100

Table 2. Segregated solid waste composition.

Waste type	% of total
Mixed plastics	47.58
Cardboards	30.81
Mixed dry leaves	6.98
Textile products	6.19
Mixed paper	5.63
Diaper	2.14
Others (shoe, bones and mobile card)	0.68
Total weight	100

Table 3. Proximate analysis results of individual MSW.

Type of waste	Ash content (%)	Volatility (%)	Moisture (%)	Fixed carbon (%)
Plastic	0.12	94.44	0.24	5.2
Grass	10.55	69.58	5.61	14.26
Cardboard	6.23	77.81	5.76	10.2
Textile	0.49	90.17	0.85	8.49
Dry leave	16.81	61.19	6.76	15.24
Paper	13.73	75.23	2.99	8.05

Table 4. Elemental analysis of selected components.

Type of wastes	N (%)	C(%)	H(%)	S (%)	O (%)
Grass	0.089	38.3	6.0055	0	55.6075
Dry leaves	0.311	37.53	5.666	0	56.497
Paper	0	36.51	5.314	0	58.1805
Plastics	0	63.91	5.331	0.045	30.7185
Cardboard	0	39.32	7.2015	0	53.482
Textile	0	43.421	3.526	0	53.0535

Table 5. Composition of components with moisture content and dry base.

Type of waste	Unit wet Weight (kg)	% of Moisture	Dry weight (kg)	C	H	O	N	S
Plastic	1	1	0.99	0.63	0.05	0.23	0	0
Leaves and grasses	1	8	0.92	0.35	0.05	0.52	0	0
Cardboard	1	5	0.95	0.37	0.07	0.51	0	0
Textile	1	10	0.90	0.50	0.06	0.28	0.04	0
Paper	1	6	0.94	0.34	0.05	0.55	0	0

Table 6. Weight of elements with and without water.

Element	Weight without water (kg)	Weight with water (kg)
C	2.19	2.19
H	0.28	0.32
O	2.08	2.34
N	0.04	0.04
S	0	0

Table 7. Molar composition of elements.

Element	Atomic weight	Weight without water (kg)	Weight with water (kg)
C	12	0.18	0.18
H	1	0.28	0.32
O	16	0.13	0.15
N	14	0.00	0.00
S	32	0.0001	0.0001

Table 8. Mole ratio of Elements.

Element	Mole ratio without water (kg)	Mole ratio with water (kg)
C	2605	2605
H	4050	4525
O	1850	2088
N	44	44
S	1	1

Table 9. Weight (%) of elements.

Element	Number of moles	Atomic weight	Weight	Weight %
C	2605	12	31260	47.68
H	4050	1	4050	6.18
O	1850	16	29600	45.15
N	44	14	616	0.94
S	1	32	32	0.05
Total			65558	100

Table 10. Energy content of samples.

Type of samples	Heating value (kJ/kg)
Plastic	23,192.6
Grass	16,424.7
Cardboard	16,217.4
Textile	20,495.2
Dry leave	13,502.7
Paper	12,173.6
Average	17,001.0

Table 11. Heating value and proximate analysis result for composite samples.

Type of samples	Heating value (Kcal/Kg)	Ash (%)	Volatility (%)	Moisture (%)	Carbon (%)
Plastic + Grass	20,388.34	3.64	81.94	2.54	11.88
Plastic + Card board + Grass	18,796.47	4.22	81.41	3.26	11.13
Plastic + Card board + Paper	19,889.12	4.75	86.71	1.51	7.03
Plastic + Dry Leave + Paper	18,890.67	6.59	83.25	2.14	8.02
Plastic + Textile	22,441.76	0.12	93.39	1.43	5.06
Plastic + Paper	21,028.88	5.54	86.5	1.18	6.78
Plastic + Dry Leave	21,405.64	3.71	86.77	3.71	7.84
Plastic + Card board	20,416.94	3.76	93.09	1.43	1.72
Plastic + Card board + Textile	19,587.7	3.09	86.80	1.85	8.26
Grass + Dry Leave + Card board	14,906.24	9.34	74.22	5.16	11.28
Paper + Textile + Dry Leave	14,105.57	10.26	77.11	4.69	7.94