Energy Recovery routes from Municipal Solid Waste, A case study of Arusha-Tanzania

A study of energy recovery from municipal solid waste was undertaken. The energy content of the solid waste is 12MJ/kg. The elemental composition shows that the municipal solid waste contains 50% and 5% of carbon and hydrogen respectively. The energy flow (exothermic and endothermic) and thermal degradation analysis were carried out using differential scanning calorimetry and thermo-gravimetric analyser respectively. Experiments were performed at heating rate of 10 K/min, 20 K/min, 30 K/min and 40 K/min in the nitrogen atmosphere at temperature between room temperature and 1273 K. The thermal degradation kinetic parameters values of activation energy (Ea) ranged from 205.9 to 260.6kJ/mol. It has been observed that municipal solid waste is less reactive to combustion as compared to coal and biomass, but its reactivity can be improved through pre-treating process so as to reduce noncombustible materials such as oxygen and ash content. Also pyrolysis and gasification can be used to convert MSW to liquid or gaseous fuel. Keywords: Municipal Solid Waste, Thermal behavior, Thermo gravimetric Analysis