Comparative study of calorific value of municipal solid waste of Suleja, Niger State, Nigeria using different mathematical model

Abstract

The calorific value of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is essential in the design of waste to energy facility. The calorific value of a solid fuel is obtained using the bomb calorimeter. However, the calorific values can also be obtained from mathematical models using the elemental composition of the biodegradable component of MSW. However, models are specific and can give divergent results. The study intends to compare the calorific values obtained from Dulong, Dulong-Berthlot, Bento mathematical models. Six Samples of MSW were collected from the dumpsite from Suleja, Niger State Nigeria, the calorific values of the samples were determined using the bomb calorimeter, the proximate and ultimate analysis were determined. The calorific values of all the samples were calculated based on Dulong, Dulong-Bertlhot and Bento’s models. The calorific values obtained from the bomb calorimeter experiment for the samples S1, S2, SS3, S4, S5 and S6 were 16.10 , 18.70 , 20.76 , 21.64 , 24.65  and 22.81  respectively. The result shows that Bento’s underestimate the calorific values in all samples, whereas Dulong’s model predicts three of the values within ±4%. Dulong’s model was found to be predicting the calorific values of Suleja MSW better.