Assessing Technical Feasibility of Energy Recovery Potential from Municipal Solid Waste via Incineration: Case study of Adi-Kolomey Open Dumpsite, Mekelle City

Abstract

This study assesses the technical feasibility of energy recovery from municipal solid waste for incineration at the Adi-Kolomey dumpsite, based on laboratory characterization. The waste samples were collected by randomly selecting waste collection trucks over six consecutive days to ensure representativeness. The collected samples were homogenized and combined using quartering methods to obtain a 2kg composite waste sample, which was ground to less than 1 mm in size for laboratory analysis. The results of the study show that the waste stream was dominated by combustible fractions, with the highest percentage of fruit waste (31.88%) and food waste (16.9%) by weight, indicating a high proportion of combustible materials. The proximate analysis values of the study, as received or wet base, revealed that with an average moisture content of 54.14%, volatile matter of 39.25 %, fixed carbon content 2.21 %, and ash content of 4.40 %, this result indicates a suitable potential for energy recovery for incineration. The results of ultimate or elemental analysis show that the average elemental content of 42.72 % carbon,6.23 % hydrogen,45.79 % oxygen,0.62 % nitrogen, and 0.27 % of sulfur. and the sample result was analyzed using MS Excel. Based on Dulong’s empirical model, the lower heating values of the composite municipal solid waste were determined as 12.42 MJ/kg with an incineration heat recovery efficiency of 82.15 %; the net heat energy recovery potential was obtained as 10.20 MJ/kg. This value exceeds the minimum calorific requirement for self-sustained combustion, indicating that the waste stream is technically viable for incineration. These results conclude that the waste stream has an adequate calorific value for sufficient combustible characteristics to support efficient heat energy recovery. Incineration is, therefore, technically feasible and supports sustainable energy generation at the waste stream of the dumpsite.