Author(s)

Alkasim Abubakar^1*, Maigida H. Barnabas¹, Baba M. Tanko²

¹Department of Physics, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, Nigeria.
²Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Mubi, Nigeria.

Numan is an urban center in Adamawa State North-Eastern Nigeria. Its waste characteristics are similar to other places in sub-Saharan Africa. In this paper, the physico-chemical characterization of municipal solid waste generated in Numan Town was carried out to estimate the electrical power to be generated from it. The solid waste types were observed to comprise of polythene (27%), organic waste (24.1%), plastic (10.2%), textile (13.2%), paper (9.8%), glass (9.3%) and metals (6.4%). The moisture content as discarded and daily average solid waste generation rate are 16.49% and 0.583 kg/sec respectively. The chemical formula with and without water was determined as C_923.28H_1632.60O_258.28N_12.89S and C_923.28H_2099.70O_494.16N_12.89S respectively. The suitability of the municipal solid waste as a possible source of electrical power was also considered. The energy content of the solid waste on ash free dry-basis was determined as 20861.48 kJ/kg. The estimated power generation per day using incinerating plant at an assumed efficiency of 25% was 3031.5 kW.

Municipal Solid Waste, Moisture Content, Energy Recovery, Power Generation

Abubakar, A. , Barnabas, M. and Tanko, B. (2018) The Physico-Chemical Composition and Energy Recovery Potentials of Municipal Solid Waste Generated in Numan Town, North-Eastern Nigeria. Energy and Power Engineering, 10, 475-485. doi: 10.4236/epe.2018.1011030.