Characterization, thermochemical conversion studies, and heating value modeling of municipal solid waste

A study was carried out to examine the characteristics of municipal solid waste (MSW) from the City of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Experiments were performed for determining the moisture content, proximate and ultimate compositions, heating value of fourteen wastes in different categories. Their thermal weight loss behaviors under pyrolysis/torrefaction conditions were also investigated in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). An empirical model was developed for the high heating value (HHV) estimation of MSW. A total of 193 experimental data were collected from this study and those in the literature, of which 161 data were used for model derivation; and, 32 additional data were used for model validation. The model was developed using multiple regression analysis and a stepwise regression method: HHV (MJ/kg) = 0.350 C + 1.01 H - 0.0826 O, which is expressed in terms of weight percentages on a dry basis of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). The validation results suggest that this model was effective in producing accurate outputs that were close to the experimental values. In addition, it had the lowest error level in comparison with seven other models from the literature. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.