Utilization of organic fraction of municipal solid waste as waste to energy: A case study of Solan and Nahan, India

Abstract

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has been considered as a major hazard in our society that creates an additional pressure on concerned municipalities with risks to public health and the environment. The decomposition of biodegradable material in the waste stream can lead to CH4 and CO2 emission from this sector. An attempt has been made to study the MSW generation, composition, characteristics and treatment options in growing towns i.e. Solan and Nahan of north hilly state (Himachal Pradesh) of India. It is estimated that the Solan is generated about 19,536.17 kg/day MSW while 4,406.50 kg/day in Nahan. Service Level Benchmark v/s Existing Situation shows a 41% performance level. Organic content was observed maximum (51.13-59.30%) in MSW followed by construction waste (16.27-17.17%), Plastic (3.68-11.27%), Paper (6.59-7.1%), Textile (4.22-5.87%), Rubber/Leather (3.97-4.18%), metal (2.72-3.34%) and Glass (1.42-1.54%). The moisture content was found between 29.15% and 63.15%. Carbon was found to be 50.10-50.18%, hydrogen 6.52%, nitrogen 2.23%, oxygen 33.66-34.53%, the C: N ratio was 21.63, ash was 6.15-5.12% and the empirical formula developed was C26.3H40.8NO14.6 for Solan town, while C25.5H39.5NO13.9 for Nahan town. The energy content for the Solan dumping site was estimated as 8742.95 KJ/tonne while, the energy content for the Nahan dumping site was 10607.72 KJ/tonne. The MSW of both these towns has enough energy content and Waste-to-energy can be a better option for the treatment of waste. The benefits include reduction of leachate production, reduction in methane generation which will automatically lead to reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions.