Statistical Model of Generating Electricity Using Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Eben A. Nornormey *
Department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, KAAF University, Gomoa Fetteh, Ghana.
Emmanuel Asare
Department of Electrical, Electronic Engineering, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana.
Reine Makafui McEben-Nornormey
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary.
Lord Anertei Tetteh
Department of Electrical, Electronic Engineering, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana.
Dickson Ntoni Amakye
Department of Electrical, Electronic Engineering, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana.
Daniel M. O. Adjin
Regent University College of Science & Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Computing Allied Sciences, Accra, Ghana.
Daniel O. Bediako
Department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, KAAF University, Gomoa Fetteh, Ghana.
Ishmael Gyampah Amoako
Department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, KAAF University, Gomoa Fetteh, Ghana.
Felix Koney Okpoti
Department of Marine Electrical Engineering, Regional Maritime University, Nungua, Ghana.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Electricity generated from municipal solid waste is renewable since this source is inexhaustible. Using solid waste to generate electricity is a better technique of managing waste as it frees landfill sites of garbage. Combustion or incineration, gasification and pyrolysis are three principal waste-to-energy methods that may be employed to convert garbage into electricity, however this paper is limited to the analysis of incineration process. This process is achieved at a very high temperature with the end result being extremely useful to the construction industries. This study was done by selecting ten most municipal solid waste (MSW) generating countries from each of the four continents (America, Europe, Asia, and Africa) in the world. This waste was aggregated into recyclable, landfilled and power produced clusters. Mathematical models were deployed to estimate electricity generated from the landfilled piles of each continent. The researchers also approximated the quantity of carbon dioxide that would have been emitted into the environment if fossil fuels (coal, crude oil and natural gas) were used to produce the total electricity from the four continents.
Keywords: Electricity, municipal solid waste, incineration, waste-to-energy, recyclable, landfilled, carbon dioxide