Theoretical and experimental investigations on the combustion characteristics of three components mixed municipal solid waste

The combustion characteristics of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste (MMSW) play a vital role in dictating the efficiency of the incineration process. At present, few studies on combustion characteristics of three components MMSW and the establishment of corresponding comprehensive kinetic model of single component waste have been reported. In the present study, based on the law of mass action and Badzioch's relation, the mathematical expressions for describing the TG (Thermogravimetric) curves and the DT (Differential thermal) curves of single component MMSW are derived. A comprehensive kinetic model for the combustion characteristics of single component MMSW is developed and the appropriateness of the model is confirmed by the experimental results. The calculated TG curves closely agree with the experimental curves; the maximum deviation between the experimental and calculated curves is within 5%. Based on the principle of mixture experiments, the co-combustion characteristics of MMSW composed of food bag, disposable chopstick and cotton cloth are studied by using TGA (Thermogravimetric Analysis) and DTA (Differential Thermal Analysis). It has been found that the activation energy of three components MMSW is lower than that of single component. Finally, based on multiple regression analysis for the design of mixture experiments and the corresponding data, an empirical formula for calculating activation energy of three components MMSW is obtained. The experimental and calculated values match closely; the maximum deviations between them is within 7%. The empirical formula provides a robust way to calculate activation energy of three components MMSW.