Title: Estimating seasonal variations of incinerability of municipal solid waste using incinerability index

Authors: Roshni Mary Sebastian; Dinesh Kumar; Babu Alappat

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India ' North Delhi Municipal Corporation, New Delhi, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India

Abstract: Estimation of incinerability of municipal solid waste (MSW) is crucial, with the emergence of incineration as an integral element of sustainable solid waste management. The composition of MSW tends to vary seasonally, affected by local weather, festivals etc. subsequently affecting its incinerability. This study aims to demonstrate an easy assessment of the seasonal variations in incinerability of MSW in cities falling in different economies, namely Lahore, Kochi, Raipur, Jalandhar and New York using incinerability index or i-Index. It is observed that MSW generated in summer season exhibited relatively high incinerability, and reduced marginally during winter. The high moisture content during monsoon season significantly affected the incinerability of MSW in the study areas, reducing it by almost 25% in Kochi, a city with relatively high average annual rainfall of 1,570 mm. In areas with low rainfall like New York and Jalandhar, substantial seasonal variations are not observed.

Keywords: incinerability; municipal solid waste; MSW; waste to energy; composite indicator; seasonal variations; waste management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2020.108818

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2020 Vol.26 No.2, pp.259 - 268

Received: 25 Dec 2018
Accepted: 04 Jun 2019
Published online: 04 Aug 2020 *

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