Cogeneration from thermal treatment of selected municipal solid wastes. A stoichiometric model building for the case study on Palermo

This paper aims to calculate the energetic and environmental effects of an integrated solid waste management system in Palermo, Italy. In particular, the thermal treatment of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) with energy recovery is assessed. The current characterization at the local scale is taken into account. Two different options of collection are taken into account: (1) unselected wastes; and (2) sorted collection, according to the current Italian regulation. Combustion process is analyzed and the following features are calculated: (1) stoichiometric content of air and air excess; and (2) temperature and enthalpy of flue gases. Energy recovery is performed in the hypothesis of Hirn cycle bot…