Low Carbon Emissions Energy Production Strategies from Solid Waste-Coal Combination for Bauchi Metropolis, North-Eastern Nigeria

Energy is a necessity for development but its sustainable production is questionable in most metropolitan settlements in developing countries, particularly Nigeria. The combination of fossil fuel with Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) for electricity generation is justified due to the acute inadequacy of electricity in Nigeria coupled with the abundance of coal. Therefore, this research investigates strategies for electricity generation from coal-MSW mix for Bauchi metropolis, North-Eastern Nigeria. Population and MSW generation for the study area were determined from year 2010 to 2070. In 2020, the population of the metropolis will be over 668,000 people generating more than 195,000 t of MSW. The characterization studies showed high proportion of plastics and other combustibles which makes the MSW a good stock for combustion in turbines. The calorific values were determined for various coal-MSW mix and the results range from 8,762 kJ/kg (0 % coal and 100 % MSW) to 11,044.65 kJ/kg (100 % coal with 0 % waste). The energy production strategies for the metropolis was based on five scenarios (A – E) depending on coal-MSW mixture and time frame. Results showed that Scenario A can produce 16.7 MW (146,719 MWh) of electricity in the year 2020 for the metropolis which gradually increases to 32 MW in the first year of Scenario E. In addition, the economic and environmental evaluations of the scenarios revealed that Scenario A is the most attractive in terms of revenue from electricity but least in revenue from carbon credit. Although, Scenario E generates the least per capita revenue, it was found to be the best in terms of environmental considerations. This research therefore provides flexible mechanisms for the production of energy in urban areas to contain MSW problems and reduce CO2 emission from the use of whole coal.