Determining and evaluating the thermodynamic properties of municipal solid waste for different provinces of Iran

To study, analyze and select the appropriate method for converting MSW into energy, the thermodynamic properties of the MSW are required including enthalpy, entropy, heat capacity, heating value, and physical and chemical exergies. In this study, first, the methods of determining the thermodynamic properties in the literature are examined, then these methods are developed so that these thermodynamic properties, especially the physical exergy, can be determined accurately. Then, a code has been developed in EES software, and after confirming it, the existing methods have been developed. Here, in the calculation of physical exergy, the method of Eboh et al. was used to estimate the entropy and the Hess's law and JANAF tables were used to estimate the enthalpy of MSW. The effects of the percentage of moisture and temperature of MSW on the thermodynamic properties are studied. According to the most relevant results, the highest heat capacity, calorific value, and total exergy belong to Lorestan province with 2.683 kJkg−1 K−1, Fars with 22.91 MJkg−1, and Kerman and Sistan and Baluchestan with 13.56 MJkg−1, respectively. It has also been shown that by increasing the moisture percentage and temperature of the MSW, its heat capacity and entropy increase.