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Physicochemical and compositional analyses of household solid wastes: opportunities for bioenergy production and sustainable waste management in Ethiopia

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Abstract

This study aimed to determine the quantity and quality of source separated organic household solid waste (SSOHSW) generation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with particular reference to its bioenergy recovery potential using bioconversion technologies. A multi-stage probability sampling approach was employed to collect data from 304 households representing different socioeconomic backgrounds from March 2 to 9, 2021. Results showed that HSW generation rate was 0.46 kg/capita/day, and the city’s annual generation of HSW was estimated at 648,094 tons, among which, 60.1% and 22.1% were organic, and recyclable wastes, respectively. Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated household income and occupation were significantly positive, whereas family size had a significant negative association with per capita HSW generation rate. Proximate analysis revealed averages of greater than 70% volatile matter content in all test samples. Ultimate analysis findings showed that carbon and oxygen were the major elements in all the test samples whereas compositional analysis of test samples indicated content of hemicellulose (12.11–70.38%) was the highest while lignin (2.33–8.67%) was the lowest. The study findings revealed that source separated household organic municipal solid waste is a suitable feedstock for bioenergy production and sustainable waste management. Using a suitable bioconversion process such as anaerobic digestion technology, 24.6 kJ of electricity is estimated to be obtained daily from the SSOHSW fractions.

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Acknowledgements

The Authors thank the Office of Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, for the financial support through its thematic research program (Grant No. VPRTT/PY-092/2019). Bantamlak also acknowledges Wollo University for sponsoring his Ph.D. study.

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  1. Ahmed Hussen & Tadesse Alemu

    Present address: Center for Environmental Science, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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  1. Center for Environmental Science, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Bantamlak Hassen & Seyoum Leta

  2. Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Wollo University, PO Box 1145, Dessie, Ethiopia

    Bantamlak Hassen

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Hassen, B., Leta, S., Hussen, A. et al. Physicochemical and compositional analyses of household solid wastes: opportunities for bioenergy production and sustainable waste management in Ethiopia. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 25, 2350–2364 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-023-01700-0

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