Statistical model for heating value of municipal solid waste in Brazil based on gravimetric composition.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a serious problem for public administrations, especially in terms of treatment and final disposal. These wastes have a high energy content and one of the possibilities of treatment is the recovery of energy through thermochemical processes. The parameter used to measure the amount of useful energy available in collected waste when submitted to thermochemical processes is called the lower heating value (LHV), which is usually determined in the laboratory or through empirical models from the literature. To this end, this paper aims to present two models for prediction of the LHV in the municipal solid waste of the municipality of Santo André. Samples were collected from 36 garbage trucks in the above-mentioned city, from September 2015 to January 2016. The models were developed based on the results of the gravimetric composition and laboratory analysis. The technique used to develop the models was the multiple linear regression by least squares method. As a result, the models obtained mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) indexes of 5.09% and 5.52%, considered excellent according to the literature classification. In addition, the calculated LHV of the Santo André municipal waste was 7.03 MJ/kg, which indicates a great potential for energy recovery using thermochemical processes. These are the first LHV prediction models developed in Brazil, which has been a significant accomplishment in Brazil. The proposed models were developed using empirical measurements of moisture in the solid waste and the LHV on samples collected with a statistically representative sampling method.

Diagnosis of the management of solid urban waste of the municipalities of ABC Paulista of Brasil through the application of sustainability indicators.

This article deals with the challenges and obstacles facing the management of Urban Solid Waste (MSW) in the municipalities of ABC Paulista. In compliance with the guidelines imposed by the National Solid Waste Policy 12,305/2010, which determined that the entire city has a duty to create the PMGRS (Municipal Solid Waste Management Plan), and the creation of measures for constant changes in the collection of municipal waste and in the treatment and disposal of MSW. The objective of this article is to identify the level of sustainability in solid waste management in the following municipalities: Santo André, São Bernardo and São Caetano do Sul. The methodology used in this article was divided into three parts, the first part being the collection of primary and secondary data, the second was the integrated diagnosis of the results and, finally, the future prospects in relation to a proposal for new scenarios for the municipalities studied. The municipalities presented different results, and some positive aspects, the municipality of Santo André has excelled in most of the scenarios, even with all the presented obstacles.