Investigation of No2/No, So2, Co and Volatile Organic Compounds Emission from Solid Waste in Ogbomoso

Abstract

Emissions from burning of solid waste have been a major source of air pollutions in Ogbomoso Township in the last few years. This research work estimate the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO₂/NO), carbon(II)oxide, sulphur (iv) oxide and volatile organic compounds from solid waste in Ogbomoso as a measure of control using the emission factors approach. Determination of the solid waste generation potential using per capita approach was combined with the appropriate emission factors for the estimation. On the average, nylon has the least generation potential with 8.85% while solid (glass, metal, tin and sand) has the highest with 44.825%. These generation potentials increased from 44,073 tonnes/annum in the year 2002 to 63,822.88 tonnes/annum in the year 2011 with the population of 242,167 to 350,627 per capita respectively. However, results obtained from nitrogen oxides (NO₂/NO), carbon (II) oxide, sulphur (iv) oxide and volatile organic compounds emissions rate shows an increased trend of 132.22 to 191.47, 1851.3 to 2680.6, 19.3 to 27.1 and 947.58 to 1372.19 tonnes/annum respectively in the year 2002 to 2011. The emission rate of NO/NO₂, SO₂, CO and volatile organic compounds must be controlled because of their adverse effect on the environment. The controlled could be by converting them for energy production owing to the high calorific value of the solid waste in Ogbomoso. Another controlled technique that can be employed in addition to conversion for energy production is by burning the waste in an incinerator since the solid waste consist of high percentage of combustible materials.

Keywords: Emission factor, Solid waste