Análise do potencial energético dos resíduos sólidos urbanos do município de Aracaju/SE

Abstract

Population growth and the growing concentration of people in cities have generated a very worrying problem, which is the gradual increase in environmental pressures, mainly due to the generation of urban solid waste (MSW). Even with the emergence of the National Solid Waste Policy, instituted by law 12,305 / 2010, inefficient management and inadequate coverage of the objectives and goals of the Law still prevail in Brazil, requiring civil society and public and private entities to adopt actions and goals for the improvement of this scenario. One of the techniques that meet the population and environmental safety requirements is the use of landfills as an appropriate final disposal. Within these landfills, the decomposition of the organic matter present in the waste generates biogas, composed mostly of methane (CH4), a gas with a high potential for greenhouse effect, but which can be used in the generation of electric energy. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the potential of energy utilization of biogas generated from urban solid waste produced by the municipality of Aracaju / SE. The assessment was based on population projections and waste generation, with a subsequent biogas generation estimate using LandGill Landfill Gas Emissions Model version 3.02 software from the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). From this data, it was estimated the conversion of biogas into electric energy, proving that the urban solid waste of Aracaju has a great potential of generation, since its average generation reached the equivalent to 2.382,7 MW.h / month , which would serve about 21,661 middle-class residences in the City and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thereby minimizing the effects of global warming and generating carbon credits through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).