Comparison of the scum with traditional biomass fuels: A source of renewable energy

This study investigated the gross heat value (MJ/kg) of the scum from 14 Wastewater Pumping Stations (WWPS) situated in the residential and industrial area in the eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa. A manual sampling procedure was carried out to collect the scum formed from these WWPS. The gross calorific value of the scum samples was analysed on the Parr 6200 Oxygen Bomb Calorimeter. Results showed a significant difference of 10.00 MJ/kg between the average calorific value of the scum samples from the 14 WWPS is 30.61TS MJ/kg higher than the traditional biomass fuels like coffee husks is 19.3MJ/kg and rice husks 15.8 MJ/kg. Gross heat values ranged from 21.31 MJ/kg to 39.81 MJ/kg. This energy in future could be used as renewable energy resource.