DETERMINATON OF ORGANIC MATTER PRESENT IN URBAN WASTE RESIDUE FROM A SANITARY LANDFILL USING THERMOGRAVIMETRIC CURVES: THE CASE OF SÃO CARLOS

Abstract

The excessive amount of household waste produced by the population is generally deposited in sanitary landfills. Most of this waste is composed of organic matter, followed by paper and cardboard, plastic, metal and others. After the waste is covered with soil in the landfill, the organic matter begins to decompose, producing several organic compounds, among them the organic acids and acetates. Thermal analysis and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, which are Analytic Chemistry resources, as well as the dust x-rays method of analysis, were used in this study to identify the amount of organic matter, the kind of residue, and the metals present in a sample from a sanitary landfill. The results of the Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis curves generated information about dehydration, thermal stability, thermal decomposition, and the amount of organic matter present in urban solid waste that had been deposited in the landfill for four years.