Sawmill dumpsites are characterised by combustion of wood
wastes which pollutes the environment. In this study, five tropical
species of wood wastes were collected from sawmill dumpsites in
Asaba Metropolis and used for experimental analysis. The
samples were chopped into particle sizes of 0.3 to 0.5 micrometres
and analysed in accordance to ASTM standards. The analyses
include the calorific value (CV), proximate and ultimate analyses.
Data generated from the analyses was used to evaluate the
potential carbon iv oxide (CO2) and sulphur iv oxide (SO2)
emissions. From the results, it was observed that the wood
samples can be used for energy purposes due to high CV ranging
from 30,516.81 kJ/kg to 30,738.38 kJ/kg. The proximate analysis
showed low moisture content of 7.26% to 7.70%. The ash content
ranged from 0.76% to 1.92%, The ultimate analysis showed high
carbon content which validated the results of the calorific value.
The SO2 level from the combustion analysis ranged from 0.08%
to 0.10%. This result revealed that the wood samples can be used
for boiler applications. The combustion evaluation analysis
showed that CO2 emission to the atmosphere ranges from 18.87%
to 23.60% for dry basis analysis. These results revealed that wood
waste is still preferable than burning fossil fuel because CO2
emissions from wood waste is offset by growing trees.