Waste-to-energy: Solution for Municipal Solid Waste challenges- global perspective (original) (raw)

The adaptation of Waste to Energy Technologies: towards the conversion of Municipal Solid Waste into a renewable energy resource

Environmental Reviews, 2019

Currently, there are an estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated per year globally, and this quantity is predicted to increase to 2.2 billion tonnes annually by 2025. If not well treated, this rapid growth of waste products can lead to socio-economic and environmental problems. Waste is potentially a misplaced valuable resource that can be converted and utilized in different ways such as renewable energy resources for the realization of sustainable development. Presently, waste-to-energy technologies (WtETs) are considered to be an encouraging advanced technology that is applied to convert MSW into a renewable energy resource (methane, biogas, biofuels or biodiesel, ethanol, syngas, or alcohol). WtETs can be biochemical (fermentation, anaerobic digestion, landfill with gas capture, and microbial fuel cell), thermochemical (incineration, thermal gasification, and pyrolysis), or chemical (esterification). This review mainly aims to provide an overview of t...

Scientific and Technical Perspectives of Waste-to-Energy Conversion

Journal of Nature Science and Sustainable Technology, 2021

FOR CITATION: Salem, H.S, Yihdego, Y. and Pudza, M.Y. 2021. Scientific and Technical Perspectives of Waste-to-Energy Conversion. Journal of Nature Science and Sustainable Technology, Vol. 15, No: 3, PP: 193-217. (Published by Nova Science Publishers, USA). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356459297\_Scientific\_and\_Technical\_Perspectives\_of\_Waste-to-Energy\_Conversion ABSTRACT: With the population's growth, economic growth, urbanization, accelerated development, and, thus, greater rates of consumption, the world has been witnessing the generation of large amounts of waste. In the recent decades, waste production has increased dramatically, worldwide and, apparently, there is no single sign of slowing down. The world generates 2.01 billion metric tons of municipal solid waste annually, with at least 33% of that not managed in an environmentally safe manner. Worldwide, the average amount of waste generated is 0.74 kg/ca/d, while is ranging widely between 0.11 and 4.54 kg/ca/d. Though they account only for 16% of the world's population, high-income countries generate about 34% (i.e., 683 million tons) of the world's waste. By 2050, worldwide municipal solid waste (MSW) production is expected to increase by approximately 70% (i.e., to 3.4 billion metric tons). Accordingly, the waste-to-energy (WtE) approach should be considered as a key issue of a waste-management system. This is due to the facts that the WtE approach and technologies contribute effectively to the development of low-carbon societies, encourage recycling and stricter policies for waste reduction, and, thus, protect the environment and public health, and also strengthen the economy. This paper tickles some of the scientific and technical perspectives related to solid waste management and the WtE approach and technologies. Keywords: Resources’ Recovery; Wastes’ Recycling; Energy-to-Waste (EtW) Approach, Technologies, Production, and Efficiency; Sustainability Assessment.

Review on the suitability of waste for appropriate waste-to-energy technology

Chemical engineering transactions, 2018

The proper treatment of waste to utilise them as a feedstock for resource harvesting is gaining increasing popularity. The Waste to energy (WtE) technology is the process that can produce solids, liquid or gaseous fuels from waste, which can be utilised to generate electricity and thermal energy. The WtE technology can be divided into two treatments, which are the thermal treatment (incineration, gasification, pyrolysis, refuse derived fuels) and the biological treatment (anaerobic digestion, composting). The municipal solid waste (MSW) is an attractive feedstock for WtE technology for resource harvesting due to their high organic content. MSW is heterogenous in nature. MSW can be categorised into mixed MSW and segregated MSW, which includes segregated food waste, green waste, paper waste, plastic waste and more. Different categories of waste exhibits different characteristics, such as variation in the moisture content, caloric value, C/N ratio, particle size and pH. These character...

Emerging Technologies for Waste to Energy Production: A General Review

2021

Growing population leads to industrialisation and urbanization which in turn generate huge amount of waste that represents a big problem for many developed and developing countries. Emerging solution for this problem can be use of wastes as a sustainable source of energy in the form of heat, electricity, fertilizer and biofuel like bioethanol. Type of technology employed is mainly based on the composition of waste whether it is rich in organic matter like MSW or not. WTE technologies reduce the volume of waste as well as decrease the dependence on fossil fuels for energy generation.This study focuses on overview of various available waste to energy conversion technologies like pyrolysis, gasification, incineration, biochemical treatments like landfill gas, aerobic and anaerobic digestion of wastes.

A Framework for the Selection of Suitable Waste to Energy Technologies for a Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management System

Frontiers in Sustainability, 2021

Municipal solid waste (MSW) generation has been escalated at a global scale and poses drastic impacts on the environment along with many socio-economic problems. Waste to energy (WtE) technologies have been recognized to convert MSW into useful energy and minimize the problems related to it. This study reviewed different WtE technologies according to the conversion pathways, end-products, and their applications, and assessed statistical values of these technologies based on six different factors, viz., environmental performance, suitable waste fractions, capital and operational cost, efficiency, and complexity of the technology, the skillset of the labor, and favorable geographical location for the plant. The results of this review showed that biochemical and physicochemical WtE technologies are more favorable to convert organic waste, while thermochemical WtE technologies are suitable to process combustible fractions of organic and inorganic MSW. Based on the statistical review of ...

New developments in sustainable waste-to-energy systems.pdf

2021

The articles published in this special issue focus on recent developments in sustainable waste-to-energy systems and waste management practices and highlight the critical challenges and potential solutions. The editorial paper aims to give a brief overview of the key findings and future perspectives proposed in these 25 selected papers. It is worth noting that although the articles presented in this special issue covered a wider range of topics, they are categorized into five categories. These include the latest developments in 1) waste-to-energy technologies, 2) biofuels and bioenergy, 3) waste valorization, 4) emerging renewable and sustainable energy systems, and finally, 5) biorefineries and circular economy.