Municipal Solid Waste as a Long-Term Source for Generating Energy

Abstract

This article provides a summary of the strategies currently in use to extract energy from municipal solid waste. Special trash is ignored since its characteristics greatly vary from type to type and from region to region. However, municipal solid waste has properties that make it amenable to a more standardized investigation of its energy potential. The initial part examines the methods for extracting usable energy from garbage. The second part discusses energy availability in the context of the changing qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). The third section takes a look at selective collection and how it serves the larger goal of energy recovery. In the fourth part, the significance of Directive 1999/31/CE and its effect on energy recovery strategies are discussed in the context of the current trend in the use of residual municipal solid waste. A mandatory pre-treatment makes less interesting the option of landfilling, moving the energy exploitation of residual municipal solid waste towards thermal treatments. Also, research shows how thermal treatments and anaerobic digestion could work together to provide for a local resident's energy needs.