Energy

1. Municipal Solid Waste to Energy

2. What is MSW?
Municipal waste refers to the non-hazardous waste generated by households, businesses, and institutions within
a specific area. It includes materials like paper, plastics, glass, and organic waste, requiring proper collection,
recycling, and disposal methods for environmental sustainability.
 The waste management hierarchy replaces the traditional
waste management approach of “the three Rs” (reduce,
reuse and recycle), expanding it into a five-step process
where the most preferred actions are at the top and the least
preferred are at the bottom of the inverted pyramid.
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Fig.2 : Waste Management hierarchy
Fig.1: 3 R’s of Waste Management System

3. MSW Sources: MSW Composition:
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Abdel-Shafy, H. I., & Mansour, M. S. (2018). Solid waste issue: Sources, composition, disposal, recycling, and valorization. Egyptian journal of petroleum, 27(4), 1275-1290.

4. Impact of MSW:
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5. Why Waste to Energy (WTE)?
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6. Technologies for converting WTE
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7. Thermochemical Conversion
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8. Pyrolysis/Gasification Technology:
Pyrolysis/Gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW) refers to a thermal decomposition process that utilizes
heat in the absence (pyrolysis)/presence (gasification) of oxygen to convert solid waste materials into
valuable products.
• A sustainable waste management solution by reducing landfill usage,
• Generating energy-rich products for various applications,
• Contributing to the circular economy and reducing environmental impacts.
Temperature Range:
Pyrolysis zone: 400-900 C
Gasification zone: 700-1500 C
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Kader, M. A., Joardder, M., Islam, M. R., Das, B. K., & Hasan, M. M. (2012). Production of liquid fuel and activated carbon from mahogany seed by using pyrolysis technology. In International Conference on Green Chemistry
for Sustainable Development 2012 (pp. 96-96).

9. Gasification Schematic Diagram:
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Gasification of municipal solid wastes - Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Schematic-of-MSW-Gasification-and-Power-Generation-Plant_fig1_285295261
[accessed 10 Jul, 2023]

10. Emerging Technology: Plastic Waste to Tiles
Plastic waste to tiles is the process of transforming discarded plastic materials into functional and durable tile products,
offering a sustainable solution to plastic waste management while providing a useful application in the construction
industry.
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Collection Sorting Shredding
Binder
addition
Sand mixing
Melting
Cooling and
solidification
Moudling Finishing
Plastic Tiles

11. Feasibility Study:
Pyrolysis
Approximate Product Yield (wt. %) Ref.
Bio-oil Gases Bio-char
Slow Pyrolysis 10-30 10-50 25-65
[1]
Fast Pyrolysis 40-70 10-20 15-25
Flash Pyrolysis 10-20 60-80 10-15
Gasification
H2 Yield Syngas Yield Gasification Efficiency Ref.
48-50 % 9-10 Nm3/kg 58.60% [2]
Tiles
Manufacturing
Plastic Waste
(tones)
NO. of Tiles Cost per square feet Ref.
3-4 10,000 70-90 Rs. [3]
1O

12. Prototype for Gasification/Pyrolysis:
Fixed Bed Reactor:
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13. Prototype for Tiles Manufacturing:
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14. Conclusion:
 MSW is a growing concern due to its increasing volume and environmental impact.
 Waste-to-energy (WTE) is an attractive solution as it reduces the volume of waste, generates energy, and
minimizes greenhouse gas emissions.
 Various technologies can be employed for converting MSW into energy, including incineration, pyrolysis, and
gasification.
 Pyrolysis and gasification technologies offer efficient and sustainable approaches for converting MSW into
energy and valuable byproducts.
 An emerging technology involves transforming plastic waste into tiles, providing a novel way to reuse and
recycle plastics.
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15. [1] Sesotyo, P. A., Nur, M., & Suseno, J. E. (2019). Plasma gasification modeling of municipal solid waste from Jatibarang
Landfill in Semarang, Indonesia: Analyzing its performance parameters for energy potential. In E3S Web of Conferences
(Vol. 125, p. 14009). EDP Sciences.
[2] Hasan, M. M., Rasul, M. G., Khan, M. M. K., Ashwath, N., & Jahirul, M. I. (2021). Energy recovery from municipal
solid waste using pyrolysis technology: A review on current status and developments. Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews, 145, 111073.
[3] Soni, A., Das, P. K., Yusuf, M., Kamyab, H., & Chelliapan, S. (2022). Development of sand-plastic composites as floor
tiles using silica sand and recycled thermoplastics: a sustainable approach for cleaner production. Scientific reports,
12(1), 18921.
References:
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16. Thank You!
Questions
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