Page 228 - Energy from Toxic Organic Waste for Heat and Power Generation

206 Energy from Toxic Organic Waste for Heat and Power Generation

for the future. Only between 2011 and 2012, the increase of venture capi-
tal and private equity business investment in the sector of waste-to- energy
together with biomass has enumerated an increase of 186%, summing up
to a total investment of USD 1 billion. Moreover, waste could represent an
attractive investment since MSW is a fuel received at a gate fee, contrary to
other fuels used for energy generation, thus representing a negative price for
the WTE plant operators. However, an increasingly demanding set of envi-
ronmental, economic, and technical factors represents a challenge to the de-
velopment of these technologies. In fact, although WTE technologies using
MSW as feed are nowadays well-developed, the inconsistency of the compo-
sition of MSW, the complexity of the design of the treatment facilities, and
the air-polluting emissions still represent open issues for this technology. The
development of WTE projects requires a combination of efforts from several
different perspectives. Along with future technical developments, including
the introduction in the market of alternative processes to incineration, it is
nowadays crucial to take into account all the social, economic, and environ-
mental issues that may occur in the decision-making process of this technol-
ogy. Growing population, increased urbanization rates, and economic growth
are dramatically changing the landscape of domestic solid waste regarding
generation rates, waste composition, and treatment technologies. A recent
study by the World Bank in 2012 estimates that the global MSW and TOW
generation is approximately 1.3 billion tons per year or an average of 1.2 kg/
capita/day. It is to be noted, however, that the per capita waste generation
rates would differ across countries and cities depending on the level of ur-
banization and economic wealth.
The amount of TOC and MSW generated is expected to grow faster
than urbanization rates in the coming decades, reaching 2.2 billion tons/year
by 2025 and 4.2 billion by 2050. Today, the majority of TOW is generated
in developed countries. However, the fastest growth in TOW generation for
the coming decade is also expected, mainly in emerging economies in Asia,
Latin America, and South Africa. Regarding waste composition, there is a
shift towards an increased percentage of plastic, metal, chemicals, and paper
in the overall waste composition mainly in the high-income countries. It
is expected that both middle- and low-income countries would follow the
same trends with the increase of urbanization levels and economic develop-
ment in these countries.
It is very difficult to plan and process operation; renewable energy proj-
ects and energy extraction from waste by combustion are the most chal-
lenging. Presently, the government’s legislative program seeks to move the