Municipal Solid Waste as Source of Renewable Energy in Brazil: Current Overview and Future Perspectives

Abstract

With the increase in the Brazilian population and the demand for energy in large cities, the use of municipal solid waste (MSW) as a renewable energy source arises as a promising alternative. However, there is still low interest in its use due to the lack of information compiled about its potential. For this reason, this work aimed to present the current status of the MSW energy recovery in Brazil and to analyze the works published in this area in the last five years, in order to understand what their future perspectives are and to stimulate their use in the country. Through an updated bibliographic survey, it was observed that at least 65% of MSW have potential for energy reuse. The wet waste includes biomass (51.7%) and polymeric waste (13.5%). The analyzed studies revealed great concern with the management of MSW, mainly in the southeastern region of the country, and that the energy reuse of MSW through the techniques of incineration, biodigestion and gasification shows great economic and environmental potential. Despite the significant amount of available MSW, greater attention must be paid to this renewable energy source in order to make it a representative part in the Brazilian energy matrix.