Waste to Energy—World Scenario: A Review

Abstract

Most countries of the world are urbanized at a fast pace. Solid waste is one of the auxiliary products of this urbanization. It requires an efficient way to assess the waste, type of waste, waste characteristics, technology for waste utilization, and waste recovery economics. In this paper, a review study of waste to energy was done for different countries/continents, both developing and developed countries. The quality or content of waste differs in various countries, due to different climatic condition and biological factors. In various previous literatures, this topic is specifically discussed related to either waste to recycle, to energy, to landfill, or to by-product development. A specific model incorporating all these systems together is lacking. Hence, this review is conducted for different countries to find out a suitable model in a developing country like India. In this paper, all continents of the world are covered to understand the technology being used there for waste to energy system. Around 20 years of literature (1996–2017) related to waste to energy system is considered for review. In this paper, energy can be recovered from waste or materials like compost fertilizer refuse derived fuel (RDF), bio-oil, char, etc. The quality of waste generated depends on the climatic conditions, food pattern, etc. in different countries. Hence, it is needed to find the waste characteristics in order to find a suitable technology for a feasible waste to energy conversion system. Effective utilization of waste will result in a better environment. A systematic review of the literature was done for different continents rather than meta-analysis review for the individual country for the waste management system. After reviewing the existing model followed for energy recovery system in different countries, a suitable model for a country like India is to be developed.