Challenges in Waste

to Energy Technologies

Sherien Elagroudy, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of

Environmental EngineeringAin Shams University

Cairo, Egypt

400 000                   350 000                     300 000                   250 000                     200 000           150 000                    100 000                      50 000                            0

300280260240220200180150

Years before present (present = 1950)

Today

Year 2100 if business as usual

PopulationCO2 Concentration

Industrial Revolution

Municipal Solid Waste

2.0Collectively

billion tons

75%Open

DUMPED

in

the trash

moreEnergyout

Kick

Clean Environmentwith

Grand Challenge

Physical

Thermal

Biochemical

Mass Burn

Gasification

Pyrolysis

Plasma

Refuse Derived Fuel

Solid Recovered Fuel

Digestion/Fermentation

Bioreactor Landfills

Waste to Energy Technologies

Evolution of Waste To Energy Technologies

2025???

Refuse Derived Fuel

Mass Burn

Digestion/Fermentation

Refuse Derived Fuel

Gasification/Pyrolysis

Solid Recovered Fuel

Plasma

Bioreactor Landfills

Compost

Syngas 1‐2 MJ

Biogas 0.5 MJ

Biochar

Energy 2 MJ

Biogas/Biofuel0.5 ‐1 MJ

Compost

Energy 3 MJ

Bioreactor Landfill

Solid Recovered

Fuel

Refuse Derived Fuel

Pyrolysis

Direct Combustion

Gasification

Anaerobic Digestion

Plasma

Refuse Derived Fuel

Solid Recovered Fuel

Combustion

Gasification

Pyrolysis

Plasma

Digestion/Fermentation

Bioreactor Landfills

Market Maturity

Techno

logy M

aturity

Bioreactor Landfill

Solid Recovered

Fuel

Refuse Derived Fuel

Pyrolysis

Direct Combustion

Gasification

Anaerobic Digestion

Plasma

Refuse Derived Fuel

Solid Recovered Fuel

Combustion

Gasification

Pyrolysis

Plasma

Digestion/Fermentation

Bioreactor Landfills

Market Maturity

Techno

logy M

aturity

Mass Burn

Gasification

Pyrolysis

Plasma

Refuse Derived Fuel

Solid Recovered Fuel

Anaerobic Digestion

Bioreactor Landfills

Food Grass Paper Plastic Textile

Challenge 1: Variable Feedstock

Pretreatment

Physical

Thermal

Biochemical

Mass Burn

Gasification

Pyrolysis

Plasma

Refuse Derived Fuel

Solid Recovered Fuel

Anaerobic Digestion

Bioreactor Landfills

Challenge 2: Low Conversion Efficiency

Physical

Thermal

Biochemical

Mass Burn

GasificationGasification

Pyrolysis

Plasma

Refuse Derived Fuel

Solid Recovered Fuel

Anaerobic DigestionAnaerobic Digestion

Bioreactor Landfills

54%34%

12%

Physical$ 59 billion

Thermal$ 21 billion

Biological$ 95 billion

Investment Needs Over the Next DecadeSource: Whiteman and Soos, 2011

Market ValueSource: Pike Research

Living laboratory

studies

Environmental Engineering

Microbiology

Chemistry

Modeling

ChemicalEngineering

IndustrialEngineering

Research

ConsultancyIndustry

Egypt Solid Waste Management Center of Excellence

$1.8 M

Thank You

How can we trash-out waste, trash-in Energy with cleaning the environment in a cost-effective way?