Municipal Solid Waste to Useful Energy Conversion Options in India: Insights From Exergy Analysis

Various waste treatment methods for energy recovery from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), such as incineration, plasma gasification, pyrolysis treatment etc. are practiced worldwide. Each one of these has certain advantages and disadvantages. In this work MSW to energy conversion technologies have been examined on the basis of the exergy efficiency of resource conversion, exergy of output and resulting emissions. Thermal processes for treatment of MSW such as incineration and plasma gasification have been found to be of low exergetic efficiency, where improvement opportunities have been identified. Also, based on the composition of MSW in Indian context, the different scenarios of the possible reuse, recycle and conversion to useful form of energy have been discussed in details. Insight from this work should lead to a minimization of exergy losses and improve the exergy efficiency of conversion, reduced emissions and hence lowering of the overall environmental degradation attributed to MSW.