Benchmarking on alternative thermal treatment for municipal solid waste-to-energy plants

Thermal treatment technologies are designed to recover Energy from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the form of heat or electricity. They contribute to the diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill and to the reduction of greenhouse gas emission as Renewable and Recovery Energy source. The debate around Waste-to-Energy (WtE) is often dogmatic and inflamed. While emerging countries are considering implementing appropriate technologies to treat their MSW and avoid landfilling, the general public and authorities are often concerned in relation to the adoption of WtE technologies as a necessary complement to recycling. A poor historical image of formerly MSW incineration is remaining persistent but outdated. A new generation of WtE plants has been developed in the last decades to meet new strict emissions standards and provide valuable and local low carbon energy. This modern combustion technology is a clean, mature and well-established technology. Nevertheless, 'surfing' on this misunderstanding and opposition to combustion, some Alternative Thermal Treatment (ATT) technologies are highly promoted in some countries, such as UK, Italy, Canada, but also in Middle East or South East Asia countries (Japan, Korea...). Some ATT suppliers accentuate the differences of their systems from incineration based on combustion as a key part of the promotion of their technology. The aim of this paper is to develop awareness of the process principles and the range of different available technologies referred as ATT and understand the drivers and barriers for appropriate ATT processes for the considered local situation. A State of the Art review is showing the different types of technologies with their strengths and weaknesses. (author)