Sustainable energy production from municipal solid waste in Oman

Umar, Tariq

Abstract

The adverse impact of the energy production from fossil fuels is now well recognised globally. Therefore, the move towards renewable and sustainable energy has become integral to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. A comparative study considered a waste-to-energy plant to produce electricity in Oman. A research strategy including both qualitative and quantitative research methods was adopted to evaluate the municipal solid waste generation and emissions, electricity consumption and emissions, and public participation in waste segregation, and to estimate the reduction in emission considering a 5000 t/day waste-to-energy plant in Oman. The results showed that current emissions from fossil fuels to meet the electricity requirement of 71 GWh/year are 162 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e)/year. Similarly, the emissions from 2.2 Mt/year of municipal solid waste are 3.4 MtCO2e/year. A 5000 t/day waste-to/energy plant would not only produce 2.93 GWh daily but would also enable an annual reduction of 2.46 MtCO2e. Such an initiative would help Oman improve its sustainability performance in energy, climate change, waste reduction and economic growth and will pave the road to achieve the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 7, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Aug 10, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-02
• Deposit Date: Jan 25, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 11, 2022
• Journal: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Engineering Sustainability
• Print ISSN: 1478-4629
• Electronic ISSN: 1751-7680
• Publisher: Thomas Telford
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 175
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 3-11
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1680/jensu.21.00040
• Keywords: renewable energy; sustainability; waste management \& disposal
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8661761
• Publisher URL: https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/full/10.1680/jensu.21.00040