Energy recovery potential and environmental impact of gasification for municipal solid waste

Currently the world is facing numerous environmental problems associated with waste management, climate change and global warming. Therefore, research and development has shifted towards utilising solid waste as an alternative to diminishing fossil fuels. The availability of large amounts of waste and its potential to supply a substantial amount of energy have been widely recognised by the scientific community. Municipal solid waste can be transformed into usable forms of energy through either biological or thermochemical processes (viz. combustion, pyrolysis and gasification). Gasification is considered one of the most efficient routes to convert waste into energy, and is a widely accepted technology that harnesses energy stored in waste. Moreover, for any process to be feasible overall its environmental performance has to be taken into consideration. Recent reports have supported the fact that the gasification process can be carried out with no threat to the environment or human health. The coming decades will reveal the environmental performance of various commercial waste gasifiers currently in operation as strong competitors of other thermochemical conversion processes. Therefore, this review aims to understand the process of gasification, energy recovery potential, environmental impact and technical challenges to tackle the problem of climate change and ultimately reach the goal of sustainability.