A study on generating bioelectricity from urban waste in Iran, A case study of Golestan province

Abstract

The increasing use of various products and the rise of population and urbanization in the world have led to a significant increase in waste streams, such as environmental pollution, bio waste, and especially greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Therefore, it is important to manage these biowastes effectively. One way to do this is to apply sustainable material management (SMM) strategies. This study examines the SMM strategies in detail. The economic analysis was done to estimate the amount of bio-based electricity that can be obtained from MSW according to the situation of Iran, using the data collected. This study is based on fourteen different cities with different population sizes and growth rates and using the reference amount of MSW production in the cities of Golestan province. The results show that the population growth has caused an increase in the amount of MSW. Also, by comparing the average theoretical potential of electricity generation and the average amount of total fossil-based electricity consumption in the Golestan province, it was found that electricity generation from MSW could cover up to about 8 % of the electricity demand in Golestan province. The results also indicate that the population size has a very strong effect on the increase of the studied values, and its changes have a very significant effect on the return on investment through the production of electricity.