Comparison of the Energy Recovery Potential Using Life Cycle Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste of Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)

Abstract

The development of societies and industrial progress cannot be achieved without the use of electricity. The growing demand for energy and the degradation of the environment by current sources force us to look for other methods to produce it. The production of renewable energy from landfill waste reduces the environmental problems caused by the combustion of coal, oil and natural gas. Therefore, in this work, life cycle assement is used to compare the different energy recovery options of four solid waste management systems with each other and to assess the corresponding carbon credit. The four management systems are: landfilling (scenario S0), landfilling with energy recovery (scenario S1), incineration combined with anaerobic digestion with energy recovery in both cases (scenario S2) and incineration with energy recovery (scenario S3). The assessment showed that scenario S2 is the best waste management option for energy production with an energy potential of 890.9 GWh/year, which corresponds to 11% of the Cote d’Ivoire's net electricity production in 2015. In addition, this scenario has led to a better reduction in methane emissions with a carbon credit of USD 12168200 for the total amount of waste managed in one year. However, scenario S1 is the wrong option in terms of energy production with an energy potential of 232.2 GWh/year corresponding to 3% of the Ivory Coast's net electricity production in 2015. Regarding the potential reductions in CO2equivalent emissions, those of scenario S1 are the lowest with a carbon credit of US$ 12,025,343. From the point of view of the production of clean and green energy, the voice to be followed for an optimal MSW management technique in Abidjan is the anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction, the incineration of the fuel fraction, followed by the landfilling of the residues.