Municipal Organic Solid Waste to Energy: A Case Study of the West Bank-Palestine

Abstract

Organic solid waste represents 50% of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) composition in Palestine. MSW in the West Bank (WB) are managed by municipalities, Local Governmental Units (LGUs), and Joint Service Councils (JSCs). MSW are collected and transferred to the existing four landfills along the WB, there are no waste separation or recycling in Palestine except small projects and enterprises. The collected MSW reaches the landfills as a mixed wastes with the composition of metal, paper, glass, plastic, and organic wastes. The current organic waste treatment in Palestinian territories is represented by composting and biogas generation, the small pilot projects of composting that have been implemented facing problems related to quality, competition, and financing. Biogas production from organic solid wastes is also limited and concentrated in producing biogas from animals manure. New proposals have been discussed regarding solid waste incineration in the field of Waste To Energy (WTE) projects, except the composting and bioenergy there are no another treatment for organic MSW in the WB. This study ensures about the importance of the concept of waste separation at source, and to adapt the concept of WTE operations. Due to the high moisture content and high organic proportion in the MSW; bio-drying processes are valuable as a pretreatment stage for organic waste treatment. This study also highlights on the Refuse Derive Fuel (RDF) as a product of bio-drying processes that could help in organic MSW treatment.