Utilization of municipal solid waste into electricity energy: A performance of PLTSa Bantargebang pilot project

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) has become a serious problem for cities in Indonesia. The increasing population and economic activity as well as the increasing difficulty in obtaining land for landfills are the real problems faced. Waste generation from urban areas currently reaches 29.4 million tons annually and that has been managed reaches 62.29%. The Indonesian government has targeted 100% waste management by 2025 by processing 70% and reducing it by 30%. To accelerate the achievement of this target, Presidential Regulation No. 35/2018 concerning installation construction acceleration of waste processing into electricity energy based on environmentally friendly technology has been issued. MSW in Indonesia contains 62.4% of biomass in the form of food waste, wood, vegetables and fruits which have the potential to be a source of energy. This paper describes the performance of PLTSa Bantargebang based on operating data in 2020. PLTSa Bantargebang was designed to be able to burn 100 tonnes of waste/day with an average calorific value of 1,500 kcal/kg and an electricity output of 700 kW. This plant was also equipped with a pre-treatment plant to reduce water content and air pollution control devices that can emit exhaust that met national emission standards. When this study was conducted, the WtE plant electricity production was around 350 kW which was only used for the internal operational needs of the WtE plant. In this condition, the WtE plant burns waste on average 65 tons waste per day. During 2020, the plant had burned 9,878 tonnes of waste by generating electricity of 784 MWh or an electricity conversion rate of 110.66 kWh/ton waste. Both exhaust gas emission and liquid waste have met national quality standards, so that it is an environmentally friendly WtE plant. The plant also produced fly ash and bottom ash around 19.41% of the weight of the waste burned.