downtoearth-subscribe

Waste-to-energy with CCS: a pathway to carbon-negative power generation

A growing global population and rising living standards are producing ever greater quantities of municipal solid waste (MSW). This same growth in population and living standards is also driving ever-larger demand for energy, especially electricity. A key solution to increasing quantities of waste, rising energy demand and methane emissions from MSW is Waste-to-Energy (WtE); the generation of energy – in the form of electricity and heat – from the processing of waste. The addition of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to WtE has the potential to make waste a zero or even negative emissions energy source, depending upon the origin of the wastes utilised.