Waste-To-Energy Technologies: an opportunity of energy recovery from Municipal Solid Waste, using Quito - Ecuador as case study

In this study, energy generation potential from municipal solid waste (MSW) in Quito, Ecuador was estimated for biochemical and thermochemical processes using generic models. Results showed that MSW of Quito contained 69.3% of biodegradable waste and 30.7% of non-biodegradable waste with putrescible waste accounting for 81.4% of biodegradable waste. The calculated energy potentials through thermochemical and biochemical routes were 5970 kWh/tMSW and 62 kWh/tMSW respectively. Similarly, the power generation potentials were estimated at 0.78 and 0.07 MW/tMSW for biochemical and thermochemical processes, respectively. This study thus illustrates that Quito´s MSW has high potential for producing biogas and heat energy.