Open AccessThe biofuel potential of municipal solid waste
Author(s) -
SHI ALLEN ZIHAO,
KOH LIAN PIN,
TAN HUGH T. W.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
gcb bioenergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.378
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1757-1707
pISSN - 1757-1693
DOI - 10.1111/j.1757-1707.2009.01024.x
Subject(s) - cellulosic ethanol , biofuel , greenhouse gas , biomass (ecology) , municipal solid waste , waste management , fossil fuel , environmental science , gasoline , bioenergy , engineering , cellulose , ecology , chemical engineering , biology
The world in the 21st century is facing a dual crisis of increasing waste and global climate change. Substituting fossil fuels with waste biomass‐derived cellulosic ethanol is a promising strategy to simultaneously meet part of our energy needs, mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and manage municipal solid waste (MSW). However, the global potential of MSW as an energy source is as yet unquantified. Here, we report increasing trends of MSW generation, and waste biomass‐derived cellulosic ethanol potentials in relation to socio‐economic development across 173 countries, and show that globally, up to 82.9 billion litres of waste paper‐derived cellulosic ethanol can be produced worldwide, replacing 5.36% of gasoline consumption, with accompanying GHG emissions savings of between 29.2% and 86.1%.