Salvador & Doong (2024): Simultaneous achievement of energy recovery and carbon sequestration through municipal solid waste management: A review
Ruben W. Salvador, Ruey-An Doong IN: Chemosphere, 361, 142478, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142478
With escalating global waste generation, there is an untapped opportunity to integrate carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies into existing municipal solid waste (MSW) management processes. This review explores current research on utilizing MSW for CDR, emphasizing its potential for both energy generation and carbon sequestration. The investigation covers three waste management practices: landfilling, waste-to-energy (WtE), and biochar production, revealing two paths for carbon sequestration. First, MSW serves as a feedstock in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), acting as a carbon-neutral resource that avoids fossil fuel and energy crop use, reducing GHG emissions and generating value through energy production. Second, direct storage of organic MSW and its derivatives, like biochar, in various carbon sinks allows for extended sequestration, offering a comprehensive approach to address the challenges of waste management and climate change mitigation.