Conversion of Solid Waste-to-Energy (WtE) in Thailand

In order to increase the efficiency in municipal solid waste management (MSWM), waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies are provided as a solution towards the successful policy in Thailand. WtE is perceived as a means to dispose MSW, produce energy, recover materials, and free up scarce land that would otherwise have been used for landfill. Thailand considers WtE to be a renewable technology, incineration, refuse derived fuel (RDF), anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis and gasification, and landfill gas recovery. These lists are a number of technologies for energy recovery from urban and industrial wastes that "not only reduce the quantity but also improve the quality of waste to meet the required pollution control standards, besides generating a substantial quantity of energy". While the WtE technologies would be suggested that the cost of WtE is somewhat higher than other renewable sources, it should be kept in mind that WtE facilities serve a dual role of waste disposal and energy production. Although the cost per MW of capacity may be greater than other renewable sources, the benefits of waste management, energy and metals recovery, and reduction of GHG emission need to be considered.