Renewable Waste to Energy
This Waste-to-Energy project aligns with the government’s renewable energy development program and Egypt Vision 2023. It will contribute to the country’s sustainable energy goals and facilitate the transfer of knowledge by utilizing the facilities of the NOMP factory and engaging Egyptian companies. Moreover, the plant will provide training opportunities for graduate students, thus fostering the growth and integration of this emerging industry within Egypt.
What is a Waste-to-Energy plant?
Waste-to-Energy plants play a crucial role in effective waste management. Waste-to-Energy plants process Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) that cannot be prevented or recycled, converting it into valuable energy in the form of steam, electricity, or hot water. The electricity generated is then transmitted to the grid for distribution to end-users. This environmentally-friendly approach significantly reduces waste volume by up to 90%.
Our Waste-to-Energy plant adheres to the latest European Air emission regulations, implementing advanced scrubbers, filters, and an innovative flue gas treatment system. These measures keep pollutant levels low, promoting cleaner air quality and a healthier environment.
Increasing waste challenge
Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East, with a population of nearly 105 million (2021). Egypt generates around 26 million tons of MSW annually, which is expected to increase by 3.4% per year due to population growth and changing consumption patterns. The MSW collection systems capture less than 25% of the waste in rural areas and between 30-85% of the waste generated in urban areas. In Cairo, the collection rate is around 65%. The remaining waste accumulates in and around residential and commercial areas and is often discarded into rivers and canals, attracting vectors, creating odours, and diminishing local quality of life.
Emissions due to (unofficial) disposal
The waste in developing/ lower-middle income countries mainly consists of degradable materials (>50%), which play a significant role in GHG (Greenhouse gas) emissions in urban localities. The increasing MSW generation, along with the high fraction of organic waste and its unscientific/ unofficial and safe disposal, is leading to the emission of GHG in the atmosphere.
Most landfill emissions, approximately 99%, consisting of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The other 1% may include hydrogen sulfide (H2S) along with a list of non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs), inorganics, and occasionally metals.
CO2 is perhaps the most frequently cited GHG, and other GHGs are often expressed in terms of their CO2 equivalent. For example, methane is also a GHG and has approximately 30 times more impact than carbon dioxide. Consequently, methane is the primary focus of controlling landfill emissions.
Waste accounts for 3.2% of global emissions (wastewater 1.3% & landfills 1.9%). WTE is a hygienic method of treating waste, reducing its volume by about 90%. Of the remaining 10%, a part can be used in further applications like the cement or asphalt industry; the other half will be safely disposed of in a secured landfill site.
Egypt's Global Waste Initiative 50 by 2050 - Waste to Energy
The Global Waste Initiative aims to treat and recycle at least 50% of the waste produced in Africa by 2050. By achieving this target, Africa would contribute to increasing the global waste treatment rate by +10% and reducing the overall effects of waste pollution on human health, biodiversity, food systems, and resource scarcity.
Green Tech Egypt and Renergy Group Partners are pleased to contribute to this great and important initiative to increase the treated waste in Egypt and Africa. WTE is widely acknowledged as a technology that can help mitigate climate change. This is because the waste combusted at a WTE facility doesn’t generate methane as it would at a landfill; the metals that would have been sent to the landfill are recovered for recycling instead of being thrown out, and the electricity generated offsets the greenhouse gases that would otherwise have been generated from coal and natural gas plants. Especially with the development of three WTE facilities by GTE/ Renergy Group Partners, where a patent flue gas treatment system will be added as a unit to have minimal air emissions.
The advantages of Waste-to-Energy
- Recovery of energy and materials
- Avoidance of methane emissions
- Reduction of odour nuisance
- Over 90% reduction of volume
- Saving desert and sea shore ecosystem
- A cleaner environment provides health protection resulting in a rising attraction of tourists in the region
- The project creates new highly skilled engineering jobs
- The project brings new up-to-date technology to Egypt
Flue gases
Flue gases are a complex mixture of various products produced during combustion, such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, particulates, heavy metals, and acidic gases. These gases can be generated through direct (incineration) or indirect (gasification and pyrolysis) oxidation processes. However, many of these flue gases are classified as greenhouse gases, meaning that they contribute to global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere.
It’s important to note that each greenhouse gas has a different warming potential. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed a metric called the Global Warming Potential (GWP) to measure the global warming impact of different gases. The GWP measures how much energy the emissions of one tonne of a gas will absorb over a given period, relative to the emissions of one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2). The larger the GWP, the more a given gas warms the Earth compared to CO2 over that time period.
Typically, the time period used for GWPs is 100 years. GWPs provide a common unit of measure, which allows analysts to tally emissions estimates of different gases (to compile a national GHG inventory), and allows policymakers to compare emissions reduction opportunities across sectors and gases. A brief overview of the GWP of different greenhouse gases is shown on the right:
Source IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
*= parts per million by volume
**= 100-year global warming potential
***= Concentration in 2011
Source CSS
Some GHG have a lower GWP and atmospheric life span but are present in higher concentrations, so they still significantly contribute to global warming.
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| Gas | Global Warming Potential ** | Atmospheric Life (years) | Pre-industrial concentration (ppmv*) | Concentration in 2018 (ppmv) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) | 1 | 5 to 200 | 280 | 408 |
| CH4 (Methane) | 28 | 12 | 0.715 | 1.869 |
| N2O (Nitrous Oxide) | 265 | 121 | 0.27 | 0.331 |
| HFC 23 (CHF3) | 12.400 | 222 | 0 | 0.000024*** |
| PFC | 6.500 to 9.200 | 10.000 to 50.000 + | ||
| SF6 (Sulphur Hexafluoride) | 23.500 | 3.200 | 0 | 0.0000073*** |
Clean and Responsible Waste-to-Energy
We developed an innovative flue gas treatment system to have minimal air emissions. It is a patent technology that is still getting improved with the help of esteemed professors, scientists and experts. We find it most important to pursue our business responsibly, so we are dedicated and work hard to have the cleanest Waste-to-Energy plant in the world. We do this because we value our planet, our next generation and each other. Keep following us for more information later!
We have successfully developed an advanced flue gas treatment system that significantly minimizes air emissions from any industrial process. This technology, protected by a patent, is continuously undergoing improvements with the valuable contributions of esteemed professors, scientists, and experts in the field.
As a responsible business, we prioritize the pursuit of environmentally-conscious practices. We are dedicated and work tirelessly to ensure that our Waste-to-Energy plant stands as a global leader in cleanliness. Our commitment to the planet, future generations, and each other drives us forward. Stay tuned for further updates and information from us in the future!
| Gas | Egyptian Air Emission Limits 2011 | EU Directive 2010 Emission Limits | EU Directive BAT 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Particles (dust) (Mg/Nm³) | 20 | 10 | <2–5 |
| CO (mg/Nm³) | 150 | 50 | 10-50 |
| NOx (mg/Nm³) | 400 | 200 | 50-120 |
| SO2 (mg/Nm³) | 100 | 50 | 5-30 |
| HCl (mg/Nm³) | 10 | 10 | <2–6 |
| Cd (mg/Nm³) | 0.1 | ||
| Pb (mg/Nm³) | 0.1 | ||
| Cd+Tl (mg/Nm³) | 0.05 | 0.005–0.02 | |
| Sb+As+Pb+Cr+Co+Cu+Mn+Ni (mg/Nm³) | 0.5 | 0.01–0.3 | |
| Total heavy metals (mg/Nm³) | 0.5 | ||
| Dioxins and furans (ngTEQ/Nm3) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.01-0.08 |
RDF to Power by HTP
In Egypt, waste sorting plants play a crucial role in separating Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) into three categories: Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) comprising 15%, compost making up 50%, and reject materials accounting for 35% (including glass, rocks, dust, rubber, electronics, organic matter, etc.). Currently, the market for RDF is limited, and its primary utilization is in the cement industry for generating heat in industrial production processes. However, the burning of RDF in the cement industry often lacks comprehensive filters for cleaning flue gases, leading to significant emissions being released into the air. This poses a significant problem for both human health and the environment.
The demand and price of RDF depend on the cost of alternative energy sources such as coal and natural gas. As of 2021, the price range for RDF is between 150 and 300 LE pt. Unfortunately, a considerable portion of sorted RDF is dumped in landfills, which is not only wasteful but also harmful to the environment.
RDF can be used as a feed to generate electricity through a High-Temperature Pyrolysis (HTP) application on-site. One of the benefits of using RDF on-site is that there are no costs associated with transporting it, which can be very high due to the low density of RDF. Additionally, there is already an existing grid connection. All that is needed is a transformer to feed in the electricity. Another advantage is that the residue ash is only <5% of the initial RDF volume. This means that it requires less landfill space and costs, and transportation costs to landfill will reduce. Lastly, the residue ash could also be used as a by-product for the cement industry. Overall, using RDF to generate electricity through HTP on-site is a great way to reduce waste, save money on transportation costs, and benefit the environment.
We have listed all the pros and cons of the HTP application: