Incineration of pre-treated MSW for energy co-generation in a non-densely populated area

The planning actions in municipal solid waste (MSW) management must follow strategies aimed at obtaining economies of scale. At regional basin, a proper feasibility analysis of treatment and disposal plants should be based on the collection and analysis of data available on production rate and technological characteristics of waste. Considering the regulations constraint, the energy recovery is limited by the creation of small or medium-sized incineration plants, while separated collection strongly influences the heating value of the residual MSW. Moreover, separated collection of organic fraction in non-densely populated area is burdensome and difficult to manage. The paper shows the results of the analysis carried out to evaluate the potential energy recovery using a combined cycle for the incineration of mechanically pre-treated MSW in Basilicata, a small non-densely populated region in Southern Italy. In order to focalize the role of sieving as pre-treatment, the evaluation on the MSW sieved fraction heating value was presented. Co-generative (heat and power production) plant was compared to other MSW management solutions (e.g. direct landfilling), also considering the environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions