Potential for using municipal solid waste as a resource for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is a carbon removal technology that offers permanent net removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. One of the significant bioenergy resources is organic waste collected from municipal solid waste (MSW). The goal of this study was to provide an estimate of the global potential for using municipal solid waste as a resource for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and to compare the feasibility of two specific BECCS options: municipal solid waste incineration with carbon capture and storage (MSW-CCS), and landfill gas combusted in a gas turbine with carbon capture and storage (LFG-CCS). To assess the feasibility of MSW-based BECCS options, techno-economic and environmental impact assessments were conducted. In the case of a business-as-usual scenario with no emission policy in effect, the levelised cost of electricity production from both BECCS options is higher than a coal power plant with CCS. However, these BECCS systems offer a lower cost of avoided CO2. Introducing renewable energy certificates or negative emission refund schemes to BECCS has a significant impact on the economic viability of these technologies in coal-dominant power markets. Environmental impact assessment shows that around 0.7 kg CO2-eq is removed for each kg of wet MSW incinerated, for the MSW-CCS scenario. This translates to approximately negative 2.8 billion tonnes CO2 if all the available 4 billion tonnes MSW generated per year by 2100 is utilised in a MSW-CCS system. The net GHG emission of the LFG-CCS system with an average LFG collection rate of 75% was 0.56 kg CO2-eq. Challenges include the dispersed nature of MSW resources and the lack of economic support schemes, such as commonly apply to solar and wind. Nonetheless, MSW-based BECCS technologies have significant potential for abating and in some cases removing considerable amounts of the greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, thereby contributing significantly to the COP21 emission reduction targets.