Electricity Generation from Municipal Solid Waste in Nigeria: A Prospective LCA Study

Oluwaseun Nubi, Stephen Morse and Richard J. Murphy
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Oluwaseun Nubi: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Stephen Morse: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Richard J. Murphy: Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-25

Abstract: Diverse opportunities and environmental impacts could occur from a potential move towards waste-to-energy (WtE) systems for electricity generation from municipal solid waste (MSW) in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. Given this, the purpose of this study is to use life cycle assessment (LCA) as a primary analytical approach in order to undertake a comparative analysis from an environmental impact perspective of different WtE scenarios, along with diesel backup generators (DBGs) and grid electricity. A functional unit of 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity produced was used in assessing the following environmental impact categories: abiotic depletion (fossil fuels) potential (ADP), global warming potential (GWP 100a), human toxicity potential (HTP), photochemical oxidation potential (POCP), acidification potential (AP), and eutrophication potential (EP). The overall result indicated that anaerobic digestion (AD) had the highest energy generated per one tonne of MSW processed for both Lagos (683 kWh/t) and Abuja (667 kWh/t), while landfill gas to energy (LFGTE) had the lowest for both (Lagos 171 kWh/t, Abuja 135 kWh/t). AD also had the lowest environmental impacts amongst the four WtE systems for both cities based on all the impact categories except for POCP. In contrast, LFGTE had the highest impact in all the categories except ADP and HTP. Extending the analysis to include diesel-based generators (DBG) and grid electricity saw the DBGs having the highest impact overall in ADP (14.1 MJ), HTP (0.0732 Kg, 1.4 DB eq), AP (0.0129 Kg SO 2 eq), and EP (0.00313 Kg PO 4 eq) and grid electricity having the lowest impact in GWP (0.497 Kg CO 2 eq), AP (0.000296 Kg SO 2 eq), and EP (0.000061 Kg PO 4 eq). It was concluded that additional electricity supply from AD to the grid, with its potential to reduce the reliance on DBGs (worst scenario overall), would be a positive action in environmental impact terms.

Keywords: waste-to-energy; municipal solid waste; waste management; electricity supply; life cycle assessment; environmental impacts; diesel backup generators; grid electricity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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