Municipal Solid Waste Management (Plasma Pyrolysis)
In tandem with population growth, urbanisation and economic expansion, consumption is growing rapidly, giving rise to the increasing amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) produced. In each human consumption cycle, much waste is produced and discarded. The primary means of climate change mitigation has been the disposal of garbage and surplus goods. The National Bureau of Statistics reports that the quantity of MSW generated in 2019 was 242 million tonnes, an increase of 6.16% over 2018. MSW often refers to common trash such food scraps, used paper, plastic, textiles, and yard garbage. Malaysia produces about 40,000 tonnes of waste daily, and nearly 82.5% of that ends up in landfills. Landfill is the most common MSW disposal method due to its relatively simple disposal procedure, and lower cost. However, over time, landfills could cause environmental issues such as toxic fumes produced by landfill fire, and landfill pollutants leached into the sea.
As an emerging MSW treatment method, the pyrolysis of MSW is a promising and scientifically valuable technology. Pyrolysis, gasification, and plasma technologies are thermal processes that use high temperatures to decompose waste. Unlike incineration, in plasma pyrolysis, high temperatures are created using a plasma torch in an oxygen-starved environment to effectively decompose MSW in an environmentally-friendly manner. By using plasma pyrolysis technology, organic compounds are broken down into gases and non-leachable solids. Plasma pyrolysis uses a significant number of electrons, ions, and excited molecules in addition to high intensity radiation to break down chemical compounds. Our research team is currently experimenting on a small scale, the MSW treatment process using plasma pyrolysis gasifier.