Energy Generation from Wastes : A possible collaboration subject between Sweden and Tajikistan

Wastes and residuals are undeniably part of human society. The accumulation of these materials and the “throw-away philosophy” result in many environmental and health issues and safety hazard problems, and prevent sustainable development in terms of resource recovery and recycling of waste materials. The carbon sources in the wastes can be converted to energy (electricity, heat, chill, fuels) and even to materials using different technologies including collecting and converting current landfill gases, wet or dry anaerobic digestion to biogas, incineration, gasification and pyrolysis. Sweden is one of the pioneers in waste management and resource recovery with more than 30 years of development. From a demographic perspective, Sweden (9,1 million inhabitants) and Tajikistan (7,6 million inhabitants) are comparable, although Tajikistan has a 2,4 times higher population density (53,9 vs 22,1 inhabitants/km2). Applying experience from Northern Europe, the MSW of 7,600,000 inhabitants can generate about 50-250 MW electricity and 100-500 MW heat, depending on the technology used. In addition, the agricultural wastes can increase these numbers and be a source of energy for farmers and villages.