Analysis of a sustainable system for energy recovery from municipal waste in Croatia

Purpose This paper seeks to focus on energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) in Croatia. The state strategy is based on the mechanical and biological treatment of waste in the future waste management centers (WMC). Left over after the treatment is waste that can be used as fuel (e.g. RDF). Design/methodology/approach Starting from the geographical distribution of waste generation (quantities and transport distances), taking into account the costs of collection, transfer and thermal treatment, recommendations on optimal number and size of the dedicated waste‐to‐energy (WtE) plants in Croatia as well as their potential locations are given. The opportunity of the cement industry to utilize ash from thermal treatment of waste in the process of the cement production and the RDF as a substitute fuel is also examined. Findings By varying the number of WMCs, the minimal specific cost of waste collection of €33 is obtained, for maximal number of WMCs, which is 21. The optimal capacity of WtE facility is approximately 300,000 t/year, for expected quantity of 600,000 t/year of waste available for energy recovery. However, the geographical shape of Croatia and traffic connections suggest that its area could be better covered by four WtE facilities, each with the capacity of 150,000 t/year. The alternative solution could include the existing cement industry. In this case one bigger WtE plant (preferably near the city of Zagreb) could be built, with the capacity of 400,000 t/year, while the rest of the waste would be used in the cement industry, which capacity amounts to 167,000 tons of RDF annually. Originality/value This analysis gives another view of a possible system for energy recovery from MSW in Croatia. MSW has never been used in Croatia for the purpose of energy generation on a wider scale.