Investigating Waste to Energy Potential in the Eastern Region, Saudi Arabia Omer Aga Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Dammam, Dammam, KSA email: oaga@ud.edu.sa Omar K.M. Ouda Department of Civil Engineering, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Khobar, KSA email: oouda@pmu.edu.sa Syed A. Raza Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada email: srazanaq@uwo.ca Abstract—The Eastern Province of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia is the most important region economically and has a total population of about 6 million. The region witnessed massive socio-economic development over the last four decades which has produced substantial increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation and electricity demand. This research assesses the potential value of Waste-to-Energy (WTE) in alleviating the MSW and electricity demand challenges in the region. Two scenarios for WTE deployment were developed and projected up to the year 2035: The first scenario is Mass Burn and the second is Mass Burn with Recycling. The Mass Burn scenario implies complete incineration of the waste stream while Mass Burn with Recycling considers segregation of reusable materials and incinerates the leftover of the waste stream. The annual MSW generation was about 3 million ton/year. The MSW consists of organic food, agriculture and garden waste (48.21%), paper and cardboard (1.03%), plastics (5.8%), glass (6.8%), wood (9.63%) textiles (5.77%) and others (22.31%). The study shows that the Mass Burn scenario has the potential to generate about 272 MW of electricity in 2035, while Mass Burn with Recycling has the potential to generate about 81 MW. The potential electrical generation coupled with the environmental values of the WTE, shows the substantial benefits of WTE facilities to eastern region. The results shall assist the decision makers in the region to deploy WTE facility in the region. Further investigations are recommended to evaluate the two scenarios based on socio- economic, technical, and environmental criteria. Index Terms—Waste to Energy; Solid Waste Management; Recycling; Electricity demand; Eastern province; Saudi Arabia I. I NTRODUCTION The eastern province is the largest region in Kingdom of Saudi Arabias (KSA), located between latitudes 17.10, 29.10 and longitudes 44.81, 55.69 [1]. The main cities of this region are Dammam, Dhahran, Khobar, Sihat and Qatif. The demographic location of this region is such that it possesses huge quantities of oil and hence industrialization has boomed in this part of KSA. The eastern province is the backbone of KSAs economy and is the center of attraction for multi- national companies willing to invest in oil business. Excellent transport, communications and electricity facilities has made it an ideal region for not only investment but living too. The growth rate of urbanization has been tremendous as it has attracted tourists and families from the entire KSA. The living standards have improved which has resulted in generation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in large quantities. Currently, municipalities are governing MSW management in the KSA and the eastern region is no exception [2]–[4]. MSW is an option as a valuable source for recycled materials and energy. Obtaining electricity from MSW will save the ever increasing pressure on producing electricity through oil, which is the primary source of electricity in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. The persistent increase in oil prices over the past decade suggests that global oil markets have entered a pe- riod of increased scarcity. Given the expected rapid growth in oil demand in emerging market economies and a downshift in the trend growth of oil supply, a return to abundance is unlikely in the coming future. Adverse effects could be much larger, depending on the extent and evolution of oil scarcity and the ability of the world economy to cope with increased scarcity. Sudden surges in oil prices could trigger large global output losses, redistribution, and sectorial shifts. In this respect, governments globally are moving towards renewable energy resources and there is a growing trend towards exploring Waste to Energy. In Asia the power generation through renewable sources is looking at an exponential increase in the future [5]–[9]. The electricity demand has grown on average rate of 5.8% between the years 2006 to 2010 in KSA [10]. The current electricity peak demand is about 55 Gigawatt (GW) and is projected to reach 120 GW by the year 2032 [11]. The current needs of electricity are typically met through conventional heavy oil, diesel, and gas power plants spread across the country [11]. Considering the huge gap between generation capability and future demand of KSA, the Waste to Energy (WTE) domain can be viable option in the future. This paper takes into account the two main types of disposing waste namely Mass Burn and Mass Burn with recycling. It is found that although Mass Burn produces more power because of more waste input, Mass Burn with recycling provides a greener solution to the ever growing energy demand of KSA. In the Waste to Energy sector, there are primarily five technologies namely; incineration or mass burn, pyrolysis or gasification, plasma arc gasification, refused derived fuel (RDF) and biomethanation. Each of these technologies is described in the next section highlighting the process and the operational efficiencies of each. 2nd Renewable Energy for Developing Countries - REDEC 2014 - November 26-27, Beirut - Lebanon - http://www.redeconf.org/ 978-1-4799-1914-7/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE 7