40
Volume 4, Number 1, 40-47, 2009
ISSN: 1823-884x
© e-Bangi, FSSK, UKM
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT REGARDING RESOURCE RECOVERY IN
MALAYSIA
Masoud Aghajani Mir, Sanaz Saheri, Noor Ezlin Ahmad Basri, Rawshan Ara Begum, Noor
Zalina binti Mahmood
ABSTRACT
Waste disposal is a global problem contributing to the ongoing climate change due to large emissions of
greenhouse gases. So, by using a waste material as a resource instead of land filling, the greenhouse
gas emissions from landfills will be reduced. Also, Waste material can be used for waste
incineration with energy recovery, thus decreasing the greenhouse gas emission from energy utilization
by changing from fossil fuels to a partly renewable fuel. The production of Refuse Derived Fuels (RDF)
involves the mechanical processing of household waste using screens, shredders and separators to recover
recyclable materials and to produce a combustible product Regarding Resource Recovery Center/Waste
to Energy (RRC/WtE) Facility in Malaysia that located in Semenyih. This System involves the removal
of inert and compostable materials followed by pulverization to produce a feedstock which be incinerated
in power stations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and forecasting of the number of these facilities
that Kuala Lumpur will need regarding to potential of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation and
Refuse Derive Fuel that will be produce from that in the future. This plant can produce average 7.5 MWh
electricity from 700 tons MSW or 200 ton RDF per day that approximately is used 1.8 MWh per day
inside the pant, and it can sell around 5.7 MWh daily. Kuala Lumpur will generate around 7713 tons
MSW per day, and it is able to produce 2466 ton RDF per day. Regarding to potential of MSW and RDF
generation by 2020 in Kuala Lumpur it will need around 11 plants to treatment of MSW that this number
of plant are able to produce around 62.7 MWh electricity per day.
Keywords: Refuse Derived Fuel, Municipal Solid Waste, Resource Recovery Center, Waste to Energy
plant
INTRODUCTION
The root cause of world energy problems is growing world population and energy consumption
per capita. World population is presently slightly over 6 billion and expected to grow to at least
8-9 billion, and possibly to 12 billion, by the end of the 21st century. It would reach 12 billion by
the middle of the 21st century if the present 1.5% per annum growth rate was to continue. World
economic growth and global demand for energy, the essential engine of economic growth, are
expected to grow even faster during the next few decades by 3.3 percent a year, corresponding to
a doubling time of 21 years. How many people can the earth support? Most experts estimate the
limit for long-term sustainability to be between 4 and 16 billion. The climate change is one of
the most difficult issues the world is facing today. The global warming is now evident to
observations and is according to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) very likely
due to the increase of human induced greenhouse gases (GHG). Since the industrial time began,
more GHGs have been released than what is sustainable. According to the Fourth Assessment
Report of IPCC, the world will face a temperature increase between 1.1 and 6.4°C during the
21st century. Furthermore, sea levels will probably rise by 18 to 59 cm, and there is likely to be