Int. J. Environment and Pollution, Vol. 43, Nos. 1/2/3, 2010 143 Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Biomethanation of solid wastes: analysis of case studies RS Arun Kumar* Energy and Environment Resource Group Inc., #8, MM Industries Road, 7th Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore 560 004, India Email: rsarunkumar@gmail.com *Corresponding author Yen Peng Ting Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore Email: yenpeng.ting@nus.edu.sg Abstract: Management of the organic fraction of urban solid waste using anaerobic procedures will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and using biogas, which is a carbon neutral energy, to generate electrical energy will eventually help in reducing the combustion of fossil fuel. Energy recovery in the form of biogas from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated in three different locations is studied. The present status of the biomethanation plants at these locations is reviewed and analysed, in order to understand the prospects of biomethanation as a technological option for managing the increasing urban solid waste sustainability. In spite of the fact that biomethanation is an established technology worldwide, including India, the scale-up of the same has become an uphill task, both for the Central Government and the Urban Local Bodies. Biomethanation for processing the organic fraction of urban solid wastes needs a lot of planning, not only with respect to the design, construction and operation, but also with institutionalising the concept of integrated solid waste management, without which biomethanation would not be a viable option. Keywords: biomethanation; solid waste; global warming; energy recovery; case study analysis; sustainability. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Kumar, RS.A. and Ting, Y.P. (2010) ‘Biomethanation of solid wastes: analysis of case studies’, Int. J. Environment and Pollution, Vol. 43, Nos. 1/2/3, pp.143–160. Biographical notes: RS Arun Kumar is operating his own social enterprise (Energy and Environment Resource Group Inc, Bangalore), and is involved with water and sanitation products. He is also working as Consultant with Ecosan Services Foundation, Pune. Previously, he worked as Executive Director in World Toilet Organization, Singapore, from February 2006 to August 2008 and had initiated development projects in sustainable sanitation in developing countries. He successfully completed a two-year sanitation project