Mohd Shahir Zahari et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Vol. 2(5), 2010, 1338-1344 STUDY ON SOLID WASTE GENERATION IN KUANTAN, MALAYSIA: ITS POTENTIAL FOR ENERGY GENERATION Mohd Shahir Zahari 1 , Wan Mohd Faizal Wan Ishak 1 , Mohd Armi Abu Samah 2 1 Faculty of Civil Engineering and Earth Resources, University Malaysia Pahang, Lebuhraya Tun Razak, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang Darul Makmur, Malaysia. 2 Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Abstract In Malaysia, most of the municipal solid waste goes to the landfill or dumping sites. The non-hazardous and general industrial waste are often treated together. The existing dumping sites mostly are not properly engineered and managed. Pollutants that are released or discharged from the disposal sites could contaminate groundwater system, flora and fauna which will eventually cause direct and indirect impact to human’s life (Mahmood, 2000). Presently, the amount of solid waste was produced in Kuantan is about 500 tons daily, consisting of 60% domestic waste and 40% of industrial and construction waste. However, the present sanitary landfill is nearly filled up (Ismail, 2006). In order to overcome this problem, an alternative by using incineration (waste to energy) system should be applied. By using this technology, solid waste will combusted to generate energy from burning heat. A study was conducted in Kuantan area to determine the daily solid waste generation. These waste generated rates were then calculated for the energy conversion. The results indicated that average value of total energy produced from solid waste of Kuantan is 19.3808kWh for year 2008 and 17.8942kWh for year 2009 and could be utilized as electricity, in order to save amount of energy and cost used. Keywords: Municipal solid waste; Waste to energy; Incineration; Burning heat; Solid waste generation 1. Introduction In the last two decades, MSW management became a major concern and is presently one of the main public subjects under discussion. This is probably due to the considerable increase of MSW production in both absolute and per capita values. The amount of MSW produced increases with economic growth and the demand for efficient management solution (Magrinho et. al., 2006). The Malaysian population has been increasing at a rate of 2.4 % per annum or about 600,000 per annum since 1994. With this population growth, the MSW generation also increases, which makes MSW management crucial (Mohd Armi, 2009). . Statistics show that the world population reached six billion in 2001 with 46% of this population residing in urban areas (HMGN and MoPE, 2003). Global municipal solid waste generated in 1997 was about 0.49 billion tons with an estimated annual growth rate of 3.2–4.5% in developed nations and 2–3% in developing nations (Suocheng et al., 2001). Rapid urbanization and industrialization changed the characteristics of solid waste generated. As a consequence, the solid waste management system (SWMS) needs to be updated to suit the waste quality, quantity and composition (Latifah et al., 2009). Increasing of population growth in Malaysia has brought along with the increasing of the amount of waste generated. The national average of waste generated is at 0.5 – 0.8kg/person/day, but in the cities the figures have escalated to 1.7 kg/person/day. Presently, the amount of solid wastes was produced in Kuantan is about 500 tons daily, consisting of 300 tons domestic and 200 tons industrial and construction wastes. These solid wastes will then being dumped at Jerangau Jabor Landfill, Kuantan. However, that sanitary landfill is nearly filled up and the new cell is in the planning for construction. At the same time, the government has planned for a gasification unit with ash melting ISSN: 0975-5462 1338