Prospects of Electricity Generation from Municipal
Solid Waste of Dhaka City
A. Hamid Khan, M. Fayyaz Khan
Department of EEE, United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
E-mail: hamid_uiu@hotmail.com, fyk@eee.uiu.ac.bd
Abstract: Dhaka the capital city of Bangladesh has around
12 million people generating around 5000 tons of municipal
solid waste per day. Presently there are three existing sites
for disposal of waste of Dhaka city. These are
Matuail,Mmirpur and Lalbagh. The largest damping area is
in Matuail where 88% of the solid waste of Dhaka city is
being dumped. As these damping areas are being filled-up,
Dhaka city corporation (DCC) has selected three more areas
for the solid waste disposal. The life of the people living
around the damping areas has become intolerable due to
pungent smell originating from the existing sites. The
electricity demanded for Dhaka city alone is around 400-430
MW [1]. Considering the quality and moisture contents of
the municipal solid waste (MSW) of Dhaka city around 100
MW of electricity can be produced from the municipal solid
waste which may reduce the burden on fast depleting non-
renewable sources of energy and at the same time reduce the
damping sites. In this paper the prospect of electricity
generation by installation of combusting plants for Dhaka
city has been studied by considering the quality of the waste
in terms of combustibility and moisture.
1. Introduction
DCC is the only formal organization of Dhaka city
responsible for waste management in an area of 360 Sq.
km, estimated to generate around 5000 tons of waste
every day. Out of which 40-50 percent is disposed in the
landfills and the rest is left unattended and locally
dumped [2]. Total land required for disposal of solid
waste in Dhaka city is estimated at 1.1 km2 per year [3].
With increase in population and horizontal expansion of
the city, it is difficult to find waste disposal sites in future.
Inadequate collection and uncontrolled disposal of solid
waste poses a serious threat to the inhabitants and also to
the environment. DCC with support from the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is preparing a
master plan for the solid waste management of Dhaka
city. Two projects on landfill recovery along with height
increase of Matuail landfill site of Dhaka and
establishment of 700 tons/day capacity composting plant
has been approved by the National Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM) board of the government [3].
However, Waste to Energy (WTE) conversion
technologies may be adopted to provide a useful
indigenous contribution to energy budgets and also a
solution to the problems of waste disposal in Dhaka.
2. Waste disposal system of Dhaka City
Corporation
According to current generating rate of solid waste, it is
estimated that by 2015 more than 8000 tons per day of
solid waste will be generated in DCC area alone [4].
Various studies and survey reports have concluded that the
formal waste management system of DCC cannot collect
and dispose of more than half of the waste produced, the
other half remain either uncollected or partly picked up by
informal sector people or gathered in drains. The wastes
collected are dumped at basically only three sites, which
again are not proper landfills according to international
standard. The larger one is located at Matuail, about 3 Km
south-east of the DCC central office. While a second,
smaller one is located at Gabtoli along the flood protection
embankment. During the rainy season, the dump gets
flooded and waste are carried away by running water to
pollute the river. The third dumpsite is very new and
located in a low-lying spot at Ashulia, north-east of Dhaka.
At none of these sites waste dumping is done by any
scientific method.
The disposal operation even at the main dumping site
at Matuail is very poorly organized. Pollution of surface
water and possibly ground water at the dumping site is a
major problem. Generation of potentially toxic and
explosive gases within dumping sites is another major
concern. DCC also dumps waste in relatively small
amount in undesignated locations. Near the area
Trimohoni, where municipal solid waste is dumped,
blocking the flow of water and polluting it seriously. The
most hazardous solid wastes are from nearly 600 clinics
and hospitals located in different parts of the city. About
200 tons of wastes were produced by these hospitals in the
year 2000 out of which about 40 tons were infectious
wastes [5]. Recycling plants are located at different parts
of the city, but large concentrations are found in the
crowded old parts of the city at Lalbagh near the river
Buriganga [6].
It is evident that the present disposal system is not
suitable because of economical and environmental
reasons. Though DCC hopes they can solve the problem
by selecting 3 new disposal areas but the problem will
remain same and new areas will be under threat of
pollution.
 3. Quality of Dhaka city waste and
prospect of electricity generation

Power cell, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources,

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh plans
to implement a Waste to Electricity Energy (WEE) project
in Dhaka, where the refuse would be processed through a
WEE Power plant. Institute of Fuel research &
Development (IFRD) and Bangladesh Council of
Scientific & Industrial Research (BCSIR) are selected as
consultant for carrying out this work [7]. They collected 3
bags of samples (20-30 Kg) from different parts of DCC.
Fig. 3 Result of Ultimate Analysis of the solid wastes of
They performed both Physical and Chemical Analysis on
DCC.
the basis of a) As received basis. b) Air dry basis. c) Oven
dry basis. Table 1 Comparative results on Ultimate Analysis of solid
The waste compositions are as follows: wastes of the USA & DCC
Constituents USA (%) by wt. DCC (%) by
(As received)[8] wt. (As
received)
Moisture 15-35 50-70
Carbon 15-30 6.02-26.06
Hydrogen 2-5 1.20-3.53
Nitrogen 0.2-0.1 .46-1.62
Sulfur .02-.1 .00-.02
Ash 15-25 13-33
Calorific Value 3000-6000 1386-2600
(Higher heating Btu/lb Btu/lb
Value)

Fig. 1 Type of waste and percentage comparison.

Fig. 2 Percentage of combustible and non combustible
materials in the refuse of DCC (based on Physical
composition).
It is clear from the above data that moisture content is the
main deterrent factor for energy generation from DCC
waste. But a study of IFRD and BCSIR shows that if
wastes were kept on the sieve and the natural gas flame
was applied from the bottom of the sieve, the moisture
level comes down to 30-35% from 62%.For the fibrous
and light materials like cotton, jute products, and fibers
when moisture level of 20~25% is achieved, then fibrous
materials would keep on burning on the sieve without
additional fuel [7].
U.S.A needs almost 1500 tons of waste to generate 55
MW of electricity. By separating low moisture waste
from total waste, DCC can get more than 1500 tons of
waste. The high calorific value of DCC waste is another
positive factor for generating electricity. In India Aguada
Infra-Power plants based on Pearson technology has been
proposed using identical quality of waste to that of Dhaka
city. By this plant they can generate 10 MW of electricity
by burning 250 tons of MSW per day [9].
 Generator Set Electricity

Hot water
Boiler drum
reactor

Boiler
filter Stack
Exchanger
Feed hopper Post
combustion Residue for
chamber appropriate
Ash collection
landfill

Household waste Waste

collection vehicles bunker Inert clinker
Furnace store
Ferrous & non-ferrous
Quench tank metal removed for
recycling
Fig. 4 Block Diagram of WTE Power plant.

There are various options available to convert municipal
solid waste to energy. Mainly, the available technologies
are a) Sanitary landfill b) Incineration c) Gasification d)
Anaerobic digestion e) Pelletization f) Plasma arc etc.
Some existing technologies throughout the world are: In
U.S.A Wheelabrator technology, in Turkey Kalina
technology, in India Pearson/Aguada infra power
technology etc.
DCC collects MSW 1825000 tons annually, which is
19 times larger than that of Aguada plant of India. Since,
the moisture content in vegetables and other foods are
higher; DCC can encourage people to use different bins to
separate low moisture wastes from those of higher
moistures wastes. And separate collection process may be
undertaken to collect different types of waste having
different moisture contents. One way of collection of
different wastes is to make partitions in the collecting
vans and dump the respective wastes in a particular
compartment of the van. It is estimated that by the year
2015, the total waste generated in Dhaka city will be
about 8000 tons per day and for disposing this amount of
waste 2.92 km2 of land per year will be required [4]. To
make effective use of DCC waste, each house hold should
have 2-3 garbage bins to for different types of waste. One
bin for Vegetables materials, second one may be for
clothes, papers, plastics and the third one for other type of
wastes.
4. Cost Analysis of different power plant
Though the cost of WTE is three times more than that of
coal based power plant, but there are some other
economical factors which may make WTE more
profitable. The options for power generation are: a) Coal
based station. b) Gas fired station. c) Diesel/furnace oil
fired and d) WTE station. As far as coal based station of
Bangladesh is concerned, the company (Barapukuria coal
mine company ltd.) incurred a loss of tk 156 crore ($ 229
million) between 2005 & 2008 due to poor coal
production & excessive production cost [10]. Besides,
Bangladesh has proven reserve of 2.5 billion tones of coal
[11] which may be exhausted in a couple of years as
excessive coal is required to generate electricity. Also the
price of per ton coal is $ 70 [9] which means large
amount money is required to run such coal based power
plant. There are also some private users of coal, and an
alarming situation will exist if the coal reserve is
exhausted rendering the coal fired station idle or the
government will be forced to import coal at the rate of
$70 per ton.
The price of per 1000 ft3 is 233.12 tk [12]. A total
11230 ft3 gas is required to generate 1MWHr electricity.
Low gas pressure and high investment cost for gas
transmission network are other negative factors for
installation of gas fired power station. As till to-date no
new gas field is discovered, so new gas based power
station is a remote possibility.
A comparative study has been made to calculate the
running cost of different generating stations for
generating 1 MWHr of electrical energy.

Vegetables Table 2 The individual costs are as follows:

Papers, clothes, & fruits Others
plastics, trees Type Required Running cost
Amount (Taka)
Coal 923 lb 2196
Fig. 5 Suggested bins for separating different wastes.
Gas 11230 ft3 2617
Diesel 292.82 liter 16105
The calorific value of Dhaka city wastes as found in
IFRD and BCSIR (study) [7] varies from 1386-2600
Btu/lb. Taking an average calorific values of 2100 Btu/lb
the amount of energy by 5000 tons of waste is equivalent
to 6158 MWHr of energy. Assuming plant efficiency of
40%, 2463 MWHr of energy can be obtained as output. If
the plant runs for 24 hrs/day, the plant capacity is 102
MW. The running cost of such power plant is negligible
when compared to running cost of coal/gas/diesel based
stations because very small amount of fuel is required to
burn the wastes. Once the waste burns, no additional fuel
will be required [7].
Compared to above non-renewable sources of energy
WTE is more economical and environmentally friendly.
The quantity of electricity generation by MSW is constant
throughout the year. Even in certain cases; if the quantity
of MSW is not sufficient, electricity generation could be
maintained at the target value by substitute fuels. WTE
plants do not require any expensive supply networks and
taking into consideration of inadequate reserve of non-
renewable energy sources, WTE plant may be a very
good option for energy solution of Bangladesh
5. Benefits of WTE
Apart from the generation of electricity as the main
commodity, there are also some byproducts of great
commercial value from the MSW whereas other power
plants do not yield any such byproducts. The byproducts
are [9]:
I. Methanol, Mixed alcohol - used as an automotive
fuel.
II. Acetic acid – used in the manufacture of plastics.
III. Single-cell protein – used in the feeding of
livestock, poultry, and certain fish.
IV. Photosynthesis Plant fertilizer – used as fertilizer.
V. Foam glass insulation – used as reflective paint
additive.
VI. Ash after conversion – used for road formation;
since ash left over after burning is only about 10
percent of the original volume of trash, waste-to-
energy helps landfills last longer. In many states and
several European countries, ash is reused in
concrete, asphalt, grout, road-base and other
construction materials. Burning also makes it easier
to recover and recycle many metals, which are big
moneymakers in recycling programs.
VII. Waste heat – used for steam production.
WTE provides recycling opportunities. The WTE project
provides job opportunities. Wages for recycling workers
are higher. Recycling reduces the need for landfills.
Recycling has been recognized as a significant way to
reduce the amount of solid waste at disposal sites, extend
the lives of the landfills, reduce waste disposal cost, and
conserves resources. Waste recycling also saves energy
since the manufacturing of secondary papers, glasses,
steel and aluminum products, and some type of plastic
bottles consume considerably less energy and produce
less pollutants than primary manufacturing does [9].
6. Conclusion
This paper has presented the outcome of a study by the
authors to establish WTE project in Dhaka city. The study
finds that around 100MW capacity generating plant can
be established which can be run from the municipal solid
waste of Dhaka city. To solve the major problem of waste
management this can play a vital role. Bangladesh should
take latest technology for this purpose. After completing
this project, it can be extended throughout the major cities
of the country. WTE is not only environmentally friendly
( due to less degree of pollution compared to other non-
renewable based generating stations) for electricity
generation, it is more attractive due to its other benefits
like byproducts, recycling opportunities, employment
benefits, extension of landfills life, economic solution for
municipal solid waste management problems etc. It is
hoped that the proposed study would be helpful for DCC
in deciding implementation of WTE plants for Dhaka
city.
References
[1] Power situation improving (The daily Independent, 05, 05,
2009)
[2] Official website of DCC.(www.dhakacity.org/html/ana waste).
[3] World Environmental Day 2005: Waste Reduction.
[4] Sinha and Enayetullah, 1997, “Waste as resource”. Article in
the Bangladesh Observer, Dhaka, November 21, 2001.
[5] Forum on Urban Infrastructure and Public Service Delivery for
the Urban Poor Regional Focus: Asia [Jointly sponsored by
the Comparative Urban Studies Project Woodrow Wilson
International Centre for Scholars (WWIC) Washington, DC.
USA and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) New
Delhi, India. Dates: 24-25 June 2004Venue: India Habitat
Centre Lodhi Road, New Delhi]
[6] Solid Waste Management in Dhaka: A participatory approach.
By- Muhammad Abul Hasnat, Executive Engineer Dhaka
City Corporation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
[7] Refuse quality assessment of Dhaka city Corporation (DCC)
for waste to electric energy project, July ’98. Studied by-
IFRD and BCSIR.
[8] Environmental Engineering and Sanitation, 2nd edition, by
Joseph A. Salvator, Jr, P.412.
[9] Municipal Solid Waste Fueled Power Generation for India
(MSWFPG). By- C. Palanichamy, Member IEEE (Ministry of
education, Brunei Darussalam), N. Sundur Babu (Scientist,
Drexel University), and C. Nadarajan (Magnum Power,
Madurai, India).
[10] Bangladesh news.com.bd.
[11] New energy bd. Wordpress.com.
[12] Bangladesh news.com.bd (25.09.2008) - Gas price for
commercial user (per 1000 cubic feet) will go to take 291.59
from 233.12 tk .