Research Article
Sumaya Yusuf Abbas
Abstract
Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) represents a main challenge to the developing countries. Almost all of the MSW in these countries are currently dumped into the landfills, which harms the environment and public health. Dumping of biodegradable waste into the landfill results in methane emission, which is a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Thus, finding a sustainable solution to manage the biodegradable waste tend to be crucial. Bahrain is a small developing country. It generates about 2 million ton/year of MSW dumped into the landfill, the only MSW landfill in Bahrain. This study aims to explore the feasibility of Anaerobic Digestion (AD) technology to manage the biodegradable waste in the Kingdom of Bahrain. AD is an important waste-to-energy technology that produces biogas, an important and promising renewable energy resource for the country. Cost- Benefit Analysis (CBA) was used in this study that shows the feasibility of the AD project. In addition, the contribution in reduction of the landfill methane emission was estimated. The study may provide sufficient information for future adoption of evidence-based technology selection in order to adopt MSWM technologies in Bahrain, which contributes to the decision and policy-making processes.