Economic and Environmental Feasibility Analyses of Waste-to-Energy Generation under Different Technologies for Dhaka City
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38208/ete.v6.1184Keywords:
Waste-to-energy, Economic assessment, Anaerobic digestion, Landfill gas to energy, Incineration, GasificationAbstract
Dhaka city is facing several challenges to manage daily generated waste and fulfilling electricity demand of huge population. The aim of the study is to evaluate the economic and environmental feasibility of waste-to-energy (WtE) systems such as anaerobic digestion (AD), landfill gas to energy (LFGTE), incineration (INC), and gasification (GAS) technologies for Dhaka city using life cycle costing (LCC) methodology. The economic assessment reveal that all the WtE systems are economically feasible except LFGTE technology because of net present value (NPV) negative (?BDT 3,531/ton) and lowest internal rate of return (IRR) (8% < discount rate). But, LFGTE technology will be an economic option for electricity price greater than BDT 20.72/kWh. The results also show that INC is an optimal WtE system based on lowest LCC (BDT 22,914/ton), levelized cost of energy (LCOE) (BDT 4.49/kWh), payback period (PBP) (1.64 year), and highest IRR (61%) but AD and GAS technology are moderately economic option. The environmental assessment shows that INC technology has the highest (508 kg CO2 eq/ton waste), AD has the lowest (214 kg CO2 eq/ton waste) and GAS has moderate (344 kg CO2 eq/ton waste) carbon dioxide and other toxic gas emissions rate among other technologies. This study will play a vital role in providing information to implement economically feasible WtE systems in Dhaka city.
References
Abdallah, M., Shanableh, A., Shabib, A., &Adghim, M. (2018). Financial feasibility of waste to energy strategies in the United Arab Emirates. Waste Management, 82, 207-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.10.029
Abushammala, M. F. M., & Qazi, W. A. (2021). Financial feasibility of waste-to-energy technologies for municipal solid waste management in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 23(7), 2011-2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02099-8
Agaton, C. B., Guno, C. S., Villanueva, R. O., & Villanueva, R. O. (2020). Economic analysis of waste-to-energy investment in the Philippines: A real options approach. Applied Energy, 275, 115265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115265
Ahsan, A., Alamgir, M., El-Sergany, M. M., Shams, S., Rowshon, M. K., & Daud, N. N. N. (2014). Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management System in a Developing Country. Chinese Journal of Engineering, 2014. 561935https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/561935
Akther, S., Evans, J., & Millington, N. (2025). Solid waste management in Dhaka: Understanding the evolution of a waste regime. Geoforum, 165. 104364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2025.104364
Alao, M. A., Popoola, O. M., & Ayodele, T. R. (2022). Waste?to?energy nexus: An overview of technologies and implementation for sustainable development. Cleaner Energy Systems, 3, 100034. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CLES.2022.100034
Alidoosti, Z., Sadegheih, A., & Saman Pishvaee, M. (2025). Comparative Life Cycle Economic Assessment of Treatment Technologies for Converting Municipal Solid Waste into Bio-Energies. Journal of Engineering in Industrial Research, 6(4), 352-364. https://doi.org/10.48309/JEIRES.2025.517322.1199
Alzate, S., Restrepo-Cuestas, B., & Jaramillo-Duque, Á. (2019). Municipal solid waste as a source of electric power generation in Colombia: A techno-economic evaluation under different scenarios. Resources, 8(1), 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources8010051
Ashraf, A. I., Mohareb, E., &Vahdati, M. (2024). Evaluation of life cycle cost for the comparison of decentralized waste to composting and landfilling of municipal solid waste. Discover Sustainability, 5(1), 202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-024-00409-w
Ayodele, T. R., Ogunjuyigbe, A. S. O., & Alao, M. A. (2017). Life cycle assessment of waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies for electricity generation using municipal solid waste in Nigeria. Applied Energy, 201, 200-218. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APENERGY.2017.05.097
Ayodele, T. R., Ogunjuyigbe, A. S. O., & Alao, M. A. (2018). Economic and environmental assessment of electricity generation using biogas from organic fraction of municipal solid waste for the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. Journal of Cleaner Production, 203, 718-735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.282
Beyene, H. D., Werkneh, A. A., & Ambaye, T. G. (2018). Current updates on waste to energy (WtE) technologies: a review. In Renewable Energy Focus, 24, 2018, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ref.2017.11.001
Chowdhury, P., Islam, T., Tasmia, I. J., & Chowdhury, N. U. R. (2025). Power sector transformation in Bangladesh: Paving the pathways towards sustainable development. Energy Strategy Reviews, 61, 101829. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ESR.2025.101829
Chowdhury, T. H. (2021). Technical-economical analysis of anaerobic digestion process to produce clean energy. Energy Reports, 7, 247-253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2020.12.024
Cudjoe, D., & Han, M. S. (2020). Economic and environmental assessment of landfill gas electricity generation in urban districts of Beijing municipality. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 23, 128-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.04.010
Escamilla-García, P. E., Camarillo-López, R. H., Carrasco-Hernández, R., Fernández-Rodríguez, E., & Legal-Hernández, J. M. (2020). Technical and economic analysis of energy generation from waste incineration in Mexico. Energy Strategy Reviews, 31, 100542. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ESR.2020.100542
Fernández-González, J. M., Grindlay, A. L., Serrano-Bernardo, F., Rodríguez-Rojas, M. I., & Zamorano, M. (2017). Economic and environmental review of Waste-to-Energy systems for municipal solid waste management in medium and small municipalities. Waste Management, 67, 360-374. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.WASMAN.2017.05.003
Guendehou, G.H.S., Koch, M., Hockstad, L., Pipatti, R., Yamada, M., Chapter 5: Incineration and Open Burning of Waste, In Volume 5: 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Eggleston H.S., Buendia L., Miwa K., Ngara T. and Tanabe K. (eds). Published by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Hayama, Japan on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2006. pages 5.1- 5.26.
Hemmati, M., Bayati, N., & Ebel, T. (2024). Life cycle sustainability assessment of waste-to-electricity plants for 2030 power generation development scenarios in western Lombok, Indonesia under multi-criteria decision-making approach. Journal of Building Engineering, 95, 110335. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JOBE.2024.110335
Hernández-Romero, I. M., Niño-Caballero, J. C., González, L. T., Pérez-Rodríguez, M., Flores-Tlacuahuac, A., & Montesinos-Castellanos, A. (2024). Waste management optimization with NLP modeling and waste-to-energy in a circular economy. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 19859. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69321-7
Huang, W., &Fooladi, H. (2021). Economic and environmental estimated assessment of power production from municipal solid waste using anaerobic digestion and landfill gas technologies. Energy Reports, 7, 4460-4469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2021.07.036
Islam, K. M. N. (2016). Municipal Solid Waste to Energy Generation in Bangladesh: Possible Scenarios to Generate Renewable Electricity in Dhaka and Chittagong City. Journal of Renewable Energy, 2016, 1712370. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1712370
Islam, K. M. N. (2018). Municipal solid waste to energy generation: An approach for enhancing climate co-benefits in the urban areas of Bangladesh. In Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 81, part 2, 2472-2486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.06.053
Islam, M. M., Hasanuzzaman, M., Malek, A. B. M. A., Kalam, M. A., &Trianni, A. (2024). Energy and Economic Impact Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste to Energy in Bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3955296/v1
Jerin, D. T., Sara, H. H., Radia, M. A., Hema, P. S., Hasan, S., Urme, S. A., Audia, C., Hasan, M. T., & Quayyum, Z. (2022). An overview of progress towards implementation of solid waste management policies in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Heliyon, 8(2), e08918. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e08918
Joarder, S. M., &Mamtaz, R. (2025). Assessment of environmental sustainability of solid waste management system of Dhaka city through life cycle analysis. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 36560. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-19949-w
Kumar, A., &Samadder, S. R. (2017). A review on technological options of waste to energy for effective management of municipal solid waste. In Waste Management, 69, 407-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.08.046
Mabalane, P. N., Oboirien, B. O., Sadiku, E. R., & Masukume, M. (2021). A Techno-economic Analysis of Anaerobic Digestion and Gasification Hybrid System: Energy Recovery from Municipal Solid Waste in South Africa. In Waste and Biomass Valorization, 12(3), 1167-1184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-020-01043-z
Madhavaraj, M., & K, K. (2025). Assessment of waste-to-energy strategies for municipal solid waste landfills in Chennai: A case study using energy-economic-environmental (3E) approach. Cleaner Environmental Systems, 18, 100321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100321
Manik, M. H. (2024). Demographic and Socio-economic Changes in Bangladesh: Evidence from the Population Census in 2022. Formosa Journal of Sustainable Research, 3(1), 29-38. https://doi.org/10.55927/fjsr.v3i1.5762
Mar, K. A., Unger, C., Walderdorff, L., & Butler, T. (2022). Beyond CO2 equivalence: The impacts of methane on climate, ecosystems, and health. Environmental Science and Policy, 134, 127-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.03.027
Mayilsankar, B., Megha, B., & Ramesh, S. T. (2026). Scenario-based evaluation of landfill methane emission and energy generation considering diverse waste and seasonal dynamics. Clean Techn Environ Policy, 28 (6), 162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-026-03516-6
Medina-Salgado, M. S., García-Muiña, F. E., Cucchi, M., & Settembre-Blundo, D. (2021). Adaptive Life Cycle Costing (LCC) Modeling and Applying to Italy Ceramic Tile Manufacturing Sector: Its Implication of Open Innovation. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(1), 101. https://doi.org/10.3390/JOITMC7010101
Mostakim, K., Arefin, M. A., Islam, M. T., Shifullah, K. M., & Islam, M. A. (2021). Harnessing Energy FromThe Waste Produced In Bangladesh: Evaluating Potential Technologies. Heliyon, 7(10), e08221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08221
Nielfa, A., Cano, R., &Fdz-Polanco, M. (2015). Theoretical methane production generated by the co-digestion of organic fraction municipal solid waste and biological sludge. Biotechnology Reports, 5(1), 14-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2014.10.005
Nubi, O., Morse, S., & Murphy, R. J. (2022). Prospective Life Cycle Costing of Electricity Generation from Municipal Solid Waste in Nigeria. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(20), 13293. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013293
Ogunjuyigbe, A. S. O., Ayodele, T. R., & Alao, M. A. (2017). Electricity generation from municipal solid waste in some selected cities of Nigeria: An assessment of feasibility, potential and technologies. In Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 80, 149-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.177
Olodu, D. D., Erameh, A. A., & Ihenyen, O. I. (2025). A Multidimensional Assessment of Waste-to-Energy Technologies: Economic Feasibility, Social Acceptance, and Future Trends of Gasification and Pyrolysis. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies and Innovative Technologies, 9(1), 14-22. https://doi.org/10.36287/ijmsit.9.1.3
Pheakdey, D. V., Quan, N. Van, & Xuan, T. D. (2023). Economic and Environmental Benefits of Energy Recovery from Municipal Solid Waste in Phnom Penh Municipality, Cambodia. Energies, 16(7), 3234. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073234
Ramos, A. (2024). Sustainability assessment in waste management: An exploratory study of the social perspective in waste-to-energy cases. Journal of Cleaner Production, 475, 143693. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2024.143693
Ramos, A., Berzosa, J., Espí, J., Clarens, F., &Rouboa, A. (2020). Life cycle costing for plasma gasification of municipal solid waste: A socio-economic approach. Energy Conversion and Management, 209, 112508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2020.112508
Richard Kwame, A., Mulala Danny, S., & Memory, R. (2022). The Threats of Climate Change on Water and Food Security in South Africa. American Journal of Environment and Climate, 1(2), 73-91. https://doi.org/10.54536/ajec.v1i2.568
Sabeti, Z., Nosratnejad, S., Mousavi, M., & Mosaferi, M. (2025). Assessment of electricity generation potential and economic analysis through different municipal solid waste management scenarios: a case study. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, 15(15), 21883–21895. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-03525-7
Salami L, Susu AA, Patinvoh RJ, & Olafadehan OA. (2011). Characterisation Study of Solid Wastes: a Case of Lagos State. International Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 1(3) 47-52.
Samiul Islam, F. A. (2023). Solid Waste Management System through 3R Strategy with Energy Analysis and Possibility of Electricity Generation in Dhaka City of Bangladesh. American Journal of Environment and Climate, 2(2), 23-32. https://doi.org/10.54536/ajec.v2i2.1767
Sechoala, T., Popoola, O., & Ayodele, T. (2023). Economic and environmental assessment of electricity generation using biogas and heat energy from municipal solid waste: A case study of Lesotho. AIMS Energy, 11(2), 337-357. https://doi.org/10.3934/energy.2023018
Shams, S., Sahu, J. N., Rahman, S. M. S., & Ahsan, A. (2017). Sustainable waste management policy in Bangladesh for reduction of greenhouse gases. Sustainable Cities and Society, 33, 18-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.05.008
Sharma, B. K., & Chandel, M. K. (2021). Life cycle cost analysis of municipal solid waste management scenarios for Mumbai, India. Waste Management, 124, 293-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.02.002
Silva, L. J. de V. B. da, Santos, I. F. S. dos, Mensah, J. H. R., Gonçalves, A. T. T., & Barros, R. M. (2020). Incineration of municipal solid waste in Brazil: An analysis of the economically viable energy potential. Renewable Energy, 149, 1386-1394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.10.134
Singh, A. K. (2025). Waste To Energy Technologies InUrban Setting: Comparative Analysis Of Environmental And Economic Performance. African Journal of Biomedical Research, 28, 1181-1189. https://doi.org/10.53555/ajbr.v28i2s.7022
Slorach, P. C., Jeswani, H. K., Cuéllar-Franca, R., &Azapagic, A. (2019). Environmental and economic implications of recovering resources from food waste in a circular economy. Science of the Total Environment, 693, 133516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.322
Sobamowo, G. M., &Ojolo, S. J. (2018). Techno-Economic Analysis of Biomass Energy Utilization through Gasification Technology for Sustainable Energy Production and Economic Development in Nigeria. Journal of Energy, 2018, 4860252. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/4860252
Sohel, M. S., Alam, S., Adnan, Z. H., Hossain, M. A., Sifullah, M. K., & Happy, A. N. (2024). Household Waste Management Woes in Dhaka City: Current Challenges and Policy Directions. International Journal of Community Well-Being, 7(2),237-264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-024-00208-1
Soni, A., Gupta, S. K., Rajamohan, N., & Yusuf, M. (2025). Waste-to-energy technologies: a sustainable pathway for resource recovery and materials management. In Materials Advances, 6(14), 4598–4622). https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ma00449g
Vartiainen, T., Kärri, T., Afonso, P., & Happonen, A. (2025). Modeling and Assessing Economical Feasibilities for Waste to Energy Conversion/Incineration Process in Context of Municipal Solid Waste. Intelligent and Sustainable Manufacturing, 2(2), 10015. https://doi.org/10.70322/ism.2025.10015
Victoire, A., Martin, N. V., Abias, M., Pacifique, U., & Claude, M. J. (2020). Solid Waste Management Challenges and Its Impacts on People’s Livelihood, Case of Kinyinya in Kigali City. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 8(6), 82-96. https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2020.86007
Yao, X., Guo, Z., Liu, Y., Li, J., Feng, W., Lei, H., & Gao, Y. (2019). Reduction potential of GHG emissions from municipal solid waste incineration for power generation in Beijing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 241, 118283. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2019.118283
Zeng, J., Mustafa, A. B., Liu, M., Huang, G., Shang, N., Liu, X., Wei, K., Wang, P., & Dong, H. (2024). Environmental, Energy, and Techno-Economic Assessment of Waste-to-Energy Incineration. Sustainability (Switzerland), 16(10), 4140. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16104140
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2026 Md. Abu Bakkar Siddique, Khandker Farid Uddin Ahmed, Islam Mohammed Mahbubul
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
