Optimal Feedstock Blending for Energy Maximization and Emission Compliance at Yangon Waste-to-Energy Plant, Myanmar
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The rapid urbanization and industrialization of Yangon led to an enormous increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) and industrial waste, necessitating sustainable waste management strategies. The Yangon Waste-to-Energy Plant (YWTEP) has become a necessity to minimize these waste streams into renewable energy without causing environmental pollution. The paper formulates a linear programming (LP) model for maximum blending of the MSW and industrial waste fractions to attain the highest energy recovery while remaining in compliance with Myanmar's emission standards. The model considers various categories of waste, i.e., plastics, paper, organic waste, wood, textiles, rubber, and metals, with varying calorific values and emission factors. The optimal waste composition was 28.85% plastic, 35% paper, 26.15% organic waste, and 10% wood, with an energy production of 18.95 MJ/kg and within emission constraints for NOx, SOx, and dust. Sensitivity analysis showed that variations in waste composition, e.g., due to variations in moisture as a function of season, could influence energy production and emissions, and adaptive strategies should be used. The findings highlight the importance of strategic waste blending for enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of WTE processes, providing real-world guidance for policymakers and plant operators alike. This research presents a fact-driven framework to improve waste-to-energy processes that can facilitate sustainable waste management and renewable energy supply in Yangon and other cities.
Manuscript received: 02 Dec 2025 | Revised: 01 Mac 2026 | Accepted: 08 Apr 2026 | Published: 31 Jul 2026
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
D. M. Chen, B.L. Bodirsky, T. Krueger, A. Mishra and A. Popp, "The world’s growing municipal solid waste: trends and impacts," Environmental Research Letters, vol. 15, no. 7, pp. 074021, 2020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab8659
K. Silpa, L. Yao, P. Bhada-Tata & V. W. Frank, “What a Waste 2.0: A global snapshot of solid waste management to 2050”, The World-Bank, 2018.
URL:https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30317
A. Siddiqua, J.N. Hahladakis and W.A.K.A. Al-Attiya, "An overview of the environmental pollution and health effects associated with waste landfilling and open dumping," Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 29, no. 39, pp. 58514-58536, 2022.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21578-z
M. K. Awasthi, S. Sarsaiya, H. Chen, Q. Wang, M. Wang, S.K. Awasthi, J. Li, T. Liu, A. Pandey and Z. Zhang, "Global Status of Waste-to-Energy Technology," Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, pp. 31-52, 2019.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-64083-3.00003-8.
X. Peng, Y. Jiang, Z. Chen, A.I. Osman, M. Farghali, D.W. Rooney and P. Yap, "Recycling municipal, agricultural and industrial waste into energy, fertilizers, food and construction materials, and economic feasibility: a review," Environmental Chemistry Letters, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 765-801, 2023.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01551-5
L. C. Malav, K.K. Yadav, N. Gupta, S. Kumar, G.K. Sharma, S. Krishnan, S. Rezania, H. Kamyab, Q.B. Pham, S. Yadav, S. Bhattacharyya, V.K. Yadav and Q. Bach, "A review on municipal solid waste as a renewable source for waste-to-energy project in India: Current practices, challenges, and future opportunities," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 277, pp. 123227, 2020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123227
G. Made, "Estimating the Calorific Value and Potential of Electrical Energy Recovery of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste through Empirically Equations and Theoretically Way," Solid Waste and Landfills Management - Recent Advances, 2023.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108232
A. V. Shah, V.K. Srivastava, S.S. Mohanty and S. Varjani, "Municipal solid waste as a sustainable resource for energy production: State-of-the-art review," Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 105717, 2021.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.105717
L. C. Malucelli, M. Guiotoku, C.M.B.F. Maia and M.A.S.C. Filho, "Optimal blending to improve the combustibility of biofuels: a waste-to-energy approach," Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, vol. 147, no. 10, pp. 5771-5777, 2022.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-021-10955-4
L. Carmo-Calado, M.J. Hermoso-Orzáez, R. Mota-Panizio, B. Guilherme-Garcia and P. Brito, "Co-Combustion of Waste Tires and Plastic-Rubber Wastes with Biomass Technical and Environmental Analysis," Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 1036, 2020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031036
A. Gil, "Challenges on waste-to-energy for the valorization of industrial wastes: Electricity, heat and cold, bioliquids and biofuels," Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management, vol. 17, pp. 100615, 2022.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enmm.2021.100615
W. Wang, S. Tian, J. Long, J. Liu, Q. Ma, K. Xu and Z. Zhang, "Investigation and Evaluation of Flue Gas Pollutants Emission in Waste-to-Energy Plant with Flue Gas Recirculation," Atmosphere, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 1016, 2022.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13071016
A. Wajda, R. Brociek and M. Pleszczynski, "Optimization of Energy Recovery from Hazardous Waste in a Waste Incineration Plant with the Use of an Application," Processes, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 462, 2022.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10030462
A. Taghipour, P.Z. Foukolaei, M. Ghaedi and M. Khazaei, "Sustainable Multi-Objective Models for Waste-to-Energy and Waste Separation Site Selection," Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 22, pp. 15764, 2023.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215764
S. T. Tan, H. Hashim, W. S. Ho, and C. T. Lee, "Optimal Planning of Waste-to-Energy through Mixed Integer Linear Programming," International Journal of Environmental, Ecological. Geological and Geophysical Engineering, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 372–378, 2013.
M. Nad, V. Brummer, P. Losak, V. Masa, K. Sukacova, D. Tatarova, M. Pernica and M. Prochazkova, "Waste-to-energy plants flue gas CO2 mitigation using a novel tubular photobioreactor while producing Chlorella algae," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 385, pp. 135721, 2023.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135721
S. Bjourklund, E. Weidemann and S. Jansson, "Emission of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from a Waste-to-Energy Plant-Occurrence in Ashes, Treated Process Water, and First Observation in Flue Gas," Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 57, no. 27, pp. 10089-10095, 2023.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c08960
L. Levaggi, R. Levaggi, C. Marchiori and C. Trecroci, "Waste-to-Energy in the EU: The Effects of Plant Ownership, Waste Mobility, and Decentralization on Environmental Outcomes and Welfare," Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 14, pp. 5743, 2020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145743
P. Piboon, D. Damrongsak, W. Wongsapai and P. Yodchumpoo, "Greenhouse gas emission reduction in refuse derived fuel production from municipal solid waste," AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 2681, pp. 020031, 2022.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0115998
G. Lonati, S. Cernuschi and P. Giani, "Air Quality Impact Assessment of a Waste-to-Energy Plant: Modelling Results vs. Monitored Data," Atmosphere, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 516, 2022.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13040516
S. Mondal and I.M. Rafizul, "Predicting calorific value through proximate analysis of municipal solid waste using soft computing system," Discover Applied Sciences, vol. 7, no. 3, 2025.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-025-06643-9
K.D. Sharma and S. Jain, "Municipal solid waste generation, composition, and management: the global scenario," Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 917-948, 2020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-06-2019-0210
B. Mayanti, J. Songok and P. Helo, "Multi-objective optimization to improve energy, economic and, environmental life cycle assessment in waste-to-energy plant," Waste Management, vol. 127, pp. 147-157, 2021.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.04.042
Myanmar Digital News, "Myanmar’s first-ever Yangon Waste to Energy Plant generates 760 kW of electricity daily," Myanmar Digital News, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.mdn.gov.mm/en/myanmars-first-ever-yangon-waste-energy-plant-generates-760-kw-electricity-daily
Y. Li, F. Xu, Y. Li, J. Lu, S. Li, A. Shah, X. Zhang, H. Zhang, X. Gong and G. Li, "Reactor performance and energy analysis of solid state anaerobic co-digestion of dairy manure with corn stover and tomato residues," Waste Management, vol. 73, pp. 130-139, 2018.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.041
A. Kamel Al Mashhadani, M.S. Salman and R.Y.A. Ameer, "Using the Linear Programming Model in Determining the Potential Production Capacities by Employing the Parametric Programming Method," Journal of Al-Qadisiyah for Computer Science and Mathematics, vol. 16, no. 4, 2024.