Waste Treatment in Jordan with Focus on Energy Production

Jordan’s municipal solid waste generated per capita has been estimated as 0.8 kg/day. De-pending on the infrastructure and population density, the rate varies between 1.0 kg/day in big cities and 0.6 kg/day in small cities and rural area (Alfayez 2003). Furthermore, the municipal solid waste generation growth is estimated at 3 % per year (METAP 2010).
According to ALFAYEZ, solid waste collection in Jordan is carried out by municipalities and few communal services, with subsequent transfer of the waste to 25 landfills and open dumps throughout the country (Alfayez 2003). Currently there is no source separate waste collection from households. The collection rate is estimated at 90 % in urban areas and 75 % in rural areas (EcoConsult 2008). In general, disposal facilities elsewhere in the country are not fully engi-neered but operated in ways that reduce nuisance factors. Composting exists only on a pilot ba-sis. Recycling is undertaken by the informal sector (METAP 2010).
The composition of municipal solid waste in Jordan is dominated by the organic fraction. About 50 – 70 % of household waste can be attributed to kitchen waste. In comparison, in Aus-tria and Germany organic waste contributes approximately 30 – 40 % to the total amount of municipal solid waste. The amount of paper is in the range from 11 – 17 %, followed by plastic with an amount of 5 – 17%. At least glass, metal and others were calculated together to max. 12 %. Further than municipal solid waste in Jordan, a considerable quantities of animal (5.3 mil-lion to e.g. from poultry, cattle and sheep) and olive waste (27,000 to olive cake) are produced annually.
Organic wastes are usually treated biologically, in general by composting or fermentation. While composting mainly produces a hygienic and pathogen free fertilizer, the additional pro-duction of biogas will be the main advantage of anaerobic treatment. By treating poultry manure in a biogas plant, it is really important to take attention of the mix ration of all input materials. Because of a high nitrogen content of poultry manure, it is necessary to feed other major input sources to avoid inhibitions of the anaerobic process. Several experiments with different mix-ture of substrate were done in order to determine the quality of biogas.
Regarding the usability and processing of olive cake, different treatment options can be cho-sen. Beside the biological treatment of olive cake through fermentation (80 – 97 Nm³/to fresh material), an incineration and thermal treatment (Hu ~ 18 MJ/kg) could by an alternative.
Furthermore, it is necessary to prove/investigate the economic aspects by choosing a sustain-able and best efficient waste management and treatment technology. A balance due considera-tion of the market prices (material sources, energy, etc.), investment and operational costs ac-cording the requirements in Jordan are essential.