The Warsan factory in Dubai will process 2 million tons of waste per year and meet the electricity needs of 135,000 households.
In Dubai, nearly half of the waste generated contributes to providing electricity for households. Most of the waste is collected at the facility operated by Warsan, a waste management company. According to Tim Clarke, the company’s CEO, approximately 45% of Dubai’s total waste is directed to this facility. Having been operational since March of this year, the Warsan plant will utilize 2 million tons of waste annually to produce electricity, sufficient to supply around 135,000 households, as reported by CNN on May 17.
The waste-to-energy plant operated by Warsan in Dubai. (Photo: Warsan).
This is a waste-to-energy plant. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, about 13% of the world’s municipal waste is processed at such facilities. This waste treatment method is widely applied in Europe and many other countries such as Japan, China, and the United States. However, the distinctive feature of the plant in Dubai lies in its scale. Warsan is the largest waste-to-energy facility in the world. “We operate with an electricity production efficiency of about 34%, which is much higher than a conventional plant, partly because we can operate at higher temperatures and pressures,” Clarke stated.
The process of converting waste to energy involves three steps: burning waste, using the heat to generate steam, and directing the steam to run a turbine for electricity generation. This process has been in use for over 100 years, but modern facilities manage to better control the pollutants released during waste combustion. Emission control allows the plant to filter out harmful compounds and prevent them from being released into the atmosphere. Clarke explained that they inject reactive substances into the furnace to filter out all harmful factors such as heavy metals, sulfur compounds, and retain particulates for disposal.
Not all pollutants can be filtered out completely. For instance, carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, is released into the atmosphere. However, since the plant generates electricity, replacing the burning of fossil fuels, Warsan believes the overall impact is quite positive. “We emit CO2 but produce 200 megawatts of electricity instead of using fossil fuel sources. Thus, we help reduce approximately 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year,” Clarke said.
Facilities like the one in Dubai take additional steps to maximize resource recovery. For example, metals are separated for recycling. The ash mountain resulting from the waste incineration is collected and reused in road construction. According to Clarke, of the 5,500 tons of waste the plant receives daily, only 200 tons of residue cannot be reused after processing.
The waste-to-energy plant serves as an alternative to landfills (which account for about 11% of global methane emissions). However, some environmental organizations, such as Zero Waste Europe, argue that burning waste for electricity production undermines efforts to reduce waste and the motivation to enhance recycling. Last year, the UAE recycled 20% of its processed waste, but hopes to increase this to 90% by 2050.
