DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR MSW MANAGEMENT RD IN MALAYSIA AND THE REPOSITIONING OF THE THERMAL TREATMENT DISCIPLINE

摘要

Malaysia is still negotiating for the best strategies to manage her MSW in the best manner - politically, economically and environmentally. A National Solid Waste Strategic Plan has been established, advocating and adopting the Integrated Solid Waste Management System (IWMS). However, choosing the right mix of the waste management hierarchy is not simple. The 3-R concept with an effective and consistent role by the society at large is still not well taken up despite of various efforts taken by the government. The role of biological treatment such as composting and bio-gasification (AD), is slowly gaining momentum, however, needed much more effort and understanding when applied to local waste and market conditions. The vigor to introduce the-state-of-the-art thermal treatment process has been done as early as in 2000, but the project has faced a severe set back with regard to public acceptance, lingering around the dioxin issues, and the resulting political consequences causes delays in implementation. Finally, there seems to be a more practical and sensible solution nationally to build more Sanitary Landfills (SLF) in various states and municipalities due to economic reasons as well as for final disposal of waste. It is therefore seen that the Mechanical / 3-R and Biological Treatment (MET) methods play a better role as a pretreatment process prior to landfills, environmentally speaking. In case the economics does not permit the above practice, direct land filling of the MSW should entails with the Land Fill Gas (LFG) extraction and utilization. Hence, the R&D strategies in MIREC, which originally focused only on the direct incineration, now need to be realigned to address the changing priorities discussed above. This paper will examine the state of the MSW management development in Malaysia and the prioritization of MIREC R&D upon taking account of the above dynamism. The typical projects that are being researched are the RDF pilot plant, The High Temperature Flue Gas Recirculation Pump performance, The De-VOC technique using Electron Beam Process, The assessment of Thermal Oxidation Plant, Waste Characterization Studies, and the possibility of developing Anaerobic Digester (AD) for biogas production.