Municipal Solid Waste Potential for Indonesian Electrical Energy Sharing: Process Simulation Study
Abstract
Indonesia’s growing energy demand and increasing municipal solid waste (MSW), projected to reach 48.19 million tons by 2027, present significant challenges and opportunities for sustainable energy solutions. This study investigates the conversion of MSW to electricity using validated Aspen Plus® simulations calibrated against real-world operations with one MSW based power plant located in Indonesia. The study evaluated four technologies—air gasification, steam gasification, plasma gasification, and incineration—to assess their electricity generation potential and pollutant emissions. Gasification technologies outperformed incineration, generating 15–27 MW of electricity, with gas engines demonstrating superior efficiency compared to steam turbines due to fewer energy conversion stages. Air gasification increased electricity production with reduced air input but resulted in elevated pollutant emissions, including NH₃ (up to 8 ppm), H₂S (up to 210 ppm), and HCl (up to 1052 ppm). Steam gasification enhanced hydrogen production at optimal steam levels; however, excessive steam inputs reduced efficiency and increased pollutant concentrations, such as NH₃ (14 ppm), H₂S (369 ppm), and HCl (1846 ppm). Plasma gasification maintained stable CO₂ concentrations (~14% vol) but experienced diminishing electricity returns with higher heat inputs. This study also highlights the inefficiency of incineration technology since it produced lower NH₃ and H₂S emissions but notable levels of NOₓ, SOₓ, and HCl, emphasizing the importance of advanced emission control systems. This study provides valuable insights for optimizing waste-to-energy processes, supporting industrial adoption, and informing sustainable waste management strategies to enhance Indonesia’s energy security and environmental sustainability.
References
Abdoulmoumine, N., Adhikari, S., Kulkarni, A., and Chattanathan, S., 2015. “A review on biomass gasification syngas cleanup.” Appl. Energy 155, 294–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APENERGY.2015.05.095
Aghaalikhani, A., Schmid, J.C., Borello, D., Fuchs, J., Benedikt, F., Hofbauer, H., Rispoli, F., Henriksen, U.B., Sárossy, Z., and Cedola, L., 2019. “Detailed modelling of biomass steam gasification in a dual fluidized bed gasifier with temperature variation.” Renew. Energy 143, 703–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.05.022
Amulen, J., Kasedde, H., Serugunda, J., and Lwanyaga, J.D., 2022. “The potential of energy recovery from municipal solid waste in Kampala City, Uganda by incineration.” Energy Convers. Manag. X, 14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecmx.2022.100204
Anshar, M., Nasir Ani, F., and Saman Kader, A., 2014. “The energy potential of municipal solid waste for power generation in Indonesia.” Jurnal Mekanikal 37, 42-54.
Astrup, T.F., Tonini, D., Turconi, R., and Boldrin, A., 2015. “Life cycle assessment of thermal Waste-to-Energy technologies: Review and recommendations.” Waste Manag. 37, 104–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.WASMAN.2014.06.011
Azis, M.M., Kristanto, J., and Purnomo, C.W., 2021. “A techno‐economic evaluation of municipal solid waste (MSW) conversion to energy in indonesia.” Sustainability 13, 7232. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137232
Dong, J., Tang, Y., Nzihou, A., Chi, Y., Weiss-Hortala, E., and Ni, M., 2018. “Life cycle assessment of pyrolysis, gasification and incineration waste-to-energy technologies: Theoretical analysis and case study of commercial plants.” Sci. Total Environ. 626, 744–753. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.01.151
Habibi, M.Y., Nugraha, M.G., Hidayat, M., and Saptoadi, H., 2024. “Simulation of coconut shell combustion in a grate-fired furnace using distributed pyrolysis products model.” AIP Conf. Proc. 2836, 060001. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0207275
Indonesia - Energy [WWW Document], 2024. URL https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/indonesia-energy (accessed 4.12.24).
Indonesia: Energy Country Profile - Our World in Data [WWW Document], 2021. URL https://ourworldindata.org/energy/country/indonesia (accessed 4.6.24).
Indonesia’s Energy Transformation to Zero Emission - IESR [WWW Document], 2023. URL https://iesr.or.id/en/indonesias-energy-transformation-to-zero-emission (accessed 4.6.24).
Kumar, A., and Samadder, S.R., 2017. “A review on technological options of waste to energy for effective management of municipal solid waste.” Waste Manag. 69, 407-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.08.046
Listrik untuk Kehidupan yang Lebih Baik - PT PLN (Persero) [WWW Document], 2021. URL https://web.pln.co.id/stakeholder/ RUPTL (accessed 4.12.24).
Lolla, A., Yang, M., and Phoumin, H., 2021. Global Electricity Review 2021 G20 Profile Indonesia: Indonesia defies global trend with more coal in the generation-mix. https://ember-energy.org/
Ma, W., Wenga, T., Frandsen, F.J., Yan, B., and Chen, G., 2020. “The fate of chlorine during MSW incineration: Vaporization, transformation, deposition, corrosion and remedies.” Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 76, 100789. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PECS.2019.100789
Mehdi, M., Ammar Taqvi, S.A., Shaikh, A.A., Khan, S., Naqvi, S.R., Shahbaz, M., and Juchelková, D., 2023. “Aspen Plus simulation model of municipal solid waste gasification of metropolitan city for syngas production.” Fuel 344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2023.128128
Murphy, J.D., and McKeogh, E., 2004. “Technical, economic and environmental analysis of energy production from municipal solid waste.” Renew. Energy 29, 1043–1057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2003.12.002
Mustafa, A.B., Dong, H., Zhang, C., and Fujii, M., 2022. “Life cycle environmental benefit and waste-to-energy potential of municipal solid waste management scenarios in Indonesia.” J. Mater. Cycles Waste. Manag. 24, 1859–1877. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01441-6
Nugraha, M.G., Saptoadi, H., Hidayat, M., Andersson, B., and Andersson, R., 2021. “Particulate matter reduction in residual biomass combustion.” Energies 14, 3341. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14113341
Nugraha, M.G., Sharfan, A., Prakoso, V.S.Y., Hidayat, M., and Saptoadi, H., 2020. “Particulate matter emission in agricultural biomass residue combustion.” Global J. Environ. Sci. Manag. 10, 39. https://doi.org/10.22035/gjesm.2024.03
Ogunjuyigbe, A.S.O., Ayodele, T.R., and Alao, M.A., 2017. “Electricity generation from municipal solid waste in some selected cities of Nigeria: An assessment of feasibility, potential and technologies.” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 80, 149-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.177
Qonitan, F.D., Wayan Koko Suryawan, I., and Rahman, A., 2021. “Overview of municipal solid waste generation and energy utilization potential in major cities of Indonesia.” J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1858, 012064. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1858/1/012064
Rajaeifar, M.A., Ghanavati, H., Dashti, B.B., Heijungs, R., Aghbashlo, M., and Tabatabaei, M., 2017. “Electricity generation and GHG emission reduction potentials through different municipal solid waste management technologies: A comparative review.” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 79, 414-439 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.04.109
SIPSN - Sistem Informasi Pengelolaan Sampah Nasional [WWW Document], 2024. URL https://sipsn.menlhk.go.id/sipsn/ (accessed 4.6.24).
Sudibyo, H., Majid, A.I., Pradana, Y.S., Budhijanto, W., Deendarlianto, and Budiman, A., 2017a. “Technological evaluation of municipal solid waste management system in Indonesia.” Energy Procedia 105, 263–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.312
Sudibyo, H., Pradana, Y.S., Budiman, A., and Budhijanto, W., 2017b. “Municipal solid waste management in Indonesia - A study about selection of proper solid waste reduction method in D.I. Yogyakarta Province.” Energy Procedia 143, 494–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.12.716
Sukarni, S., 2016. “Exploring the potential of municipal solid waste (MSW) as solid fuel for energy generation: Case study in the Malang City, Indonesia.” AIP Conf. Proc. 1778, 020003. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4965733
Varjani, S., Shahbeig, H., Popat, K., Patel, Z., Vyas, S., Shah, A. V., Barceló, D., Hao Ngo, H., Sonne, C., Shiung Lam, S., Aghbashlo, M., and Tabatabaei, M., 2022. “Sustainable management of municipal solid waste through waste-to-energy technologies.” Bioresour. Technol. 355, 127247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127247
Waste-to-energy (MSW) in depth - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) [WWW Document], 2024. URL https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/biomass/waste-to-energy-in-depth.php (accessed 4.6.24).
Copyright (c) 2025 ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder for articles is ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering. Articles published in ASEAN J. Chem. Eng. are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.
Authors agree to transfer all copyright rights in and to the above work to the ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering Editorial Board so that the Editorial Board shall have the right to publish the work for non-profit use in any media or form. In return, authors retain: (1) all proprietary rights other than copyright; (2) re-use of all or part of the above paper in their other work; (3) right to reproduce or authorize others to reproduce the above paper for authors’ personal use or for company use if the source and the journal copyright notice is indicated, and if the reproduction is not made for the purpose of sale.