Feasibility of anaerobic digestion as an option for biodegradable and sewage sludge waste management in the Kingdom of Bahrain

• Published in: Desalination and water treatment 2022-07, Vol.263, p.160-167
• Main Author: Abbas, Sumaya Y.H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anaerobic digestion; Biodegradable waste management; Kingdom of Bahrain; Sewage sludge
• ISSN: 1944-3986; 1944-3986
• DOI: 10.5004/dwt.2022.28221

Solid waste management (SWM) represents a main challenge to the developing countries. Almost all of the solid waste in these countries are dumped into landfills, which harms the environment, public health, as well as affecting the economy and society. Dumping of biodegradable waste including sewage sludge resulted from wastewater treatment plants into the landfill results in methane emission, which is a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Thus, finding a sustainable solution to manage the biodegradable and sewage sludge waste tend to be crucial. This study aims to explore the feasibility of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology to manage the biodegradable and sewage sludge waste in the Kingdom of Bahrain. AD is an important waste-to-energy technology that leads to produces biogas, an important and promising renewable energy resource for the country. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) was used in this study that shows the feasibility of the AD project. In addition, the contribution in reduction of the landfill methane emission was estimated. The study may provide sufficient information for future adoption of evidence-based technology selection in order to adopt SWM technologies in Bahrain, which contributes to the decision and policy-making processes.