In Europe, about 240 million tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is produced every year which creates a major environmental issue because of its inefficient disposal and treatment- 25% of MSW ends up in landfill and the remaining 75% is usually treated by composting, anaerobic digestion or combustion processes-. The principal idea of WASTE2BIO is to develop a more sustainable and efficient alternative to the current methods by producing bioethanol from biodegradable materials present in the MSW and to process the residual feedstock into biogas using anaerobic digestion. The economic and environmental benefits of bioethanol and biogas are multiple as they are clean, renewable and efficient biofuels. Bioethanol is principally used as a petrol substitute and it can even be blended and used in current transport vehicles without the need for any engine modification. Biogas is a renewable fuel which can be used for production of electricity and heat. The innovative Waste2Bio will strengthen the competitiveness and growth of the European Biofuels Industry by validating this technological innovation that meets the needs of the world market in terms of quality of the fuel, energy and cost efficiency.
