About the project

In 2011/2012 several waste incinerators in Iceland were shut down indefinitely due to toxic dioxins from their emissions polluting soil and ending up in meat and milk products. Subsequently large amounts of waste are transported by ferry and road to be landfilled or incinerated. This project will run a pilot plant aimed at adapting the state-of-the-art green solution for solid waste disposal to Iceland. The process is called gasification and it is a technology that turns paper, carton, wood and plastic waste into a gas called syngas. The syngas in turn can be used to generate electricity and heat. Gasification generates up to 1000 times less dioxins than incineration and is the waste treatment technology that can convert the highest fraction of the energy trapped in organic waste to electricity. The objective of this study is to develop gasification technology that can dispose of a significant fraction of Icelandic waste without releasing toxins and generate electricity and heat.

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