ABSTRACT
The treatment and disposal of wastes by conventional methods pose many problems throughout the world and result in the consumption of energy. Costs to dispose of wastes, particularly municipal solid wastes (MSW), are escalating. In many areas, landfills are approaching capacity and closing and new sites for the disposal of solid wastes are not available. As we shall see throughout this chapter and this book, much of this waste material is a valuable energy resource if utilized correctly for that purpose.
