Critical review on technological advancements for effective waste management of municipal solid waste - Updates and way forward

Rise in industrialization and urbanization has resulted in problems like uprising energy demand, voluminous waste generation, and environmental effects. As a consequence, implementing an efficient solid waste management strategy is gaining momentum. The urgency becomes more evident as out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals majority of goals and their targets have a direct link to solid waste management. Public awareness is essential for proper waste management as well as social and demographic issues. The present review intends to expand the literature about recent technological advancements in the area of minimizing waste content and electricity generation. It also covers the conversion of energy from waste with the help of techniques like incineration, gasification, plasma gasification, co-gasification, composting, vermicomposting, co-composting, anaerobic digestion, and co-digestion. These techniques are utilized to convert municipal solid waste into a suitable source for renewed energy that produces heat and electricity and other byproducts in risk-free and environmentally friendly way(s). More precisely, this paper focuses on the enhanced generation of biogas. This review also highlights challenges, knowledge gaps, and future research direction(s).