Techno-economic-environmental analysis and demonstration of waste-to-energy implementation: a systematic literature review

Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technologies represent pivotal solutions at the intersection of the global waste management crisis and the urgent demand for renewable energy. By 2050, global municipal solid waste (MSW) generation is projected to surpass 3.4 billion tonnes annually, creating compounding pressures on landfill capacity, groundwater quality, and climate systems. This systematic literature review synthesizes evidence from 87 peer-reviewed studies published between 2018 and 2025, following the PRISMA 2020 protocol. An initial corpus of 4,114 records was screened across Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCO/Google Scholar. Eight core WtE technologies are evaluated—incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, anaerobic digestion, fluidized bed combustion, hydrothermal liquefaction, co-combustion, and plasma gasification—across technical performance metrics, economic feasibility indicators, and environmental impact profiles via Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Key findings indicate that incineration achieves waste volume reductions of 70–85%, while anaerobic digestion demonstrates the lowest life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions for organic-rich streams with savings of up to 900 kg CO₂-eq per tonne. Economic viability is fundamentally shaped by tipping fee regimes, carbon pricing, and electricity tariffs. Seven critical research gaps are identified and a structured future research agenda is proposed for integrated techno-economic-environmental assessment of WtE systems globally.