M.S. Thesis: Legal aspects of introducing waste-to-energy (WTE) technology in Sao Paulo State of Brazil: The case studies of URE Barueri and city of Sao Paulo

By Paulo Ernani Bergamo dos Santos

Advisor: Professor Nickolas J. Themelis
Co-advisor: Professor A.C. Bourtsalas

Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering
Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science
Columbia University

April 30, 2016

This study focuses on the legal aspects related to the interconnections among urbanization, population growth, energy consumption, circular economy, integrated solid waste management and energy recovery from MSW in Brazil. Specifically, two case studies are examined in the State of Sao Paulo:

  1. The first WTE plant in the country, currently in the phase of licensing, the URE (Energy Recovery Unity) Barueri, located in the city of Barueri (population of about 246,000), 26.5 kilometers from the center of the city of São Paulo;
  2. a projected WTE to serve the city of Sao Paulo (population of about 12 million), the heart of the metropolitan Sao Paulo (population of about 20.3 million), the fifth largest megacity (United Nations Urbanization Prospects, 2014).

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