Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 30, No. 6, p. 1311–1325, December 2019 ISSN 1674-487X Printed in China https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-017-0782-0 Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield Besmir Buranaj Hoxha *1, Dael Dervishi2, Kyle Sweeney3 1. PetroFluids LLC, Houston TX 77084, USA 2. McCain Institute, Washington D.C. 20006, USA 3. Fulbright Program & UNDP, Prishtina, The Republic of Kosovo Besmir Buranaj Hoxha: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7482-784X ABSTRACT: Albania has historically been known to have an active but challenging drilling activity that demands the most innovative technology to develop, predominantly, medium-heavy oil reservoirs. Although recent efforts have been made by the government to stimulate and expand the largest onshore European oilfield, technical and economical obstacles are prevalent. These obstacles make it difficult to fully develop reliable and profitable hydrocarbon bearing zones in a downturn economy, especially since Albanian oil can be costly to produce and refine. Due to these typical issues that affect many local energy sectors, many developed countries diversify their energy production to avoid strict dependency on crude oil. An emblematic and modern option that is extensively gaining popularity in Europe focuses on renewable energy from sophisticated recycling programs. Although Albania is a relatively “green” country when it pertains to its electricity production (97% hydropower and 3% fossil fuels), it has yet to develop energy-recycling programs that it can salvage for self-sustainable energy sources. The past years have seen a conscious revitalization and stimulation in the mentality of green economy in Albania. But, in comparison to the rest of “western Europe” that are leading world examples in efficient recy- cling, it is significantly lagging with initial strides just now focusing on aligning national legislations with current EU models. Furthermore, two crucial reasons that should motivate Albania to investigate new applications for energy recycling are: (1) alternatives to crude oil and petroleum products that can be supplemental and provide stable access to fossil fuels; (2) industrial and municipal recycling via waste management to reprocess waste and produce industrial raw material-spawning the emergence of a “circular economy” to develop the backbone needed to strengthen the industrial and manufacturing markets for a self-sustaining economy. Accordingly, in this paper, the topic that will be addressed, given the recent decrease in oil & gas prices, focuses on the Albanian energy sector’s capability to sustain and develop a supplementary recycling program via “waste-to-fuel” (WTF) technology (biofuels and/or in- organic waste). With the intent that it could function cooperatively with Albania’s active drilling pro- gram to mitigate dependency on a single fuel source and produce enough fossil fuel in an effective and sustainable manner. KEY WORDS: renewable energy, pyrolysis, waste-to-fuel technology, circular economy, plastic-to-fuel, alternative energy. BACKGROUND unfavorable consequences. Consequently, reducing major risk As world energy consumption is projected to increase by investing in multiple energy resources and thus maximizing from 549 quadrillion Btu in 2012 to 627 quadrillion Btu in energy profits in different areas that would each respond dif- 2020 (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2016), most ferently to the same economic incident. developed countries are striving towards diversifying their The most recent oil & gas fallout experienced in 2015, glob- energy production during a downturn economy and avoid ally affected the whole energy sector. Consequently, the energy focus has focused on new ways to alleviate the burden of volatility *Corresponding author: [email protected] of fossil fuels. Figure 1 shows projection of energy consumption © China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and Springer-Verlag worldwide with renewable energy gains the most focus (with a GmbH Germany, Part of Springer Nature 2019 growth of 5% increase), and the consumption of coal is essentially plateauing. Large emphasis and support has been placed in pro- Manuscript received July 10, 2017. duction and development of natural gas (which should surpass Manuscript accepted September 15, 2017. coal by year 2030), and petroleum slightly decreased by 3%, Hoxha, B. B., Dervishi, D., Sweeney, K., 2019. Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy Sys- tem in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield. Journal of Earth Science, 30(6): 1311–1325. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-017-0782-0. http://en.earth-science.net 1312 Besmir Buranaj Hoxha, Dael Dervishi and Kyle Sweeney Figure 1. Projection of energy consumption, worldwide (after U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2016). maintains a general relative range. The major consensus agrees extracting the maximum value whilst recovering and regenerat- on the continual forthcoming necessity for petroleum with cur- ing value through the resource life cycle (see Fig. 2). This cycle rent world reserves are bountiful and surpass any previously is an alternative to linear economy that focuses on manufacturing forecasted projections. It is important to note that, historically, material, consumption, and disposing of material. The ideology energy forecasts have proven to be vague, defective, and some- focuses on exploiting the synergies of the resource life cycle to times imprecise. Nevertheless, this does not impede motivation in overcome barriers and add the highest amount of value to the energy diversification, considering the energy sector needs to circular “chain” of “waste-to-resource” that the hierarchy method adapt to overcome economic challenges influenced by geo- focuses on. political and socio-economic factors. For this sole reason, many In this paper, a review of the most recent oil & gas crisis is countries are developing self-sustaining energy programs that are examined to determine the impact on the fuel sector in Albania. prevalent in all types of circumstances. Material is examined to determine a feasibility study to show As human civilization inevitably multiplies, it will also one of Europe’s most prominent onshore oilfields need to di- surely be forced to modernize and develop. So, two things will versify its fuel production in order to become a regional energy waste generation and need for waste management. Accordingly, powerhouse and become an example for its neighboring coun- the need for energy will also increase, and intuitively, will focus tries in the western Balkans. on renewable energy, as our natural resources will begin to di- minish. Most people consider wind, solar, aero-thermal, geo- WASTE-TO-FUEL TECHNOLOGY thermal, hydrothermal, ocean energy, and hydropower to be re- Waste-to-energy (WTE), waste-to-fuel (WTF) technology is newable energy. However, very few are familiar with waste ma- the process of generating some type of fuel from the primary terial as a renewable energy (as it will continually replenish)- treatment of waste and can be considered a direct form of energy biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas, biogases, recovery. The concept and its implementation have caught the thermoplastics, rubber, and paper can all be considered “waste- interest of international conglomerates and government agencies to-fuel” technology that can use organic and inorganic waste. in the past decade. Many developed nations have begun using the Both recycled and reused/salvaged materials can be considered technology (U.S.A., U.K., Netherlands, Germany, etc.) but even sustainable as they can reflect resource efficiency that can use all products to their full potential. They can decrease landfill waste, reduce air and water pollution, reduce the need for raw materials, and lower environmental impact. For example, when a recycled material is used instead of a new raw material, natural resources and energy can be conserved. This is due to recycled materials having been initially refined and processed, thus manufacturing it once again is much cleaner and less energy-intensive than the first time. Table 1 depicts typical recycling data for preventing waste. The utilization of waste to fuel technology depends on the collection of recyclable materials and relies on a steady flow of consistent supply generated from recycling programs. Thus, gov- ernment support and public-private investment into the recycling activity structure (such as door-to-door segregation, collection points, distribution points) is critical in creating a self-sustaining “circular economy”. The European Commission describes circu- Figure 2. Circular economy diagram (modified after the European Commis- lar economy as making use of resources to the maximum extent; sion model, 2015). Waste-to-Fuel Technology in Albania––How to Implement a Renewable Energy System in Europe’s Largest Onshore Oilfield 1313 Table 1 Recycling statistics for prevention of municipal waste. A ton of recycled product material can prevent the following listed items (Stanford Recycling Research Institute, 2016) Energy (kWh) Oil (bbls) BTU (million) Landfill (yd3) Air pollution (lbs) Water (gallons) Aluminum 14 000 40 238 10 - - Paper 4 100 9.0 54 3.3 60 7 000 Plastic 5 774 16.3 98 30 - - Steel 642 1.8 10.9 4 - - Glass 42 0.12 0.714 2 7.5 - into an economical benefit. In fact, the ideology has drawn major interests from reputable agencies such as the American Chemical Society & American Chemistry