Landfill gas utilization

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Landfill gas collection from capped landfill area Landfill gas collection from capped landfill area.jpg
Landfill gas collection from capped landfill area

Landfill gas utilization is a process of gathering, processing, and treating the methane or another gas emitted from decomposing garbage to produce electricity, heat, fuels, and various chemical compounds. After fossil fuel and agriculture, landfill gas is the third largest human generated source of methane. [1] Compared to CO2, methane is 25 [2] times more potent as a greenhouse gas. It is important not only to control its emission but, where conditions allow, use it to generate energy, thus offsetting the contribution of two major sources of greenhouse gases towards climate change.

Contents

The number of landfill gas projects, which convert the gas into power, went from 399 in 2005 to 519 in 2009 in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These projects are popular because they control energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These projects collect the methane gas and treat it, so it can be used for electricity or upgraded to pipeline-grade gas to power homes, buildings, and vehicles. [3]

Generation

Percent composition of each major component of landfill gas over time Percent composition of each major component of landfill gas with time.JPG
Percent composition of each major component of landfill gas over time

Landfill gas (LFG) is generated through the degradation of municipal solid waste (MSW) and other biodegradable waste, by microorganisms. Aerobic conditions (presence of oxygen) leads to predominately CO2 emissions. In anaerobic conditions, as is typical of landfills, methane and CO2 are produced in a ratio of 60:40.

Methane (CH
4
) is the important component of landfill gas as it has a calorific value of 33.95 MJ/Nm^3 which gives rise to energy generation benefits. [5] The amount of methane that is produced varies significantly based on composition of the waste. Most of the methane produced in MSW landfills is derived from food waste, composite paper, and corrugated cardboard which comprise 19.4 ± 5.5%, 21.9 ± 5.2%, and 20.9 ± 7.1% respectively on average of MSW landfills in the United States. [6]

The rate of landfill gas production varies with the age of the landfill. There are 4 common phases that a section of a MSW landfill undergoes after placement. Typically, in a large landfill, different areas of the site will be at different stages at the same time. The landfill gas production rate will reach a maximum at around 5 years and start to decline. [7] Landfill gas follows first-order kinetic decay after decline begins with a k-value ranging 0.02 yr-1 for arid conditions and 0.065 yr-1 for wet conditions. [4]

The Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) provides the LandGEM (Landfill Gas Emissions Model), a first-order decay model which aids in the determination of landfill gas production for an individual landfill. [4] Typically, gas extraction rates from a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill range from 25 to 10000 m3/h where Landfill sites typically range from 100,000 m3 to 10 million m3 of waste in place. [5]

MSW landfill gas typically has roughly 45 to 60% methane and 40 to 60% carbon dioxide, depending on the amount of air introduced to the site, either through active gas extraction or from inadequate sealing (capping) of the landfill site. [8] Depending on the composition of the waste in place, there are many other minor components that comprises roughly 1% which includes H
2
S
, NO
x
, SO
2
, CO, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), etc. All of these gases are harmful to human health at high doses. [5]

LFG collection systems

A typical gas extraction well Gas extraction well.JPG
A typical gas extraction well
Landfill gas blower Landfill Gas Blower.JPG
Landfill gas blower
A layout of landfill gas collection system Landfill gas collection system.JPG
A layout of landfill gas collection system

Landfill gas collection is typically accomplished through the installation of wells – vertically and/or horizontally – in the waste mass. Design heuristics for vertical wells call for about one well per acre of landfill surface, whereas horizontal wells are normally spaced about 50 to 200 feet apart on center. [9]

Efficient gas collection can be accomplished at both open and closed landfills, but closed landfills have systems that are more efficient, owing to greater deployment of collection infrastructure since active filling is not occurring. On average, closed landfills have gas collection systems that capture about 84% of produced gas, compared to about 67% for open landfills. [11] Landfill gas can also be extracted through horizontal trenches instead of vertical wells. Both systems are effective at collecting.

Landfill gas is extracted and piped to a main collection header, where it is sent to be treated or flared. The main collection header can be connected to the leachate collection system to collect condensate forming in the pipes. A blower is needed to pull the gas from the collection wells to the collection header and further downstream. A 40-acre (160,000 m2) landfill gas collection system with a flare designed for a 600 ft3/min extraction rate is estimated to cost $991,000 (approximately $24,000 per acre) with annual operation and maintenance costs of $166,000 per year at $2,250 per well, $4,500 per flare and $44,500 per year to operate the blower (2008). LMOP provides a software model to predict collection system costs. [9]

Flaring

Flares: Open (left) and enclosed (right) Open (left) and enclosed (right) flare.JPG
Flares: Open (left) and enclosed (right)

If gas extraction rates do not warrant direct use or electricity generation, the gas can be flared off in order to avoid uncontrolled release to the atmosphere. One hundred m3/h is a practical threshold for flaring in the U.S. In the U.K, gas engines are used with a capacity of less than 100m3/h. [5] Flares are useful in all landfill gas systems as they can help control excess gas extraction spikes and maintenance down periods. In the U.K. and EU enclosed flares, from which the flame is not visible are mandatory at modern landfill sites. Flares can be either open or enclosed, but the latter are typically more expensive as they provide high combustion temperatures and specific residence times as well as limit noise and light pollution. Some US states require the use of enclosed flares over open flares. Higher combustion temperatures and residence times destroy unwanted constituents such as un-burnt hydrocarbons. General accepted values are an exhaust gas temperature of 1000 °C with a retention time of 0.3 seconds which is said to result in greater than 98% destruction efficiency. The combustion temperature is an important controlling factor as if greater than 1100 °C, there is a danger of the exponential formation of thermal NOx. [12]

Landfill gas treatment

Landfill gas must be treated to remove impurities, condensate, and particulates. The treatment system depends on the end use. Minimal treatment is needed for the direct use of gas in boilers, furnaces, or kilns. Using the gas in electricity generation typically requires more in-depth treatment. Treatment systems are divided into primary and secondary treatment processing. Primary processing systems remove moisture and particulates. Gas cooling and compression are common in primary processing. Secondary treatment systems employ multiple cleanup processes, physical and chemical, depending on the specifications of the end use. Two constituents that may need to be removed are siloxanes and sulfur compounds, which are damaging to equipment and significantly increase maintenance cost. Adsorption and absorption are the most common technologies used in secondary treatment processing. [9]

Use of landfill gas

Direct use

Boiler, dryer, and process heater

Boiler retrofitted to accept landfill gas Boiler retrofitted to accept landfill gas.JPG
Boiler retrofitted to accept landfill gas

Pipelines transmit gas to boilers, dryers, or kilns, where it is used much in the same way as natural gas. Landfill gas is cheaper than natural gas and holds about half the heating value at 16,785 – 20,495 kJ/m3 (450 – 550 Btu/ft3) as compared to 35,406 kJ/m3 (950 Btu/ft3) of natural gas. [13] Boilers, dryers, and kilns are used often because they maximize use of the gas, limited treatment is needed, and the gas can be mixed with other fuels. Boilers use the gas to transform water into steam for use in various applications. For boilers, about 8,000 to 10,000  pounds per hour of steam can be generated for every 1  million metric tons of waste-in-place at the landfill. [9] Most direct use projects use boilers. General Motors saves $500,000 on energy costs per year at each of the four plants owned by General Motors that has implemented landfill gas boilers. [14] Disadvantages of Boilers, dryers, and kilns are that they need to be retrofitted in order to accept the gas and the end user has to be nearby (within roughly 5  miles) as pipelines will need to be built.

Infrared heaters, greenhouses, artisan studios

In situations with low gas extraction rates, the gas can go to power infrared heaters in buildings local to the landfill, provide heat and power to local greenhouses, and power the energy intensive activities of a studio engaged in pottery, metalworking or glass-blowing. Heat is fairly inexpensive to employ with the use of a boiler. A microturbine would be needed to provide power in low gas extraction rate situations. [9]

Leachate evaporation

Leachate evaporation system. Leachate evaporation system.JPG
Leachate evaporation system.

The gas coming from the landfill can be used to evaporate leachate in situations where leachate is fairly expensive to treat. The system to evaporate the leachate costs $300,000 to $500,000 to put in place with operations and maintenance costs of $70,000 to $95,000 per year. A 30,000 gallons per day evaporator costs $.05 - $.06 per gallon. The cost per gallon increases as the evaporator size decreases. A 10,000 gallons per day evaporator costs $.18 - $.20 per gallon. [9] Estimates are in 2007 dollars.

Pipeline-quality gas, CNG, LNG

Gas separator membrane skid used in membrane separation process to extract carbon dioxide Gas separator membrane skid for PSA process of landfill gas.jpg
Gas separator membrane skid used in membrane separation process to extract carbon dioxide

Landfill gas can be converted to high-Btu gas by reducing its carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen content. The high-Btu gas can be piped into existing natural gas pipelines or in the form of CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquid natural gas). CNG and LNG can be used on site to power hauling trucks or equipment or sold commercially. Three commonly used methods to extract the carbon dioxide from the gas are membrane separation, molecular sieve, and amine scrubbing. Oxygen and nitrogen are controlled by the proper design and operation of the landfill since the primary cause for oxygen or nitrogen in the gas is intrusion from outside into the landfill because of a difference in pressure. The high-Btu processing equipment can be expected to cost $2,600 to $4,300 per standard cubic foot per minute (scfm) of landfill gas. Annual costs range from $875,000 to $3.5 million to operate, maintain and provide electricity to. [9] Costs depend on quality of the end product gas as well as the size of the project. The first landfill gas to LNG facility in the United States was the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Orange County, California. The same process is used for the conversion to CNG, but on a smaller scale. The CNG project at Puente Hills Landfill in Los Angeles has realized $1.40 per gallon of gasoline equivalent with the flow rate of 250 scfm. [9] Cost per gallon equivalent reduces as the flow rate of gas increases. LNG can be produced through the liquification of CNG. However, the oxygen content needs to be reduced to be under 0.5% to avoid explosion concerns, the carbon dioxide content must be as close to zero as possible to avoid freezing problems encountered in the production, and nitrogen must be reduced enough to achieve at least 96% methane. A $20 million facility is estimated to achieve $0.65/gallon for a plant producing 15,000 gallons/day of LNG (3,000 scfm). [9] Estimates are in 2007 dollars.

Electricity generation

If the landfill gas extraction rate is large enough, a gas turbine or internal combustion engine could be used to produce electricity to sell commercially or use on site.

Reciprocating piston engine

Internal combustion engines to generate electricity. IC engines.JPG
Internal combustion engines to generate electricity.

More than 70 percent of all landfill electricity projects use reciprocating piston (RP) engines, a form of internal combustion engine, because of relatively low cost, high efficiency, and good size match with most landfills. RP engines usually achieve an efficiency of 25 to 35 percent with landfill gas. However, RP engines can be added or removed to follow gas trends. Each engine can achieve 150 kW to 3 MW, depending on the gas flow. An RP engine (less than 1 MW) can typically cost $2,300 per kW with annual operation and maintenance costs of $210 per kW. An RP engine (greater than 800 kW) can typically cost $1,700 per kW with annual operation and maintenance costs of $180 per kW. [9] Estimates are in 2010 dollars.

Gas turbine

Gas turbines that utilize landfill gas. Gas turbines.JPG
Gas turbines that utilize landfill gas.

Gas turbines, another form of internal combustion engine, usually meet an efficiency of 20 to 28 percent at full load with landfill gas. Efficiencies drop when the turbine is operating at partial load. Gas turbines have relatively low maintenance costs and nitrogen oxide emissions when compared to RP engines. Gas turbines require high gas compression, which uses more electricity to compress, therefore reducing the efficiency. Gas turbines are also more resistant to corrosive damage than RP engines. Gas turbines need a minimum of 1,300 cfm and typically exceed 2,100 cfm and can generate 1 to 10 MW. A gas turbine (greater than 3 MW) can typically cost $1,400 per kW with annual operation and maintenance costs of $130 per kW. [9] Estimates are in 2010 dollars.

Microturbine

Microturbines can produce electricity with lower amounts of landfill gas than gas turbines or RP engines. Microturbines can operate between 20 and 200 cfm and emit less nitrogen oxides than RP engines. Also, they can function with less methane content (as little as 35 percent). Microturbines require extensive gas treatment and come in sizes of 30, 70, and 250 kW. A microturbine (less than 1 MW) can typically cost $5,500 per kW with annual operation and maintenance costs of $380 per kW. [9] Estimates are in 2010 dollars.

Fuel cell

Research has been performed indicating that molten carbonate fuel cells could be fueled by landfill gas. Molten carbonate fuel cells require less purity than typical fuel cells, but still require extensive treatment. The separation of acid gases (HCl, HF, and SO2), VOC oxidation (H2S removal) and siloxane removal are required for molten carbonate fuel cells. [16] Fuel cells are typically run on hydrogen and hydrogen can be produced from landfill gas. Hydrogen used in fuel cells have zero emissions, high efficiency, and low maintenance costs. [13]

Project incentives

States with state or private incentives. States with state or private incentives.JPG
States with state or private incentives.
States with Renewable Portfolio Standard. States with RPS.JPG
States with Renewable Portfolio Standard.

Various landfill gas project incentives exist for United States projects at the federal and state level. The Department of the Treasury, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Commerce all provide federal incentives for landfill gas projects. Typically, incentives are in the form of tax credits, bonds, or grants. For example, the Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) gives a corporate tax credit of 1.1 cents per kWh for landfill projects above 150 kW. [19] Various states and private foundations give incentives to landfill gas projects. A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a legislative requirement for utilities to sell or generate a percentage of their electricity from renewable sources including landfill gas. Some states require all utilities to comply, while others require only public utilities to comply. [18]

Environmental impact

In 2005, 166 million tons of MSW were discarded to landfills in the United States. [20] Roughly 120 kg of methane is generated from every ton of MSW. Methane has a global warming potential of 25 [2] times more effective of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide on a 100-year time horizon. It is estimated that more than 10% of all global anthropogenic methane emissions are from landfills. [21] Landfill gas projects help aid in the reduction of methane emissions. However, landfill gas collection systems do not collect all the gas generated. Around 4 to 10 percent of landfill gas escapes the collection system of a typical landfill with a gas collection system. [22] The use of landfill gas is considered a green fuel source because it offsets the use of environmentally damaging fuels such as oil or natural gas, destroys the heat-trapping gas methane, and the gas is generated by deposits of waste that are already in place. 450 of the 2,300 landfills in the United States have operational landfill gas utilization projects as of 2007. LMOP has estimated that approximately 520 landfills that currently exist could use landfill gas (enough to power 700,000 homes). Landfill gas projects also decrease local pollution, and create jobs, revenues and cost savings. [22] Of the roughly 450 landfill gas projects operational in 2007, 11 billion kWh of electricity was generated and 78 billion cubic feet of gas was supplied to end users. These totals amount to roughly 17,500,000 acres (7,100,000 ha) of pine or fir forests or annual emissions from 14,000,000 passenger vehicles. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic organisms or methanogens inside an anaerobic digester, biodigester or a bioreactor. The gas composition is primarily methane and carbon dioxide and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulfide, moisture and siloxanes. The methane can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel; it can be used in fuel cells and for heating purpose, such as in cooking. It can also be used in a gas engine to convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power station</span> Facility generating electric power

A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incineration</span> Waste treatment process

Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high-temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas and heat. The ash is mostly formed by the inorganic constituents of the waste and may take the form of solid lumps or particulates carried by the flue gas. The flue gases must be cleaned of gaseous and particulate pollutants before they are dispersed into the atmosphere. In some cases, the heat that is generated by incineration can be used to generate electric power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gasification</span> Form of energy conversion

Gasification is a process that converts biomass- or fossil fuel-based carbonaceous materials into gases, including as the largest fractions: nitrogen (N2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), and carbon dioxide (CO2). This is achieved by reacting the feedstock material at high temperatures (typically >700 °C), without combustion, via controlling the amount of oxygen and/or steam present in the reaction. The resulting gas mixture is called syngas (from synthesis gas) or producer gas and is itself a fuel due to the flammability of the H2 and CO of which the gas is largely composed. Power can be derived from the subsequent combustion of the resultant gas, and is considered to be a source of renewable energy if the gasified compounds were obtained from biomass feedstock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative fuel</span> Fuels from sources other than fossil fuels

Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are fuels derived from sources other than petroleum. Alternative fuels include gaseous fossil fuels like propane, natural gas, methane, and ammonia; biofuels like biodiesel, bioalcohol, and refuse-derived fuel; and other renewable fuels like hydrogen and electricity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cogeneration</span> Simultaneous generation of electricity and useful heat

Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste-to-energy plant</span> Building that incinerates unusable garbage

A waste-to-energy plant is a waste management facility that combusts wastes to produce electricity. This type of power plant is sometimes called a trash-to-energy, municipal waste incineration, energy recovery, or resource recovery plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossil fuel power station</span> Facility that burns fossil fuels to produce electricity

A fossil fuel power station is a thermal power station which burns a fossil fuel, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, to produce electricity. Fossil fuel power stations have machinery to convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical energy, which then operates an electrical generator. The prime mover may be a steam turbine, a gas turbine or, in small plants, a reciprocating gas engine. All plants use the energy extracted from the expansion of a hot gas, either steam or combustion gases. Although different energy conversion methods exist, all thermal power station conversion methods have their efficiency limited by the Carnot efficiency and therefore produce waste heat.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landfill gas</span> Gaseous fossil fuel

Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane, with the remainder being mostly carbon dioxide. Trace amounts of other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) comprise the remainder (<1%). These trace gases include a large array of species, mainly simple hydrocarbons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal solid waste</span> Type of waste consisting of everyday items discarded by the public

Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately. In the European Union, the semantic definition is 'mixed municipal waste,' given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology 'municipal.'

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Methane Initiative</span>

The Global Methane Initiative (GMI) is a voluntary, international partnership that brings together national governments, private sector entities, development banks, NGOs and other interested stakeholders in a collaborative effort to reduce methane gas emissions and advance methane recovery and use as a clean energy source. National governments are encouraged to join GMI as Partner Countries, while other non-State organizations may join GMI's extensive Project Network. As a public-private initiative, GMI creates an international platform to build capacity, development methane abatement strategies, engage in technology transfer, and remove political and economic barriers to project development for emissions reduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermal power station</span> Power plant that generates electricity from heat energy

A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a steam turbine connected to an electrical generator. The low-pressure exhaust from the turbine enters a steam condenser where it is cooled to produce hot condensate which is recycled to the heating process to generate more high pressure steam. This is known as a Rankine cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste-to-energy</span> Process of generating energy from the primary treatment of waste

Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Most WtE processes generate electricity and/or heat directly through combustion, or produce a combustible fuel commodity, such as methane, methanol, ethanol or synthetic fuels, often derived from the product syngas.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenhouse gas emissions by the United States</span> Climate changing gases from the North American country

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles per gallon gasoline equivalent</span> Measurement of fuel economy

Miles per gallon gasoline equivalent is a measure of the average distance traveled per unit of energy consumed. MPGe is used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to compare energy consumption of alternative fuel vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles and other advanced technology vehicles with the energy consumption of conventional internal combustion vehicles rated in miles per U.S. gallon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landfills in the United States</span> American landfills

Municipal solid waste (MSW) – more commonly known as trash or garbage – consists of everyday items people use and then throw away, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps and papers. In 2018, Americans generated about 265.3 million tonnes of waste. In the United States, landfills are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states' environmental agencies. Municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLF) are required to be designed to protect the environment from contaminants that may be present in the solid waste stream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Source-separated organics</span>

Source-separated organics (SSO) is the system by which waste generators segregate compostable materials from other waste streams at the source for separate collection.

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