Landfill Gas Energy
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Solid WasteManagement
The Importance o Landfll Gas EnergyIn Integrated Municipal Solid ManagementIn the Developing WorldBrian Guzzone and Amy Alexander
Iii i
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. FIndIng theproper mIx oFpractIces to meet alocal communItysmeans and needswIll help ensure ahealthIer populatIonand envIronment.
As the worlds populAtion reAched 7 billion
in 2011, the demand or access to improved sanitation
steadily increased as a result o a burgeoning middle
class in the developing world. Furthermore, by 2050,
the world will include more than nine billion people.1
Each year the worlds population generates more than 2billion tons o waste; i society continues to move toward
the current waste generation patterns o the wealthiest
cities in high-income countries today, then by 2025,
we could be generating as much as 7 billion tons o
waste each year.2 Rapid population growth coupled
with increasing prosperity in developing countries
requires a serious examination o the waste management
process (Figure 1) and the role o integrated solid waste
management (ISWM) to saeguard the environmentagainst air and water pollution and residual waste,
protect public health and maximize the value-added
elements (i.e., energy and recovered materials).
Waste DisposalCurrently, between 30 and 60 percent o solid
waste rom cities in developing countries remains
uncollected and ends up on the street or disposed o
through open burning.3 This is a major public health
and environmental concern aecting rich and poor alike,
and poses enormous problems or growing cities and
towns. However, due to rapid increases in population
and urbanization, an increasing number o developing
countries are beginning to use some orm o landll (i.e.,uncontrolled or controlled dump, sanitary landll) to
manage increasing waste generation rates. Worldwide,
the majority o waste is disposed o in landlls which
alleviate several public health concerns, but creates
additional environmental considerations. Landlls
provide an anaerobic environment or wastes to decay
that causes the release o landll gas (LFG), odors and
a host o other potential air, water and soil pollutants.
The methane produced by landlls is o environmentalsignicance because methane is a potent greenhouse gas
and its ability to trap heat in the atmosphere, called
its global warming potential, is more than 20 times
greater than that o carbon dioxide. Globally, landlls
are the third largest anthropogenic source o methane,
accounting or approximately 11 percent o estimated
global methane emissions or nearly 799 million
metric tons o carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2E)
Figure 1: Liecycle inputs and outputs o awaste management process.Figures provided courtesy o EPAs Landfll Methane
Outreach Program (LMOP).
WasteAdvantage Magazine April 2012 35
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36 WasteAdvantage Magazine April 2012
emissions in 2010.4 As a constituent o natural gas,
however, methane oers a unique opportunity to
mitigate climate change and simultaneously increase
available energy supply. Thereore, eorts to prevent
or use methane emissions can provide signicant
energy, economic and environmental benets.
As developing countries transition to controlled
or sanitary landlls, methane emissions will rise as
more waste is managed in a proper manner whichis conducive to LFG generation. Thereore, LFG
collection and control measures are o increasing
importance to oset these emissions. Moreover,
the lowest-cost and oten the most expedient
solution is disposal o waste in uncontrolled
landlls or dumpsites. Due to the relatively high
cost o sanitary landlls, cities tend to make little
progress toward landll implementation unless the
regulatory ramework and environmental agencies
apply enorcement pressure.5 Meanwhile, in manydeveloped nations, the availability o landll capacity
has been fat or steadily decreasing due to regulatory,
siting and environmental permitting constraints on
new landlls and landll expansions. As a result, new
approaches to waste management are rapidly being
written into public and institutional policies at local
and national levels.
Solid waste management is usually one o the
most labor and cost intensive services providedby local governments in developing countries and
local government ocials are requently besieged
by companies selling solid waste management
technologies. Many o these technologies may not be
appropriate and ocials may have limited experience
or assessing a companys claims and technological
viability that has resulted in many systems that have
been built, only to close shortly ater costly startup,
operations and maintenance. Thereore, helping
local governments choose appropriate solid waste
management strategies and technologies is critically
important.
Major Components o IntegratedSolid Waste Management
To address global waste management challenges,
countries have ocused on developing and
implementing a variety o ISWM strategies to
tackle the long-term management o waste. For the
purposes o this article, the six major components o
ISWM (Figure 2) are categorized as:
Waste reduction;
Reuse;
Recycling (including composting and anaerobic
digestion);
Waste-to-energy (i.e., waste combustion,
gasication, pyrolysis);
Landflling in a proper disposal site with LFG
recovery (i.e., faring and energy use); and
Landflling in an uncontrolled dump site with
little or no environmental controls.
Role o ISWM in DevelopingSustainable Waste ManagementPractices
While a generally agreed upon ISWM hierarchy
exists, the selection o methods o management
LFG Energy
RecoveryTechnologies Directthermal
Boilers
Furnaces,dryers,kilnsand
processheaters
Infraredheaters
Leachateevaporation
Electricitygeneration
Internalcombustionengines
Gasturbines
Microturbines
Combinedheatandpower
Conversiontohigh-Btugas
Pipeline-qualitygas
Compressednaturalgas(CNG)
Liqueednaturalgas(LNG)
Figure 2: Preerred components o integrated solid waste management.
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should be based upon the needs and means o the local government as well
as environmental regulations and national, regional and local policies. Each
community must decide which waste management methods make senseor it based upon its unique environmental needs, economic situation and
public policies. Additionally, no one process or technology can handle all o
a communitys waste, thereore a number o integrated methods or proper
waste management should be considered. Initiatives rom one country cannot
always be exported to another and be expected to work as the local volume and
composition o waste, inrastructure, economic resources, climate and cultural
traditions and norms can vary signicantly. For example, constructing a waste-
to-energy plant in a developing country with high levels o wet organic waste
such as ood waste may cause operational challenges and increase costs becausemany WTE technologies are designed to burn wastes that are lower in wet ood
wastes and higher in readily combustible materials such as paper and plastics.
In addition, economic considerations must be evaluated to determine the most
appropriate solutions. For example, constructing a plasma gasication project
in a small rural community (e.g., 25,000 inhabitants) may prove uneconomical
due to the higher capital costs associated with the technology. The key to
eective ISWM is the design and development o waste management systems
that are best t to local needs and challenges. Developing countries are
beginning to recognize the need or a comprehensive approach to undertake
sustainable waste management practices. For example, in Argentina, theederal government has embarked on a national ISWM strategy that includes
closure o uncontrolled dump sites in avor o regional modern sanitary landlls
to serve populations rom local communities and businesses.
Role o Landfll Gas in ISWMRecovery o LFG is a critical component o ISWM. LFG recovery or faring or
energy is an eective method to reduce uncontrolled air emissions and improve
public health and saety and the environment. With multiple environmental,
social and economic benets, LFG energy plays a critical role in municipal solid
waste (MSW) management. LFG energy is a small but important component
o an integrated approach to solid waste management given that the use o
landlls continues to remain the predominant method o waste disposal in
most countries. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waste hierarchy6
treats landlls and incineration equally, as environmentally acceptable disposal
options or MSW. However, source reduction, recycling and composting
are the more environmentally preerred waste management options. When
these preerred methods o waste management are not employed and the use
o landlls is the available option, energy recovery improves the greenhouse
gas prole and makes use o the energy generated as the organic raction o
MSW decomposes. Where landlls exist, the use o methane generated by the
decomposing waste already in place to produce energy is the best-case option
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide an alternative to ossil uel-
based power generation. Many landlls in developed countries already collect
LFG and either use it to power engines or electricity generation, transmit it
WasteAdvantage Magazine April 2012 37
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in a pipeline to a nearby end user to replace ossil uel use (e.g., boiler, kiln,
dryer), or fare it. Internationally, signicant opportunities exist or expanding
LFG energy (see LFG Energy Recovery Technologies sidebar, page 36) .One such eective approach to reducing landll methane emissions is the
Global Methane Initiative (GMI), an international publicprivate partnership
that brings together 40 governments and the private sector to develop projects
that can reduce emissions rom the agriculture, coal mine, landll, oil and gas
systems, and municipal wastewater sectors. Cumulative methane emission
reductions achieved through GMI total more than 128 MMTCO2E (or more
inormation, visit www.globalmethane.org).
Incorporating ISWM and LFG energy best practices can go a long way to
protecting human health and the environment rom the dangers o improperlymanaged and disposed waste. Finding the proper mix o practices to meet a
local communitys means and needs will help ensure a healthier population and
environment. | WABrian Guzzone is a Senior Climate Analyst or ERG (Arlington, VA). He has
17 years o technical and outreach expertise in climate change, methane mitigation
and solid waste management. Brian worked in EPAs Climate Change Division or
nearly 10 years where he designed, developed and implemented greenhouse gas mitigation
strategies or programs targeting methane and other non-CO2
gases. He was instrumental
in the development o specifc EPA methodologies or emissions and osets o landfll
methane. Brian currently manages ERGs international outreach eorts including
engineering, scientifc and economic analysis support or major domestic and international
climate programs such as EPAs Landfll Methane Outreach Program and the Global
Methane Initiative. He can be reached at [email protected].
Amy Alexanderis a Senior Environmental Engineer or ERG (Morrisville, NC).
She has 15 years o technical experience in air quality, including evaluating landfll
and LFG technologies and emissions, constructing emission estimation methodologies and
inventories, evaluating and costing greenhouse gas mitigation technologies, designing
sotware models, and reviewing and preparing air permits. Amy has provided technical
assistance and outreach support to EPAs LMOP or more than seven years. She constructed
and routinely enhanced LMOPs LFGcost model or conducting economic assessments o
LFG energy projects. She assisted EPAs Ofce o Research & Development with the
2005 upgrade o the Landfll Gas Emissions Model (LandGEM) to make the tool more
user-riendly and improve its LFG generation estimates. Amy can be reached at amy.
Notes1. Population Reerence Bureau. 2011. www.prb.org.2. UN-HABITAT. 2010. Solid Waste Management in the Worlds Cities, Water
and Sanitation in the Worlds Cities 2010, www.waste.nl/page/1757.3. Ibid.4. U.S. EPA. 2011. DRAFT: Global Anthropogenic Emissions o Non-
CO2
Greenhouse Gases: 19902030 (EPA 430-D-11-003). www.epa.gov/climatechange/economics/international.html.
5. The World Bank. 2011. Analysis o Technology Choices. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTURBANDEVELOPMENT/EXTUSWM/0,,contentMDK:20239704~menuPK:497751~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:463841,00.html.
6. Frankiewicz, T.A., C.A. Leatherwood , and B.L. Dieleman. Landll Gas Energy:An Important Component o Integrated Solid Waste Management, LMOPLFG 34 Paper, 2011. www.scsengineers.com/Papers/Leatherwood_Dieleman_(2011)_LFGE-Important_Component_o_Integrated_SWM.pd.
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2012 Waste Advantage Magazine, All Rights Reserved. Reprinted rom Waste Advantage Magazine. Contents cannot be reprinted wi thout permission rom the publisher.
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