The Rise of Landfill Gas to Energy

The following is an excerpt of an article with the above title in the January 2012 issue of Waste Age magazine:

Landfill gas (LFG) provides power for one million homes and heat for 737,000 homes across the country.  It provides 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 102 billion cu. ft of LFG for direct use by industry.  It contributes to the nation’s supply of natural gas and clean-burning fuel for vehicles.

The environmental benefits of these LFG uses are huge.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the use of LFG reduced the consumption of oil in the United States by about 229 million barrels of oil last year.

Using LFG also reduces greenhouse gas emissions.  EPA says that landfills rank as the third-largest human-generated source of methane emissions in the United States.  Among greenhouse gases, methane, the fuel component of LFG, is one of the most potent.  For instance, it is 21 times stronger than carbon dioxide.

The EPA also estimates that a typical LFG energy project collects and uses 60 to 90 percent of the methane emitted by a landfill.

Thanks to the environmental benefits of putting LFG to use, landfill-gas-to-energy has begun to emerge as a renewable energy industry.

Consider the landfill-gas-to-energy (LFGTE) project at the Newton County Landfill in Brook, Ind., for example.  There, LFG is helping to manufacture egg cartons.

One of the largest landfills in the country, Newton County, owned by Phoenix-based Republic Services, Inc., receives nearly 2.7 million tons of trash per year.  Recently, the landfill began sending LFG to the neighboring Newton County Renewable Energy Park through a 2,500-foot pipeline.

At the industrial park, Canadian firm Urban Forestf Recyclers Inc. (UFR) of Swift Current, Sask., manufactures packaging, such as egg cartons, from recycled fiber.  The process blends mixed newsprint and cardboard into a slurry that is poured into molds.  The LFG fuels the system of blowers used to dry the molds.

WM Named EPA LMOP Industry Partner of the Year

Sometimes propaganda can have informational value.  News release from Waste Management:


Waste Management Named EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program Industry Partner of the Year

North America's largest landfill gas-to-energy owner and operator recognized for leadership in waste-based renewable energy development



Houston — January 18, 2012 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) has named Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) its 2011 Industry Partner of the Year for leadership in developing waste-based renewable energy. Waste Management is the largest landfill gas-to-energy (LFGTE) developer and operator in North America and is continuing to expand its roster of energy facilities. This year’s awards were presented earlier today at the 15^th Annual LMOP Partner and Project of the Year Awards Ceremony in Baltimore, MD.

To view a short video explaining how landfills can power homes, college campuses and more, visit the WM video- Landfill Power: Turning Gas into Energy.

In 2011, WM commissioned nine LFGTE facilities with a collective capacity of 29.5 MW, bringing the number of LFGTE facilities to 133 active projects in North America. In total, these facilities produced the equivalent of 617 MW of power – enough to power 473,000 homes, and offset the consumption of over 2.4 million tons of coal. Waste Management plans to commission four additional projects in the first quarter of 2012 and is working on at least eight additional projects through its dedicated in-house project development team, which works on both WM-owned sites and those owned by municipalities and industry partners.

“It is an honor to be recognized as a leading partner in this sector by the EPA, and a testament to the hard work of our team over the last several years,” said Paul Pabor, vice president of renewable energy at Waste Management. “Waste Management developed much of the technology still in use today, and continues to find new ways to capture resources in waste. We’re looking forward to continued innovation, creating electricity, generating renewable fuels and powering local businesses with the resources at our disposal.”

Waste Management was active in two projects that won 2010 Project of the Year. The first, the University of New Hampshire EcoLine^TM project, brought gas from Waste Management’s Turnkey Landfill through a 12-mile pipe, supplying 85 percent of the campus’s heat and electricity needs. The second, at the Altamont Landfill Resource and Recovery Facility in Livermore, CA, consisted of a partnership with Linde North America. There, the companies produce up to 13,000 gallons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from landfill gas every day to fuel hundreds of WM fleet vehicles. The Altamont project is the largest landfill gas-to-LNG project in the world.                                                   

Landfill gas, generated by the natural breakdown of organic materials in a landfill, contains large amounts of methane that can be collected to generate electricity, power local businesses or be turned into transportation fuel. A successful program can turn a modern landfill from a mere disposal site to a source of clean, renewable energy to power homes and fuel vehicles.

Waste Management is continually exploring new technologies and services to generate renewable energy from waste. LFGTE complements the company’s other waste services in the areas of recycling, landfill operations and waste-based energy technology. LFGTE projects also contribute to one of Waste Management’s sustainability goals, doubling energy generation by 2020 to power the equivalent of 2 million homes.

EPA’s LMOP has assisted with more than 500 LFG energy projects over the past 16 years. The United States currently has about 575 operational LFG energy projects which annually supply more than 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and ~102 billion cubic feet of LFG to direct-use applications. There is still significant potential for expansion of the technology; LMOP has identified over 500 landfills that could provide an additional 1,155 MW of electrical power.

Austin Using Green Innovation to Beat the Utility Blues

U.S. Dept of Energy blog post:

Austin Using Green Innovation to Beat the Utility Blues

January 17, 2012 - 1:03pm

An aerial view of the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant in Austin, Texas. | Photo courtesy of Austin Water.

Todd Allen

Project Officer, Golden Field Office

What does this project do?

• New biogas generators harness the methane produced during the production of a soil conditioner called "Dillo Dirt" to power the entire production plant.

Sewage treatment has always been a dirty business, dating back to the frontier days when "waste management" meant the guy who followed after the horses with a bucket and shovel.

However, thanks to modern technology, there are ways to turn some of the treatment processes into clean energy that can power public infrastructure facilities.

The Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant in Austin, Texas, located on 1,200 acres of land along the Colorado River, is a national model for innovative approaches to improve the environment, such as reducing waste, producing compost, and protecting ecosystems.

Each year, thousands of tons of biosolids, the nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of sewage sludge, are anaerobically digested and composted with Austin's yard trimmings into an EPA-certified soil conditioner called "Dillo Dirt" (as in armadillo). This popular product is sold to commercial vendors for sale and use in public landscaping projects across the city. Demand for "Dillo Dirt" often exceeds available supply.

During the 1980s, an initial effort to improve energy efficiency at the plant started when two 400 kW converted diesel generators were installed. The generators were fueled by a mixture of digester biogas from the site and diesel fuel. This worked fairly well, but after 20+ years the old generators are no longer serviceable or repairable, and in recent years the gas has had to be flared.

Austin decided to use $1.2 million of its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to replace the old equipment with modern "biogas rated" generation equipment.

The new generator equipment will generate clean electricity by utilizing digester methane from the sludge treatment process without the use of fossil fuels. In short, the same anerobic digesting process used to create the Dillo Dirt will also make the biogas used to power the generators. The result will demonstrate distributed clean power generation, reduce the facility's operating costs, and offset on-peak operation of the plant, thereby contributing to Austin's effort to avoid building new conventional power generation plants.

The new equipment is on order and the city intends for the project to be fully operational by the middle of next year. This single generator should generate more energy than the entire Hornsby Bend facility uses, thereby offsetting the plant's total energy use and generating a credit to the water utility.

2010 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data Available

News Release form U.S. EPA:

2010 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data from Large Facilities Now Available / First release of data through the national GHG reporting program

Release Date: 01/11/2012
Contact Information: Cathy Milbourn (News Media Only), Milbourn.cathy@epa.gov, 202-564-7849, 202-564-4355



WASHINGTON – For the first time, comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) data reported directly from large facilities and suppliers across the country are now easily accessible to the public through EPA’s GHG Reporting Program. The 2010 GHG data released today includes public information from facilities in nine industry groups that directly emit large quantities of GHGs, as well as suppliers of certain fossil fuels.

“Thanks to strong collaboration and feedback from industry, states and other organizations, today we have a transparent, powerful data resource available to the public,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “The GHG Reporting Program data provides a critical tool for businesses and other innovators to find cost- and fuel-saving efficiencies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and foster technologies to protect public health and the environment.”

EPA’s online data publication tool allows users to view and sort GHG data for calendar year 2010 from over 6,700 facilities in a variety of ways—including by facility, location, industrial sector, and the type of GHG emitted. This information can be used by communities to identify nearby sources of GHGs, help businesses compare and track emissions, and provide information to state and local governments.

GHG data for direct emitters show that in 2010:

•Power plants were the largest stationary sources of direct emissions with 2,324 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mmtCO2e), followed by petroleum refineries with emissions of 183 mmtCO2e.

•CO₂ accounted for the largest share of direct GHG emissions with 95 percent, followed by methane with 4 percent, and nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases accounting for the remaining 1 percent.

•100 facilities each reported emissions over 7 mmtCO2e, including 96 power plants, two iron and steel mills and two refineries.

Mandated by the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, EPA launched the GHG Reporting Program in October 2009, requiring the reporting of GHG data from large emission sources across a range of industry sectors, as well as suppliers of products that would emit GHGs if released or combusted. Most reporting entities submitted data for calendar year 2010. However, an additional 12 source categories will begin reporting their 2011 GHG data this year.

Access EPA’s GHG Reporting Program Data and Data Publication Tool: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgdata/

Information on the GHG Reporting Program: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html

Information on the U.S. Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Sources and Sinks: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html

DOE Blog Post: Farming Out Heat & Electricity thru Biopower

Farming Out Heat and Electricity through Biopower

December 16, 2011

 

Cows like these in Skagit County, Washington, supply the biodigester developed by Kevin Maas of Farm Power up to 70,000 gallons of manure per day. The newest Farm Power facility in Washington generates enough electricity to power 500 homes. Photo courtesy of sea_turtle.

Julie McAlpin

Communications Liaison, State Energy Program

Maas' biodigester:

• Creates electricity from the biogas produced through anaerobic digestion.
• Recycles dried, fibrous solids from the process to make cow bedding.
• Returns digested liquid waste back to farms for fertilizer.

Five years ago, Kevin Maas and his brother Daryl started a business producing electricity from what many would consider an unlikely source -- cow manure.

Kevin Maas developed an anaerobic digester and then a company around a biodigester, which heats and processes dairy manure and other organic wastes in an oxygen-free environment designed to induce digestion by bacteria and then collects the bacteria’s output -- methane-rich biogas.

The system, the first-of-its-kind in the state, stores the gas from the biodigester and then feeds it through bright yellow pipes into an engine generator to produce electricity. After digestion, the fibrous solids are separated and dried, then returned to dairy farms for use as cow bedding. The digested liquid is also returned to farms, stored in lagoons, and then spread on fields, providing nutrients for crop production.

A few years later after learning about the State Energy Program, the Maas brothers applied for and received a $1.06 million Recovery Act grant from the Department of Commerce to construct a second digester near Lynden, a small Washington town just south of the Canadian border.

Nearby MJD Farms, a dairy farm with over 2,000 cows, agreed to supply the manure -- 70,000 gallons per day. 

A closed-loop heat extractor at the Lynden facility uses the heat produced by the burning methane biogas for multiple purposes. First, it heats the digester vessel to sustain bacteria growth. Second, it dries the fiber product. Third, it heats water that is piped to a nearby commercial greenhouse for radiant floor heating.

Maas calculates that the greenhouse, owned by Van Wingerden Greenhouses, will save approximately $30,000 per year in energy costs due to its participation in the digester project. The greenhouse employs 15 workers.

Farm Power Lynden generates over 6,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year, 20 times the amount of power to run its own operations, or enough electricity to power 500 homes. The excess electricity is sold to Puget Sound Energy under a 10-year fixed-price contract.

The methane emissions eliminated by the Lynden facility are projected to reduce net annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 3,000 cars off the road.

Farm Power is currently working to establish additional digester projects in the state. “The State Energy Program is outstanding,” said Maas. 

Anaerobic digestion of agricultural waste is a proven and rapidly growing source of renewable energy generated at more than 150 other facilities around the country.