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From Refuse to Resource

From Refuse to Resource. Recapturing Methane In Landfill Gas-to-Energy Projects. Anne Regan. Atmospheric Chemistry. Atmospheric Methane. In the last 650,000 years… 400 ppb (Glacial) ↔ 770 ppb (Interglacial) In the last 250 years… Human activities have raised methane levels 148% to

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From Refuse to Resource

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  1. From Refuse to Resource Recapturing Methane In Landfill Gas-to-Energy Projects Anne Regan Atmospheric Chemistry

  2. Atmospheric Methane • In the last 650,000 years… • 400 ppb (Glacial) ↔ 770 ppb (Interglacial) • In the last 250 years… • Human activities have raised methane levels 148% to 1,774 ppb

  3. Radiative Efficiencies and Global Warming Potentials of Carbon Dioxide and Methane Source: Forster, P., et al. Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing; Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Cambridge UniversityPress: Cambridge, UK, 2007.

  4. Global Sources of Methane • Methanogenic bacteria in wet, oxygen-deficient environments release ~ 80% 2{CH2O} + 2H2O  2CO2 + 8H+ + 8e- CO2 + 8H+ + 8e- CH4 + 2H2O NET: 2{CH2O}  CO2 + CH4 • Natural gas leakages, coal mining, and other fossil fuel sources release ~ 20%

  5. Global Sources of Methane Source: Wuebbles, D.; Hayhoe, K. Atmospheric methane and global change. Earth-Science Reviews. [Online] 2002, 57, 177-210.

  6. Atmospheric Methane (2005) Source: http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de/sciamachy/NIR_NADIR_WFM_DOAS/CH4CO2v1_figs/xch4_sci_V1_2005.jpg

  7. Methane Sinks • ~ 5% taken up by methanotrophs • ~ 5% uplifted to stratosphere • ~ 90% removed by tropospheric ·OH

  8. Tropospheric Methane Chemistry CH4 •OH H2O •CH3 O2 CH3O2• CH3O• O2 NO2 HO2• NO VOC-sensitive (High NOx) CH2O PANs hv hv O3 H2 H• CHO• CO Source: Wuebbles, D.; Hayhoe, K. Atmospheric methane and global change. Earth-Science Reviews. [Online] 2002, 57, 177-210.

  9. Tropospheric Methane Chemistry CH4 •OH H2O •CH3 O2 CH3O2• CH3OOH CH2OOH hv •OH Nox-sensitive (Low NOx) H2O HO2• O2 •OH CH2O hv hv H2 H• CO CHO• Source: Wuebbles, D.; Hayhoe, K. Atmospheric methane and global change. Earth-Science Reviews. [Online] 2002, 57, 177-210.

  10. Tropospheric Methane Chemistry • Methane oxidation cycle • Accounts for much of the CH2O in the troposphere • Produces ~ ¼ of the total CO • CO + •OH  H• + CO2 • Forms O3 (high NOx) • Positive feedback ( ↑CH4… ↑ CO… ↓•OH ) • ↑ methane, ↑ atmospheric lifetime, ↑ methane…

  11. Stratospheric Methane Chemistry • Major source of stratospheric water vapor • CH4 + •OH  •CH3 + H2O • May enhance polar stratospheric cloud formation and exacerbate ozone depletion • Reservoir for Cl• • CH4 + Cl• •CH3 + HCl • Prolongs ozone depletion

  12. U.S. Anthropogenic Methane Emissions (2006) Source: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006. Office of Atmospheric Programs; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, 2008.

  13. U.S. Solid Waste by Category (Before Recycling, 2006) Source: Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2006. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/pubs/msw06.pdf.

  14. Management of U.S. Solid Waste (2006) Source: Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2006. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/pubs/msw06.pdf.

  15. Municipal Solid Waste Landfills • Residential • Commercial • Non-hazardous industrial

  16. Trends in U.S. Municipal Solid Waste Generation (1960 – 2006) Source: Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2006. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/pubs/msw06.pdf.

  17. Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Emissions • ~50% methane • ~45% CO2 • Less than 5% N2 • Trace amounts of non-methane organic compounds • various HAPs, ozone depleting substances, and VOCs  Landfill gas contributes to the greenhouse effect, smog formation, health and explosion hazards

  18. Landfill Gas Controls • Combustion • Flaring • Energy recovery (IC engines, gas/steam turbines) • Purification  Natural gas CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O + heat energy

  19. U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Allocated to Economic Sectors (1990 – 2006) Source: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006. Office of Atmospheric Programs; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, 2008.

  20. Trends in U.S. MSW Landfill Emissions (1990 – 2006) Source: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006. Office of Atmospheric Programs; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, 2008.

  21. Landfill Methane Outreach Program • Created by the EPA in 1994 • Goal: lower the barriers to building landfill gas energy recovery systems • 435 landfill-gas-to-energy facilities already generating 1,325MW of electricity • ~550 candidate landfills identified • Collective potential to power more than 1.6 million homes annually

  22. Chautauqua County Landfill • 83 acres in the town of Ellery, NY • Serves: Chautauqua County, parts of Erie and Cattaraugus Counties, and Pennsylvania • ~ 300,000 tons of solid waste per year • Household • Commercial • Nonhazardous industrial • Construction/demolition waste • Sewage treatment sludge

  23. Chautauqua County Landfill

  24. Or you could just go to jail…

  25. LFG Collection System

  26. The Working Field

  27. Flare

  28. Proposed Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project • Power plant to house four 1.6 MW IC engines • Grid connection • $9 to $10 million cost • $40 to $80 million profit • Expected to be operational by end of 2009 • Will create 2 full-time and 3 part-time jobs • Will generate enough electricity to power over 4,000 homes a year

  29. Considerations… • Combustion emissions regardless of energy recovery • NOx, CO, PM, NMOCs, halogenated compounds • Internal combustion engines • Least expensive • Most efficient at generating electricity • Release largest amounts of NO2 and PM • CO emissions second only to flaring • Least efficient at controlling halogenated compounds

  30. Considerations… • Landfills must be currently operating/recently closed with ≤ 1,000,000 tons of waste-in-place • Economically viable for only 30 years after closing • Projects can only operate at their max. capacities • Dependent on wastefulness

  31. Conclusion • Landfill Methane Outreach Program • ↓ methane by 28 million MTCE = removing 19 million passenger cars from the road for 1 year • Accomplished using existing technologies • Sewage treatment plants, livestock waste-to-energy Refuse  Resource

  32. Sources • Forster, P., et al. Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing; Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Cambridge UniversityPress: Cambridge, UK, 2007. • Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006. Office of Atmospheric Programs; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, 2008. • Manahan, S. E. Environmental Chemistry, 8th Ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2005. • Methane as a Greenhouse Gas. U.S. Climate Change Science Program Office. http://www.climatescience.gov/infosheets/highlight1/CCSP-H1-methane18jan2006.pdf (accessed April 9, 2008). • Methane: Sources and Emissions. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/methane/index.html (accessed April 12, 2008), 2007. • Wuebbles, D.; Hayhoe, K. Atmospheric methane and global change. Earth-Science Reviews. [Online] 2002, 57, 177-210. • Turning a Liability into an Asset: A Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project Development Handbook. Landfill Methane Outreach Program; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, 1996. • Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2006. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/pubs/msw06.pdf (accessed April 12, 2008). • Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/lmop/index.htm (accessed April 14, 2008), 2008. • Jaramillo, P.; Matthews, H. S. Landfill-Gas-to-Energy Projects: Analysis of Net Private and Social Benefits. Environ. Sci. Technol. [Online] 2005, 39, 7365-7373. • Panteli, P. K. Deputy Director of Public Facilities, Chautauqua County Landfill: Ellery, NY. Interviewed April 11, 2008. • Emission Factors: Municipal Solid Waste Landfills. Technology Transfer Network, Clearinghouse for Inventories and Emission Factors; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, 1998. • Good, D. A.; Francisco, J. S. Atmospheric Chemistry of Alternative Fuels and Alternative Chlorofluorocarbons. Chem. Rev. [Online] 2003,103,4999-5023. • Panteli, P. K. Engineering Report: Landfill Gas Recovery Facility. Chautauqua County Department of Public Facilities, Division of Solid Waste, 2008. • Grant to fund conversion of methane into energy. The Buffalo News, December 29, 2007. • Municipal Solid Waste. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm (accessed April 14, 2008), 2008.

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