Transcript An Overview of Landfill Gas Energy in the United States

An Overview of Landfill Gas
Energy in the United States
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP)
File Last Updated: June 2008
Why EPA is Concerned
about Landfill Gas
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Why is methane a greenhouse gas?
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Methane absorbs terrestrial infrared radiation (heat) that
would otherwise escape to space (GHG characteristic)
Methane as GHG is over 20x more potent by
weight than CO2
Methane is more abundant in the atmosphere
now than anytime in the past 400,000 years
and 150% higher than in the year 1750
Landfills were the second largest human-made
source of methane in the United States in 2006,
accounting for 22.6% generated
EPA’s Landfill Methane
Outreach Program
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Established in 1994
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Voluntary program that creates
alliances among states, energy
users/providers, the landfill gas
industry, and communities
Mission: To reduce methane emissions
by lowering barriers and promoting the
development of cost-effective and
environmentally beneficial landfill gas
energy (LFGE) projects.
Landfill Gas 101
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Landfill gas (LFG) is a by-product of
the decomposition of municipal solid
waste (MSW):
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For every 1 million tons of MSW:
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~50% methane (CH4)
~50% carbon dioxide (CO2)
<1% non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs)
~0.8 megawatts (MW) of electricity
~432,000 cubic feet per day of LFG
If uncontrolled, LFG contributes to
smog and global warming, and may
cause health and safety concerns
Typical Methane Curves
Landfill Methane Generation Model
(250,000 Tons Per Year Disposal; Closure Year 30)
2000
Methane (scfm)
Dry Site (k=0.02)
Wet Site (k=0.06)
1500
Bioreactor LF (k=0.5)
1000
500
0
0
5
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Year
Landfill Regulations
NSPS and MACT
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Require gas collection and control
system (GCCS) if
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Design capacity > 2.5 million
megagrams or > 2.5 million cubic
meters, and
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Annual nonmethane organic
compound emission rate > 50
megagrams
GCCS Requirements
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Collect landfill gas from
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Active areas that have held waste
for five years or longer
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Closed areas that have held
waste for two years or longer
GCCS Requirements
(continued)
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Send gas to
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Flare that complies with
provisions in 40 CFR §60.18
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Control system that it at least 98
percent efficient
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Treatment system that prepares
gas for subsequent sale or use
Benefits of using landfill
gas
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Environmental benefits
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Replaces non-renewable resources
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Revenue source for landfill owner or
operator
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Gas leaving treatment system is no
longer subject to control requirements
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Cost savings for end users
LFG Has Been Used to
Help Produce…
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Aluminum
Alternative fuels (biodiesel,
CNG, ethanol, and LNG)
Aquaculture (e.g., tilapia)
Arts & crafts (blacksmithing,
ceramics, glass)
Biosolids (drying)
Bricks and concrete
Carpet
Cars and trucks
Chemicals
Chocolate
Consumer goods and
containers
Denim
Electronics
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Fiberglass, nylon, and paper
Furthering space exploration
Garden plants
Green power
Ice cream, milk, and tea
Infrared heat
Juice (apple, cranberry,
orange)
Pharmaceuticals
Pierogies and snack food
Soy-based products
Steel
Tomatoes (hydroponic)
Taxpayer savings and
increased sustainability!
Modern Sanitary Landfill
Gas Header
Pipe
Intermediate/
Final Cover
Flare/
LFGTE Plant
Leachate
Plant
Liner
System
Gas Extraction
Wells
Waste
Cells
Monitoring Probes
File Last Updated: June 2008
File Last Updated: June 2008
Options for using gas
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Landfill gas to energy plant
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Direct thermal
Diversity of Project Types
Electricity Generation
Internal
Combustion Engine
(range from 100 kW to 3 MW)
Gas Turbine
(range from 800 kW to 10.5 MW)
Microturbine
(range from 30 kW to 250 kW)
File Last Updated: June 2008
Diversity of Project Types
Direct Use of LFG
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Direct-use projects are growing!
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Boiler applications – replace natural gas, coal, fuel oil
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Combined heat & power (CHP)
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Direct thermal (dryers, kilns)
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Natural gas pipeline injection
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Medium & high Btu
Greenhouse
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Leachate evaporation
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Vehicle fuel (LNG, CNG)
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Artist studio
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Hydroponics
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Aquaculture (fish farming)
Greenhouse Burlington, NJ
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Pottery Studio Sugar Grove, NC
File Last Updated: June 2008
LFG-fired Boiler Ft. Wayne, IN
Typical Electric Project
Components & Costs
3 MW, engine, 15-yr project:
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Total capital cost = ~$3.76 million
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Gas compression & treatment, engine,
& generator = ~$3.5 million
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Interconnect equipment = ~$260,000*
Annual operation & maintenance cost
= ~$570,000/year
*interconnect costs can vary widely
Typical Direct-Use Project
Components & Costs
800 scfm, 5-mi pipeline, 15-yr project:
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Total capital cost = ~$1.63 million
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Gas compression & treatment =
~$230,000
Pipeline = ~$280,000/mile
(Plus end-of-pipe combustion
equipment retrofits, if needed)
Annual operation & maintenance cost
= ~$140,000/year
Technology Trends
Electricity Projects
Reciprocating Engine
Gas Turbine
Cogeneration
Microturbine
Steam Turbine
Combined Cycle
Operational Projects
Under Construction and
Planned Projects
Organic Rankine Cycle
0
50
100
150
Number of Projects
200
250
300
Technology Trends
Direct-Use Projects
Boiler
Direct Thermal
Leachate Evaporation
High Btu
Greenhouse
Alternative Fuel
Medium Btu
Operational Projects
Liquefied Natural Gas
Under Construction and
Planned Projects
Methanol Synthesis
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10
20
30
Number of Projects
40
50
60
CHP and Direct-Use Case Study
BMW Manufacturing
Greer, SC
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9.5-mile pipeline from
Palmetto Landfill to
BMW
2003 – 4 KG2 gas
turbines retrofitted to
burn LFG
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LMOP 2003
Project of
the Year
4.8 MW of electricity
generated and 72 million
Btu/hr of heat recovered
2006 – Converted paint
shop to utilize LFG in
oven burners and for
indirect heating
LFG accounts for nearly
70% of BMW’s energy
needs
BMW saves at least $1
million/yr
LMOP 2006
Energy End User
Partner of
the Year
Regulations that Affect
LFGE
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LFGE projects may be affected by a
variety of federal, state, and local air
quality regulations. Applicable federal
Clean Air Act regulations include:
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New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) /
Emission Guidelines (EG)
Title V
Maximum Achievable Control Technology
(MACT)
New Source Review (NSR)
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
State of the National LFG
Industry (April 2008)
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At least 450 operational projects in 43 states
supplying:
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Estimated Annual Environmental Benefits
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11 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 77 billion
cubic feet of LFG to direct-use applications annually
Carbon sequestered annually by ~17,800,000 acres
of pine or fir forests, or
CO2 emissions from ~182,000,000 barrels of oil
consumed, or
Annual greenhouse gas emissions from
~14,300,000 passenger vehicles
Estimated Annual Energy Benefit
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Powering more than 870,000 homes and
heating nearly 534,000 homes
Many Untapped LFG
Resources
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Currently ~540 candidate landfills with a
total gas generation potential of 240
billion cubic feet per year (~14,000
MMBtu/hr) OR electric potential of 1,280
MW (~10 million MWh/yr)
If projects were developed at all these
landfills, estimated
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Annual Environmental Benefit =
Carbon sequestered annually by ~12.4 million
acres of pine or fir forests OR annual greenhouse
gas emissions from ~9.9 million passenger
vehicles, AND
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Annual Energy Benefit =
Powering 808,000 homes OR heating 1.5 million
homes per year
Many Untapped LFG
Resources (cont.)
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~485 landfills have a gas collection
system but no energy project
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~110 landfills have an energy project
and excess LFG available
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Potential of 285,000 MMBtu/day or 1,000
MW
Potential of 70,000 MMBtu/day or 250 MW
~1,000 landfills do not have a gas
collection system
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Potential of 236,000 MMBtu/day or 840
MW
Estimated Annual
Environmental Benefits for FL
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Currently 16 operational projects and 1 under
construction (60.9 MW and 3,800 scfm)
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Carbon sequestered annually by ~126,000 acres of
pine or fir forests, or
CO2 emissions from ~1.29 million barrels of oil
consumed, or
Annual greenhouse gas emissions from ~101,000
passenger vehicles
Potential – 22,400 scfm from 19 candidate
landfills, if all developed direct-use projects:
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Carbon sequestered annually by ~151,000 acres of
pine or fir forests, or
CO2 emissions from ~1.5 million barrels of oil
consumed, or
Annual greenhouse gas emissions from ~122,000
passenger vehicles
Current Operational & Under
Construction LFGE Projects in FL
 Baseline LF, Ocala – 3.2 MW Reciprocating Engines
 Berman Road LF, Okeechobee – Leachate Evap.
(40,000 gpd)
 Brevard Co. Central Disposal Facility, Cocoa – 6.2 MW
Recip. Engines
 Central Disposal SLF, Pompano Beach – 11.3 MW Gas
Turbines & Steam Turbine
 Girvin Road LF, Jacksonville – 430 kW Recip. Engine
 Highlands Co. Solid Waste Management Center,
Sebring – Direct Thermal (Asphalt plant)
 Lena Rd. Co. LF, Bradenton – Direct Thermal (WWTP)
 North Central LF, Winter Haven – Direct Thermal (WTE
plant)
 North LF, Jacksonville – 540 kW Boiler/Steam Turbine
Current Operational & Under
Cons. LFGE Projects in FL (cont.)
 Orange County SLF, Orlando – 12.4 MW Steam Turbine
 Osceola Road Solid Waste, Geneva – 6.4 MW
Reciprocating Engines
 PBCSWA RRF Site #7 – Direct Thermal (under
construction)
 Saint Lucie County SLF, Fort Pierce – Boiler for steam
production
 Springhill Regional LF, Campbellton – 4.8 MW
Reciprocating Engines
 SW Alachua SLF, Archer – 2.4 MW Recip. Engines
 Tomoka Farms Road LF, Port Orange – 3.6 MW Recip.
Engines
 Trail Ridge LF, Baldwin – 9.6 MW Recip. Engines
Candidate Landfills in LMOP
Database in FL
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Bee Ridge, Sarasota
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Bridgeway Acres, St. Pete
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Citrus Co., Lecanto
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Gulf Coast, Ft. Meyers
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Indian River Co., Vero
Beach
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Lee/Hendry Co., Labelle
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Leon Co., Tallahassee
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Martin Co., Palm City
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Medley
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Naples Collier Co.
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New River Regional,
Raiford
North Dade, Opa-Locka
Perdido, Cantonment
Sarasota Central,
Nokomis
South Dade, Homestead
SE Hillsborough Co.,
Lithia
Southport Rd., Kissimmee
West Nassau, Callahan
Zemel Rd., Punta Gorda
LMOP Tools and
Services
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Network of 700+ Partners
(and growing)
Newsletter and listserv
Direct project assistance
Technical and outreach
publications
Project and candidate landfill
database
Web site (epa.gov/lmop)
Support for ribbon cuttings/
other PR
Presentations at conferences
State training workshops
Annual conference
LMOP Locator
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Database tool that geographically
matches landfill to end users or end
users to landfill
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Provides information about possible
end user or landfill
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Name
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Address
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Distance
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Technical landfill data
LFGcost
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Excel-based tool that assists in
financial feasibility determination
Works with gas curve information
Landfill, unit price, and financial
inputs
Cost models for various project
types
Financial outputs – NPV, IRR,
payback
For More Information
www.epa.gov/lmop
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T3:
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T1:
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T2:
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Rachel Goldstein
[email protected], (202) 343-9391
Swarupa Ganguli
Victoria Ludwig
[email protected], (202) 343-9291
Tom Frankiewicz
[email protected], (202) 343-9232
[email protected], (202) 343-9732
File Last Updated: June 2008