Landfill Gas to Electricity Production at Sanitary Landfills in Kocaeli

Abstract

Landfill gas (LFG) is produced from the biological degradation of solid wastes under anaerobic conditions at landfills. It consists of methane (50-60%), carbon dioxide (40-50%) and small fraction of other gases. Landfill gas generation starts 6-12 months after the solid wastes are placed into the landfills. It reaches a maximum generation rate after the landfill is capped and continues generating methane for 30-50 years with a changing decay rate. Methane is the second major contributor to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere after carbon dioxide. Alternative energy production from biomass and other wastes, which will reduce the dependency on fossil fuels, is important for environmental protection and for conserving the energy resources. Collection and use of landfill gas generated from solid wastes is an environmental friendly approach. This will reduce the pollution and also support the increasing energy demand with lesser carbon footprint by using renewable resources. In this study, landfill gas potentials and recoveries of the municipal solid wastes at Kocaeli Solaklar and Dilovası sanitary landfills were estimated using the Weber Landfill Gas Model. Electricity production potentials were calculated and compared with actual data and surface gas emission evaluation was also performed in the Solaklar landfill. Main components of the landfill gas to energy project at Solaklar sanitary landfill were also explained.