Assessment of methane emission and evaluation of energy potential from the municipal solid waste landfills

Abstract

ABSTRACT The assessment of energy potential from the elimination of MSW disposed off in landfills has never been estimated in Algeria, while it can make a significant contribution to the municipal institutions. It will help design waste to energy (WTE) measures and facilities aimed at having energy potential and minimizing GHG emissions into atmosphere. In this work, the emission of GHG was estimated for three landfills and an open dumpsite of the city of Oran using different models: IPCC default model (DM), IPCC first order decay (FOD) 2006, LandGem V3.02 model and Modified Triangular Method (MTM). The potential for electric power generation was also estimated during the production of electrical energy each year (kWh/year) from the methane emitted since the landfills opened up to 2018. The total production of methane by the four sites was calculated from 1986 to 2018 and estimated as follows: 904.81 Gg (1,261,938,633 m3) according to the IPCC-DM model, 472,85Gg (659,483,960 m3) by IPCC-FOD, 474.91Gg (669,330,543 m3) by LandGem and 289.93 Gg by MTM. The total potential for the four sites since their opening was estimated at 2214.81GWh by IPCC-FOD, 1921.98 GWh by LandGem and 1111.64 GWh by MTM. The paper finds that the 560 million kg of municipal solid waste generated daily in Oran city can produce about 200 GWh every year, representing 15% of Oran’s total electricity demand in 2018.The results of this work are promising and predict a significant potential of the energy by MSW.