Abstract
<p>The landfill gas (LFG) produced from the existing landfill site in Heraklion city, Crete island, Greece, is not currently exploited to its full potential. It could however be exploited for power generation and/or combined heat and power (CHP) production in near future by fully unlocking its energy production potential of the gas generated from the landfill site. This gas (LFG) could feed a 1.6 MW<sub>el</sub> power plant corresponding to the 0.42% of the annually consumed electricity in Crete. The LFG utilization for power generation and CHP production has been studied, and the economics of three energy production scenarios have been calculated. An initial capital investment of 2.4 to 3.2 M €, with payback times (PBT) of approximately 3.5 to 6 years and Net Present Values (NPV) ranging between 2 to 6 M € have been calculated. These values prove the profitability of the attempt of bioenergy production from the biogas produced from the existing landfill site in Heraklion city, Crete. Based on the current economic situation of the country, any similar initiative could positively contribute to strengthening the economy of local community and as a result the country, offering several other socioeconomic benefits like e.g. waste minimization, creation of new job positions etc. by increasing, at the same time, the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) share in energy production sector etc. Apart from the favorable economics of the proposed waste to energy production scheme, all the additional environmental and social benefits make the attempt of a near future exploitation of the landfill gas produced in Heraklion, an attractive short term alternative for waste to bio-energy production.</p>
Highlights
1.1 BackgroundThe disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) in landfills is a common waste handling practice in a worldwide level
The existing landfill site in Heraklion city, Crete island of Greece generates large quantities of landfill gas which remains unexploited, even though it could feed a 1.6 MWelpower production plant, generating an amount of energy which corresponds to 0.42% of the current total annual electricity consumption in Crete
Two different options for the exploitation of landfill gas (LFG) have been studied: a) the power-only generation based on an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), the most widely used attractive technology for biogas conversion to power and, b) the co-generation of heat and power
Summary
The disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) in landfills is a common waste handling practice in a worldwide level. The authors studied four (4) different technologies which, among others in use, lead to the production of energy from municipal solid wastes by processes (some as shown in Figure 2): a) incineration of waste (high temperature combustion), b) gasification, c) production of biogas through the biochemical route and d) utilization in a CHP plant and the production of biogas and its conversion to transport fuel They concluded that biogas production technologies require significantly lower investment costs compared with thermal conversion technologies like e.g. gasification and producer gas production. The authors investigated the biogas production potential over a period of many years of two different landfill sites in the proximity of Volos and Heraklion cities, respectively They used a mathematical model in order to estimate quantities and concluded that LFG is not broadly used in Greece for power generation. Power generation or co-generation of heat and power under specific circumstances are the most preferable options for the exploitation of the LFG produced in Crete, especially during the current situation of economics in the country; any achievement of a positive balance between socio-economics and environmental benefits are of crucial importance for local communities, and the country
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