Spatially distributed potential of landfill biogas production and electric power generation in Brazil

Abstract

Due to the relatively low investment, operation costs, and technical requirements, landfills are still the most widespread alternative for final disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW). The biogas produced in the landfill, a renewable energy source, may be an important alternative for electric power generation. Brazil has a significant number of operating landfills, which receive the most part of the collected MSW. However, the country has only 17 landfill biogas power plants (LBPPs), resulting in about 122 MW of capacity. The United Kingdom, for instance, which is about 3 times smaller than Brazil in population, has 442 LBPPs (corresponding to 1051 MW of capacity). This fact highlights a considerable unexplored potential of landfill biogas in Brazil. It is also important to estimate this potential throughout the country to provide information for the government, researchers and companies in decision making, planning and formulation of public policies regarding this use of landfill biogas. Therefore, this study aims at estimating the spatially distributed potential of landfill biogas production that can be used for electric power generation in Brazil from 2015 to 2045, considering two scenarios: (i) operating sanitary landfills and (ii) hypothetical scenario of Territorial Arrangements (TA) comprising every Brazilian city, considering one landfill per TA. The total installed capacity estimated in 2018 for scenario 1 is about 523 MW and 87% of this number are related to LBPPs bigger than 1 MW. In this same year, the total installed capacity estimated for scenario 2 is 768 MW and 95% of this number are related to LBPPs bigger than 1 MW. These results emphasize that Brazil has a considerable unexplored potential of landfill biogas and the importance of municipal consortiums for MSW management.