The Use of Methane from Landfill Gas to Generate Energy and its Management at the Plant as a Way to Reduce Climate Change

Abstract

In the era of consumerism, increasing amounts of waste constitute an ecological and logistical problem. Waste landfills are increasingly installing degassing installations and obtaining landfill gas containing methane as a renewable energy source. The work aims to analyse the production and management of energy at a selected waste landfill operating a cogeneration unit. The role of landfill gas, its production amount, composition and use in cogeneration units to produce energy were analysed. The biogas produced is used to produce electricity and heat at the analysed waste treatment plant. The research showed the extraction and energy use of biogas in the amount of 916,876 m3 per year, which produced 1,558 MWh of electricity and 1,589 MWh of heat in cogeneration. The electricity produced is a power source for the enterprise and its infrastructure, and the surplus is sent to the power grid. However, 34% of the heat is used for the plant's needs. The remaining part can be used in ORC systems (Organic Rankine Cycle). The tests showed that the total efficiency of energy production is 85.80%, with the availability index of the cogeneration unit amounting to 0.95. The energetic use of landfill gas containing methane is an optimal solution from an energy and environmental perspective to limit climate change.