Power generation using landfill gas generated from new cell at the existing landfill site

Mauritius has witnessed an increase in its demand for energy over the years due to population growth, increased living standards and industrialisation amongst others. The country relies heavily on the importation of coal and fuel oil in order to meet its energy requirements. In addition, waste generation has also taken an upward trend. Due to the filling up of cells at the Mare Chicose landfill, a new cell (notably cell 7) was constructed to accommodate for more wastes. In this context, the landfill gas generated from the new cell can be utilised as a local source of renewable energy to produce electricity. The main objective of this study was to assess the potential for energy recovery using the landfill gas generated from the new cell at the Mare Chicose landfill. It was found that the methane generation potential (L-0) for the Mare Chicose landfill was approximately 129.94 m(3)/ton MSW. In addition, the volume of landfill gas generated was calculated to be 259.88m(3) LFG/ton MSW. The results showed that the peak emission will be reached in 2019 whereby some 36.2 Mm(3) methane and 72.5 Mm(3) landfill gas are expected to be generated at the landfill site. Furthermore, the total power produced in 2015 was estimated to be nearly 55.7GWh while the peak value to be reached in 2019 is approximately 67 GW h.