Sanitary landfill energetic potential analysis: a real case study

Waste disposal represents an important problem in developed countries. Many different techniques are available to reduce the amount of waste production and its environmental impact. In most cases, sanitary landfills have been and continue to be one of the most common ways to dispose of urban and industrial wastes. It is well known how landfilling produces an important environmental drawback due to gaseous, liquid and solid emissions that are dangerous for the environment. Landfill biogas emissions contain mainly carbon dioxide and methane. In particular, the methane concentration can be higher than 50% by volume. This means that the calorific value of sanitary landfill biogas can be higher than 18,000 kJ/N m(3). The utilization of such gas as fuel for electrical and thermal energy production can be an important way to reduce the landfill impact on the environment and represent an easy way to use a renewable energy source. In the following, the amount and composition of the biogas produced in a sanitary landfill situated in central Italy have been analysed. Experimental results have been discussed, and an energetic potential evaluation has been performed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.