ELECTRICITY

GENERATION FROM
LANDFILL GAS
Project funding options
Feasibility studies
Pumping trials
Complete project design
Manufacture, install and commission
Operation and maintenance

DATA SHEET ODSG06

PROJECT ROUTE PRE-REQUISITES well as the hydrogeological regime in a
site may make a signicant difference
DESK STUDY TO EVALUATE The utilisation of landll gas for
to the overall project viability.
electricity generation is an established
POTENTIAL FOR
commercial activity. The days of risk
ELECTRICITY GENERATION If, for example, the site is ooded,
assessment and uncertainty have long
it may be necessary to allow for a
since passed. The technology involved
FIELD DATA COLLECTION TO full leachate extraction and treatment
may be applied with certainty.
system prior to being able to access
DETERMINE FACTORS THAT
the landll gas. The extent and cost of
WILL IMPACT UPON In the late 1980s it was not unknown
such an option must be assessed before
VIABILITY for a banker to require that a full
the project progresses to a pumping
gas extraction system be installed and
trial.
PUMPING TRIALS TO operated for one or two years before
DETERMINE EQUILIBRIUM it could be accepted that there was
A desk study would feed relevant
PRODUCTION RATE OF adequate gas for a commercially viable
information into a mathematical
LANDFILL GAS project.
model. The mathematical model,
showing the future prole of gas
DECIDE UPON CAPACITY FOR Today the technology and
production is a key tool in determining
POWER STATION understanding has advanced to the
the capacity of a given landll site
point where a desk study followed
SYSTEM DESIGN INCLUDING by a pumping trial, carried out by
With a good desk study it is possible to
GAS EXTRACTION SYSTEM, a suitably qualied, experienced and
establish to some degree of accuracy
GAS TREATMENT (IF competent company, is adequate. It is
the potential for landll gas utilisation.
REQUIRED), ENGINE LOCA- now recognised that one or two years
Further project establishment activities
TIONS AND ELECTRICAL CON- of full extraction is a signicant waste
would then be aimed at conrming this
NECTION of a valuable asset.
position, rather than discovering new
information.
ESTABLISH THAT FINANCE IS In landll gas engineering, experience
IN PLACE AND ADEQUATE is of paramount importance. Every site
FIELD DATA COLLECTION
FOR THE FULL PROJECT is different and every site has its own
IMPLEMENTATION pitfalls. Much can be learned from an on-the-
ground study of a landll. Aspects such
PROCURE COMPONENT DESK STUDIES as the best route to power lines and
PARTS OF THE PROJECT the fall of the land are important in
A good desk study will establish very
deciding not only feasibility but also
clearly the scale of the opportunity
CONSTRUCTION AND the optimum use of technology.
involved.
COMMISSIONING
It is also important to have some
It is necessary, as a minimum, to
OPERATION AND understanding of the options for
know approximately the quantities of
MAINTENANCE locating the power plant itself. These
waste in place and the tipping history
may be as much operational as
of the site. The type of waste and
geographic.
its approximate composition is also
important.
An experienced designer and generator
will immediately pick up those aspects
Other factors, such as the extent and
that will need to be addressed in
quality of the capping employed, as
formulating a plan of action.
PUMPING TRIALS As the graph at the foot of this column KEY FEATURES
shows, a curve may be tted with up
A pumping trial is an advisable adjunct
to 3.5 MW maximum at the appropri-
to a desk study. This will ensure
ate time, or in the “play-safe” mode, PROVEN EXPERIENCE IN
that no unexpected conditions are
this may be reduced to 2 or 3 MW. POWER GENERATION FROM
encountered farther into the project.
LANDFILL GAS OVER MORE
There is nothing worse for a developer
Being able to produce the maximum THAN 15 YEARS
than to discover that the gas prole
commercial return from a given
envisaged by the desk study was
situation requires a thorough EQUIPMENT PROVIDING
actually incorrect.
understanding of the parameters MORE THAN 95%
involved and the realistic options that AVAILABILITY FOR COMPLETE
It has been noted, for example, that
are available. FACILITIES AND 99% FOR GAS
in certain localities around the world
PUMPING AND PROCESSING
SYSTEM DESIGN
EQUIPMENT
As an understanding of the market
and the needs of its customers have TURNKEY DESIGN,
developed, so the main engine suppliers MANUFACTURE AND
have progressively improved the quality INSTALLATION SERVICES
of the t between their product and AVAILABLE OR COMPONENT
market demand. SUPPLY ONLY

There are, therefore, no hard and fast FINANCE AVAILABLE

rules about how a new system should THROUGH AFFILIATED
be designed. Advantage should be COMPANIES
taken of every commercial opportunity
available. OPERATION AND
MAINTENANCE SERVICES
Being at the forefront of this PROVIDED
technological development has allowed
Organics to offer the most appropriate A ONE STOP SOLUTION FOR A
solutions based upon the latest COMPLETE SERVICE
developments. RELATING TO THE
EXPLOITATION OF LANDFILL
GAS AS A COMMERCIAL
RESOURCE

waste is burned in-situ in the landll,

both during and after tipping. Where
this has occurred on a large-scale over
a signicant period of time the result
may be that the actual organic content
of the waste is at variance with that
derived from the tipping history.

A pumping trial establishes the current

equilibrium gas production rate at
specic locations around a landll site.
From this information it is possible to
conrm the accuracy of the production
prole determined by a mathematical
model.

CAPACITY DETERMINATION
This is an important decision gate for
any project. There is a temptation to
consider that as landll gas is “free” it
is not important. However, it is clear
that any investment should be made to
work to the maximum that is available,
without taking undue risks.

A power generation facility may be

sized to take the full duty out of a gas
production curve or it may be set up to
play safe and avoid risk.
DATA SHEET ODSG06
GAS EXTRACTION
Gas extraction from landll sites is
a critical element of a good landll
gas utilisation system. If well
designed, it will allow tight control
of the equilibrium gas production,
ensuring stable operation for the
duration of the project.
The specialised ow-control valve
commonly employed by Organics
will permit wellhead calibration
by means of gas quality and ow
rate; ow rate being adjustable to
approximately 1 Nm3/hr. By use of
this system operators have been
able to nely balance systems to
allow higher productivity on the
back-end of the gas production
curve.
Water is another difcult element
in a gas collection system, both
from ground water ingress through
well-liners as well as condensate
formation during active gas
extraction. Care must be taken,
down to a very detailed level, to
ensure that water build-up does
not effect system performance.
FINANCE
Given the success of companies
operating landll gas utilisation
systems around the world, the
question of nance is not as much
of an issue as it used to be. The
issue now is one of choice; to
Organics Limited
The Barclay Centre
University of Warwick Science Park
Coventry CV4 7EZ,
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)2476 692141
F: +44 (0)2476 692238
E: comms@organics.com
W: www.organics.com
select the source of nance most suited the staff of Organics. This provides a
to the needs of any one particular thorough grounding for the team to
situation. be able to select the best equipment
congurations, to design with an
PROCUREMENT awareness of the issues involved and to
monitor fabrication quality to ensure
As a nal lead-in to the actual
that quality failures do not obstruct
implementation of the project, the
project performance.
procurement cycles will begin. There
are several elements of the project
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
which must be timed to arrive when
required.
The nal, and by no means least
important, element in attaining a viable
A common delay, and surprisingly
outcome is to maintain and operate
a mostly unexpected one, is the
installed systems in an optimum
establishment of an electricity export
manner. As with all commercial
connection. As with many other aspects
activities there is a point at which
of this type of project, each situation
every additional element of revenue
has its unique sensitivities. It is
goes straight to the bottom line.
necessary to maintain a critical
awareness of the key elements to
Operating at 90% availability may be
ensure that they are adequately
commercially viable but if the plant can
covered.
be run with 99% uptime the additional
9% makes a signicant impact upon the
MANUFACTURE, INSTALLATION AND
overall prot margin of the operation.
COMMISSIONING
The staff at Organics has worked on All the elements of such projects come
over three hundred landll sites during round eventually to the same end point
the course of the last fteen years. - excellence in application of knowhow
This includes locations in the United leading to unassailable commercial
Kingdom, the United States, Greece, success. This is the speciality of
Portugal, Turkey, Mexico, Thailand, Organics
Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand,
Australia, and Ireland - to name but a
few.
On all of these landll sites the
equipment that has been installed has
been designed and manufactured by