Gas From Landfill Will Power Cement Plant
The largest supplier of cement products in the U.S. and Canada, the Lafarge-Sugar Creek Cement Plant in Missouri, will use landfill gas to replace almost 20 percent of its traditionally coal-derived energy. According to Republic Services, the company managing the landfill, “The project will use 2,400 cubic feet per minute of landfill gas as a direct fuel to assist in firing the kiln during Portland cement production.”
According to a report by Berkeley National Laboratory, the cement industry contributes approximately 5 percent to all industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the U.S., which is equivalent to approximately 2 percent of total U.S. emissions. Additionally, producing cement is an energy-intensive process, and the industry spends over $1 billion on energy purchases annually.
Capturing landfill gases for energy use is an efficient way to recycle this "waste" into useable fuel. Photo: Ecology.com
Landfill gas consists of almost 50 percent methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 23 times more potent than CO2, and is created when organic material in a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill decomposes.
The methane capture project will reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 33,000 tons annually, which is the equivalent of planting more than 8,000 acres of forest or removing emissions from more than 5,500 motor vehicles.
“The landfill gas utilization project successfully takes advantage of a resource that would have otherwise been wasted, and in the process, produces benefits for the environment, the local community, the cement plant and the landfill,” says Republic Area President Jeff Kintzle.
The nearly $2 million project consists primarily of a pipeline and gas processing unit. Additionally, the Courtney Ridge Landfill’s recently expanded gas recovery system consists of:
- 32 wells, averaging 100 feet deep, over a 64-acre area
- A 6,500-foot long gas pipeline, running from the landfill to the neighboring cement plant
Currently, there are more than 70 landfill gas facilities located on landfills owned by Republic Services.
- (04/17/2009). "Landfill Gas from Republic Landfill in Missouri to Power Lafarge Cement Plant" Republic Services, Inc. http://www.wastebusinessjournal.com/news/wbj20090421J.htm.
- Worrell, Ernst and Galitsky, Christina. ERNEST ORLANDO LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY(03/01/2008). "Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for Cement Making: An ENERGY STAR® Guide for Energy and Plant Managers" http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/industry/LBNL-54036.pdf.
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Samuel Olakunle Arowolo
posted on December 7th, 2011 at 11:34 pm