Turnable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) Analysis of Landfill Gas Measurements
A natural byproduct of the decomposition of organic material in anaerobic conditions, is landfill gas. Landfill gas contains 45% to 60% methane and 40% to 60% carbon dioxide. It also contains small amounts of nitrogen, oxygen, ammonia, sulfides, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and non-methane organic compounds such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and vinyl chloride.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 25 times greater than CO2. Instead of releasing landfill methane into the atmosphere or flaring it, methane can be collected, converted and used as an energy source. Collected methane can be burned to generate thermal energy for heating applications, and also burned to create steam, which can be used to drive turbines that generate electricity. Landfill gas can also be sold off site and sent into natural gas pipelines following further purification. Pressure Swing Adsorption or membranes technique can increase the methane content up to 90 percent and this can then be incorporated into existing energy gas pipelines.