dumps and energy as a possible use
we have all these dumps around the country and i have noticed, that many of them will either burn the gasses produced(just wasting this gas) or they will place pipes in the ground to allow these gasses to escape to the atmosphere.
Is this a reliable long term option for producing energy to run (say electric companies)?can we get enough gasses from these landfills to run electric companies for the long term? also what harmful effects can we expect from these gasses being put into our air?
Answers
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Oldman answered one year ago …
Some of the vents do waste the waste (methane, sulfides, carbon dioxide and water vapor). Some are necessary to prevent the compost from combusting (because there was no proper sorting of decomposables from petrochemicals (plastics that can burn). But, in well constructed waste mountains, in Staten Island (NYC) and here in So. FL, the waste gas is used to power the mountains' lighting, irrigation and other local uses...so not all is wasted. The problem in utilizing the waste, is that it isn't even as "pure" an energy source as the gas-oil, or coal sands. There is too much water vapor and too much corrosive sulfur in the emissions, for piping and turbine compression to useful forms. One would need the equivalent of a catalytic cracking refiner to improve the yield, but the waste mountains are subsident...they gradually settle under compaction and digestion processes...so a piping structure or rig as one sees in oil&gas refineries would have a very short life.
Your idea is one that many companies use on their specific waste...The big sugar companies around Lake Okeechobee power their crushers and cane presses with the waste cane residue, but those plants were specifically made to use a high cellulose fuel source with low sulfur and corrosives load.
