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Landfill gases have an influence on climate change. The major components are CO 2 and methane , both of which are greenhouse gases . Methane in the atmosphere is a far more potent greenhouse gas, with each molecule having twenty-five times the effect of a molecule of carbon dioxide.
It is important not only to control its emission but, where conditions allow, use it to generate energy, thus offsetting the contribution of two major sources of greenhouse gases towards climate change. The number of landfill gas projects, which convert the gas into power, went from 399 in 2005 to 519 in 2009 in the United States, according to ...
A gas flare produced by a landfill in Lake County, Ohio. Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane, with the remainder being mostly carbon dioxide.
Methane, or CH 4, is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas that is released into the air, also produced by landfills in the U.S. Although methane spends less time in the atmosphere (12 years) than CO 2, it is more efficient at trapping radiation. It is 25 times greater to impact climate change than CO 2 in a 100-year period.
These projects collect the methane gas and treat it, so it can be used for electricity or upgraded to pipeline-grade gas. (Methane gas has twenty-one times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide). [18] For example, in the U.S., Waste Management uses landfill gas as an energy source at 110 landfill gas-to-energy facilities. This energy ...
Although the majority of the natural gas leaks were carbon dioxide, a significant amount of methane was also being consistently released from the pipeline as a result of leaks and breakdowns. In 2001, natural gas emissions from the pipeline and natural gas transportation system accounted for 1% of the natural gas produced. [61]
Its uses range from simple flaring to the landfill gas utilization and generation of electricity. Landfill gas monitoring alerts workers to the presence of a build-up of gases to a harmful level. In some countries, landfill gas recovery is extensive; in the United States, for example, more than 850 landfills have active landfill gas recovery ...
These gases can include methane (CH 4), carbon dioxide (CO 2), hydrogen (H 2), and volatile organic compounds (there are approximately 500 others that can be present in trace forms) from the waste on site and its degradation over time. Steps must be taken to prevent this migration from the landfill site as it might enter buildings in the vicinity.