US-Indian team investigates alternative energy source
in India
by Nancy L. Pontius
10-04-09
To tap into a new energy source, US and Indian organizations are
exploring ways to use methane gas from Indian landfills for fuel, heating
and electricity.
"Energy scarcity in all its forms is a big issue in India. Any attempt to
get [new] energy sources, particularly unconventional sources, is most
welcome," Rakesh Kumar, deputy director of the National Environmental
Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), told. NEERI -- a multidiscipline,
environmental research laboratory -- is an Indian partner in this
investigation.
In landfills, decomposing food and paper release gas, including methane gas,
which has good and bad consequences. On the negative side, because methane
is 23 times as effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere as carbon
dioxide, methane gas escaping into the atmosphere can contribute to climate
change, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
On the positive side, methane is the primary component of natural gas, which
is used as a fuel and energy source.
"The trick is to capture the methane before it leaves the landfill and
escapes into the atmosphere so that its energy can be harnessed for positive
uses," Joe Zietsman, project manager of one Indian landfill investigation,
told. Zietsman is director of the Centre for Air Quality Studies at the
Texas Transportation Institute, which is part of Texas A&M University.
Zietsman's group is leading a study in Mumbai, India, to investigate the
feasibility of converting landfill gas to vehicle fuel or energy sources.
Other partners in the study include NEERI, the Texas State Energy Office and
Mack Trucks.
The investigations are funded by EPA as part of the agency's Methane to
Markets partnership -- an international initiative advancing cost-effective
methane recovery and use as a clean energy source. (See "International
Partners Reduce Methane Greenhouse Gas Emissions (http://www.america.gov/st/env-english/2008/December/20081202153251lcnirellep0.3222925.html
).")
"India is one of27 partner governments, plus the European Commission, who
have joined the partnership to voluntarily reduce methane emissions," Rachel
Goldstein, EPA team leader for the landfill methane outreach program, told.
Workshop in Ahmedabad
Goldstein conducted a two-day workshop in Ahmedabad, India, in early April
to highlight beneficial uses for landfill gas. The workshop, co-sponsored by
the Indian Ministry of Urban Development and EPA, included a tour of the
existing Ahmedabad dumpsite and its new sanitary-engineered landfill under
construction.
"Clearly, the government in India supports this effort because with the
ministry's support 50 municipal commissioners and engineers attended the
workshop," Goldstein said.
Lessons learned in Texas have benefited the study in India. Funding from the
Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) helped develop a methodology
for evaluating the use of methane recovered at landfills in Texas as a
source of liquid natural gas fuel for refuse trucks, Mary-Jo Rowan, Texas
SECO program manager, told.
"It made perfect sense to collaborate with India when given the chance to do
so," Rowan said. "The project with India has given credibility to the
methodologies developed here in Texas and shown that the formulas can be
used worldwide."
Beneficial uses of methane gas
To assess the cost effectiveness of capturing and harnessing the methane gas
continually generated by landfills, researchers consider four uses for the
gas:
-- Convert the gas into fuel for trucks and buses.
-- Generate electricity by using the gas to run an electricity-producing
turbine.
-- Convert the gas into natural gas and sell it for residential heating and
industrial use.
-- Burn the gas in a flare at the landfill to destroy the gas, which keeps
methane out of the atmosphere and lets the landfill owner receive
carbon-emission credits.
Producing fuel for vehicles is an attractive choice.
"In India, many city buses currently run on compressed natural gas, and the
city of Mumbai is interested in this option," Zietsman said.
To generate fuel, the raw gas is cleaned in a chemical plant on site, then
converted to liquid natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas. Existing
vehicles can be converted to run on either fuel, or new vehicles designed
for these alternative fuels can be purchased, Zietsman said.
According to Kumar, operating vehicles with LNG would reduce vehicular
emissions considerably. This option "could be more relevant for cities like
Mumbai, which has a large population and generates about 6,000 tons of waste
per day."
EPA's Goldstein said the next step "is for each municipality running a
landfill to assess their options," including estimating the revenue
anticipated from generating electricity and selling the gas.
For one Mumbai landfill, the choice has been made.
"The Gorai dumpsite will soon be the first landfill in India, as far as we
know, to begin flaring [burning off] landfill gas, when this begins at the
end of April," Goldstein said.
Worldwide, millions of tons of municipal solid waste are discarded daily
into sanitary landfills and dumpsites. Landfills are the third-largest
human-induced source of methane gas, accounting for about 12 % of global
emissions.
EPA's Methane to Markets partnership is working to reduce global methane
emissions, enhance economic growth, strengthen energy security, improve air
quality, improve industrial safety and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
The partnership brings together interested parties from governments and the
private sector to facilitate methane-project development around the world.
More information is available at EPA's Methane to Markets Partnership Web
site (http://www.methanetomarkets.org/index.htm).
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, US
Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
Source: http://newsblaze.com |