Landfill gas monitoring and measurement are performed throughout the municipal solid waste (MSW) system, whether for waste-to-energy projects, process optimization, or greenhouse gas emissions reporting.

Landfill Gas Monitoring

biogas application guide
Biogas Application Guide

A landfill is a terrain where trash is deposited and will remain indefinitely. While it is an obsolete way of handling waste, it remains a primary method to dispose of trash and garbage. Modern landfilling is also known as municipal solid waste (MSW). Landfills contribute to massive environmental issues such as toxic air emissions, climate change, and groundwater contamination.

Landfill gas generates through the natural bacterial breakdown of organic waste at municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. It is about half methane, with the remainder being mostly carbon dioxide and smaller amounts of nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, and trace amounts of other contaminants. The gas is wet and dirty.

Landfill Gas Monitoring, Recovery, and Flaring
Accurate measurement of landfill gas is needed throughout the system whether the objective is monitoring, LFG to energy or recovery, or GHG emissions reporting.

Waste-to-Energy and Flare LFG

In waste-to-energy projects, landfill gas is removed from the ground at separate wells and collected through a sequence of manifolds or headers.  Extensive equipment delivers the landfill gas to flare or recover it for landfill gas to energy projects, or both. Indeed, measuring the flow from each well is optimum, although it is cost-prohibitive.

landfill gas technical note thumbnail
Landfill Gas Monitoring, Recovery, and Flaring

Local municipalities that don’t have the resources to implement landfill gas-to-energy projects collect, then deliver the gas to a private co-gen facility. Often the co-gen producer is located on the property, and the gas is used to generate electricity at the facility.

Technical Application Note

Sage Metering has recently published a technical note on this specific application. You may read or download the application brief.