Landfill Gas Information

The Energy Center supports more widespread development and use of Missouri's indigenous energy resources, including landfill gas. More widespread use of these resources would provide both economic and environmental benefits to Missourians.

In 2004, the Energy Center (EC) worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) to assess the potential contribution of landfill gas to Missouri's energy mix. Results of the assessment are summarized in the documents on this Web page.

The EC/LMOP assessment focused on 22 promising landifll sites in Missouri. It was estimated that existing and new projects at the 22 landfills could supply about 6.9 trillion BTU of energy, equivalent to about 6,838 million cubic feet of natural gas. By comparison, Missouri produces about 4.2 trillion BTU of coal and about 9.8 trillion BTU of ethanol each year.

"Landfill gas" is a by-product of digestion by anaerobic bacteria of decaying matter in waste deposited in landfill sites. Landifll gas is formed when solid waste begins to decompose shortly after being buried in landfills. The anaerobic decomposition process begins while the landfill is active and continues for a number of years after the landfill is closed. The resulting gas is predominantly menthane (50 to 65 percent) and carbon dioxide together with trace concentrations of a range of gases including "non-methane organic compounds" (NMOCs).

If not properly controlled, landfill gas presents potential environmental hazards If NMOCs are allowed to escape into the atmosphere, they can contribute to the formation of smog. Methane that is allowed to escape into the atmosphere acts as a highly potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. If landifll gas is allowed to migrate outsiide the landfill area, the highly combustible gas can present a fire hazard. Missouri's landfills are regulated by the Air Pollution Control Program and Solid Waste Management Program to avert these potential hazards.

When landfill gas is properly controlled, it can be captured and used as a valuable energy resource. Methane is a form of natural gas. In many applications, landfill gas can be substituted for natural gas either as a direct source of energy or as a fuel for electric generation. It is also possible to clean natural gas to meet the quality standards of commercial natural gas.

Landfill gas is already used in Missouri for a variety of applications such as heating a school building, heating a greenhouse, providing energy to an asphalt plant and providing energy to an auto assembly plant. As natural gas prices have become higher and more volatile, the energy content of natural gas has increased in value and it is likely that more applications will be found.

The methodoogy and results of the EC/LMOP assessment are summarized in the attached maps and Power Point presentations. These were presented on June 29, 2004 at a session of the Missouri Waste Control Coalition Conference. Additional information on landfill gas potential and applicatoins in the U.S. can be found at LMOP's Web site, http://www.epa.gov/lmop/.