Estimation of Landfill Gas Emissions and Energy Recovery Potential from Landfills of Bangalore and Mysore: A Case Study

In this study, the environmental benefits and the feasibility of utilizing landfill gas as an alternative source of energy from two landfill sites of Bangalore and Mysore are evaluated. Bangalore generates around 4,500 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day and the majority of this is collected and disposed in landfills. About 2.1 million tons of MSW is estimated to be dumped in one of the prominent dumpsites in Bangalore during its active phase (between 2008 to 2014). The landfill in Mysore has a waste intake capacity of 32.8 kilo tons per year and is in operation since 2012. The landfill gas emissions from the above landfill sites are estimated by using LandGEM-3.02 version. The methane generation rate constant (k) and the potential methane generation capacity (L₀) are determined by using theoretical methods. The estimated maximum landfill gas flow rates were 2.49 and 19.85 m³/min for Mysore and Bangalore sites respectively over a period of 20 years. U.S. EPA’s landfill gas energy cost model, LFGcost-Web (version 3.2), was used to conduct the economic analysis of various landfill gas energy recovery projects. Out of the twelve LFG energy recovery options evaluated, only the onsite CNG production and fueling station and CHP Micro-turbine were found to be economically feasible for Bangalore landfill site. In the case of Mysore landfill, none of the LFG energy projects evaluated were economically viable.