INTEGRAL MANAGEMENT OF THE BIOGAS FROM LANDFILLS FOR USE AS VEHICLE FUEL

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Transport represents almost one-quarter of Europe's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is the main cause of air pollution in cities. It has not seen the same gradual decline in emissions as other sectors: emissions only started to decrease in 2007 and still remain higher than in 1990. Within the sector, road transport is by far the biggest emitter, accounting for more than 70% of all GHG emissions from transport in 2014. With the global shift towards a low-carbon, circular economy already underway, the European Commission's low-emission mobility strategy (COM (2016) 501) aims to ensure the EU remains competitive and able to respond to the increasing mobility needs of people and goods. The idea is by mid-century GHG emissions from transport should be at least 60% lower than in 1990 and firmly on the path towards zero. For its energy-from-waste plants, FCC captures gases from landfill waste to produce biomethane, which is then used as an energy/heat source in the plants. Production of biomethane from landfills has not been fully developed and validated for use as a standardised biofuel for transport.

OBJECTIVES

LIFE LANDFILL BIOFUEL aims to produce biomethane using a new method for upgrading biogas from landfill sites. The resulting fuel will fulfil the required quality standards for use in light-weight and heavy-duty vehicles. The project plans to demonstrate the technical performance of a cost-effective solution for improving biogas production and recovery from landfills. This is based on new techniques for exploiting waste cells, together with an innovative technology (vacuum pressure swing adsorption) for upgrading biogas. LIFE LANDFILL BIOFUELs system will produce an alternative biofuel (almost 1 600 million m3/year of biomethane) from landfills, a ground-breaking sustainable source, improving air quality and helping to green road transport.

The project will contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and the EUs target of a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transport by 2050. In addition, LIFE LANDFILL BIOFUEL will help meet EU air quality and emissions standards, including the National Emissions Ceiling (NEC) Directive (2016/2284/EU).

RESULTS

Expected results:

reduction of air pollutants generated by diesel vehicle propulsion in 99.9% of nitrogen oxides, 99.4% of volatile organic compounds, 98.8% of PMO and 99.8% of sulphur dioxide;

decrease in the environmental impact of road transport by providing an alternative fuel for natural gas vehicles that will reduce CO2 emissions by almost 15% for heavy-duty and over 15% for light-weight vehicles compared to diesel vehicles;

increased enrichment of biomethane extracted from landfill biogas to nearly 97%, through an innovative solution based on two-stage vacuum pressure swing adsorption, to be used as biofuel and for injecting into the grid;

improvement of the waste treatment sectorscompetitiveness by providing a supplementary business model to commercialise the biomethane as fuel for light-weight and heavy-duty vehicles;

enhanced biogas recovery from landfills (7% increase) through modelling biogas production mechanisms and optimising exploitation of the waste wells;

plan for replicating the solution to two landfills in other European regions during the three years after the project ends. FCC operates waste landfills throughout Europe and will facilitate replication of the project outcomes (in Austria and the UK); and

dissemination actions targeted at relevant stakeholders and the general public to foster deployment of the projects approach at local and EU levels.