Distributed Power Plants for Landfills

Landfill Plant in Ämmässuo, Finland

  • Extend equipment life and maintenance intervals for landfill applications
  • Deliver improved output and reliability
  • Offer lower operating and maintenance costs
  • Efficient solutions even for the lowest methane content
  • Reduce environmental impact

Use of Methane for Sustainable Power Production in Distributed Power Plants

With today’s focus on renewable energy and carbon emissions reductions, landfill-gas-to-energy projects are gaining momentum. As an important and growing energy production solution within the world’s power generation mix, these distributed power plant systems collect, process and treat the available landfill gas to generate electricity. Two common approaches to landfill gas collection include vertical well extraction and horizontal collectors or trenches.

These distributed power plants use our gas engines as generator sets to turn waste into economically viable electricity.

The Advantages of Deploying Landfill-Gas-to-Energy Power Generators:

  • Extend equipment life and maintenance intervals for landfill applications
  • Deliver improved output and reliability
  • Offer lower operating and maintenance costs
  • Efficient solutions even for the lowest methane content
  • Reduce environmental impact

Optimally Adjusted to Your Requirements

Landfill gas is produced naturally as organic waste decomposes in landfills. It is composed of methane and small amounts of non-methane organic compounds. During gas treatment, MWM removes any existing organosilicon content. By capturing the landfill methane (CH4) emissions that would otherwise exacerbate the greenhouse effect if allowed to escape into the atmosphere, MWM is contributing to the protection of the environment. After all, methane has a greenhouse effect up to 25 times that of carbon dioxide.

MWM offers generator sets specially designed for operations on landfills:

  • A crankcase ventilation pump to eject potentially acidic blow-by gases.
  • Specially designed aftercooler cores, cylinder heads, main bearings and connecting rod bearings that are hardened against corrosive elements
  • Differentiated cooling systems to operate at elevated jacket water temperatures to prevent condensation of contaminants

Operators of landfill-gas-to-energy power systems, such as municipalities, generally use blowers or vacuums to direct the gas from a collection site through a network of pipes to a central facility. At most developed municipal solid-waste landfills, the methane and carbon dioxide are destroyed in a gas collection and control system or utility flare. The sustainable alternative is to divert the landfill gas from the flare to be used in electricity-producing MWM generator sets.

MWM continually researches, develops, and delivers landfill gas products specifically designed to be operated on landfill gas fuels.

Gas engines & Products

Cogeneration Power Plant Solutions

Cogeneration Power Plant Solutions

Eco-friendly MWM cogeneration power plants with combined heat and power enable decentralized, economical and energy-efficient power production.

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MWM TCG 2032

Gas Engine TCG 2032

High reliability. Low operating costs. Gas types: natural gas, landfill gas, sewage gas, mine gas, coke oven gas. Mainly used in large IPP projects with up to 100 MWel.

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Contact Sales

Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH
Carl-Benz-Strasse 1
68167 Mannheim
Germany

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