Emissions of Gases and Dust into the Air as a Result of the Conversion of Landfill Gas into Electricity and Heat in a Cogeneration Plant

Abstract

The consequence of landfilling is biogas production in the waste bed, the main parameter of which is methane. The capture of biogas and its energetic use in a cogeneration system is the optimal solution for both environmental and energetic aspects. Nevertheless, the emission of gases and dust into the air from the cogeneration plant as a result of the combustion of biogas poses a potential threat not only to the surrounding ecosystem but also poses a serious risk to human health, especially to the respiratory system, leading to a variety of diseases. The gas and dust emission tests performed in the study showed significant values for CO2 173.08 [kg ∙ h-1] and for CO 0.7545 [kg ∙ h-1], NO2 0.7129 [kg ∙ h-1], SO2 0.3958 [kg ∙ h-1] and total dust 0.0013 [kg ∙ h-1] respectively. The work aims to demonstrate the actual emissions of gases and dust into the air as a result of the combustion of landfill gas and to use them to calculate fees for the use of the environment. Since no emission standards have been defined for this type of installation and there is no need to use reducing devices, it is crucial to regularly monitor pollutant emissions by installation operators to optimize the biogas combustion process and reduce emissions. Replacing the reference values with measurement data regarding air emissions will make the actual impact of the cogeneration installation on the environment more realistic.