Kentucky landfill becomes new source for RNG
Renewable natural gas company Archaea Energy said May 13 a project in Kentucky sourcing landfill gas for energy is now operational.
Working with trash hauler Rumpke Waste & Recycling, Archaea said the Kentucky plant is now producing pipeline-quality renewable natural gas (RNG) using landfill gas from an area site as a source.
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The Boyd County Sanitary Landfill, located near the Ohio border, processes about 1,400 tons of trash every day, which is now being converted into about 2,300mn Btu of RNG. Archaea said that previous efforts to use the gas emitted from the decomposition of landfill material were unable to produce pipeline-quality RNG unless it was blended with significant amounts of conventional natural gas.
“The Archaea team applied its unique knowledge of gas separation and nitrogen rejection to repair and optimise the plant to remove inert components and convert the raw landfill gas to RNG with high levels of methane recovery,” the company explained. “In addition, by better managing the wellfield, Archaea is able to produce RNG without any blending of fossil natural gas.”
Raw biogas must go through a series of steps to remove components such as nitrogen and volatile organic compounds before it can be used as RNG.
In neighbouring Indianapolis, landfill gas-to-RNG is already in service as part of a $25mn joint venture between Kinetrex Energy, Southside Landfill and EDL Energy.
Kinetrex, a major LNG distributor, converts the RNG produced from landfill gas into LNG for use as a road fuel, replacing nearly 8mn gallons/yr of diesel.
Andrew Rumpke, the regional president for the waste hauling company, said Archaea’s efforts run parallel to its stewardship goals.
“Partnering with Archaea on an RNG project at the Boyd County Sanitary Landfill aligns with our mission to ensure environmental compliance and safety as a responsible neighbour to the local community,” he said.