Potential of biogas recovery from landfills for sustainable energy production: a case study from Jordan

Landfills continue to be part of any municipal solid waste management system. Despite several improvements that took place in landfilling technology, the disposal of solid waste in landfills still imposing adverse environmental impacts. One major impact is the emission of greenhouse gases like methane which has high global worming potential as compared to carbon dioxide. To minimize the adverse impact of the emitted methane, it is possible to collect the generated methane and utilize it for energy production. This paper is investigating the possibility of collecting the biogas from Al Hosaineyat landfill in northern Jordan for possible energy recovery. Solid waste quantities and composition were evaluated. Daily amount of solid waste disposed at the landfill is about 74 tons with more than 60% of it organic matter. The amount of methane generated from the landfill was estimated using GASSIM simulation software. It was found that currently (in 2015) the annual methane production is about 2 million M³/day, while by the peak biogas generation will be one year after the landfill closure (in 2021) and amounting to 2.47 million M³/day. The annual energetic potential of the landfill was found to be 6.14 GWh and 7.59 GWh in the years 2015 and 2021, respectively.