Potencial de aproveitamento energético de biometano gerado em aterros sanitários: estudo de casos

Abstract

According to the National System of Sanitation Information (SNIS, 2017) of the 60.6 million tons of waste collected in Brazil approximately 64.2% were disposed in landfill. One of the biggest challenges for municipalities is to seek economically viable alternatives to the municipal solid waste management. Thus, the biogas upgrading to biomethane is a promising local strategy for alternative energy. This research aims to evaluate the specifications for the production and energy use of biomethane produced in landfills. The first stage of this study process involved the identification of biomethane production facilities authorized by the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), as well as the standards and resolutions for quality regulation and production of biomethane in the country. A secondary data was collected for biomethane’s quality in those facilities and the landfills characterization. Finally, it was made a field research at the biomethane facilities with an operating license in landfills in order to collect and confirm additional information. It was noted during the study that the energy use of biomethane is competitive in relation to others energy alternatives (such as natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas – LPG) due to the commercial purposes of injection into the natural gas grid and compression for sale, both considered promising applications. The purification process when well operated and well-dimensioned resulted in the accordance with specifications and similarity of performance between biomethane and natural gas, confirming the interchangeability capacity between them. The biomethane production in landfills is economically viable and achievable when the companies operating the landfill and the biomethane production act as partners and work well-integrated, providing data transparency and easily decision-making during daily operations.