Tags:Landfill gas, municipal solid waste, solid oxide fuel cells and waste to energy
Abstract:
Generating electrical energy from landfill gas (LFG) is a challenge due to its low conversion efficiency. This study investigated the potential of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) to produce electricity from LFG generated in pilot scale anaerobic municipal solid waste bioreactors. During the initial experiments, power generation was achieved in the SOFC with direct feeding of the LFG. Different feed flow rates (10 - 25 mL/min) and varying temperature conditions (700 - 800 °C) were also investigated to define the optimal conditions. Experiments were carried out at different feed rates and the successful results obtained from 10 mL/min and 20 mL/min feed speeds. It was also observed that the maximal power values were between 0.10 - 0.11 Watt/cm2 for all experiments. This study showed that SOFCs can provide significantly higher energy efficiencies than steam engines for LFG conversion into electrical energy.
Electricity generation by feeding solid oxide fuel cells with landfill gas