Fuel from Trash Will Power California Garbage Trucks
300 garbage collection trucks in California will soon be fueled by the same trash that they haul. Landfill gas will be purified and liquefied, producing up to 13,000 gallons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) daily.
This facility at Waste Management’s Altamont Landfill in Livermore, California will begin operation in 2009. It comes with a price tag of $15.5 million, with grants providing $1.4 million.
Cleaner Fuel
Waste Management is the largest waste management company in North America and operates the largest US fleet of heavy-duty collection trucks. The company has a goal to reduce fleet emissions by 15% by 2020.
The new facility will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30,000 tons per year, according to Linde North America. LNG is a cleaner burning transportation fuel that emits less nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide and particulates than diesel-fueled vehicles.
Duane Woods, senior vice president, Western group of Waste Management, said, “This will be the largest plant of its kind and we hope to break new ground by producing commercial quantities. Natural gas is already the cleanest burning fuel available for our collection trucks, and the opportunity to use recovered landfill gas offers enormous environmental benefits to the communities we serve.”
Demand for Low-carbon Fuels
California passed a law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020 and other states may follow. Demand for low-carbon fuels is expected to increase significantly in California as the state starts requiring a decrease in carbon emissions. Waste Management will be ahead of the curve by having plants like this in operation, creating lucrative business opportunities.
Related Posts on Alternative Fuels:
- Landfill Gas Heats and Powers School
- The Cleanest Cars on Earth: Honda Civic GX and Other Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV’s)
- Natural Gas Cars: CNG Fuel Almost Free in Some Parts of the Country
Photo Credit: Waste Management
So…. when can I get this for my car?
Stay tuned, my guess is that there’s going to be plenty of alternative fuels by about 2010 and we won’t be paying more than a couple of dollars for each 100 miles we travel.
NOTE TO EDITORS: THIS IS THE HEADLINE =
“[California] - Landfill gas will be purified and liquefied, producing up to 13,000 gallons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) daily.”
Do I favor Liquid Natural Gas (LNG)?
Well, certainly I favor it if so little of it is used, and it is created efficiently, as described.
The relevant description is thus:
“Landfill gas will be purified and liquefied”
This alternative seems good.
This maybe better than having that already escaping, reactive gas released into our local atmosphere and lungs unconverted.
We should consider mining the very garbage from which the gas comes. Collectively, we have deposited an enormous amount of plastics and other man-made products, many containing valuable metals and alloys. There is good reason to mine our trash, hazardous though it may be. It is not a sustainable activity.
I would like to see the Capital equipment Investment requirements for an average retrofit-upgrade versus building new. I would like to compare gasoline futures and current infrastructure conversion costs.
CORRECTION: ACCUMULATING TRASH IS NOT A SUSTAINABLE ACTIVITY.
Hey! Thanks for all the great info. I was browsing through a bunch of green websites and blogs and I came across yours and found it very interesting. There are a bunch of others I like too, like the daily green, ecorazzi and earthlab.com. I especially like EarthLab.com’s carbon calculator (http://www.earthlab.com/signupprofile/). I find it really easy to use (it doesn’t make me feel guilty after I take it). Are there any others you would recommend? Can you drop me a link to your favorites (let me know if they are the same as mine).
When do the REST of us gain this technology for our employ?
NEVER!