Heat energy potential of municipal solid waste landfills: Review of heat generation and assessment of vertical extraction systems

James L. Hanson, Michael T. Onnen, Nazlı Yeşiller and Kevin B. Kopp

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2022, vol. 167, issue C

Abstract: Heat generation in municipal solid waste landfills is reviewed with a focus on extraction heat management strategy. Numerical analysis was conducted to investigate the feasibility of a vertical heat extraction system and effects of system configuration on overall performance. The modeling indicated that the influence of the extraction system on landfill temperatures is greatest near central depths of the landfill with less influence at the cover and liner locations. Temperature-depth profiles exhibited concave shapes demonstrating preferential heat extraction from central depths and return of the waste temperatures to reference conditions at great radial distance. For extraction system parameters, fluid velocity affected heat extraction more than pipe diameter; for landfill operational conditions, waste height affected heat extraction more than waste placement rate. For a fluid velocity of 0.3 m/s (threshold for turbulent flow), pipe diameter of 25.4 mm, waste height of 30 m, and waste placement rate of 20 m/year, the heat extraction rate was 59.5 MJ/m3 and the total amount of heat extracted was 561 GJ with 10 m radius of influence of the extraction well. Thermally coupled gas generation analysis indicated that regulating temperatures at 35 °C resulted in significant increases in landfill gas energy (on the order of twofold) and decreasing the time to reach biological stabilization by 70–77%. Due to the transition of operation to a geothermal system at the end of heat production lifetime of landfills, heat extraction systems provide long-term sustainable alternative energy sources with appreciable energy production in comparison to other renewable technologies.

Keywords: Landfill; Municipal solid waste; Temperature; Heat generation; Thermal energy; Heat extraction; Heat pump; Biomass; Geothermal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2022.112835

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