Published

2011-09-01

Potential production of electricity from biogas generated in a sanitary landfill

Potencial de producción eléctrica del biogás generado en un relleno sanitario

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15446/ing.investig.v31n3.26385

Keywords:

energy generation, municipal solid waste, biogas, renewable energy (en)
generación de energía, residuos sólidos municipales, biogás, energía renovable (es)

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Authors

  • Quetzalli Aguilar-Virgen Instituto Tecnológico de Culiacán, México
  • Paul Taboada-González Instituto Tecnológico de Culiacán, México
  • Sara Ojeda-Benítez Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. México

Energy forms the cornerstone of almost every economic, social and cultural sector in modern societies. Energy is regarded as an irreplaceable ingredient in such societies' industrial development. The aim of this research was to estimate the generation of biogas in the city of Ensenada's sanitary landfill to ascertain the amount of energy which could be generated from the solid waste being disposed of. Biogas estimates were conducted in two stages: a waste characterisation study followed by implementing the regulations proposed by SCS Engineers (SCS Engineers, 2009) regarding the Mexican biogas model (version 2.0). The results showed that a large quantity of organic matter (around 70%) is a key element in anaerobic degradation of waste. As to energy generation, it is believed that a full 1.90 MW capacity will be reached in 2019. Such energy could increase Ensenada's current electricity generation capacity by 3.46% and provide 60% of the energy needed for street lighting, thereby leading to USD $1.423 million in savings.

El papel de la energía en la vida de las sociedades modernas ocupa un lugar central en casi todos los sectores económicos, sociales y culturales. La energía se considera como un ingrediente irreemplazable para las sociedades económicas y el progreso industrial. El objetivo de esta investigación fue estimar la generación de biogás del relleno sanitario de Ensenada (estado mexicano de Baja California) con la finalidad de conocer la cantidad de energía que se podría generar con los residuos sólidos depositados en él. La estimación de biogás se llevó a cabo en dos etapas: 1) se realizó un estudio de caracterización de residuos; 2) se siguieron los lineamientos propuestos por SCS Engineers (2009) del Modelo Mexicano de Biogás versión 2.0. Los resultados muestran una gran cantidad de materia orgánica (aproximadamente el 70%), lo cual es un aspecto clave en el proceso anaeróbico de los residuos. En cuanto a la generación de energía, se tiene que se llegará a una capacidad máxima de 1,90 MW en el 2019. Dicha energía podría aumentar la capacidad de generación eléctrica existente en Ensenada aproximadamente en un 3,46% y abastecer el 60% de la energía necesaria para alumbrado público, con un ahorro de 1.423 millones de dólares.

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