Laserfiche WebLink
Due to the experimental nature of energy extraction and resource <br />recovery technology, as well as the large number of undefined variables, it <br />is not possible to accurately calculate the usable energy content of a land- <br />fill site. However, some rough approximations are possible. It may be esti- <br />mated that when the entire proposed landfill site is filled and closed, as <br />much as five million cubic feet per day of methane gas could be extracted <br />as long as the decomposition process remains unhampered. This has an energy <br />equivalent of approximately 2.5 billion btu per day. Similarly, the energy <br />savings from recycling as opposed to manufacturing from raw materials could <br />also be substantial. For example, approximately 437 million btu per day <br />could be saved in aluminum production, 20 million btu per day in glass produc- <br />tion, and 180 million btu per day in paper products. <br />For comparison, one 42 -gallon barrel of gasoline has an energy equiva- <br />lent of 5.25 million btu. This means that, theoretically, the energy equiva- <br />lent of the methane gas generated within the entire landfill could equal that <br />of 476 barrels per day or 20,000 gallons per day of gasoline. The energy <br />savings from recycling aluminum, glass and paper products from the landfill <br />is also quite substantial. Recycling these three materials as opposed to <br />manufacturing them from raw materials could save on a national basis the <br />energy equivalent to 121 barrels per day or 5096 gallons per day of gasoline. <br />