ABSTRACT: In large landfills, the application of a percentage of the generated biogas to supply the fuel demand of a fleet of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) compactor-collector trucks may replace, with advantage, the use of diesel by the fleet for many years. There are two technologies for landfill biogas to be explored. The first is related to the generation of electric power and its use in electric (or hybrid) trucks and, the second, with the gas production to fuel natural gas vehicles (NGV). The methodology adopted to compare the two modals was based on the biogas transformation into electrical energy equivalent (kWh). Costs related to the replacement of diesel powered trucks by both NGV powered and electric compactor-collector trucks are presented and discussed. The evaluation developed in the present work shows that the option providing the more effective utilization of biogas as energy source was with NGV vehicles, but very close to electricpowered trucks. Taking the Rio de Janeiro landfill (Jardim Gramacho landfill) as an example, the results showed that only 13.3% of the total gas collected in 2012 would be enough to supply the whole fleet of COMLURB (Municipal Urban Cleaning Company of Rio de Janeiro). The use of electrical energy would consume some 14.8% of the total gas collected. Both modes allows the injection of the remaining energetic potential either in an electric supply net or a pipeline gas network, creating new possibilities for commercial exploitation of landfill biogas and, also, a more sustainable MSW collection.
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