We all know how important it is to prioritize recycling and composting, but what do we need to do with the waste that isn’t recyclable? Unfortunately, they end up in landfills. These places are often seen as a last resort for our refuse. However, there are innovative ways in which we can make them more sustainable. One is upgrading them into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) through an effective landfill gas treatment, such as Nitrogen Removal.
By removing nitrogen gas from landfill gasses, RNG is recycled as electricity or as fuel for heating or thermal applications. However, the question remains: Why is nitrogen removal essential to turn landfill gas into RNG?
If you’re ready, let’s discover its importance and the different landfill gas removal applications available!
Upgrading Landfill Gas to Renewable Natural Gas
Landfill gas is composed of many different gasses, which depend on the type of waste present. Methane and carbon dioxide are estimated to comprise 90 to 98% of landfill gas. On the other hand, the remaining 2 to 10% is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, and other trace gasses.
These gasses can pose dangerous health risks once a person is exposed. Evidently, landfill gasses can also negatively impact the environment in multiple ways.
Some adverse effects of landfill gasses include:
- Create smog if left uncontrolled
- Contribute to climate change
- Soil vapor intrusion
- Bad odor
- Short-term exposure: Breathing difficulties, nausea, coughing, irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, and headaches.
- Long-term exposure: Chest pain, nasal blockages, weight loss, sleeping difficulties, and asthma aggravation.
- Explosion hazard due to high levels of methane gas in enclosed spaces
Listed are only some of the countless harmful effects landfill gasses can cause people and the environment. Landfill gas capture is highly recommended to effectively recycle these dangerous gasses as renewable natural gas instead of releasing them as emissions.
Standard Methods to Upgrade Landfill Gas to RNG
To produce RNG, landfill gas must be captured and upgraded to comply with pipeline specifications. Complying with pipeline requirements involves removing volatile organic compounds, sulfides, carbon dioxide, moisture, and nitrogen from landfill gas.
Numerous technologies and processes are used to achieve this feat. These are proven effective, but some factors must be considered to find the most optimal solution. For instance, professionals must consider equipment costs, methane recovery levels, and other expenses.
Methods that are used in landfill gas treatment:
- Water Scrubbing: Also called water wash, this process involves compressing landfill gas to remove impurities through the dilution of water.
- Solvent Scrubbing: This process uses a chemical solvent such as amine or a physical solvent such as Selexol. These will remove carbon dioxide and sulfides from biogas.
- Membrane Systems: Employs moisture removal, compression, and hydrogen removal, then uses carbon and membranes to remove remaining volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide.
- Catalytic Reaction: Landfill gas is heated and passes through a catalytic bed where oxygen reacts with methane to create carbon dioxide and water.
- Cryogenic Distillation: Separates oxygen and nitrogen by liquefying the landfill gas at very low temperatures. After that, high levels of methane can be recovered with ease.
- Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA): PSA uses two methods: First is the compression of landfill gas with moisture and sulfide removal. The second one involves nitrogen and methane attachment, allowing nitrogen to pass through.
Pressure Swing Adsorption and Cryogenic Distillation are two popular methods for removing or separating nitrogen. Nitrogen can easily attach to other landfill gasses, commonly oxygen, methane, and carbon dioxide. This fact facilitates landfill gas removal using a vapor-phase activated carbon and a molecular sieve for PSA and liquefaction at very low temperatures for Cryogenic Distillation.
The Nitrogen Removal Process
Nitrogen is present in landfill gasses. It’s an odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas that comprises around 78% of our air. It’s also plentiful in the Earth’s atmosphere. With that said, what is its role in landfill gas collection?
The simple answer is that removing nitrogen results in high BTU gas, which means more energy can be produced. High outputs of BTU gas are equal to higher heat intensity. Nitrogen removal is also necessary to comply with RNG specifications and requirements.
As mentioned above, nitrogen removal is achieved through two different methods: Cryogenic Distillation and Pressure Swing absorption (PSA). Let’s learn more about each one.
Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA)
Under Pressure Swing Adsorption, gasses tend to be trapped or adsorbed under high pressure. It means the higher the pressure, the more gas is absorbed. Once the pressure drops, gas is released. The process is done with the help of a skid system called a gas separator membrane skid.
The goal of PSA is to separate gasses in a mixture since different gasses can be adsorbed onto a solid surface. In landfill gas removal applications, the gas is compressed under high pressure. After that, moisture and hydrogen sulfide are removed. The remaining gas will pass through a vessel, which results in the biogas being upgraded into a renewable natural gas.
Benefits of using Pressure Swing Adsorption:
- Extremely clean operation
- Quick return on investment
- Cost-effective equipment that requires minimal maintenance
- Low operating costs
- Sustainable and reduces the CO2 footprint
Another method is when nitrogen attaches to methane. The process allows the nitrogen to pass through, and methane is extracted by depressurizing and pulling a vacuum through the vessel.
Cryogenic Distillation
The second method is Cryogenic Distillation. It’s when gaseous mixtures are separated through distillation at high and low temperatures. In the case of landfill gas capture applications, oxygen, and nitrogen are removed from landfill gas through simple distillation.
Distillation refers to the process of separating a gas mixture based on differences in their boiling points. In Cryogenic Distillation, landfill gas is exposed to very low temperatures until it liquefies.
Once it turns into liquid, oxygen and nitrogen are separated throughout the process due to their different boiling points. As a result, methane remains condensed, allowing for easy removal at high recovery rates.
Experience Successful Nitrogen Removal with the Proper Landfill Gas Treatment
Nitrogen removal is necessary for landfills to upgrade their gas into usable renewable natural gas. The methods used, namely Pressure Swing Adsorption and Cryogenic Distillation, are highly efficient in converting landfill gasses to RNG.
If you’re looking for quality skid systems that can aid in this process, it’s best to find experts in the field. Stark Compression, formerly Glauber Equipment, is a leader in manufacturing customized skid systems for the renewable natural gas industry, and we’re fully prepared to deliver unrivaled results.
Are you interested and want to know more about our capabilities and services? Feel free to contact us today! You can also request a free quote, and our team will find a solution designed and developed for your landfill gas utilization needs!
Chemical manufacturing facilities work with a variety of valuable chemical compounds. Acids, caustics, solvents, and polymers are all widely used throughout these facilities, and they must be managed effectively to ensure a safe and productive manufacturing environment. There are four main types of chemical pumps used to meet the fluid management needs of the chemical industry: centrifugal pumps, diaphragm pumps, positive displacement pumps, and turbine pumps.
Types of Pumps Used in the Chemical Industry
The liquids used in the chemical industry feature various levels of corrosiveness, abrasiveness, and viscosity. To handle them efficiently without the risk of breakdowns or stoppages, one of four pump varieties is typically used:
- Centrifugal pumps. The most common type of pump used in the chemical industry, centrifugal pumps are highly efficient and simple in operation as well as design. Compared to other pump varieties, they are generally less expensive.
- Diaphragm pumps. These are a type of positive displacement pump capable of moving liquid-gas mixtures or liquids using a reciprocating diaphragm. They are available in metal and plastic materials and are particularly compatible with certain types of chemicals that metal-constructed pumps are unsuitable for.
- Positive displacement pumps. These are all types of rotary pumps and include piston, rotary vane, screw, and gear pumps. They are more efficient at moving high-velocity fluids than centrifugal pumps and can deliver higher pump pressures. They can also move low-vapor-pressure fluids that flow at lower speeds, creating more resistance.
- Turbine pumps. Featuring turbine-like impellers, these pumps use radially oriented teeth to move liquid. They combine the versatility of a centrifugal pump with the high discharge pressure of positive displacement pumps. However, they are unsuitable for transporting liquids containing solid content.
Pump Selection Considerations
Since many types of pumps are used in the chemical processing industry, identifying the most suitable option for a given application requires consideration of several factors, including:
- Amount of solid materials present in the liquid
- Liquid corrosiveness
- Liquid viscosity
- Liquid abrasiveness
The type of liquid being processed plays a key role in pump selection. For example, liquid-gas mixtures require pumps capable of handling them without stoppages or breakdowns. Liquids containing large amounts of solid materials require heavy-duty solutions to perform efficiently in harsh conditions and reliably transport these mixtures.
Liquid characteristics also play a critical role in choosing pump construction materials. Corrosion is a key consideration for the chemical industry, and the materials used to construct pumps must be compatible with the materials being pumped. For example, when transporting highly corrosive substances, such as acids, stainless steel pump construction is required.
Why Stark Tech?
Stark Compression, formerly Glauber Equipment Corporation, has over 60 years of experience meeting the needs of the chemical industry. We offer a diverse variety of pumps for chemical applications including:
- Air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD)
- Centrifugal pumps
- Chemical metering pumps
- Positive displacement pumps
- Peristaltic pumps
We work closely with each client to develop reliable, long-lasting solutions. Our facility features everything needed to design and build custom-fabricated products, including overhead cranes, state-of-the-art welding and fabrication equipment, and a paint booth. All of our piping fabrication and assembly is performed by union pipe fitters and we perform on-site unit testing up to 400HP, as well as flow and pneumatic testing. To learn more about our chemical pumps, reach out to our team today.
Are you looking to reduce your company’s environmental footprint while maintaining production capacity? Do you want to limit the emissions caused by industrial and renewable energy sources?
Stark Compression, LLC can help. Our services provide innovative solutions that allow companies to unlock the full potential of their operations, create a cleaner environment, and achieve maximum efficiency.
We understand that reducing emissions is easier said than done, so we’ve designed our reliable systems with one goal – making it effortless for businesses to transition toward meaningful sustainability improvements. Learn how we can help reduce emissions with our turnkey solutions.
Alarming Rise in Emissions
2021 saw the largest annual increase ever recorded by global monitoring stations. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, total greenhouse gas emissions are nearly 50 percent higher than in 1990. It means the world is not on track regarding reducing our contribution to global warming and climate change.
The unfortunate part is that nearly 45% of methane emissions are man-made. Many notable organizations emphasize that lowering these emissions is imperative if people want to stay below the 1.5° and 2°C marks. Achieving this daunting feat poses many rewards, such as a cooler planet that prevents many global warming calamities.
Other benefits of lower emissions:
- Better air quality due to a decrease in outdoor air pollution
- Reverse the impacts of global warming
- Boosts global economy
- Improve human health
- Maintain biodiversity
The urgent need for decisive action has never been greater, and Stark Compression, LLC is here to provide products and services that reduce your carbon footprint. Although it seems like a small step, we ensure consistent results that will create a snowball effect for other companies to follow!
Aiming to Save the Planet with Renewable Gas
After carbon dioxide, methane is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas. It’s 72 times more potent than CO2 and accounts for about 20% of global emissions.
In 2019, WMO estimated that emissions are 260% of pre-industrial levels. It’s slowly increasing, so policies like the Global Methane Pledge were launched to successfully reduce methane emissions by 30% in 2030 from 2020 levels.
With this in mind, we have become a trustworthy clean-tech provider where methane gas is our main target. We currently have football-sized turnkey plants where we transform methane gas from landfills and biogas sites into clean, green, renewable natural gas.
How We Do It
Stark Tech recently acquired Glauber Equipment Corporation, which serves large-scale industrial and renewable energy applications. As the Renewable Natural Gas market evolves and grows, we offer systems to aid them in their operations.
Equipment for the RNG market:
These skid systems and components are designed to aid in the RNG process. Since many industries benefit from sending their waste to RNG plants, our equipment is a reliable platform for energy producers to meet their sustainability objectives.
Working Towards a Brighter Tomorrow with Renewable Gas
The ever-growing RNG market proves that we can make a significant impact with renewable energy sources. We are determined to aid in the fight against climate change and build a green economy for future generations.
As markets change and tighter environmental regulations are implemented, Stark Compression, LLC has become a one-stop shop for renewable gas technologies, such as RNG compression skid packages. We help many companies adopt a more sustainable approach to their operations while decreasing their carbon footprint.
If you have any questions about our products or services, don’t hesitate to contact us today. We’re ready to provide any support you need to reduce your emissions and make a better tomorrow with our green initiatives.
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