Biogas Production Opportunities in Municipal Waste Landfills: Latvian Experience

Nowadays the main civilization problem is increasing municipal waste amount. In many countries municipal solid waste is collected in unsorted way and directly burned in large power plants or stored in landfills. This practice means waste energy loss, because organic fraction can be used as raw materials for anaerobic fermentation to produce energy and recycling nutrients and organic matter.
Latvian citizens annually produce 600 000 – 700 000 tonnes municipal waste. By individual project data municipal waste an average consists of 70% of household waste in Latvia. It is organic waste, which decomposing processes are provided by microorganisms actions. Improperly managed biodegradable organic waste and their reaction products can breed atmospheric and groundwater pollution, as well as it can promote various diseases distribution, because waste can become a source of food for pathogenic – disease agents and for microorganisms, which transmit diseases.
Currently, there is not special household collecting system in Latvia, basically they reach to unsorted municipal waste. Only in particular cases organic household waste is collected separately and treated. These situation will continue in future, because now only in single regions we can see waste skips for biodegradable organic waste and especially it is our state policy, that is why it is very important to utilize organic waste as much as possible in their preservation places – landfills.
Origin of organic waste is very important to determine the most appropriate treatment method. Household waste is usually too wet and they are excellent raw material for anaerobic fermentation. There is big potential using household waste organic fraction in the biogas production, and throughout the world are driven hundreds of anaerobic digestion plants, which are treating municipal solid waste organic fraction. …