LIFE Project: Comprehensive management of biogas from landfills for use as vehicle fuel
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2019 -2024
- Assigned Budget 4.674.626,00 €
- Scope Europeo
- Autonomous community Cataluña
- Main source of financing LIFE
- Project website Web del proyecto
The LANDFILL BIOFUEL project aims to demonstrate the technical performance of a cost-effective solution for improving biogas production and recovery from landfills. This is based on novel techniques for exploiting waste cells, along with innovative technology (vacuum pressure swing adsorption) to enhance biogas.
Transport accounts for almost a quarter of Europe's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is the main cause of air pollution in cities. It has not experienced the same gradual decline in emissions as other sectors: emissions only began to decrease in 2007 and remain higher than in 1990. Within the sector, road transport is by far the largest emitter, accounting for over 70% of all transport GHG emissions in 2014. With the global shift towards a low-carbon, circular economy already underway, the European Commission's Low-Emission Mobility Strategy (COM (2016) 501) aims to ensure that the EU remains competitive and able to respond to the growing mobility needs of people and goods.
The goal is for transportation GHG emissions to be at least 60% lower than in 1990 by mid-century and firmly on track to net zero. For its waste-to-energy plants, FCC captures gases from landfill waste to produce biomethane, which is then used as a power/heat source in the plants. Biomethane production from landfills has not been fully developed or validated for use as a standardized transportation biofuel.
Produce biomethane using a new method to upgrade landfill biogas. The resulting fuel will meet the quality standards required for use in light and heavy-duty vehicles.
Reduction of air pollutants generated by diesel vehicle propulsion by 99.9% for nitrogen oxides, 99.4% for volatile organic compounds, 98.8% for PMO, and 99.8% for sulfur dioxide.
Reducing the environmental impact of road transport by providing an alternative fuel for natural gas vehicles that will reduce CO2 emissions by almost 15% for heavy-duty vehicles and more than 15% for light-duty vehicles compared to diesel vehicles.
Increasing the enrichment of biomethane extracted from landfill biogas to almost 97% using an innovative solution based on two-stage vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA), for use as a biofuel and for injection into the grid.
Improving the competitiveness of the waste treatment sector by providing a complementary business model for marketing biomethane as a fuel for light and heavy-duty vehicles.
Improved biogas recovery from landfills (7% increase) by modeling biogas production mechanisms and optimizing waste pit operations.
Plan to replicate the solution at two landfills in other European regions within three years of project completion. FCC operates landfills throughout Europe and will facilitate the replication of the project results (in Austria and the United Kingdom).
Dissemination actions targeting relevant stakeholders and the general public to promote the implementation of the project approach at local and EU levels.
- Coordinator/entity name: Francisco Javier Cerezo Ortega
- Postal address: Balmes 36, 08007, Barcelona
- Coordinator/entity email:
- FCC Medio Ambiente S.A.
- SYSADVANCE(Sysadvance Sistemas de Engenharia, S.A.,)
- UGR(Universidad de Granada)
- IVECO(IVECO España S.L.)
- GASNAM(Asociación ibérica de gas natural, hidrógeno y gas renovable para la movilidad)
- CARTIF(Fundación CARTIF)
- SEAT
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