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CALTECH E 105 - Landfill Gas

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Guatemala City Landfill Gas Burning Stove J a s o n C h a n gThe smoke from a cooking fire was illuminated by a single naked light bulb and filled the top quarter of an open room inside a Cakchiquel home in the mountains of Guatemala. At six-foot-four, I found it difficult to breathe with my entire head enveloped in the haze. In the corner was the bed where the family would sleep, and it was easy to see why respiratory problems were so prevalent in these villages. - Josh Jackson, Luke Society Introduction The traditional method of cooking among the vast rural and poor population exacerbates two of Guatemala’s problems, namely deforestation and air pollution. The main methods are either open fires, which are nothing more than uncovered fires on the floor in the kitchen, or poorly functioning stoves; both of these burn wood for fuel. Two-thirds of all families in Guatemala rely on firewood for cooking, and 60% of energy use in general comes from firewood. Air quality greatly suffers due to the carbon monoxide and dioxins from burning wood and even plastic. The World Health Organization identified air pollution attributed to smoke as one of the main causes of death in Third World countries. In Guatemala City, the problem is magnified due to its southeast location in the middle of a valley, which causes the pollution to stay concentrated in the city. Carlos shares about the health hazards of the traditional open fires. The toxic wood smoke that is a byproduct of these fires have been linked to serious health problems, including eye infections, tuberculosis and pneumonia. "There is a 10 to 15 per cent reduction in life expectancy (from the open fires) for anyone in the house but particularly the women because they are in the house more." Carlos himself suffers from eye problems as a result of being exposed to this smoke during the first 12 years of his life. As a result, he has difficulty reading. His mother also has problems with her eyes and lungs from all of her years working in front of an open fire. "The smoke gets into the Carlos’ mother suffers from eye and lung problems from many years of exposure to an open fire in her home.eyes," Carlos says. "As you are exposed to smoke for many years, your vision is impaired." - Dianne Pinder-Moss, The Smith Falls In addition, another problem that contributes to air pollution is landfill fires. Guatemala City has one of the world’s largest dumpsites, where decomposing organic waste creates a buildup of methane gas. The accumulation of methane gas underneath the garbage at times becomes unstable and explosions occur, causing frequent fires. Alternatively, a possible solution to the first two problems is found in the third problem. Burning methane would reduce the likelihood of an over-accumulation of explosive gas buildup and prevents greenhouse effects. Similarly, why only burn the landfill gas? Why not use it as a fuel for cooking? Proposed Solution Just think, each morning a thousand families firing up their stoves, a thousand women not risking blindness each day while cooking for their families; six thousand not filling their lungs with toxic smoke every day. Perhaps ninety thousand years of life expectancy (when you multiply 10 to 15 years per person). - Ali Ross, coordinator of the Guatemala Stove Project - A potential solution to the issues of deforestation and air pollution (and the poverty (which exacerbates them) is to develop a stove that runs on a landfill gas system. Not only is the landfill gas an untapped resource, it also has cost advantages over current fuels used for cooking. Propane gas was introduced in the 1980s as an alternative fuel for cooking, but was never adopted by the rural and poor demographics because of the high cost involved, both for the fuel and the equipment. In terms of $/BTU, propane costs $9, natural gas $3 and methane (LFG) $2. The advantages over burning wood are that LFG burns cleanly, with carbon dioxide being the only byproduct, as opposed to noxious smoke and poisonous carbon monoxide from fuel wood, and cooking times couldpotentially be reduced. This leads to the potential for higher productivity and poverty reduction. However, before examining the stove, it is necessary to discuss the system. The method of processing landfill gas to the medium or high BTU levels necessary for clean combustion is a mature technology. The methane is first extracted from the landfill via a vacuum collection system utilizing perforated horizontal pipes made of high density polyethylene (higher corrosion resistance to toxic substances). It is then passed through a series of filters removing potentially harmful or unpleasant elements before being compressed for storage and use (see schematic below). The bulk of the cost of filtration goes towards the removal of carbon dioxide from the landfill gas. However, combustion of carbon dioxide at stove flame temperatures does not introduce harmful by-products, so that step in the filtration process may be omitted to reduce cost.In addition to cost, another challenge to distributing landfill gas to the poorer population is integrating the system into the garbage dump culture without upsetting its established economy. For example, it may seem easier to pipe the gas from the dump straight into people’s homes, but it is impractical due to the temporary nature of the makeshift shelters in which the slum dwellers live. Also, using pipes to distribute gas is only economical within a two-mile radius of the source, which may limit potential markets outside that immediate area. Thus the system is best served by a transportable system using bobtail trucks, a common method of transporting propane gas, to deliver landfill gas to local storage tanks which could provide up to a two week’s supply of gas to four households. This model of landfill gas distribution could apply to slums and lower- to middle-class houses. In both cases, hoses connected to volume meters on the tank would supply gas toeach household. The hoses would be made of HDPE, which is resistant to the effects of corrosion from landfill gas and could either be buried or placed above ground. The use of plastic hoses also makes the system more mobile and adjustable. Once the landfill gas is supplied to the households, what does the end product look like for the end user? For lower to middle class


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CALTECH E 105 - Landfill Gas

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