10.2190/YFXN-YJ7X-PNC9-24DK YFXNYJ7XPNC924DK 6 The Effect of Increasing Landfill Size on the Economic Viability of Landfill Gas Recovery 145 155 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 YFXNYJ7XPNC924DK.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=YFXNYJ7XPNC924DK 2 Kevin Croke R. Eric Zimmerman University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois ESCOR, Inc., Northfield, Illinois Landfill gas utilization has seen continual growth since 1975. Two principal reasons are the growing competitiveness of gas as a commercial and industrial fuel, and more stringent environmental regulations. Pressures from citizens and regulators have combined to decrease the number of landfills, and new landfills will generally be larger facilities that serve area-wide jurisdictions such as whole counties. As sanitary landfills, the source of landfill gas (LFG), increase in size LFG recovery is expected to become more economical. This article examines the impact of the expected landfill size increase over the next decade on the economics of LFG recovery. The percentage of landfill capacity expected to yield an adequate internal rate of return in 1995 is discussed, given the present and expected size distributions of landfills in the United States. The source and recovery of LFG, and models employed to estimate internal rates of return for LFG projects are discussed. LFG revenues and expenses are projected, based on production feasibility models developed by the U. S. Department of Energy and the Gas Research Institute. G. H. Farquhar and F. A. Rovers, Gas Production During Refuse Decomposition, <i>Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 2</i>:10, 1973. EMCON Associates, <i>Methane Generation and Recovery from Landfills</i>, AnnArbor Science Publishers, Ann Arbor, MI, 1980. M. L. Wilkey, R. E. Zimmerman, and H. R. Isaacson, <i>Methane From Landfills: Preliminary Assessment Workbook</i>, Argonne National Laboratory, Report No. ANL/CNSV-31, 1982. R. E. Zimmerman, J. J. Walsh, and M. L. Wilkey, <i>Landfill Gas: Resource Evaluation and Development</i>, ESCOR, Inc., Gas Research Institute, Contract No. 5084-224-0989, 1985. SCS Engineers, <i>Case Study: City of Industry Landfill Gas Recovery Operation</i>, Argonne National Laboratory, Report No. ANL/CNSV-TM-91, 1981b. C-E Lummus, <i>Landfill Gas Recovery Project Study</i>, City of San Antonio, October 1983. N. W. Snyder, <i>Biogas Treatment to High-Btu Gas Technical and Financial Analysis</i>, Proceedings from the GRCDA 7th International Landfill Gas Symposium, Piscataway, NJ, April 1984. I. Weiss, <i>The Economics of Landfill Gas Recovery</i>, Proceedings from the GRCDA 7th International Landfill Gas Symposium, Piscataway, NJ, April 1984.