The Durban Landfill Gas to Electricity Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project has been Africa’s first Landfill CDM Project.

It has contributed to the Metro’s electricity supply and received revenue from methane (CH4) destruction in the form of Certified Emission Reductions (CER’s) and electricity sales.

Preliminary findings from research undertaken by the Department of Cleansing and Solid Waste, (DSW), favoured the installation of horizontal gas extraction wells (HGW) due to simpler construction, relatively lower costs, compatibility with landfill operations and access to the landfill gas (LFG) soon after waste placement as opposed to vertical gas extraction wells (VGW), (Moodley et al, 2010).

This paper is a continuation of the research on LFG extraction improvement and optimisation with particular focus on evaluating the life expectancy of typical LFG extraction wells through the experience gained in the management of the gas field.

Innovation design aspects and upgrades are discussed to demonstrate the extraction enhancement as well as practical construction challenges.

The projects overall improvements are also discussed relative to cost benefits in terms of reduced engine/extraction system maintenance.

In addition, the current poor performance of the CDM market has necessitated DSW to investigate alternative opportunities in utilising LFG as a resource and future developments are highlighted.

Download technical paper here.