Landfill gas (LFG) is generated from biodegradable waste
anaerobic degradation in landfills and its main portion is comprised
of methane and carbon dioxide with some trace gases. As a matter
of fact, European directives about waste management and landfills
(2008/98/EC[1]and 1999/31/EC[2])defined a rigorous strategy in
which the landfill has a residual role in the waste management
systems. Only pre-treated waste and waste from which it is not
possible to recover material or energy can be landfilled. In particular biodegradable waste landfilling must be strongly reduced,
being this type of waste responsible for methane emissions, contained in the escaped LFG to atmosphere. In this view biodegradable waste will be diverted from landfills and a reduction of LFG
production and quality is expected for future years. However, the
biological degradation of the already landfilled waste will take
several decades to complete and it will be worth it to exploit the
produced LFG for energy recovery, since this is a beneficial effect in
terms of overall greenhouse gas balance and primary energy saving