This result revealed that GHG mitigation from the existing LFGto-energy
recovery project is not very impressive. Thus, design and
operational changes are necessary to improve the efficiency of this
kind of LFG recovery project in order to minimise GHG emissions
and maximise the economic benefits. In order to quantify the GHG
mitigation potential of an improved LFG recovery project, further
analysis was performed to analyse an improved scenario, as seen in
Fig. 3. According to this scenario analysis [9], if the gas recovery
from the landfill in BMA could start in the second year while waste
tipping continues (the sooner the LFG recovery project starts, the
higher the electricity generation potential using the recovered gas)
and gas extraction could continue throughout the 20 year peak
production period, instead of the current 10-year plan, the highest
LFG extraction rate could be achieved. However, additional generator
sets need to be installed in order to optimise the recovery of
LFG. In this improved scenario, 46% of GHG can be mitigated via
electricity production and flaring as compared to the 13% GHG
mitigation potential of the existing project. This example clearly
shows the effects of sound management practices on the
improvement of the overall efficiency of the project. Therefore,
these kind of management practices should be carefully evaluated
and incorporated into the project at the design phase.