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Evaluating bioreactor landfill as an energy source

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Abstract

Demand for energy has forced people to look for non-traditional energy sources. Biomass energy, mainly municipal solid waste, is emerging as one of the promising sources of energy. The use of landfills as a geothermal source of energy is one of the latest approaches for acquiring energy within the solid waste. In this work, the bioreactor landfill is evaluated as a potential energy source. A lab-scale bioreactor that is equivalent to household size bioreactor was built and thermal energy extraction was investigated. The study indicated that the use of the bioreactor may be considered as an economical source of energy. The study results show that a 2 m3 lab-scale bioreactor can maintain a center temperature higher than 30 °C for a period of 4 months. Also, it was found that the lab-scale bioreactor was able to raise the water temperature up to a stable 3 °C in an open-loop system within 30 min.

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Funding

This project was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at the University of Jordan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering, The University of Jordan, Queen Rania Street, Amman, 11942, Jordan

    Shadi Moqbel

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  1. Shadi Moqbel
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Correspondence to Shadi Moqbel.

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Moqbel, S. Evaluating bioreactor landfill as an energy source. Int J Energy Environ Eng 12, 23–30 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-020-00350-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-020-00350-4

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