Guyana’s solid waste can replace 41,846 barrels of LPG

ENERGY recovery from waste is the conversion of non-recyclable waste materials into usable heat, electricity, or fuel through a variety of processes, including combustion, gasification, pyrolisation, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas recovery.

In Guyana, the solid waste load from the main urban and suburban areas of 405,255 persons was estimated to be 545.66 tonnes per day. Vegetables and putrescible materials account for 50.1 percent of the waste produced.

A study done by the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI)’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr.’ Oudho Homenauth and Dr. Clairmont Clementson has found that if the waste is redirected to biogas production, the burden on landfills will be reduced.
Additionally, it will provide an environmentally friendly energy solution.
Titled, “Investigation of Bioenergy utilisation in Guyana, including environmental and economic impacts”, the study is aimed at compressing and disposing of waste, while attempting the generation of energy from them.

It has been found that landfill gases, carbon dioxide and methane, are contributors to climate change.
Methane is 25 times more detrimental in its influence on climate change than carbon dioxide. Anaerobic bacteria that thrive in landfills decompose organic waste to produce biogas. The biogas can be treated and sold or it can also be used to generate electricity.
According to the research, 50 normal cubic meter of methane can be generated per ton of MSW landfilled while 5800 normal cubic meter of such gas is equivalent to 27.4 milliwatts. Annually, the total waste has the potential to produce an average of 9,958,295 normal cubic meter of methane per year, replacing an average of 41,846 barrels of Liquefied Petroleum Gas annually.

While waste to energy conversion will be good for Guyana, there are some challenges involved. A manager at the Haags Bosch landfill site highlighted the hindrances to the utilisation of urban and suburban waste to produce biogas.
He pointed out that the waste collection system and absence of a gas collection system at the landfill are the major challenges. Additionally, Guyana’s waste collection system does not require citizens to sort waste by metals, biodegradables and plastics.

As such, waste is collected and landfilled in a commingled form. However, before biogas can be captured from landfills there need to be a system where waste is separated by type. Additionally, there are no facilities in place to capture landfill gas.
Furthermore, there would not be a significant volume of methane produced from the Haag Bosch landfill since the volume of waste is small due to the fact that only a fraction of the country’s waste reaches the site.

Presently, there is a study facilitated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to capture biogas from the Haags Bosch landfill. Although in its embryo stage, if implemented it can be a starting point for the country to get the most out of urban and suburban waste.