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to filter it through sealed layers where the
oxidation of methane takes place and, the-
refore, its elimination.
When the production of gas allows it, bio-
gas is converted into energy by capturing
the thermal energy for its subsequent use,
for example, to generate electricity. This is
exactly what we have been doing at the
CHP units (combined heat and energy
units) in several of our landfill sites.
Drilling of degas wells, Arad, 2014.
CHP unit Úholičky, CZ, 520 kW Waukesha,
prod.capacity 3.500 MWh/year.
FCC Environment CEE (formerly
.A.S.A.) in Gyál was awarded last year
the Energy Efficient Company prize
thanks to its production of clean ener-
gy. A combined 2000 kW heat and
energy unit not only produces heat, but
also electricity jointly with another sma-
ller plat. With both units operating at
the same time, it is possible to produce
all the energy necessary in the offices,
social buildings and in the first three
phases of the landfill. Heat is used for
heating and for producing hot water. In
this way, all thermal energy and elec-
tricity for the offices is obtained by re-
cycling the gases from the landfill site.
Any left-over electricity is sold to the
grid.
An award-winning
example: an energy
efficient company
Waste to energy (W2E) is not something
new for FCC Environment (formerly
.A.S.A.). I remember well my first visit to
Halbenrain (Austria) in 1999, to the grand
room where the new green Jenbacher
had been installed, with an approximate
output of 520kW. Energy was used for
the process of cleaning wastewater and
in the adjacent room a new wastewater
treatment plant had been installed. Sur-
plus energy generated by the CHP (com-
bined heat and energy) unit was offered
to the public grid.
After our landfill in Ďáblice, Prague, star-
ted operations, I did not waste any time
in preparing the “.A.S.A. Energy” project
which included the transformer station
and the connection to the grid. All was
positive when it came to the production
and se of gas. The only obstacle was
how to actually sell the energy. At that
time, programs supporting alternative
energy production were not active.
The energy project itself was quite costly
since, in this case, it was necessary to
invest 2 million euros. Nevertheless and,
as we did later in other .A.S.A. landfills,
we made an initial investment in the de-
gasification station and in the capacity
to maintain as safely and under control.
Then we collected data on the amount
and the quality of gas in relation with the
gas field operation. We burned the gas.
It was interesting to see the sparkles at
night, like a rocket, but the other way
around.
The quality and quantity of gas produc-
tion started to increase and, therefore,
we decided to sell the energy potential
of the gas to a partner. This contractual
partner installed 2 large CHP units (2 of
1,026 kWe) and then another smaller one
with nearly 240 kWe to generate energy
(electricity and heat) for our area, par-
ticularly for the administration building.
Another interesting phenomenon occu-
rred in Ďáblice: all of our windows (in AB)
were open (even when the temperature
was -20º C outside); we had an enor-
mous amount of surplus heat energy, and
it was free!
After some time, we prepared some
variants on how to fully se the heat po-
tential more effectively. Shortly after, our
partners already had the degasification
station connected to the former landfill in
Prague (in Chabry, 2 km away) with the
new .A.S.A. landfill in Ďáblice.
We also wanted to use the heat potential,
not just produce electricity. The expected
power of the additional heat was between
3 and 4 MW. Then, we installed a 7 km-
long underground pipeline to Letňany to
supply gas and transferred the machi-
nery. There, it was possible to use elec-
tricity as well as heat energy for the in-
dustry, homes, and apartments. It is also
interesting to note that the machinery
(pumps) that carry the gas from the lan-
dfill to Letňany also functions with energy
from the gas engines at the landfill site.
Personal memories of Karel Procházka,
project manager
K n o w l e d g e