Prometheus Energy starts production of LNG from landfill

Back last November at the Honda FCX concept ride at Laguna Seca, Honda Alternative Fuels Marketing Manager Stephen Ellis, mentioned a company called Prometheus Energy that was producing liquefied natural gas from land fill gas. Prometheus has installed an LNG plant at the Bowerman Landfill in Orange County, California making it the world's first commercial scale project of its type. The landfill currently burns off enough gas to produce 40,000 gallons of LNG per day. The first of three phases planned for the facility is capable of producing 5,000 gallons a day. As of last week, the plant was producing 1,000 gallons a day as they were ramping up to the full capacity. The output of the plant will be used to power vehicles from the Orange County Transit Authority. When Ellis brought up the project, it was in the context of hydrogen production. One of the possible methods of producing hydrogen is by steam reformation of LNG from landfills. At this time, steam reformation is more efficient than electrolysis and using the gas released from landfills would provide a hydrogen source without using fossil fuels. Such a facility could also potentially take advantage of carbon sequestration to eliminate carbon emissions.

[Source: Prometheus Energy via GreenCarCongress]