Evaluation of the methane and electrical energy potential and carbon credits revenues from the Goiânia landfill

The phenomenon of gradual warming of the planet has occurred for thousands of years, but it has been increasing in the course of the twentieth century due to the high concentrations of gases, which are responsible for the greenhouse effect. Recently, the scientific community has been debating and searching for new sources of renewable energies and the effects of the increasing emissions. Taking these considerations into account, the idea of this paper is to deal with the use of biogas generated from the anaerobic decomposition in landfills. These projects fit in the clean development mechanism of the Kyoto protocol. The main aim of this paper is to evaluate the potential of methane and electrical energy generation from the Goiania landfill and the carbon credits which can be obtained from this process. First, the methodologies that have been used to quantify the potential of methane generation over time will be presented. Second, some aspects of this sustainable project will be shown such as the valuation of the electrical energy potential and the revenues from carbon credits. Finally, a case study of the Goiania landfill will be presented.