INFORMATIONAL DETAILS

The City of Albany has entered into an agreement with Siemens Technology for the utilization of landfill gas (gas) produced at the Rapp Road Landfill. Under the contact, Siemens will install mechanical equipment to convert the gas to compressed natural gas (CNG) at the landfill site. The landfill has a gas collection system in place and currently converts a portion of the gas to electricity under a contract with another private entity with the remaining gas being flared. Once the Siemens project is constructed and operational, very little of the gas will require flaring.

The mechanical equipment proposed to be supplied under the Siemens project is manufactured by the Prometheus Energy Company of Seattle, Washington. The proposed Prometheus system is described as a 420,000 cubic foot per day (cfd) system. The Prometheus system consists of 7 or 8 equipment skids and the associated piping systems to connect the skids to each other. The equipment is driven by electrical power, which will be supplied by a primary electrical generator using natural gas produced by the process as a fuel source. The CNG produced will be loaded into over the road tanker trucks and taken from the site for use in the Albany area. The project involves the supply and installation of the Prometheus equipment, piping systems, primary and backup electrical generators, and buildings to house this equipment.

A description of the system components is as follows:

Collection System/Blower

The landfill gas collection system is already in place with a new blower station installed by the City in 2006. This blower will have a maximum design flow rate to handle the entire landfill and will distribute the gas through different discharge taps to the users and the flare. The City will be responsible for operation and maintenance of this blower and the flare. This blower is powered from the City's utility feed.

Landfill Gas Piping System

The collection system will remain as is and will be expanded by the City as needed. At the blower discharge, the piping will be split into three separate pipes to the existing electrical generating system, the proposed Siemens system and the flare. All landfill gas piping will be the responsibility of the City.

Operation and Flow Control

After the blower discharge, landfill gas with be delivered to the Processing Facility. A new gas chromatograph will be installed to verify flow on the incoming gas line at the Processing Facility. Siemens will provide controls for the entire operation, including this gas chromatograph.

Gas Treatment

The gas will have a particulate filter on the incoming line and a knock out tank for basic dewatering prior to the process. The process will fully clean and treat the gas. This treatment will create some condensate. All of this condensate will be collected and sent to the landfill leachate system for disposal by the City.

Storage

There will be enough installed storage capacity on site to handle 2-3 days of landfill production. The discharge of this storage will be piped down to the trucking station for connection to the transport vehicles.

CNG Transfer Station

The CNG transfer station will include space for a primary tanker truck or trailer, and a backup tanker truck or trailer. Mechanical piping and valves will allow the CNG flow to be directed to one tanker or the other. Instrumentation will monitor pressure in the tank, mass flow rate, and totalized flow. Automatic safety features will be capable of stopping flow to the tanker truck if any unsafe condition is recognized by the instrumentation. Instrumentation will have a local panel to allow an operator to check how much CNG has been loaded into a tanker. The instrumentation and operator station will be covered by a roof, but the rest of the truck loading station will not be covered or enclosed

Power System

The Processing Facility's power for lights, outlets, and generator starting will be supplied from the grid. The power for the Prometheus system will be provided by a gas-fired engine, with a diesel generator for backup power. The new control system will control the connection of all power delivery in case the landfill loses power. The Facility will have a diesel backup generator to power the operating system in case of a grid outage.

Dry Ice

The production of dry ice from recovered CO2 may be added to the project as a second phase. Dry ice production includes the installation of a CO2 recovery module in the process building; a CO2 storage tank to be located adjacent to the existing maintenance or process building; and a dry ice press located in a potential new room to be constructed in the maintenance building. Operation of the press is typically performed by one to two people per eight hour shift. Dry ice is produced in block form and will be stored temporarily in refrigerated trucks which will be moved to off-site locations when full. Two to three trucks per day are anticipated during full operation of the press.