Steve Tucker, director of the countys resource management service, says its Brady Township site produces 10,000 gallons of methane a day. Tuckers vision: to power the 200 waste haulers that call on the landfill daily with natural gas from the site.
“This is a new fuel in the transportation market,” Tucker says. “Theres technology to take landfill gas, chill it and liquefiy it.”
Trucks using the new fuel must be equipped with natural gas motors and liquid natural gas tanks. At last weeks Waste Expo 2009, Mack Trucks unveiled a waste hauler that can use compressed (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG), and has a three-way catalytic converter to meet EPA10 emissions standards.
With overall project costs of $11.6 million, Lycoming County has received $5.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. The initial phase of the project will help the county purchase several recycling vehicles. Meanwhile, it is reaching out to the 89 hauling companies which visit the landfill, hoping to provide incentives for the firms to purchase alternative fuel trucks.
Pennsylvania pilots received $15 million for eight pilots statewide, all designed to reduce displace petroleum-based diesel fuel with domestically produced biodiesel and natural gas.
Source: Steve Tucker, Lycoming County resource management service
Writer: Chris O’Toole
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