/First US landfill-to-natural gas plant coming to Walnut

First US landfill-to-natural gas plant coming to Walnut

French multinational gas supplier Air Liquide has announced its plans to build and operate a biogas plant to convert landfill gas into renewable natural gas. Air Liquide claims the plant will be built in Walnut in Tippah County and can purify methane that has been released by landfills. It will also make the methane suitable for heating. Air Liquide will also operate a four mile pipeline to transport the biogas it produces to a natural gas pipeline. This will expand Walnut’s utilities services. Bobby Thompson, Chairman of the Northeast Mississippi Solid Waste Management Authority said in a statement that “we are certainly happy to play a role in bringing this exciting renewable fuel technology to our landfill operations at Walnut.” The company is claiming that the plant will be the first to use landfill biogas for purification in the United States. Construction work should begin in the first quarter 2017. According to the company, the converted waste gas should be transformed into renewable energy that can heat an estimated 4,500 homes annually. The Northeast Mississippi Solid Waste Management Authority owns the site. Waste Connections, a national solid-waste company, manages it. It receives around 350,000 tons of trash per year. Chet Benham is vice president of Air Liquide’s U.S. Division of Advanced Technologies. He said that the final product of the project, a renewable, lower-carbon energy, would benefit the surrounding communities. Air Liquide reported in April that it had launched 12 European biogas purification units during the previous year, tripling its production capacity. According to a Natural Gas World report, Air Liquide had 50 units worldwide.