Landfills as a biorefinery to produce biomass and capture biogas

While landfilling provides a simple and economic means of waste disposal, it causes environmental impacts including leachate generation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the introduction of gas recovery systems, landfills provide a potential source of methane (CH₄) as a fuel source. Increasingly revegetation is practiced on traditionally managed landfill sites to mitigate environmental degradation, which also provides a source of biomass for energy production. Combustion of landfill gas for energy production contributes to GHG emission reduction mainly by preventing the release of CH₄ into the atmosphere. Biomass from landfill sites can be converted to bioenergy through various processes including pyrolysis, liquefaction and gasification. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the role of landfills as a biorefinery site by focusing on the potential volumes of CH₄ and biomass produced from landfills, the various methods of biomass energy conversion, and the opportunities and limitations of energy capture from landfills.