Linde and Waste Management Commission World’s Largest Landfill to Liquefied Natural Gas Facility

2 November 2009

A joint venture between Waste Management, Inc., North America’s largest waste services company, and Linde North America, part of The Linde Group, has begun producing clean, renewable vehicle fuel at its facility located at the Altamont Landfill near Livermore, California. The facility is the world’s largest landfill gas (LFG) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant. (Earlier post.)

The plant, which Linde built and operates, purifies and liquefies landfill gas that Waste Management collects from the natural decomposition of organic waste in the landfill. The plant is designed to produce up to 13,000 gallons of LNG a day—enough to fuel 300 of Waste Management’s 485 LNG waste and recycling collection vehicles in twenty California communities. Since the commissioning process began in September, the plant has produced 200,000 gallons of LNG.

The Altamont LFG-to-LNG facility meets two of California Governor Schwarzenegger’s environmental directives: the Bioenergy Action Plan, which seeks to advance the use and market development of biomass as a transportation fuel, and Executive Order S-3-05, which aims to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020.

Four California agencies contributed to the $15.5 million Waste Management - Linde project, including the California Integrated Waste Management Board, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The management of several of the state grants has been provided by the Gas Technology Institute, which also licensed elements of the LNG production technology used in the Altamont facility.