Can landfill or biogas be used to fuel a fuel cell?

The Northeast Regional Biomass Program, in conjunction with XENERGY, Inc., has completed a comprehensive study examining the feasibility of utilizing bio-based fuels with stationary fuel cell technologies. The free study can be found at http://www.nrbp.org/pdfs/pub31.pdf. The findings show that biomass-based fuel cell systems, from a technical perspective, are capable of providing a source of clean, renewable electricity over the long-term. The results of the study aren't news to some people. Fuel cells have already proven to be successful in this application, in service around the world at several landfills and wastewater treatment plants (as well as a few breweries and farms), generating power from the methane gas they produce, and reducing harmful emissions in the process. In 1992, a successful demonstration test at the Penrose Landfill in Sun Valley, California paved the way for fuel cells operating at landfills and wastewater treatment facilities. These types of installations ...  more