Brazil: Rio Landfill’s Biogas Will Power Petrobras’ Plant

Gramacho Landfill in RioThe garbage decomposition’s gas at the Jardim Gramacho landfill, in Duque de Caxias, the largest in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, is going to be used as fuel by Brazilian state-controlled oil as gas multinational Petrobras.

An agreement signed January 18 by companies, the Rio City Hall and the government of the state provides for 200,000 cubic meters of methane gas per day to be used a source of energy at the Duque de Caxias Refinery (Reduc), owned by Petrobras

The Gás Verde company is going to process the gas that will be extracted from the mountain of garbage, and separate the carbon dioxide from methane. A 6 kilometer long pipeline will take the fuel to the Reduc refinery. Production is expected to start before the end of the year. According to Gás Verde, the landfill’s gas reserves should last at least 15 years.

The use of the gas, which would otherwise end up in the atmosphere, will also result in international carbon credits. According to the Brazilian minister of Environment, Carlos Minc, some of the money obtained from gas sales will be returned to the city halls of Duque de Caxias and Rio de Janeiro (which operates the landfill), and passed on to environmental projects and to a fund for garbage collectors at the landfill.

“Jardim Gramacho is among the largest landfills in Latin America. Over 30 years, more than 9 million people have disposed of garbage there. It is one of the sources of greenhouse gas emission in the Metropolitan Region. By capturing that and turning it into natural gas, we will refrain from emitting hundreds of thousands of tons of CO2,” said Minc.

According to the minister, this is the first large action for fighting global warming in Brazil since the signing of the Climate Act, by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in December 2009.

According to Comlurb, Rio’s urban cleaning company, which is in charge of the landfill, Jardim Gramacho should be closed within two years, but gas production should go on afterwards, due to the accumulation of garbage over the years.

ABr

Tags:

You May Also Like

Mexico’s New Visa Requirements Mean Brazilians Will Pay US$ 25,000 to Enter the U.S. Illegally

The Mexican decision to suspend the existing agreement and once again require visas from ...

Six Youngsters Massacred in Brazil, Again. Police Are Suspect

One week after seven minors were killed and dismembered in a Rio de Janeiro ...

Carnaval in the US

Is Brazilian Carnaval becoming an American institution? You can count on a myriad of ...

Brazil’s Primary Surplus to Drop Below 4% of GDP

Brazil posted a 4.32% of GDP primary surplus in 2006 compared to 4.83% in ...

Brazil: In This Crime Show the Host Killed Criminals to Boost Ratings

He is the Amazonas state's assemblyman with most votes in the latest elections in ...

12 Million Brazilians Live in Shantytowns. 94% Say They Are Happy

A survey conducted in 63 slums, or favelas, in 35 cities throughout Brazil, shows ...

Argentina Gets Brazilian Money to Buy Brazilian Planes

In an effort to save jobs at the Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, Brazil has ...

UN Project in Brazil Will Help 100,000 Poor from Northeast

More than 100,000 poor Brazilians are expected to benefit from a United Nations-backed development ...

Brazil Shows Its Fittest Arabian Horses

The National Arabian Show started today at the HÀ­pica Paulista, in São Paulo, the ...

Integration Bridge Opens Pacific Ocean for Brazil

The presidents of Peru and Brazil, Alejandro Toledo and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ...