Development of Measurement Techniques for Siloxanes in Landfill Gas

Abstract

In Poland, the biogas obtained from municipal solid waste landfills is most frequently used in biogas systems. In combustion of biogas contaminated with siloxanes, they transform and decompose to silica and silicate deposits, which affect the proper operation of power supply devices, i.e. electric generation systems or boilers. The study aimed to determine the optimal methods for the collection of representative biogas sample for gas chromatography (GC) analysis. The main tasks included the selection of the most favourable sampling conditions for siloxane sorption in a given sorbent, i.e. sampling time, gas flow speed and sorbent volume. The study regarded the landfill gas from the Municipal Landfill located in the city of Opole in Poland. Research showed the presence of organosilicon compounds in the tested biogas but their concentration was low. That’s way the landfill gas can be successfully used for energy purposes without compromising the equipment caused by the presence of siloxanes