Re: Looking for non-burn technologies for handling "methane" gases from landfills

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

A side question is how lfill flares are regulated.  I suspect a lot of
states have a similar framework as MT's:  a definition of an incinerator
that revolves around whether the primary purppose is to get rid of
something or produce something, including steam or electricity generation.
This can be a very subjective determination, eg you don't have to deny
thatyou are burning a waste, just show that your primary intent is to
produce a product.  However flares generally exist to get rid of volatile
waste streams and are or aren't producing steam or KW's.  In MT industrial
process flares are categorically not incinerators even tho all they do is
burn wastes, I guess because they are regarded as small units;  but lfill
flares are going to be determined on a case-by-case basis.  Most places if
you are determined to be an incinerator, you are regualted more tightly,
e.g. in MT you need to be a multi-chambered combustion device, have to do a
risk assessment that includes some cumulative exposures, etc.

Tony Tweedale

Causality is a concept not subject to empirical demonstration. -David Hume
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