Landfill Gas Monitoring Application Brochure

The Kurz Insertion Mass Flow Meter products provide extremely reliable and accurate measurements with a number of features specifi cally tailored for landfi ll gas monitoring applicationsLANDFILL GAS MONITORINGcomplex technology MADE SIMPLEA P P L I C A T I O N N O T E Landfi ll Gas IntroductionIt wasn’t that long ago that people would back up to a ravine outside of town and toss out whatever trash they had. By the very nature of waste decompo-sition, the landfi ll will generate an off gas by-product, comprised primarily of methane and CO2. Over the years as landfi lls grew in size they became more sophisticated and correspondingly more regulated. In 1990, the Clean Air Act and subsequent Federal, State, and local regulations required that landfi lls provide controls to assure that the naturally occurring off gas is environmen-tally safe. Today, the monitoring and secondary use of landfi ll emissions has become standard practice. These off gases can be a valuable resource if they are captured and utilized. After fi ltration, landfi ll gases can be measured and then burned in an engine to turn a generator or in a boiler to create steam that then turns the generator.Landfi ll gas monitoring falls into fi ve basic categories: Soil gas monitoring, near surface gas monitoring, emission monitoring, ambient air monitoring and facility air monitoring. These fi ve categories require rate monitoring as well as composition monitoring. The Kurz SolutionWhile near surface and ambient air monitoring is typically accomplished by simple grab samples or portable organic vapor analyzer-fl ame ionization de-tectors, the soil gas, emissions, and facility monitoring are uniquely suited to Kurz thermal mass fl ow instrumentation.Soil gas monitoring and collection systems are typically designed using a ring of monitoring wells around the perimeter of the landfi ll. These wells and col-lection headers (perforated pipes set into the landfi ll typically in the top 50% of the biomass) are normally connected to vacuum and pump systems which draw the “overpressure” of decomposition gasses into a unifi ed collection sys-tem by providing a low pressure “preferred migration” route for the gasses. This gas is typifi ed by low fl ow rates and high moisture content, and in some cases levels of H2S that are of concern for instrumentation.Emission monitoring of collected gasses for use in fl ares, incinerators, boil-ers, gas turbines, and internal combustion engines are required in order to control those processes to assure proper destruction of the landfi ll gas, and also to comply with reporting requirements. Control may require monitoring of landfi ll gas fl ow rate, “make-up” natural gas fl ows, and equipment energiz-ing (adding or subtracting engines, turbines, and fl ares, in order to handle the fl ow rate that is generated). This control requires rapid response to varying fl ows, as well as outstanding discrimination especially at low fl ow rates. Fur-ther, as vacuum levels can be adversely impacted by many instrumentation schemes, Kurz instrumentation seldom impacts pressure loss at more than a few inches of water pressure even at elevated fl ow rates.Benefi ts of the Kurz Solution• Extremely Accurate and Reliable Measurements even in Short Runs• PTFE protection for high H2S Applications• Outstanding Low Flow Capability• Low Maintenance Even in Harsh Environments• Bias and Variable Correction Processes to Allow for Profi le VariationLandfi ll Gas MonitoringPAGE 2 DCN 364034 Copyright © 2009 Kurz Instruments Inc.The Kurz Solution - Continued from Previous PageFacility air monitoring additionally requires outstanding accuracy and depend-ability to protect the landfi lls greatest resources, the women and men who operate the facility.Performance Results with the Kurz SolutionGiven the wide ranging capability of Kurz Instruments Thermal Mass Flow Instrumentation, with turndown rates of up to 250:1 and response velocity time constant of 1 second, the new “B” series of instruments meet all of the challenges of Landfi ll gas monitoring. Packaged to effectively monitor fl ow rates from lines as small as ½” up to ducts of 100 square feet and larger, Kurz technology provides the ultimate in dependability and fl exibility to meet landfi ll gas monitoring needs.• Single point insertion devices with PTFE protection for high H2S applica-tions• Inline meters with superior accuracy with little to no straight run• Outstanding low fl ow capability with live signal down to zero fl ow• “HHT” devices for measurement of post-combustion emissions at tem-peratures up to 932 F.• Bias and Variable correction processes to allow for profi le variation• Modbus communications standard• CSA - Ex d IIB+H2• Sensors are unaffected by the “dirty” and harsh environment, with no small ports and no moving parts• Three year warranty is standardAbout Kurz InstrumentsKurz Instruments has maintained a reputation for designing and manufactur-ing Thermal Mass Flow Transmitters for industrial air and gas fl ow applica-tions. For more than 30 years, our entire team has provided solutions to our customers most demanding and diffi cult applications. Kurz products are used in a wide variety of industrial applications including combustion air, aeration air fl ow and digester gas, nuclear power plants, pump protection, fl are stack monitoring and compressed air, to name only a few.Kurz Instruments, Inc.2411 Garden RoadMonterey, CA 93940 800-424-7356 Toll Free Phone831-646-5911 Local Phone831-646-8901 Faxsales@KurzInstruments.comwww.KurzInstruments.comPAGE 3 DCN 364034 Copyright © 2009 Kurz Instruments Inc.