 | |  Denton, Texas Hybrid LFG Recovery Project (Biodiesel)
| Location | Denton, Texas | | End User(s) | Biodiesel Industries, Inc. | | Sector(s) | Industrial (biodiesel), Municipal | | Landfill(s) | Denton Sanitary Landfill | | Landfill Size | 2.27 million tons waste-in-place (2002) | | Project Type | Boiler (production of biodiesel) | | Project Size | 300 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) | | Environmental Benefits | Carbon sequestered annually by 8,100 acres of pine or fir forests, annual greenhouse gas emissions from 6,500 passenger vehicles, or carbon dioxide emissions from 82,600 barrels of oil consumed. Annual energy savings equate to heating 1,000 homes. Estimated emissions reductions of 0.0097 million metric tons of carbon equivalents. | | LMOP Partners Involved | Biodiesel Industries, Inc., City of Denton, DTE Biomass Energy |
 For this 2005 LMOP Project of the Year, one renewable fuel “fuels” another. In Denton, Texas, landfill gas (LFG) from the city’s landfill fuels a biodiesel production facility. Processed hot water drives the chemical process that converts renewable feedstock, vegetable oils, and animal fats into biodiesel. In turn, the biodiesel fuels the city’s fleet of garbage trucks and other utility vehicles.
Biodiesel has significantly lower emissions than petroleum-based diesel. The City of Denton uses the biodiesel to fuel its diesel vehicle fleet with B20, a blend of 80 percent diesel and 20 percent biodiesel. Use of B20 will allow the fleet to reduce emissions of criteria pollutants by up to 12 tons per year.
The project’s highlights include the following:
- Facility is first of its kind to produce biodiesel exclusively from renewable energy.
- Plant will produce 3 million gallons of biodiesel per year. After one year of production, the plant is producing more than enough biodiesel to meet the city’s diesel fuel demands, so it is selling biodiesel to the public.
- Positive effect on regional air quality, reduces dependence on foreign oil, and stimulates local economic development.
Biodiesel is made from renewable materials such as vegetable oils or animal fats. In Denton, Biodiesel Industries collects used soybean and vegetable oil from farmers who grow oil-bearing crops. In addition, they collect used oil from Dallas-Fort Worth area restaurants, which produce about 12 million gallons of used cooking oil every year.
It became obvious that the operating expenses of this project could be reduced to a bare minimum if a modest amount of landfill gas energy was used for the process heat needs of the biodiesel facility. —John Villella, Manager of Business Development, DTE Biomass Energy Last Updated: 8/18/2008
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