Dive Brief:

• A piping system using Arkema Inc.'s Rilsan-brand nylon 11 resin began operating in June to draw methane gas from the decommissioned State Street Landfill in Douglas County, NE, near Omaha. The system then cleans the gas and conveys it to local utilities.
• The system, which uses Rilsan in pipes, fittings and joining systems, is less expensive than steel, providing capital expenditure savings of $95,000 per mile and maintenance savings of $6,300 per mile. 
• The landfill closed in 1989 and has been flaring the gas since 1995. The system is expected to produce as much as 140 billion British thermal units of untreated gas.

Dive Insight:

Arkema's waste-to-energy system sounds promising, and three landfills in the Midwest have already shown interest in using the system, according to Arkema oil and gas market manager Brandon Babe.

The Rilsan piping system — which is derived from biorenewable castor oil — was designed and built under the Hyperlast trade name by Georg Fischer Central Plastics of Shawnee, OK. BioResource Development, an Omaha-based biofuels firm, also had a role in the project. The companies are looking to market the Rilsan system to other landfills.