GE's Jenbacher landfill gas engines use the gas—consisting of methane, carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen—created during the decomposition of organic substances in a landfill.
"Jenbacher gas engines works as internal combustion engines and are used for small-scale on-site power generation," a GE Energy spokesman said. Each J420 engine combusts 2.7 million cubic meters (m3) of methane each year.
The Laogang landfill gas project will be realised under the Chinese government's 12th Five-Year Plan, during which China plans to invest more than RMB$260 billion in the waste treatment industry including waste-to-energy initiatives by 2015.
The Laogang LFG project is owned by Laogang Renewable Energy Co., a joint venture formed by Veolia and Shanghai Environment Group.