Vogel gets national recognition
JACKSON TWP — A program that channels the gas produced by garbage at Seneca Landfill has earned its owner, Vogel Holdings of Mars, a 2012 Excellence Award among candidates from all over North America.
Vogel representatives will receive the award on Aug. 14 at the annual WASTECON conference in Washington, D.C. The awards are conferred by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA).
Seneca Landfill general manager Mike Pavelek explained that Edward R. Vogel five years ago instituted a program that captures the 50/50 mix of methane and carbon dioxide that is the product of decomposing refuse in the landfill.
Pavelek said the 172 wells that have been installed in the landfill collect the gas mixture in special pipes that strip the moisture out and send the gas to a plant on the property.
There the gas is pressurized and a membrane system traps the carbon dioxide while the methane passes through. That process is repeated one more time before the pure methane, which is the same as natural gas, is piped to Peoples Natural Gas in Pittsburgh.
“It provides enough gas for 3,000 homes, Pavelek said.
In addition, natural-gas generators at the landfill and at Vogel Disposal in Mars produce electricity for three buildings and the wastewater plant at the landfill.
The heat from the generators also is used to provide heat for the buildings in the winter, and in the summer electricity from the generators powers air conditioning units in the Vogel buildings.
“There's a lot of innovation there,” said Pavelek, who nominated Vogel Holdings for the award.
Vogel, who is in charge of the gas production project at Seneca Landfill, said beginning in the early 1990s, the gas from the landfill was burned off.
In the late 1990s, the first generator was installed at the landfill as a result of a $145,000 grant from the Department of Environmental Protection.
“We wanted to become self-sufficient,” Vogel said.
Vogel still buys some electricity to operate the compressors at the landfill's gas extraction plant. He did not have a figure on how much the company saves each year by heating and cooling its buildings through its methane extraction process.
Pavelek said Seneca Landfill is one of 13 landfills using the membrane technology to extract methane, but the only facility that uses the landfill gas to fuel the thermal oxidizer that destroys the carbon dioxide culled from the landfill.
Pavelek said the Vogel company is trying to increase its capability to generate more power in the summer.
“We are studying the options on that now,” Pavelek said.
Vogel also hopes to someday convert its fleet of garbage trucks to natural gas, which would be provided by the landfill extraction process. A fueling station would be added at the landfill and possibly elsewhere along the pipeline running to Peoples Natural Gas.
John Skinner, executive director and CEO of SWANA, said the 2012 Excellence Awards recognize outstanding solid waste programs and facilities that advance environmentally and economically sound solid waste management.
Vogel won its award in the landfill gas control category, which is one of 14 categories in the contest.
“The recipients of the SWANA Excellence Awards represent the best solid waste management practices in North America today,” Skinner said. “Community leaders should be very proud of the valuable contributions that these projects provide to their citizens.”
