DALTON— Dow Chemical Co. has joined a growing list of industry manufacturers that are tapping, literally, into the nation’s landfills and using the dumps’ methane gas to power their facilities.

In this case, Dow’s latex carpet backing plant here is the benefactor of the technology, dubbed Lomax by the company, which pipes methane gas from the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.

Landfill gas is created by the decomposing waste in the dump and is recognized as both an asset and a liability. Landfill gas is an energy source that can be utilized to offset fossil fuel. “We realized we could derive a benefit from the landfill gas instead of just flaring it and are very pleased that Dow can use it at its facility,” noted Norman Barashick, executive director of the Authority. “Utilizing the landfill gas as a renewable energy source [also] benefits our community.”

While piping “garbage gas” from a landfill to fuel a manufacturing facility is not a new technology, Todd Crook, Americas flooring leader for Dow Emulsion Polymers, said it continues to gain popularity as businesses and municipalities continue to search for greener ways to do business and alternative sources of energy. “Today’s gas prices alone are enough reason to know we must, as a nation and world, move to more sustainable energy sources.”

He added using it for the company’s latex carpet backing facility was an easy choice based on the industry’s history. “The carpet industry has long led the pack when it comes to sustainability, putting pressure on itself long before the words LEED and green came to the forefront.”

With this initiative, mills and dealers have another powerful selling tool, he added. “When carpet manufacturers and their customers choose Dow latex backing, they not only feel good about getting high-performance products, but products with an improved environmental impact. Our target is to replace nearly all the fossil fuel required to manufacture latex with landfill gas that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere.”

Landfill gas is a greenhouse gas that typically is composed of 45% to 50% carbon dioxide (CO2) and 50% to 55% methane (CH4). Methane is up to 23 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than is carbon dioxide. By collecting it, Crook explained, this project significantly reduces the landfill gas emitted from the landfill, and offsets carbon dioxide emissions by avoiding the use of fossil fuels.

According to the company, the Lomax technology will use approximately 240 billion btu annually of landfill gas, which is equivalent to the amount of energy required to heat 2,100 U.S. homes annually. In addition, carpet backing manufactured with the technology will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 27 million pounds annually—comparable to keeping 2,300 cars off the road each year.

If measured by the amount of oil consumed, Dow will replace in excess of 200,000 barrels annually.

Products manufactured with Lomax are targeted to receive up to five points under the renewable energy section of the new NSF- 140 Carpet Sustainability Standard. Carpets that are certified under the standard are eligible to receive up to two LEED Innovation Points depending on the level of certification. In addition, the technology is designed to meet all Carpet & Rug Institute’s Green Label Plus initiatives, allowing specifiers to receive one additional LEED point.

“Lomax is truly improving our environmental footprint and equally important is that it is easy for the end user to understand,” Crook noted. “We are taking renewable energy that is naturally generated in a landfill and using that energy to replace our fossil fuel. These kind of initiatives will change things in our lifetime.”

Along with Dow, carpet manufacturers such as Milliken, Interface and Tandus have tapped into landfills near some of their production facilities to pipe in methane gas for energy.

For more information on Dow and its Lomax technology, please call 800.847.4212.