CAPTURING METHANE:

RECOMMENDATION REPORT
To:

The USACE

From: Jacob Fuerst

Date: 3/9/14
Re:

Assignment #3 Recommendation Report

RECOMMENDATION REPORT
To:
The USACE
From: Jacob Fuerst
Date: 3/9/14
Re:
Assignment #3 Recommendation Report

ABSTRACT
The ability to capture and utilize methane gas from dams poses great benefits to the
environment and to our society. According to the INPE, or National Institute for Space
Research, dam methane gas emissions account for 4% of total global warming from human
activities and 23% of methane gas emissions from human activities. Methanes impact on
global warming is twenty-five times stronger than that of carbon dioxide (Methane).
Eliminating it from dams would slow global warming and the effects of it on the
environment, like melting glaciers and subsequently colder weather.
While large dams have been commonly targeted as the problem, small dams have been
found to emit measurable amounts of methane gas as well. Thus, capturing and using
the excess methane from dams as renewable energy would alleviate the harmful effects of
methane on the environment and global warming.

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My research is addressed to the USACE Dam Safety Program, my key audience, because
they control hundreds of sizeable dams throughout the nation. I conducted research into
this area to determine ways in which methane gas can be collected from dams by the
USACE. My recommendation report will also, by proxy, address the American community at
large because public awareness of methane gas emission from dams is negligible in
contemporary society.
Using hydrophilic filters, as evidenced by my research, is the most cost-effective and least
intrusive method of collecting methane from dams around the nation. This method does
not damage the existing dam and still captures usable amounts of methane from dams. It is
also the most fiscally viable way to capture methane.
The benefits of capturing methane gas from American dams are threefold: first,
harmful methane gas emissions into the environment would decrease and total global
warming would be positively impacted. Second, the methane gas collected from dams could
be burned to produce renewable energy, which could supplement other forms of energy
used today, like fossil fuels. Last, the burning of methane for energy converts methane into
carbon dioxide, which is twenty-five times less harmful to the environment than methane
itself.
Awareness of the potential for methane collection from dams is not widespread.
Therefore, I conducted research into the area because organizations like the USACE could
harness this potential from my findings. There are approximately 75,000 dams throughout
the United States, all of which could be a source of renewable energy if harnessed. I
researched this because with global warming on the rise, the capture of dam-emitted
methane would be greatly beneficial to the environment. It would also provide alternative
energy to other harmful sources commonly used.

INTRODUCTION
Capturing methane from dams would help the environment and would offer a source of
renewable energy. Dams have been found to emit nearly 23% of all methane emissions
from human activity. Researching the use of methane-capturing techniques from dams may
not just curb the problem, but could offer a source of renewable energy as well. This
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research is aimed to be a recommendation report addressed to the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers (USACE).
The USACE Dam Safety Program manages 694 dams nationwide; all of them have the
potential to emit methane that could be collected and utilized. Because dam
production is increasing, the ideal situation is that all dams worldwide would be
investigated and primed for methane collection. However, the United States has 75,000
dams that can be targeted first.
Factors that hinder this ideal include the actual mode of collecting methane and the
funding for such activities, which will be explored thoroughly in this report. I seek to
demonstrate that the seizure of methane from dams nationwide reduces harmful
environmental effects, like global warming. This research will also establish the potential of
dam-emitted methane to be an innovative source of renewable energy.

RESEARCH METHODS
1. Ways To Collect Methane From Dams
The research methods used here will first decipher how methane gas, CH4, can be
collected. First, I did research into the ways methane is emitted. Hydroelectric reservoirs
generate an appreciable source of methane into the atmosphere (Bambace). This is
methane than can be collected instead of emitted into the air.
I then explored the various possibilities for capturing said methane. It is possible to install
a water gate and turbines at a shallow depth to collect methane from dams (Kikuchi). Most
is discharged from the turbine area and spillway area because of constant changes in
water pressure. This research shows that gathering methane is done by finding cavities
places where methane has formed in bubbles deep below the surface and by gathering
the gas in those bubbles (Kikuchi). However, it is hard to gather these bubbling gases
downstream. Therefore, the methane bubbles must be collected inside the installed turbine
and its draft tube deep within the dam (Kikuchi). This provides us with a one way to collect
methane from dams both large and small.
My research then led to me to find ways to collect methane without affecting the existing
dam itself. In an effort not to change the existing infrastructures of dams, methane can be
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collected in shallow waters around the intakes of turbines and spillways installed in
dams. This is a more feasible way to collect methane, as gathering it from the bottom of the
dam is intrusive.

Figure 1 - Collection of Methane.

From < http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544206002611>

Using light metal structures as membranes within dams can evaluate the methane
concentration within the membranes, as seen in figure 1. The membrane induces a recirculation near the bottom [of the dam], and it makes possible to collect CH4-rich water
underneath it, (Bambace). While collecting methane from the bottom of a dam is not
entirely feasible, a device like this can help gauge how much methane will be emitted.
Dissolved gas from dams can then be extracted by bubbling or spraying the water, which
releases gas containing methane. This gas is then passed through a batch absorber that is
designed to collect methane (Bambace). Using a batch absorber to collect the gas emitted
from a dam is one viable way to collect methane.
The last method of research I undertook was to find the least intrusive method of methane
collection possible. This is through the use of hydrophilic filters, as seen in figure 2,
below. A hydrophilic filter retains and directs CH4 to an upper gas outlet (Bambace). A
submerged pump is easily installed that forces an upstream flow of water. As water flows
up, methane bubbles do as well. They are then collected by a hydrophilic screen stack that
retains the bubbles and the methane gas, too. This screen contains small holes a fine
pore hydrophobic foam that repels water and absorbs methane only. The gas then flows
to storage tanks from this chamber (Bambace). Using hydrophilic filters to collect methane
gas may be the best way to collect methane from dams worldwide, according to my

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research. It is the least intrusive system of collecting methane from dams.

Figure 2 - Hydrophilic System for Collecting Methane from Dams

From <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544206002611>

2. The Benefits of Recovering Methane

Its important to understand the relevance of recovering methane with the proposed
methods. First, it removes the threat of methane from our atmosphere. Dams, it turns out,
may take an even greater toll on the environment than previously thought, (Kemsley).
This is not only true of large dams, but of small ones as well. Methane comes from the
accumulation of organic matter and their sediments and this dispels the previous notion
that dams are green, (Kemsley).
Methane is twenty-five times worse for the atmosphere than carbon dioxide alone.
Moreover, the warming effects of greenhouse gases from hydropower reservoirs like dams
are far from negligible, (Kikuchi). Thus, collecting methane from dams prevents the gas
from entering the atmosphere.
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Collecting methane emissions from dams is even more important because of an increase in
dam construction in contemporary society. The quest for new energy sources has led the
United States to build more and more dams (Kemsley). This increases the potential amount
of methane that will be released into the air.
Different kinds of dams release similar amounts of methane, too; while Chinas reservoirs
are often sludge filled, Brazils are shallow. Both cases can lead to high [methane]
emissions, (Reservoir Emissions). However, dam supporters often mislead policy
makers about subsequent methane emission. Therefore, in an age of increased dam
production, the collection of methane from dams will be more and more important to the
environment.

3. USACE Dam Safety Program Research and Evaluation

The USACE, or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, runs a dam safety program to manage its
694 dams across the United States, all of which could be primed for methane collection.
According to the USACE, their focus is on public safety. They periodically inspect and
evaluate their dams to prevent risks to people, property, or the environment, but with an
emphasis on people (Dam Safety Program).
The emphasis on people is where I find their goals misguided. Just because methane
emissions do not harm people around dams does not mean that such methane does not
harm the atmosphere. We know that methane is actually very harmful to the environment.
Thus, utilizing the aforementioned methane-collecting methods on the USACEs 694 dams
would positively impact the environment. This is part of their mission statement. They also
say that they continually adjust and fine tune their programs; implementing a methanecapturing system should then become a priority in moving forward.

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RESULTS
The research here has made it clear that greenhouse gases, like methane, negatively impact
the environment. Methane emissions from dams account for about a quarter of all methane
emissions in the world today, as seen in figure 3 below. It has also been demonstrated that
the methane emitted from dams worldwide is not, in fact, negligible. Dams are not
necessarily green as many people think. In fact, they emit a viable amount of methane
that could be captured. In an age where renewable energy sources are sought after and
where more dams continue to be constructed every day, the notion of utilizing damemitted methane is increasingly important.

Figure 3 - Methane Emissions. From

,http://epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/ch4.html>

Thus, my findings suggest that capturing dam-emitted methane would result in a new
source of renewable energy. This source of energy could even replace the use of fossil fuels.
Methane from dams is renewable, while fossils fuels are not.
Methane from dams could actually be used to generate electricity. In Methane from Dams
Could Be a Power Source, David Wagman reveals a Brazilian report that shows that
methane from dams could be combusted to produce electricity (Wagman). Rotting organic
matter in reservoirs like dams create enough methane to be collected, as demonstrated in
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both Brazil and Canada. Scientists involved in the study believe methane emissions from
dams are significant and could even exceed emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants
(Wagman). Other researchers seem to agree. some experts claim that greenhouse-gas
production at hydroelectric power plants can exceed that of power plants running on fossil
fuels, (Not-So-Clean-Energy). These results show us that we could utilize existing dams
to generate power.
However, multiple studies emphasize that further assessment is necessary to determine
the economic feasibility of recovering methane from dams. The assertions here aim to be
the most fiscally responsible in light of this fact. The USACE should consider the benefits of
methane collection from dams during their periodic inspections and evaluations. They
should then weigh those benefits against the costs of collecting methane as asserted by my
findings below.
Funding the Collection of Methane Gas
Collecting methane from dams certainly has a plethora of benefits; however, evaluating the
cost-efficiency of this activity is in order. it is clear than any simple and cost-effective
mitigation strategy must be based on ensuring that only shallow, CH4-depleted water reach
the intakes of the turbines and spillways, (Bambace). This means that light metal
structures or barriers should be installed as membranes that only allow methane gas
bubbles through for collection within dam waters. These membranes must be installed
carefully so as not to impact the efficiency of the dam itself.
In further reducing the cost of methane collection, using a control buoy can be effective.
This device takes real time measurements of the methane being produced by a dam by
using sliding plates that act as the aforementioned membranes (Bambace). This can reduce
the building costs of metal box barriers that work to collect methane from dams because it
eliminates the need for them.

CONCLUSIONS
Research into capturing methane gas given off by dams poses a potential source of
renewable energy and will also benefit the environment as a whole. Methane gas given off
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from dams disproves the idea that dams are environmentally friendly. In fact, dams give off
almost a quarter of all human-caused methane emissions. Methane is also twenty-five
times worse for the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. However, various methods of
capturing these emissions have been vetted here for fiscal viability.
It is clear that the use of hydrophilic filters is the most cost-efficient way to collect methane
from an existing dam. All it takes is an installed pump and a hydrophilic filter in a dam to
collect its methane. This does not disturb the dam itself, nor does it inhibit the dams
effectiveness. Installing hydrophilic filters in dams across the United States would create a
source of renewable energy.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Im recommending to the USACE that they harness the methane being released from
their dams by implementing the hydrophilic filter system examined above. The
system is relatively easy to install and is cost-effective. It does not inhibit the dam in any
way. Doing this to all 694 of the USACEs dams is my ultimate recommendation.
However, this may not be feasible right off the bat. For this reason, then, I recommend
that the USACE implements the hydrophilic filter system in a number of their dams
nationwide to test its effectiveness. Because methane is linked to global warming, it
would benefit the environment to capture the gas and keep it out of the atmosphere.
Burning methane creates carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas, but carbon dioxide is far
less harsh on the environment. The hydrophilic filter system is a viable option that the
USACE must consider.
My findings demonstrate that the capture of methane also positions us to have access
to a new form of renewable energy, which could replace the use of non-renewables like
fossil fuels. Because methane from dams is a result of organic sediment at the bottom of the
dam, methane emissions are renewable. Implementing a system like the hydrophilic filter
system would be a one-time installation that would generate energy for years to come with
little maintenance required. Therefore, I recommend that the USACE pilot this idea.

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REFERENCES
Bambace, L.A.W., et al. "Mitigation and Recovery of Methane Emissions From Tropical
Hydroelectric Dams." Energy 32.6 (2007): 1038-1046. Academic Search
Complete.
Kemsley, Tamarra. "Even Small Dams a Potential Hotbed for the Greenhouse Gas
Methane." Nature World News. NatureWorldNews.com, 31 Jul 2013. Web. 25
Jan 2014. <http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/3265/20130731/evensmall-dams-potential-hotbed-greenhouse-gas-methane.htm>.

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Kikuchi, R., and P. Bingre do Amaral. "Conceptual Schematic For Capture Of

Biomethane Released From Hydroelectric Power Facilities." Bioresource
Technology 99.13 (2008): 5967-5971. Academic Search Complete.
"Methane From Dams: Greenhouse Gas to Power Source." Environment News Service.
International Daily Newswire, 09 May 2007. Web. 27 Jan 2014. <http://www.ensnewswire.com/ens/may2007/2007-05-09-04.asp>.
"Not-So-Clean Energy?." Environment 47.4 (2005): 5-6.
"Reservoir Emissions." International Rivers. International Rivers. Web. 24 Jan 2014.
<http://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/reservoir-emissions>.
Wagman, David. "Methane From Dams Could Be A Power Source." Power Engineering 111.6
(2007): 22. Academic Search Complete.

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