Waste Management Inc. has opened an expanded landfill gas-to-energy (LFGTE) facility in Fairmont City, Ill., to convert it to natural gas.

The facility at Houston-based Waste Management’s Milam Landfill is designed to process 3,500 standard cubic feet per minute (SCFM) of incoming landfill gas, the company said in a news release. In early December the processed renewable natural gas will be injected into the Ameren Illinois pipeline for use at other locations, including some waste management facilities, according to a news release.

The natural gas is used to heat homes or fuel truck fleets and other equipment that run on compressed natural gas (CNG).

The existing LFGTE facility produces 2.4 megawatts of energy. The output from that facility now is directly connected to the Renewable Natural Gas Facility, providing the power to run the new unit. Since the gas is treated onsite, Waste Management expects a 60-percent reduction in emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

The $19 million Renewable Gas Facility was partially funded by a $2.4 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Illinois Energy Office.

“The Milam Renewable Natural Gas Facility is the first facility of its kind we’ve actually built from the ground up,” said Jim Trevathan, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Waste Management. “This innovative facility utilizes renewable landfill gas, and purifies it to a high-quality natural gas that in turn feeds into the adjacent pipeline to fuel our growing fleet of CNG trucks.”

The Milam Renewable Natural Gas Facility is the company’s third plant to convert landfill gas to natural gas.