Driving the Circular Economy with Renewable Natural Gas

Landfill gas represents a significant untapped energy resource in the industrial machinery sector, but converting it safely and efficiently into renewable natural gas (RNG) requires precise, coordinated control across dozens of mechanical components operating in hazardous environments. The challenge was to engineer a scalable automation system capable of deployment across 20 separate RNG facilities by 2026, each processing thousands of cubic feet of gas per minute. Without reliable automated control, operators face elevated risk of gas leaks, uncontrolled emissions, and unplanned shutdowns — outcomes that carry both safety consequences and regulatory liability in an increasingly scrutinized energy transition landscape.

Rockwell Automation designed and deployed an integrated industrial control architecture across all 20 RNG facilities. Each site runs on Allen-Bradley ControlLogix® and CompactLogix™ programmable automation controllers, coordinating dozens of actuators, motors, valves, pumps, and sensors in real time. Intelligent motor control centers and variable frequency drives (VFDs) manage power-intensive equipment with precision, while the unified control platform enables centralized monitoring and consistent programming across sites. The architecture supports automated responses to abnormal conditions — including gas leak detection, ventilation adjustment, and emergency shutdown sequences — ensuring both operational continuity and compliance with environmental safety requirements at scale.

The deployed system enables each of the 20 sites to process between 3,000 and 8,000 standard cubic feet per minute of landfill gas, converting it into pipeline-quality renewable natural gas. Across the full site portfolio, the automation platform delivers:

• Continuous gas leak detection with automated alerts and response
• Dynamic ventilation control, with fan adjustment based on real-time sensor data
• Automated emergency shutdown capability to protect personnel and equipment
• Consistent performance across geographically distributed sites using a standardized control architecture

The standardized platform also reduces commissioning complexity and simplifies ongoing maintenance across the multi-site deployment.

• Standardize control architecture before scaling — deploying a common platform (ControlLogix®/CompactLogix™) across all 20 sites reduced integration risk and accelerated commissioning at each location.
• Build safety automation in from the start — gas leak detection and emergency shutdown logic should be core requirements, not afterthoughts, in any RNG or hazardous gas processing project.
• Variable frequency drives pay dividends in process-intensive environments — precise motor speed control directly improves gas processing efficiency and equipment longevity.
• Multi-site deployments benefit from a single vendor ecosystem — consistency in hardware and software reduces training overhead and simplifies remote diagnostics across distributed facilities.